The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 75

Orange Count Amnio imco Saturday, Mav 10. I'M) Rankings of home prices in major metropolitan areas by percent change from first quarter of 1985. Prices are tor resale homes as measured by the National Assn. of Realtors and the California Assn. of Realtors.

Merger to Cost Jobs of About 50 Top Crocker Executives Wells Fargo Begins Move to Cut Thousands of Positions Owners to Sell KMEX-TV, Four Sister Stations Sale of Spanish-Language Outlets Comes Amid FCC Ruling to Lift Licenses iU4 1 -5 -rr 1 1 tj. )' Metropolitan Area Prlca change Metropolitan Area Price change 1 Boston $149,000 37.2 1 1. Birmingham $67,100 8.2 2. Albany Troy-Schen. 67,500 20.5 12.

Miami-Hialeah 78,500 6.9 3. Hartford 106,400 18.0 13. Jacksonville 58,900 6.5 4. New York Metro 147,200 17J3 14. Washington 101,100 6.5 5.

Providence 71,900 14.1 15. Columbus 62,600 6.1 6. St. Louis 68,000 1 1.8 16. Indianapolis 55,700 6.1 7.

Syracuse 59,600 iTo 17. Buffalo-Niag. Falls 49,700 6.0 8. Rochester 66300 1O0 18. Baltimore 71,600 5.9 9.

San Diego 1 10,000 a9 19. Nashville 68,400 5.7 10.Tampa-St.Pete.- 20- Detrolt 54'000 1 Clearwater 57,500 8.3 21. Los Angeles 120,400 5.3 Median Price 149,000 Boston Area Most Expensive Housing Market in the U.S. From Times Wire Services WASHINGTON -The Boston area was the nation's most expensive housing market during the first three months of 1986, with a median price of $149,000 for existing homes, a trade group said Friday. The National Assn.

of Realtors' quarterly survey found that the Louisville, area was the least expensive metropolitan real estate market, with a median price of $48,100. Thirty-eight of the 43 metropolitan areas posted increases in the median resale home price between the first quarter of 1985 and the same period this year. The median is the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less. The Boston area was followed by the New York City area as the nation's most expensive metropolitan housing market. The median price of homes in the New York area, which includes Long Island and northern New Jersey, was $147,200.

California's Orange County had the third highest prices with a median of $138,000, behind Boston and greater New York. Los Angeles had the fourth highest with a median price of $120,000, followed by San Diego's $110,000. "Housing demand is strong throughout the Northeast, driven by increased job opportunities and more affordable interest rates," the realtors said in a statement. "With the demand exceeding the supply of homes on the market, significant price increases are the normal result." Prices went up fastest in Northeastern cities, paced by the Boston area, where the annual increase was 37.2. This was followed by a 20.5 appreciation rate in the Albany -Schenectady, N.Y., area.

The $78,500 median posted in the Miami area and Minneapolis-St. Paul's $76,300 were closest to the nationwide median of $78,200 in the first quarter. Ad Agencies Near Agreement on Merger Britain's Saatchi Saatchi Seeks to Purchase Ted Bates Worldwide By JOHN M. BRODER, Times Staff Writer Wells Fargo Co. has told about 50 of Crocker National 75 top executives that they will be fired when the two big California banks merge at the end of this month.

The termination notices are the first of what are expected to be thousands of layoffs of employees at both Wells Fargo and Crocker as redundant jobs are eliminated. Wells Fargo Chairman Carl E. Reichardt has said the combined work force will have to be reduced significantly to make the merger work. The combination is the largest bank merger in U.S. history and will make Wells Fargo the nation's lOth-biggest bank.

When the merger was announced in February, Wells Fargo had 14,000 employees and Crocker had about 12,000. The numbers have been reduced slightly since then by retirements and voluntary departures, but the big reductions are not expected until the end of the month. Sources said the overall work force may be reduced by 4,000 to 6,000 workers. 'First Time They Named Names' The executive layoffs were disclosed to Crocker Chairman Frank V. Cahouet on Monday, and he informed the affected officials Monday and Tuesday, Crocker spokesman David Sanson said.

Some fired executives had to tell subordinates that they, too, were being let go. Although Wells Fargo's intent to eliminate jobs, especially in executive ranks, has been known for some time, this week's action was "the first time they named names," Sanson said. Cahouet was told when the merger was announced that he would not be asked to stay on. He was offered a seat on the Wells Fargo board of directors but has not yet decided whether he will accept. The Crocker name will disappear in the combination, as will an undetermined number of the 620 branches of the two banks.

