Financial Times , 1986, UK, English
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Pes.38 USA. .... sun No. 29,828 Tuesday January 14 1986 D 8523 B W German US banks BAT to sell Room at builders report the top hit ‘cheap’ higher shareholders’ vote US retailers campaign labour earnings for $600m for Italian on rescue plan BY DAVID GOODHART IN LONDON women other cities r?P°rted h ber becauuse wfflfoDwtheoSmfc J ie BAT INDUSTRIES, foe tobacco, re- impact of price-cutting of By Alan Friedman In MQan of Frankfort in refusing tail and financial services conglom- their market leadership. toaward ly improved BY LIONEL BARBER, BRIDGET BLOOM PETER RIDDELL IN rrahUejruutn. bnHrfWw i,T full-year net mcome —af- AND LONDON uuninx cwnrwis to * _ it, erate and one of the UK's largest Italian comna- Q , Bates, BATs wholly owned US MR BETT1NO CRAXL the Ioan"Ioss Provisions. Dies using “cheap labour-from THE BOARD of Westland, the UK rescue plan is likely to help its outcome of today's scheduled vote companies, is planning to sell just subsidiary, is also closing its retail Prime Minister, ra®eia joined forces East Germany or other East Euro- helicopter company, announced last cause. uncertain. under half of its retailing business head office in New York as part of yesterday with Ms Marisa Belli- pean countries. *** ft wag pos»<HPpg today’s Sir John Cockney. Westland’s second dramatic twist came to foe US for about SfiOOrn. the rationalisation. the director of CADBURY Schweppes, the British A The five compa- sario, managing ^schrfuled edraordmary In- general chairman, intends that Friday’s yesterday when Robot Fleming will Iheanmn claims that about 2^100 soft drmfa= and^rfecSSy The expected proceeds from the nies now report direct to the the Itaitel state telecommunica- East Germans and possibly eef sh*”'£o!d 5*" agenda wHl the same as the one vestment Management, Westland's Bates headquarters in Louisville, tions group and Italy's most fa- another group, is in an advanced stararof ? j£§, ?*, sale will be used to cut into BATs 2,000 men from J°da/s meeting had been due proposed - for today's scheduled second-largestsecond-la) shareholder, sold a 9 Kentucky. mous female leader, to Hungary, Romania negotiations for an fl&5m (SIlfcn) ^y- worldwide debt which, at the end of company and Poland £* vote on the rescue plan involving meeting. That means that share- per cent block1 of shares to an un- are working at "cut management buy-out of its IJK 1984, stood at EL5bn (S3.Bbn). How- Mr Arnold Aronson, the chair- announce a series of important rates" building Sikorsky of the US and HatFlat of Italy. holders wHl be asked only to vote named buyerbi at 125p a share, weD and on projects in West beverages and foods division. The ever, the company indicated yester- man chief executive of Bates initiatives designed to improve Germany. on the Sikorsky/Fiat plan and not above yesterday’syej market price in Retail; Ronald Raskin, the the lot of in Italian public company also said that its North IheTbe decision to postpone the day that it might spend some of the Mr pres- women Many work long hours nval European aerospace con- London of around 80p. ident; and Mr Joseph Berzok, foe life. and are American operation would report a I meeting was taken after a day of money acquiring a finance-based 01 1 .offer. 75 per cent-majon- Rowe & Pitman, Westland’s bro- hoased q»rt from West Germans, loss for 1985. Page I hectic activity in the City of ™ A business in the US. vice chairman; will all be leaving The measures, which include what 20 London 1 f is if kers, purchased the shares on be- according to the union. Page 3 and at Westminster daring which, ^ vote necessary the US-Ital- The retail business represented the company when the sales are the Americans would call affirm- ian after is half the but refused to according to Sir John Treacher, to be approved. of buyer just over half of BATs total S6bn complete, which is expected to be in ative action projects, will see comment on whether the Westland's vice chairman The European buyer annual sales in foe next few months. work undertaken this year to , such in- consortium com- the US in 1984. The Beirut fighting 3nUi supported the Sikorsky/Fiat plan or terest was shown in the meeting by prises British Aerospace and Gen- 93 stores now on the market ac- There