Hartford Courant from Hartford, Connecticut • 13

rje liartforb tfourant BUS! SECTION TUESDAY NOVEMBER 8.1988 CLASSIFIED HOT acini involuntary Travelers reduces exposure Stops writing some insurance in California bankruptcy ft Jrk 7 4 i U-K OXFORD HI I'll vtoanw i 1 1 nil vs By JAMES ENDRST and STEPHEN M. WILLIAMS Courant Staff Writers After more than three years of assorted legal, programming and financial battles, WHCT-TV (Channel 18) is now facing the bottom line at least $11.6 million in debts and involuntary bankruptcy. Three of the Hartford independent television station's creditors Lori-mar Telepictures MCA Television Ltd. and Orion Television Syndication filed an involuntary bankruptcy petition Oct. 31, against Astroline Communications Co.

Ltd. of Saugus, which owns and operates Hartford-based Channel 18. All three companies are television syndicators who sell programming to television stations like Channel 18. According to documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Hartford, the: three creditors are seeking a total of $11.6 million, under Chapter 7 of federal bankruptcy laws.

Under Chapter 7, the creditors are seeking to have all of the company's assets sold off to satisfy debts. Three or more creditors owed an uncontested total of at least $5,000 can, as a group, force a company into bankruptcy under Chapter 7. The debts owed the three creditors by Astroline Communication are listed in the court papers as: $6.1 million to Lorimar; $3.1 million to MCA; and $2.4 million to Orion. The company's other debts could not be determined Monday. Astroline Communications is required to answer the petition by Nov.

19' Richard P. Ramirez, Astroline Communications managing general partner and the station's general manager, said that the company has not decided on a response and that no lawyers had been named yet. But he said that the company may file for protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. "It (Chapter 11) is definitely one of the options we are giving a lot of consideration to.

It would have the least disruption, if any, of day-to-day operations." In contrast with Chapter 7, under Chapter 11 the debtor continues to operate the company while it works out a plan to repay its debt. The plan is generally negotiated with the creditors and must be approved by the court. One lawyer, who specializes in bankruptcy law, who asked to remain anonymous, said that creditors often use Chapter 7, as a way of making sure that all the creditors are assured of an equal share of the assets. The company's other liabilities could not be determined Monday because it has not filed a list of them with the bankruptcy court. Channel 18, which signed on in September 1985, had an uphill battle from the start.

The Hartford-New Haven television market, the 23rd largest in the country, is considered one of the most competitive due primarily to the great number of television choices available from nearby markets such as New York, Providence See Channel, Page B3 5 If fen Coleco plans to close Canadian subsidiary Stephen Dunn The Hartford Courant Karen Herbert, left, and Barbara Karsky, co- in Avon, saw their store go up in smoke last May. owners of Oxford Baggs, a clothing store at the Today, though, the store is being rebuilt, with the Riverdale Farms shopping complex on Route 10 move back scheduled for Nov. 19. Avon clothing store owners' dream once in ashes, is now being revived By DIANE LEVICK Courant Staff Writer Travelers Corp. stopped writing auto insurance and other kinds of coverage in California Monday because it is worried about the financial impact of some of the state's ballot initiatives today, the company confirmed Monday.

Two of the ballot propositions would roll back auto insurance rates, and insurers, including Travelers, have been fighting them and promoting an auto insurance proposal of their own. Insurers, saying their financial health is threatened, have spent more than $60 million on the campaign. Travelers is believed to be the first insurer to stop writing insurance because of the initiatives, said Sean Mooney, economist and senior vice president for the New York-based Insurance Information Institute, the public relations arm of the property-casualty industry. Although Travelers has a small part of the California insurance market, it is the most important state to the company's national accounts group, which serves businesses and institutions. Of the group's $1.25 billion total property-casualty premiums last year, 17.3 percent was written in California more than twice as much as in any other state.

Travelers' agency marketing group, which sells to individuals and small to medium-size businesses, wrote 7.5 percent of its $2.1 billion in premiums in California last year. Travelers notified the California insurance department Monday that it stopped writing personal and commercial auto insurance and homeowners' coverage there, company spokesman Dan Kaferle said. Travelers will not renew policies coming up for renewal and will not sell any new coverage in those lines or a few other property-casualty coverages that Kaferle would not disclose. It will continue to service policies that are still in effect. "We feel this action gives us the broadest range of options and we will re-evaluate our decision after the election results are known and analyzed," Kaferle said.