Reichardt is known as a relentless cost cutter in his drive to achieve efficiency and profits. In his four years as Wells Fargo, he has closed nearly a quarter of the bank's branches and reduced employment by more than 3,000. Wells Fargo spokeswoman Betty Lattie said fired Crocker workers will be given 30 days' notice with pay once the acquisition is completed. Executives will be paid their regular salaries for an amount of time based on their title and years of service with the company, she added. She said that, for example, a senior vice president who has been with the company for 25 years would be paid his full salary for 15 months after the initial 30 days' notice.

Ford Tells SEC of Billions in Possible Product Liabilities DETROIT OB Ford Motor has revealed to the federal government that the company has billions of dollars in potential product liabilities, including an estimated $1.2 billion in lawsuits over allegedly faulty automatic transmissions. The No. 2 auto maker also said that because of the nation's liability insurance crisis, it has "little or no coverage" for accidents that might occur this year. The disclosures were made in the company's annual Form 10K report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, copies of which were distributed this week to stockholders. Ford spokesman Tom Foote declined to elaborate when asked how Ford's lack of insurance compared to past years.

But Ford didn't mention such a predicament in previous years. The transmission cases involve rear-wheel -drive models that, when idling, allegedly can pop into reverse and take off. The $1.2 billion compared to $1.6 billion a year ago. Foote said the difference represented cases "settled, dropped or otherwise disposed of." Last fall, congressional auditors said 138 people had been killed in connection with the alleged defects since 1980, when the Transportation Department agreed not to make Ford recall millions of cars. The Center for Auto Safety in Washington and 20 other consumer organizations and individuals sued the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration after the NHTSA refused to reopen the case.

A federal judge on April 17 refused to order the NHTSA to reopen its investigation. By GEORGE RAMOS, Times Staff Writer Under pressure from a federal judge, the squabbling owners of Los Angeles television station KMEX and four other Spanish-language stations across the country have agreed to sell the outlets, sources close to the situation said Friday. The sale of the five stations which could bring as much as $400 million-would end the acrimonious infighting among the stockholders that was touched off by a lawsuit filed in 1976 over company profits and policies. More importantly, the owners hope that the sale would resolve the objections of a Federal Communications Commission administrative law judge, who in January ordered that the stations' broadcasting licenses be stripped because they are controlled by foreign interests. The other four stations are KFTV-TV in Fresno, WLTV-TV in Miami, KWEX-TV in San Antonio and WXTV-TV in Pater-son, N.J., a suburb of New York City.

The owners are appealing the decision by Judge John H. Conlin, who ruled that the family of Mexican media baron Emilio Azcarraga had established an "abnormal relationship" with the TV stations owned by Spanish International Communications Corp. that made them dependent on the family's influence and direction. The stations receive the bulk of their programming and support from Televisa, the giant Mexican TV network that the Azcarraga family controls. Prospective Buyers in Court A Century City attorney, Ronald L.

Fein, has been selected to preside over the sale, and sources close to the situation said he was busy Friday setting up a process to handle bids from prospective buyers. He was unavailable for comment. Several groups of prospective buyers were in the Los Angeles courtroom of U.S. District Judge Mariana R. Pfaelzer earlier this week when intense negotiations went on among the warring stockholders over whether to sell the stations.

The judge has been pressing the two principals in the dispute Reynold (Rene) Anselmo, who recently stepped down as head of SICC after 16 years in the post, and Los Angeles businessman Frank Fouce, an SICC stockholderto settle the lawsuit out of court. The acrimony began in 1976 when Fouce and Bruce Corwin, head of Metropolitan Theatres, accused Anselmo and Azcarraga in a federal lawsuit of fraudulently making deals in which they profited through the Spanish International Network (SIN) which provides programming to the SICC and other Spanish -language stations in this country at the expense of SICC stockholders. Anselmo, a U.S. citizen who owns 24 of the SICC stock, also controls 25 of the SIN stock. The remaining 75 in SIN is held by Televisa, the Mexican firm controlled by the Azcarraga family that operates a commercial TV network and more than 100 TV stations in that country.