will be an estimated net advance foe role of women at backed foe rival rescue offer of the loss Banca Nazionate Heavy fighting erupted among rival so many of the company's 12*000 eral Electric Company of the UK, counted for sates of SLSbn out of on the sate of S175m against del Lavoro European consortium. Hus has al- Christian militias in east Beirut as small shareholders that a bigger ve- Agusta of Italy and Aerospatiale of total US retail turnover of SSAbn. the book value of the four busi- (BNL). Italy's largest and state- BterMk ready been rejected the West- President Amin nue had to be found. France. Last sight, Mr David by nesses of $800m. But the company owned bank, at Itaitel and inside GemayeJ arrived in The company said zt was already Rate land board. expects an increase in pre-tax profit the regional government of Lom- Syria for vital talks on a mifitia Home, managing director of Lloyds in Friday’s meeting will be held at Sir John Treacher, while declin- negotiation with several possible bardy. agreement to end Merchant Bank, advising the con- and a substantially higher rate of .7J5* Lebanon’s civil the Albert Hall in Kensington, Lon- purchasers of the four department ing to identify the buyer, said he return on Bates's Italy, as Mr pointed out in Mi- ."•if war. Page 4 sortium, said the adjournment was chain* investment in re- Cra» don, which seats shoot 4^00 people, yesterday's de- store it is selling: Gimbels complete surprise. was encouraged by tailing. lan yesterday, is ail loo often a a I whereas the original venue, the stores, Kohfs stores, Frederick and velopments, particularly after last Mr Patrick Sheehy, chairman of nation where "the man is privi- Connaught Booms in London, only 'We’re still considering this news, Nelson and Crescent department Yemen coup foils week's show of overwhelming sup- BAT Industries, raid: "The deci- leged and the women is discrimi- scats 1,200- but it looks as if the Westland board stores. port from the company's workforce sions announced mark an impor- nated against" The truth is that South Yemen said its forces had is buying time,” said. “We reckoned we just could not be in Yeovil, south-west England, for The rationale for the sate is that foiled 8 coup attempt, rnriiHtiTig a j tant step in this group's strategic in much of Italian life the women pack all the shareholders m at the Sir John and his merchant bank the Sikorslcy/Fiat rescue, as well as the four chains do not have foe re- bid fo assassinate Resident AH development Retailing is one of the may be seen as a mother, as a Connaught,” said Sir John. He* advisers, Lazard Brothers, spent a steady 'flow of shareholders' quired potential for organic growth. Nasser Mohammed. Four plotters, four major business areas to which wile, as a sex object, but not as a pointed out that if anyshareholders most of yesterday lobbying proxies to favour. BAT said that white the remaining ihetofing AE Ahmed Nasser Antar, institn- we are committed, along with tobac- public leader or role-model in wanting to attend the meeting were timuri cbi>rt>^>Wg , a n last-minute Mr Bristow said yesterday that US !t±a0 interests produced a profit walks life vice president until early last year, co, paper and finandal services. But of such as politics; fi- unable to do so, the meeting would effort to swing them rounrf to the he had received offers from Rowe & to 1984 of about SI50m, those executed. now we also beEeve in the merits of con- nance, industry, medicine or law. have been be technically invalid. STknrsky-Rat pIao. But the opposi- Pitman to buy his 12 per cent share for sale did no better th»n break centrating, Yesterday Dr Nerio Nesi, the chair- the dollar in London to £1.443. It within those business The board also appears to be- tion ofMr Alan was unchanged Bristow, the British even. areas, on strong names and proven man of BNL, joined with Mr Cra- at DM 3.5725 and Heve, however, that as adjourn- Italy seeks Abbas former jteBcooter operator holding Continued on Page 20 The five businesses and 175 out- success.” xi, with Ms Bellisario and several 1 , Fr ment of today’s meeting and tbere-there- 12 per cent of 5ft? HJc? 2 !5LP foe shares, and foe lets being retained - Saks Fifth The market to London greeted leading women to launch Woman Italian magistrates investigating 3.04 (SFr .