The Indianapolis Star from Indianapolis, Indiana • Page 14

Tin: Indianapolis Star WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1988 BUSINESS A-U Briefly Owner to liquidate 3-D 1 Takeover may save some slores it intends to liquidate inventories of its remaining 18 3-D stores, 13 of which are in Indiana. Company officials could not be reached to explain the the move or specifics of the shutdown, but. according to several sources, hope may be in sight for employees of some of those stores. Fisher Big Wheel a Pennsylvania-based company that operates 95 discount retail outlets, confirmed Tuesday that it is considering buying a number of the 3-D stores. "We have been discussing the acquisition of several stores but nothing has been finalized or executed." said Rusty Gable, director of real estate for privately held Fisher.

Gable said the deal awaits the outcome of financial discussions between Danners and owners of the 3-D leases. Trina Ruzicka, co-manager of the 3-D Discount store in Logansport. said she was told Fisher Big Wheel would acquire eight 3-D outlets. "Everyone here will be out of a job," By S.P. DINNEN And CHRISTOPHER BARTON STAR STAFF WRITERS Maxway just days after declaring bankruptcy, has decided to liquidate its remaining 3-D stores in Indiana and Michigan.

However, it looks as if some portion of the chain of discount stores may be saved, perhaps through a takeover by a Pennsylvania firm. Blaming low sales and high debt brought about by its 1987 acquisition of Danners which operates the 3-D stores. Maxway filed for reorganization last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in North Carolina. It had moved Danners' headquarters there after acquiring the troubled retailer, and in a budget-cutting move planned to combine accounting, buying and other Danners administrative functions with those of its chain of Maxway stores.

Without comment, Maxway disclosed Tuesday that as part of its reorganization The 3-D store in downtown Brazil is one of 13 in STAR STAFF PHOTO FRANK H. FISSE Indiana facing liquidation. said Ruzicka, who added that her store was not considered part of the deal. Ruzicka said she understood Fisher is considering 3-D stores in Princeton. Con-nersville, Brazil.

Paoli, Portland, Rochester, and Winchester, and Lapeer. Mich. However, there was no company confirmation. Other Indiana communities with 3-D stores include Martinsville, Valparaiso. Crawfordsville, Columbus and Scottsburg In Michigan, the retailer operates stores in five cities.

Checks with two other parties gave no dear indication whether other 3-D stores See 3-D Page 17 Drexel may face 'if'j 'v xkt i 'W p- v4? 4 2 Jj ff yff '''VfA charges Bruce Baird, the assistant U.S. attorney in charge of securities fraud cases, was out of the office and unavailable for comment, an aide said. In a separate matter Monday, another federal judge severely limited the government's author-; ity to tie up assets in a small securities firm in which five partners have been indicted on fraud and racketeering charges. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Robert L.

Carter was applauded by defense attorneys for partners in Princeton Newport: Limited Partners, who, said it means the firm will be able to continue normal business while the case proceeds. The Princeton Newport case is the first lime the government has prosecuted securities professionals on a racketeering charge. Attorneys believe federal prosecutors will seek racketeering indictments in the Drexel case as well. criminal By RICK GLADSTONE ASSOCIATED PRESS New York Drexel Burnham Lambert accused by the Se curities and Exchange Commis sion ast month ol extensive fraud, disclosed Tuesday that federal prosecutors have lormal-ly notified the Wall Street firm it is the target of a grand jury investigation. The firm repeated its contention that it is not guilty of any wrongdoing.

The disclosure marked the first time the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office, which had never confirmed such an Investigation, officially notified Drexel that it was the subject of a possible criminal indictment. Although it has been widely known for months that a grand jury has been probing Drexel's activities, formal notification is often seen as a strong signal that prosecutors believe they have enough evidence to bring charges. 1 '2 'I Mill mmmu Wtf fell Ml vvmii INDIANA FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS GAS TURBINE A propfan aircraft engine produced by Allison Gas Turbine Division of General Motors Corp. was shipped Tuesday for flight testing in California.

