Milken’s Probation Again Extended

For the seventh time in seven years, a federal judge has extended ex-investment banker Michael Milken’s probation, this time by 30 days to Jan. 31. The extension is designed to allow federal authorities to continue investigating whether Milken has violated a 1990 agreement banning him from the securities industry for life. At issue are three high-profile deals on which Milken acted as a consultant. The deals include Ted Turner’s $7.5-billion sale of his broadcasting company to Time Warner; MCI Communications’ investment of $2 billion in Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.; and Ronald Perelman’s acquisition of New World Entertainment, a chain of broadcasting stations. Under the 1990 agreement, Milken is barred from buying or selling securities for a client or “associating” with a brokerage or investment company. But he is not forbidden to give business advice to anyone, which is what he contends he did in the three deals. “We’re very comfortable with what Mike has done,” said Richard V. Sandler, Milken’s lawyer. Sandler said Milken acceded to the latest extension but added that “our view is we’d like to get this over with.”