He would not say how many California customers will be affected. The Insurance Information Institute said Travelers writes about $24 million in personal auto insurance in the state, about 0.2 percent of the $10 billion market. The company writes $300 million of the total $30 billion property-casualty market in California, or about 0.1 percent. "The uncertainties created by the upcoming vote on the ballot initiatives present the potential for severe damage to Travelers' policy holders and shareholders," Kaferle said in a terse, prepared statement. He would not elaborate on the company's decision or its timing one day before the ballot.

Asked whether the action was meant to sway Californians to vote the way insurers would like, Kaferle said, "We don't see this as a threat. We are doing this to give us the broadest possible range of options." He noted that Travelers did not issue a public statement about its action before the election, notifying only the insurance department. "We are extremely reluctant to take this action but have concluded it is necessary to protect our policy holders and shareholders," he said. Carey Fletcher, press officer for See Travelers, Page B5 "poison pill" to be lifted. But Duffy on Monday sided with Pillsbury, saying the company's board of directors was abiding by its fiduciary responsibilities in keeping the plan in place.

Ian Martin, chief of Grand Met's U.S. operations, said lawyers for the British liquor and gaming conglomerate have asked Duffy to reconsider his ruling because it did not take into consideration Pillsbury's plan to spin off Burger King. Steve Carnes, a former Pillsbury executive who is an analyst for Piper Jaffray Hopwood Inc. in Minneapolis, said Duffy's decision provided one of the brightest moments for Pillsbury since Grand Met launched its hostile takeover Oct. 4.

"They were kind of in the depths of "See Analysts, rageB2 fTT ast May 18, Barbara Karsky and Karen Herbert watched as a school girl's dream they shared went up in smoke. Oxford Baggs, their clothing store housed in a converted barn, was destroyed Robert F. Murphy INSIDE BUSINESS L4i 1 By PAMELA KLEIN Courant Staff Writer Coleco Industries Inc. plans to close its Canadian subsidiary and rely on a Toronto toy company to market its products in that country. The move, affecting about 50 employees of Coleco (Canada) is another of the cost-cutting steps Co-leco has taken since filing for bankruptcy court protection in July.

The West Hartford toy maker Monday said it has an agreement for Irwin Toy Ltd. of Toronto to become the1 exclusive distributor in Canada toys and games previously solid by Coleco (Canada). Those include Coleco's major products such as Cabbage Patch Kids, ALF stuffed toys, Starcom boys' action figures and Princess Magic Touch dolls and accessories. J. Brian Clarke, Coleco's president and chief executive officer, said sales from the Canadian subsidiary typically are about 10 percent of Coleco's total sales.

With 1987 sales of $504.5 million, that would make sales for Coleco (Canada) about $50 million last year. The agreement with Irwin is subject to the approval of U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Prudence Abram in New York, who is handling Coleco's case. Clarke said the company hopes to receive that approval by the end of December. Coleco said it will sell to Irwin the accounts receivables and inventory of: Coleco (Canada).

The company would not disclose the price for that sale, although the figure will become public when the issue is presented to by a fire, probably started by a lighted cigarette butt that a bird had carried from the ground to its nest in a silo. Before the ashes cooled, Karsky and Herbert were poking through the ruins looking for merchandise that could be recovered. "We watched it burn down and wondered where we would go," Karsky said, but, "No," she and Herbert never considered packing it in. "It was our dream and we weren't going to let it go," Herbert said in an interview about reopening Oxford Baggs back in the store that has been rebuilt by Riverdale Farms owners Silvio and Terry Brigh-enti. The move back into the shopping center on Route 10 in Avon is scheduled for Nov.

19. The turnaround, from disaster to recovery, began the day after the fire. "We drove around the next day looking for a location," Herbert said. They eventually found one actually two in the same shopping center and for the last six months have been running their men's clothing operation in one building and the women's store across the way about 20 feet away in a separate store. Although the situation has created a divided enterprise, the partnership is as strong as ever and the women, each 29, are looking forward eagerly to getting everything under one roof again.

A problem with the split locations is that many women shoppers do not realize the men's department is across the street. "Now we don't get a lot of women traffic over here," Karsky said. "The men's business is off by 25 percent," she said. In the original store, women shoppers would walk through the men's department and did a lot of buying. Oxford Baggs caters to upscale shoppers, in the 25 to 60 age range, with well-known labels such as Alexander Julian, Barry Bricken, Joan Vast, Ellen Tracey, British Khaki and Marilyn Forbes.

