Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 15

Reno Gazette-Journal Tuesday, September 27, 198379. Baldwin-United Corp. seeks bankruptcy court protection $1 billion in short-term debts. Twice before this year, in April and June, creditors had agreed to extending repayment schedules. But Palmieri said there was resistance to another extension, which required unanimous agreement among creditors.

He said the bankruptcy "proceedings will provide a mechanism for dealing with the intercreditor disputes which proved irreconcilable when a small number of creditors representing $10 million out of almost $1 billion of debt could not find common ground." The company reported a $617 million loss for the first quarter of the year, the most recent period for which results are available. It said in its court filing that as of the end of the first three months of this year, its $9.2 billion in liabilities exceeded assets by $221 million. The company's stock, which traded as high as $50,625 a share last fall, closed Friday at $4.50 a share. Baldwin-United stock was not traded Monday. Following the bankruptcy court filings, Standard Poor's Corp.

lowered its rating on Baldwin-United' bonds to its lowest grade from CCC, a highly speculative ranking. i Earlier this month, Baldwin-United announced It." would try to sell its most valuable holding, MGIC, which it had purchased for $1.2 billion in 1982. Baldwin-United already has sold the assets of its Baldwin-United Leasing Co. and five mortgage banking units. Baldwin-United borrowed $600 million from eight banks to finance the MGIC deal.

A few months acquiring MGIC, Baldwin-United bought Sperry Hutchinson for $356 million. Its problems arose from the cash drain from those major purchases and the need for capital to back up a fast-growing insurance product, single-premium deferred annuities, which accounted for $1.6 billion of its $3.6 billion in revenue last year. NEW YORK (AP) Baldwin-United Corp. sought U.J. Bankruptcy Court protection from its creditors on Monday in an attempt to reorganize its foundering financial services empire and meet almost billion in short-term debt.

The move capped months of maneuvering to reschedule loan agreements with creditors and sell off assets of the diversified company. Victor Palmieri, president of Baldwin-United, said the action was taken when a minority of creditors would no longer agree to cooperate on extending the debt. Baldwin-United filed a petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York seeking to reorganize itself and two other holding companies under Chapter 11 of the Federal Bankruptcy Code. Only minutes before the petition was filed in New York, a group of three creditors submitted a petition in U.S.

Bankruptcy Court in Cincinnati, where Baldwin-United has its headquarters, seeking to place the company in bankruptcy proceedings. It was not clear whicn court would assume jurisdiction in the case. But Baldwin-United said neither filing sought court protection for any of its operating companies, including MGIC Investment the nation's leading insurer of home mortgages; Sperry Hutchinson the marketer of green stamps; and Baldwin Piano Organ a maker of musical instruments. In July, regulators in Arkansas and Indiana seized' the assets of six Baldwin-United insurance company subsidiaries. "Today's filings should have no effect on the rehabilitation plans to protect holders of policies issued by the six companies," Palmieri said.

Baldwin-United, formed in 1862 by music teacher D.H. Baldwin, had grown from a manufacturer of pianos and organs into one of the largest financial services companies in the nation over the past 15 years. But the price tag for that growth led to an, unmanageable debt. It faced a Sept. 30 deadline for restructuring about U.S.

bank opens office in China PEKING First Interstate Bank of California Monday became the sixth American bank to open a representative office in Peking, hoping to secure its share of China's expanding trade with the United States. Joseph J. Pinola, chairman of First Interstate Bancorp, the Los Angeles-based holding company fcr First Interstate of California and 20 other banks in the Western United States, said that the office here will focus on Sino-American trade, matching buyers and sellers in the two countries and underwriting deals that typically will bring U.S. technology to China in exchange for Chinese manufactured goods. "As bankers, we can see who is trading what, where the markets are, what kind of deals can be 1 put together," said G.

Bruce Baker, a senior vice1 president of First Interstate of California. As a start, the bank is signing agreements this week with the Bank of China in Peking and with a Shanghai foreign trade company that are to be the basis for advising Chinese enterprises on modernization, including potential American suppliers and ways to finance technology and equipment purchases. But First Interstate of California, which will represent all the affiliates of First Interstate Bancorp here, is opening its Peking office at a time when many of the other 50 foreign bankers here are complaining about how little business they do and the substantial amounts about $250,000 a year plus executive salaries they spend to remain here. "I haven't made a single loan the entire 22 years I have been here," a departing American banker said. "As a profit center, we have been in the red every single month, even though we picked up some small deals to finance The Los Angeles Times Coca-Cola sells its wine business' ATLANTA (AP) Coca-Cola Co.

said Monday it agreed to sell its wine business, valued by an industry source at $200 million, to Joseph E. Seagram Sons Inc. of New York. The agreement calls for Seagram to acquire Wine Spectrum, the Coca-Cola subsidiary that includes Sterling Vineyards, Monterey Vineyard and Taylor Wine Co. Seagram is the U.S.

unit of Montreal-based Seagram Co. the world's largest producer and marketer of distilled spirits and wines. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. But a source familiar with the deal, who discussed the arrangement on the condition he not be identified, said Coca-Cola would receive more than $200 million, with the value of the transaction pegged to the book value of the assets at the time the deal is closed. The agreement is expected to be completed by year's end.