The engine basically a hightech version of the old propeller engine will be tested on a McDonnell Douglas Corp. MD-80 aircraft. The engine is being de-; veloped by PW-Allison, a joint venture between Gas Turbine and Pratt Whitney. Pratt Whitney is a subsidiary of United Technologies. BREW ANEW The first truck-load of beer left the Sterling Brewery this week, marking the end of a six-month shutdown.

After G. Heilman Brewing Co. closed the plant, Evansville Brewing Co. was formed and it bought the Sterling plant on Sept. 16 in a deal contingent on beer sales.

Evansville Brewing initially will sell its beer in Indiana and 10 Great Lakes and Southern states. NATION TRADING RULES The day before the anniversary of the na-: tions worst ever decline in stock prices, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved proposals to stop trading if the market drops below certain levels in a trading day. The SEC's decision on Tuesday will allow for a one-hour halt to trading of all stocks, stock oplions and slock index options if the Dow Jones average of 30 stocks drops 250 or more points from the previous day's close. A two-hour trading hall will apply if the Dow Jones declines 400 points below the previous day's close. The SEC also approved a New York Slock Exchange proposal to limit program trading.

PRODUCE PACKAGE Hereu- les Inc. introduced a new film-; packaging technology that it claimed will double the shelf life of fresh produce. I lercules said its new Trcshl lold" package system i controls the atmosphere inside packages, i hereby keeping pro-! (luce iresh longer and preserving ils appearance, taste and color. AIR-ROUTE FRAY The Transportation Department will reconsider its decision to turn over United Airlines' Seattle-to-I'ovko route to Continental Air- lines. The department, which had ordered the transfer to take place Nov.

21. now could award the lucrative route to United. Continental or American airlines, all of which sought the route when United acquired Pan American's Pacific routes in 1985. DIET SUIT Comedian and diet 1 guru Dick Gregory filed suit i against two partners of his diet business, accusing them of trying to wrest control of the company. Gregory of Plymouth, is a major shareholder in Correction Connection Inc.

of Philadelphia, which he helped form in 1986 to market his diet products. He is seeking a restraining order to keep other officers of the compa-i ny from issuing new shares. which could dilute his voting pow-' er. Gregory contends in his law-! suit that two fellow board mem-t bers held a meeting in September and granted themselves authority to file lor bankruptcy, and agreed to issue 1.7 million shares of new stock, to be split four ways. GENEROSITY Americans especially affluent Americans are more selfish than we think they are.

according to a new re-i port on giving and volunteering by a coalition of charitable organi- zations. The report reveals that 30 percent of American households give nothing to charity, and those who do give often give only token amounts. Households earn- I ing less than $10,000 a year give a higher proportion of their incomes to charity than do households earning more than $100,000 a year, said Brian O'Connell, president of the Independent Sector coalition. WORLD i MORE STEEL The output of crude steel by producers in the non-Communist world rose 8.7 percent in September to 39.549 million metric tons from 36.384 million tons a year earlier. The International Iron and Steel Institute said the European Economic Community registered the sharpest increase with output rising 12.7 percent to 1 1.672 million Ions In September from 10.36 million tons in the year-earlier month.

Japan's production rose in the same time period by 7.8 percent to 8. 638 million tons while U.S. production climbed 7.4 'percent to 7.5 million Ions. gM (uxwm) Lilly sales and profits continue to set records tiered fountain, flanked by escalators, is centerpiece doesn't dampen opening ELI LILLY Third-quarter results 1988 1987 Revenues $940.6 $845.8 Net income $171.4 $150.0 Per share $1.20 $1.02 Nine-month results 4 1988 1987 Revenues $3,027.4 $2,738.9:: Net income $585.3 $505.5 Per share $4.08 $3.44 In millions ol dollars except per shaft- Eli Lilly and Co. continued its record-setting growth in sales and profits in the third quarter ended Sept.