In 1987, the partners said total sales amounted to $500,000. The 2-year-old store was profitable in its first full year. The sales were evenly split between women's and men's clothing "but in November and December, men's goes up three times because women are buying gifts." Karsky's and Herbert's dream of being partners in a clothing store was born at Cicero High School in Abram for her approval. Clarke said Coleco (Canada) would be closed once court approval is received for the agreement with Irwin. Some of the company's workers will be offered jobs with Irwin or with Coleco in West Hartford, although Clarke could not say how many workers that would be.

Irwin is a 34-year-old publicly held company controlled by two brothers, A. B. Irwin and S. M. Irwin, and their families.

Neither Irwin brother could be reached for comment Monday. The business, which employs nearly 400 people, is the Canadian distributor for products from a number of American firms, including Tyco toys and Rawlings sporting goods. Irwin had sales of $65.1 million Canadian, or $53 million U.S. dollars, for the year ended Jan. 31, 1987, the most recent year for which figures were available Monday.

Coleco has had a Canadian subsidiary since 1968, when the company acquired Eagle Toys of Toronto. Clarke, a Canadian citizen, was employed by Eagle when it was purchased by Coleco, and has been with the West Hartford toy company ever since. He served as president and chief executive officer of Coleco (Canada) and executive vice president of Coleco Industries until June 1985, when he was named president and chief operating officer of the parent company. Clarke became chief executive officer of Coleco Industries in July. See Coleco, Page B10 Shares of the the East Hartford-based holding company, traded over the counter, closed Monday at $0,938 cents, up $0,313 cents.

In October 1987, the stock was selling at about $7, but the price began declining in early 1988. The stock of North American Ventures declined as the fortunes of its sister company, North American Holding, were battered by negative press reports, a class action lawsuit against the company and other difficulties. While North American Ventures and North American Holding are separate companies, they are both run by Kopko out of the same offices in East Hartford. Butler Service Group identifies, recruits and hires technical personnel and skilled engineers for temporary assignments at corporations throughout the world. See North, Page B5 See Clothing, Page B3 North American Ventures to sell Butler Service unit Pillsbury plans to spin off troubled Burger King unit Today's data DOW JONES AVERAGE (Monday's close) 30 Industrial 2,124.64 Down 2 1.1 6 point T-BILLS (As of Nov.

7) 12 month 8.10 6 -month 7.71 3 month 7.54 MORTGAGES (Average, based on local survey) Adjustable, 1 yr. 10.62 Fixed, 30 yr 10.53 Inside Insurance agent loses appeal A Bristol agent whose licenses were revoked loses his appeal but vows court fight. Page B5 Nabisco considers sale RJR Nabisco Is considering the sale of Its giant food businesses. Page BIO 3-month T-bills The average yield on three-month Treasury bills at Monday's auction was 7.54 percent, up from 7.37 percent the previous week. I IN PERCENT 6 12, 26 3 11 17 24 31 7 7J6 7A T2 jiiiiii By SEAN HORGAN Courant Staff Writer North American Ventures Inc.

says it is looking to sell its Butler Service Group Inc. subsidiary and to purchase up to 13.35 percent of North American's outstanding shares of stock "to increase shareholder value." Edward M. Kopko', chairman and president of North American Ventures denied the company is selling the subsidiary and purchasing up to 3.5 million shares of its stock in the open market because the company is experiencing financial difficulties. I "It's not in response to any specific; offer or event," Kopko said Monday. "We just see it as being in the best interests of our stockholders.

We don't believe our stock is trading y. a value commensurate with the underlying value of the company." Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS Pillsbury Co. said Monday it will spin off its troubled Burger King subsidiary under a plan the company says is better for shareholders than the $5.23 billion takeover bid launched by Britain's Grand Metropolitan PLC. The announcement met with criticism from Grand Met and sparked skepticism among analysts but it also coincided with a favorable court ruling for Pillsbury in which a Delaware judge upheld Pillsbury's "poison pill" defense. Grand Met had asked retired Justice William Duffy in Delaware Chancery Court to prevent Pillsbury from invoking the defense, which makes a takeover more expensive.

One of the renditions of Grand Met's $60-a-share tender offer is for the.