In addition to government review, the sale is subject to a definitive agreement and approval of both companies' directors. 1 Coca-Cola officials said Seagram plans to retain the Wine Spectrum's approximately 1,000 employees. The Atlanta-based soft drink giant entered the wine business in 1977 with the purchase of New York-based Taylor. For the first time since the acquisition by Coca-Cola, the Wine Spectrum's volume declined during the first six months of this year. Coca-Cola Chairman Roberto C.

Goizueta said the sale of the wine unit is in line with the company's present corporate strategy. "We are constantly striving to concentrate our resources in the areas of our business where the returns on assets are highest," he said. "This attrac- tive offer from Seagram allows us to further implement this strategy." San Francisco newspapers, unions struggle to avoid walkout SAN FRANCISCO (AP) Negotiators bogged down in critical wage issues faced an 11:59 p.m. PDT strike deadline set for tonight by unions representing 2,800 employees of San Francisco's two major daily newspapers "They're meeting and that's all I'm going to say," said federal mediator William Sabatino, noting that negotiators alternately met face-to-face and in private caucuses. The talks are aimed at averting a strike against the San Francisco Chronicle, owned by the Chronicle Publishing and the San Francisco Examiner, owned by the Hearst Corp.

Both papers were struck in 1968 for two months. Joseph Barletta, head of management's negotiating team, has said there were no plans to operate the newspapers in the event of a strike. The papers are represented by the San Francisco Newspaper Agency, which operates advertising, printing and distribution, although the editorial operations are separate. In a report prepared for today's editions, The Chronicle said that the thorniest issue dividing the 12 unions and management apparently had been resolved by Monday evening. people and the San Francisco people I all meeting.

We are continuing to discuss the issues and I'm still guardedly optimistic. That's about it," Sabatino said at one point Monday. A few hours later he declined to characterize the outlook. Sabatino said non-economic issues had been resolved with most of the unions, but he provided no details. Accords on non-economic issues are reported to have been reached by the Newspaper Guild, representing 1,000 employees including reporters, editors, clerical and advertising personnel, and Teamsters truck drivers.

Negotiators agreed on a formula to provide payments to a substantial number of printers who voluntarily resign from their jobs. The retirement plan for printers replaced by automation was settled in negotiaions between the International Typographical Union and the newspaper agency. The talks were then to focus on wages and fringe benefits. The contract expired last December 31. The same unions were trying to reach agreement with management of the San Jose Mercury News, but no strike deadline was set for those talks.

"We've got the San Jose Mercury Special Price COMPLETE TUNE-UP Tribune Co. reveals plan to distribute stock Read 'em and Reap Reno Gazette-Journal Classified 322-2337 standing and each is expected to be worth between $20 and $25. The spokesman said Tribune Co. also is waiting for final government approval of its public statement of registration. The statement was filed about a month ago when the company announced that it would become a publicly held company.

Tribune also is planning to offer 5.5 million shares of additional common stock, which is expected to sell for between $22 and $26 a share, the spokesman said. That sale is contingent upon distribution of the common stock to current shareholders, he added. In addition to the Tribune, the Daily News and the Cubs, the company owns the Fort Lauderdale News and Sun-Sentinel and the Orlando Sentinel in Florida, WGN-TV in Chicago and several other broadcast CHICAGO (AP) The Tribune Co. on Monday announced a stock split as part of its move to become a publicly held company. The company, owner of the Chicago Tribune and New York Daily News newspapers and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, will distribute 4,799 shares of stock for each of the existing 7,393 shares, said Stanton R.

Cook, president and chief executive. The shares will be distributed Oct. 3 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on Monday, he said. The company's current shares of stock are privately held and not publicly traded. After the distribution, the stock will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Replace Air Cleaner, if necessary HAMILTON Pavilion East. The new facility will include kitchen facilities and non-convention space. The new convention area is to be completed in July. Lewis said resort officials signed $18 million in convention business for 1985 through 1987 based upon the additional exhibit space. Lewis said room occupancy this month is expected to be at 88 percent at the Las Vegas Hilton, NEW YORK (AP) American Express seeking to broaden its already far-flung network of financial services, has agreed to buy Investors Diversified Services Inc.

for $773.2 million. Investors Diversified, based in Minneapolis, operates a mutual fund and insurance and financial services and is owned by Alleghany Corp. of New York. American Express, known best for its charge card and travelers check operations, said Monday it agreed to give Alleghany 11.5 million shares of American Express stock plus $337.7 million in cash for Investors Diversified. American Express common stock closed Monday on the New York Stock Exchange at a share, so the 11.5 shares it agreed to give Alleghany would be worth $435.5 million.

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