30, as earnings for the three month period rose 14.3 percent over the year before to $171.4 million, or $1.20 per share. Sales rose 1 1 percent to $940.6 million. The company's profitability was boosted by continued success in restraining its manufacturing costs even as It continued to increase its sales and marketing spending to support new products. In a prepared statement, Lilly Chairman Richard D. Wood said sales rose in all the company's business lines both in the U.S.

and abroad due to unit growth foreign currency translations had little effect on the figures. Lilly said its new products Prozac to treat depression, Axid for ulcers and Humatropc, human growth hormone "were major contributors" to gains in STAR STAFF PHOTO FRANK ESPICH of Market Tower lobby. The latest vacancy rate statistics, released by Coldwell Banker Commercial Real Estate Services, showed a rise of 2 percentage points in Downtown office vacancies in the third quarter. "The fact remains that absorption levels have not begun to catch up with record new Downtown construction." said Michael J. McKenna.

Cold-well's local manager. The city's suburban office vacancy rate also hit another record high, rising to 25.6 percent from 23.6 percent over the quarter. A three Vacancy rate By JEFF SWIATEK STAR STAFF WRITER Indianapolis' newest office tower opened with a champagne bottle-busting dedication Tuesday, even as the city's Downtown office vacancy rate jumped to a record high 18.8 percent. The 32-story Market Tower, at Illinois and Market streets, became the third major office building to open Downtown this year. Holding a champagne glass at the grand opening, developer Cornelius M.

Alig, president of Mansur Development said he's not overly worried about the growing office-space glut. Market Tower is 60 percent pre-leased, he said. "We've got a number of prospects in the pipeline." The granite-and-glass structure is the largest Downtown office tower built without a major-name tenant. Its biggest tenant, the Indiana headquarters of the Cleveland banking company Ameritrust takes up two floors. Public areas of Market Tower include a delicatessen, jeweler, florist and a restaurant likely to open in the spring.

gloves I Food fights: Kraft, Pillsbury oppose Doughboy dons I Kraft hard-pressed to reject Source: Lilly sales of pharmaceutica prod. ucts. Cardiac Pacemakers Inc. subsidiary led sales in Lilly's medical instruments division. The only cloud was a decline in sales of animal health products, but that was more than offset by growth in sale of Tre-, flan, Lilly's leading agricultural herbicide, the company said.

takeovers $11 billion offer tender offer, announced and expected to make a recommendation to ils shareholders by Oct. 31. A purchase at that price would be the second biggest business acquisition in U.S. history. Kraft closed at up $28.25 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange in reaction to the unsolicited offer.

Kraft, based north of Chicago, in Glenview, already has indicated its desire lo remain Independent. But many analysts say' Kraft would be hard-pressed to devise a plan for raising the val-1 ue of ils stork to the price being offered by deep-pocketed Philip Morris. Philip Morris' ASSOCIATED PRESS Glenview, 111. Kraft Inc. officials began mulling an $11 billion takeover offer Tuesday but industry analysts said the sheer size of Philip Morris Cos.

cash bid left the pro-cessed-foods giant nearly defenseless. "My own feeling is that Philip Morris is not going to take no for an answer." said C. McMil-lin, an analyst with Prudential-Bache Securities New York. Meanwhile, Kraft reported a 17 percent profit gain In the third quarter, reflecting the strong earnings growth that attracted Philip Morris. Kraft said it was studying Philip Morris" $90-ner-share ASSOCIATED PRESS Minneapolis The Pillsbury Doughboy was litted with boxing gloves Tuesday as the food and restaurant company urged shareholders to reject Grand Metropolitan PLC's unsolicited $5.23 billion takeover bid.

"Now is not the opportune time to sell the company." Pillsbury Co. Chairman Philip L. Smith said. The unanimous decision to reject as "inadequate" the S60-a-share tender offer from Britain's Grand Metropolitan was made by Pillsbury's board of directors, which met Monday for about 12 hours to mull the company's options. He said the company's directors will decide on an alternative before shareholders are required to decide whether to tender their shares.

Ian A. Martin, chief executive of U.S. opera-lions for Grand Metropolitan, said he was surprised Pillsbury's board concluded the all-cash otter was 'inadequate. Pillsbury's stock was up 37V1' cents at $59 a share in late trading on I lie Mew York Stock Exchange. ASSOCIATED PRESS Pillsbury Chairman Philip L.

Smith wears Doughboy' button. Smith said Pillsbury's board of directors made ils decision to urge rejection of the offer alter deciding that significant investments have been made to improve slumping Burger King operations and the Steak (Si Ale lull-service restaurant chain..