Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 32

Buiw 2 Section 4 Chicago Tribune, Monday. February 13. 1989 U. of lab form venture capital fund William ruber On business v. 1 1 Heskett Grayson Frey "That's why you're seeing such names as Pritzker, Perelman and Bass getting into the business," he says.

Who has last laugh? The chairman of Outboard Marine Charles D. Strang, says be is "delighted" with OMCs $58 million acquisition of many of the assets of Chris-Craft Industries including its brand name. Strang laughs off a suggestion that Minneapolis financier Irwin L. Jacobs pushed OMC onto a sandbar when his Genmar Industries Inc, a rival boatbuildcr, drove up the price in bidding in a Tampa bankruptcy court "He's just covering his disappointment at not getting the company," says Strang. "1 wasnt at the bidding on Feb.

4, but the price went up in $1 million steps. He was taking an awful risk if that was his only motive," Strang and Jacobs have been jousting for several years. Strang says Jacobs has "made several passes" at Waukegan-based OMC The last time was a year ago, when Jacobs withdrew a takeover proposal after Strang vowed to fight "We speak to each other occasionally, but not socially, says Strang. On the other hand, he notes that Genmar recently agreed to equip its boats with gears that fit OMCs Johnson and Evinrude motors. Although Chris-Craft Industries had been in financial trouble, Strang says a recent market study showed the brand name "has the highest recognition" in the pleasure boat field.

"Not only are we getting a great name, but we're gaining the production capacity to turn in at least $200 million more in sales," he adds. "It also extends our range of boats by putting us smack into the medium-sized cruiser business." Trader takes center stage It turns out that a professional trader appeared as an actor in a commercial for McDonald's Corp. filmed on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Alan Gordon Rottman, who trades in Eurodollar options and futures, usually wears a badge with the initials XRA. But he wore a badge with LBC for the commercial.

The initials stood for Leo Burnett McDonald's By Stanley Ziemba Inventors and scientists at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory announced Sunday that they have established an $8.5 million venture capital fund to help finance new companies to refine, manufacture and market inventions and discoveries developed at the two institutions. The fund, known as the ARCH Venture Fund Limited Partnership, is believed to be the first venture capital fund to be established between a major U.S. laboratory and university and the first to be fully pledged by a group of investors. Investors include a major pension fund, an insurance company and several venture capitalists, all of whom have requested anonymity, said Steven Lazarus, president i of the university and laboratory's joint-venture development firm, known as the Argonne-Chicago Development or ARCH. ARCH will manage the fund, in addition to being a general partner, Lazarus said.

He noted that though the fund's principal investors have been found, additional investors will be permitted until the closing is completed April 30. "Basic science research at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory is funded publicly at an annual level of approximately $400 million," Lazarus said. "Until now, however, financing has not been available for the commer cial development of the results of that research. "This fund will provide the financial resources necessary to create and foster new companies that can develop new, high-technology products and services from the research that goes on at Argonne and at the university," he said. Argonne Director Alan Schricsheim said the fund will meet a key need in moving publicly funded technology to the marketplace, "where the people who paid for it can benefit" Walter E.

Massey, chairman of the board of ARCH and vice president for research for the university and Argonne, added that the new fund shows "how two major research institutions can pool their resources for the benefit of the community and nation." The U. of C. operates Argonne for the U.S. Department of Energy. More than 2,500 researchers are active at the university and Argonne.

As a group, they are awarded about 30 patents a year, Lazarus noted. ARCH, which was created jointly by the university and Argonne in 1986, did much to commercialize many of the inventions that came out of the two institutions, he said. Much of the selection and evaluation of inventions to be commercialized will be done by a volunteer group of more than 40 first-year students at the U. of C's Graduate School of Business, Lazarus said. Firm helps thrifts get turned around One person who casts a supporting vote for President Bush's savings and loan industry rescue plan is Brace J.

Frey, whose firm specializes in salvaging distressed real estate operations and thrifts. Frey's BJF Development of Northbrook, headed a group of mostly Chicago area investors that bought Flagship Federal Savings Bank of San Diego in December. The thrift has six branches and assets totaling $150 million. As part of the deal, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board infused $25.4 million into Flagship, previously known as Sun Savings. Last week, BJF was appointed receiver for Cypress Savings and Loan Association, of Plantation, by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp.

And it has been receiver for six in Louisiana for two years. "We're getting calls from some other before they are taken over by the Frey says. "We want to expand in a big way nationally. We especially like Southern California and the San Diego area, which is an exceptional housing market But we're also looking for in Illinois and other states." Frey believes many problem thrifts can offer a big arbitrage opportunity for investors who can bring in professional managers, cut bloated op- erations, work out or sell bad loans on the books, liquidate those assets that can't be saved and sell the association in three to five years for a profit ad agency. Rottman says he was flanked by two actors with the same badges.

A Burnett spokesman confirms the agency "hired some traders to be actors and some actors to be traders" for the spot The traders were paid for the work, he says, but wouldn't say how much. The twist is that Rottman, 26, says he just happens to act professionally as a sideline. He has an agent and has appealed in commercials for First Chicago Corp. and United Airlines. "I did them to make extra cash, but also with the hope to go on to better things," he says.

Looking for trouble Trouble seems to follow some people, but Jan M. Grayson plans to use his experience as chief financial officer of the ill-fated Chas A. Stevens Co. to help companies survive it He recently became a Chicago partner of Coopers Lybrand, a major accounting firm, to focus on developing new strategies and financial help for troubled companies. was executive vice president of the women's apparel retailer from December, 1986, to last June.

The 29-store chain, which had sales of $70 million, filed for Chapter 1 1 bankruptcy three weeks later. On joining Coopers Lybrand, one of his first assignments was to work with Grabill owned by former whiz kid William Stoecker. COMING AND GOING: Robert M. Heskett was elected president of River Forest Bank. "fl -a ter JOS niDa sHs Buy One Of Toshiba's J.

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S100 WCIU doesn't carry all of In FREE Accessories! Univision programs. Instead wuu mixes its Latino program mine with English-language stock market reports and ethnic shows such as the Persian Hour. However, Telemundo, has gained a full-time Hispanic television affiliate. When this 2-year-old network was broadcast over WCIU airwaves, its programming was limited to the Your Toshiba dealer has a great deal in store for you. For a limited time, when you buy aToshiba SL or SX dot matrix printer, you'll get our top quality multistrike ribbons and a plug-in font card of your choice a $100 value that will be yours FREE.

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And WSNS may be the big loser in this shakeup. the station lost some of Hispanic television's pre Go To Your Participating Quality Dealer. housewife from the Near South Side. "There was confusion: I didn't know what station to turn on and where the shows were." But Ramirez and other TV viewers admitted that the bewilderment was only temporary. She remembered reading articles about the switch in a local Spanish- language newspaper, Ramirez said.

Both stations had promoted the flip-flop on their airwaves as well as in radio and print. A switch in network affiliation "shouldn't cause that much confusion," said Richard Lobo, formerly general manager of Chicago's WMAQ-TV (Channel 5) and now president and general manager of WTVJ-TV in Miami. Lobo speaks from experience. At the beginning of the new year, three stations in Miami, including WTVJ, changed their network affiliations with NBC, CBS and the Fox Television people have a favorite program, they'll find it," Lobo said. i Cable television has made viewers more sophisticated, he said.

Cable stations often don't appear on their appropriate station numbers, "so people are used to flicking through, 30 channels to find their favorite channel," Lobo said. Remote controls also facilitate the channel zapping. "Whatever confusion did exist, was eradicated within a week," he "After the switch, we found out that people generally watch programs, not networks." If this is borne out in Chicago, WCIU, whose audience ratings have lagged behind WSNS, may pull ahead. Hispanic television's three top-rated shows, "Sabado Gigante, "Primavera" and "El Ex-trano Retorno de Diana Salazar," are carried by Univision, now affiliated with WCIU. "When you swap networks, the first change you notice is that the station that has picked up the network that was No.

1, will tend to move to No. 1 place," said Richard Tobin, president of Miami-based Strategy Research 1 which monitors Hispanic media. "Univision is a good deal stronger" than Telemundo, he said. And the station carrying the stronger network will have an easier time drawing its audience into their locally produced shows, he said. WCIU not only gained some of Hispanic viewers' favorite television shows but also probably won a favorable compensation agreement from its new partner, ''because Univision had nowhere, to so" mier shows and a large chunk of Networks Continued from page 1 produce their popular newscast from Chicago.

"Chicago is the sixth-largest Hispanic market in the country, but it's the third-largest television market and it's very underexploited," said Henry Silverman, president of New York-based Telemundo. But Chicago's importance is not measured only by its market size but also by its diversify. It is a bellwether for other areas because its mix of Hispanics, dominated by Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, is representative of the nation's as a whole. For this reason alone, the networks don't want to lose their foothold here. 1 The switch in network affiliation "has helped to bring Chicago more to the forefront as a place to test-market an idea," said Margarita Garcia, president of Hernandez Garcia a Chicago advertising firm.

Rumblings of the big switch began in October when Univision and WSNS announced the breakup of their 3 V2 -year-old marriage. Under a typical contract, a local station runs the network programs in exchange for a share of revenue generated by the national advertisements it carries. Vague economic reasons were cited for the breakdown in the renewal negotiations between WSNS and Univision, owned by Hallmark Cards Inc. and a unit of First Chicago Corp. "There were financial considerations that WSNS was requesting that we didn't find acceptable, said Univision Vice President Emma Carrasco.

And Jose Lamas, WSNS general manager, said: "Telemundo made us an offer we could't refuse." Telemundo is a subsidiary of financier Saul Steinberg's Reliance Capital Group. For about a month and a half, it appeared as if Univision, the nation's largest and oldest Hispanic TV network, would not have an affiliate in Chicago. Coincidentally, WCIU's contract with Telemundo also was set to expire at the beginning of the new year. By the middle of December, Univision had signed an affiliation agreement with WCIU, a station that carried Hispanic programs only part time, beginning in the late afternoon. On Jan.

9, the two stations switched their network programming. "It was a brusque change," said Carina 30, a 1 i univision national advertising. Lamas is still bitter about his station's divorce with Univision. "They will pay for it," he said. "Univision won't be the leader in Chicago ever again." To survive, WSNS must count on a loyal audience it has built up since it first came on the air in 1985.

"Channel 44 will not rely so much on programming, but on the relationships they have established by carrying the heavier network before," said George San Jose, president and executive creative director of San Jose Associates, a Chicago advertising company. But both stations are vulnerable as far as advertisers are concerned. Each station's fall audience figures are no longer applicable because of the swap in network programming. So media buyers are taking advantage of the situation. Computerland 27 No.

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Sterling Peoria, IL 61615 (309)686252 Computerland Schaumburg 1051 E. Golf Road Schaumburg, IL 60173 (312) 517-7740 Some are adopting a cautious ap- piunui wiu waning lor me oust to settle before purchasing ad time. Others are brokering better deals before the spring ratings come in. "Both stations are going to have unproven programming at this point," San Jose said. "So we're making media buys on a speculative basis.

We're taking a chance. So let's work out a rate that's beneficial when its contract negotiations with to me. tn.