The Azcarraga family also owns 20 of SICC. Under U.S. law, foreign nationals are prohibited from owning more than 20 of broadcast stations in this country. But there is no prohibition about foreign ownership in TV networks. Did Not Pay for Programming As an example, the case alleges that a SIN affiliate in Sacramento received Mexican programming from an SICC station without paying SICC for it.

A breakthrough in the talks occurred Wednesday when the stockholders agreed that the stations should be sold and that Fein would be in charge of the sale, the sources said. Among the groups interested in purchasing the stations is a Los Angeles group that reportedly includes outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Mexico John Gavin. Alhambra businessman Enrique (Hank) Hernandez, a former Los Angeles police lieutenant who owns several security-related businesses, said his group has made an offer "in excess of" $266 million so that Latinos will retain control and direction of the stations. Some of the SICC board members are Latino, as is the management of the individual stations.

"I am committed to keeping the stations in the hands of Hispanics as a good public and social service," he said. Hernandez would not directly respond to reports that Gavin, whom he described as a "good friend," was part of his group of buyers. But he did say in an interview Friday: "He is a good public servant, and I would Please see TV, Page 2 By PAUL RICHTER, Times Staff Writer NEW YORK-Saatchi Saatchi PLC, the British advertising agency, was close to an agreement late Friday to purchase the Ted Bates Worldwide agency in a merger that would create the world's largest advertising firm, according to analysts and industry sources. They said the principals in the two agencies, which had combined 1985 billings of $6.1 billion, remained in disagreement on the purchase price, though talks were held for most of the week. The Bates agency, the world's third largest with $3.1 billion in bookings, has scheduled a press conference for Monday in Manhattan.

A deal would continue a rapid merger trend among advertising agencies and would realize the British agency's long-expressed ambition to become the world's largest. Saatchi is now the fourth largest, with 1985 billings of $3 billion. (Billings are the cost of ads placed through an agency. Agencies are typically paid 15 of billings.) Saatchi executives maintain that large ad agencies will be needed as the packaged Slumping oil prices were blamed for a 10.4 decrease in home prices in Houston and the 5.3 slide in Tulsa, Okla. Prices also declined 4.6 in Louisville, 3.2 in Portland, and 0.6 in Oklahoma City.

North Dakota led the associations' state -by -state survey with a 36 increase in the rate of existing home sales from the first quarter of 1985 to the first three months of this year. The pace of home sales over a year ago increased in 25 states and the District of Columbia, while there were declines in 21 states, notably in Texas and Louisiana, where slumping oil prices have hurt local economies. Three states Rhode Island, South Dakota and Utah reported no change in the rate of home sales. Figures for Alaska were unavailable. California had the highest annual rate of existing home sales 395,000 units followed by Pennsylvania's 199,700 and New York's 189,700.

he added that it is also considered a well-run firm. Robert Jacoby, Bates' chairman, holds some 40 of the firm's stock and is known to be interested in selling his stake before he retires. He also considered taking the agency public, "but I imagine he decided this would be easier than dealing with regulatory headaches," said Emma W. Hill, analyst with Wertheim Co. in New York.

Negotiations between the two firms come a month after Doyle Dane Bernbach Group, BBDO International and Needham Harper Worldwide agreed to merge. That agency would immediately become second largest if the Saatchi -Bates alliance is consummated. The analysts said the effect of the advertising merger wave on corporate America is relatively slight. Larger agencies don't generally offer better rates than smaller ones, for example. "It all just means that corporate America will have fewer choices in whom to hire and that some agency shareholders will get a lot richer," Wertheim's Hill said.

File Photo Carl C. Icahn when they totaled less than 5. That rebuff set Icahn off on his buying spree, starting with a purchase of a 1 -million-share block from investor Ivan F. Boesky last Monday, according to sources. Icahn has moved so swiftly that none of his Viacom holdings have been publicly disclosed at the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Under federal securities law, Please see VIACOM, Page 2 goods companies and other heavy advertisers continue to merge. They contend that large worldwide agencies will be needed to handle these companies' needs, noted Charles Crane, analyst with the Oppenhei-mer Co. investment bank in New York. Industry officials have also noted that some big advertisers have recently reduced the number of agencies representing them. Eastman Kodak, for example, has two agencies where it once had dozens.

The combined agency would presumably be forced to give up some Bates clients whose competitors are already represented by Saatchi. Among the losses, for example, might be Colgate-Palmolive, now represented by Bates, which competes with Procter Gamble, a Saatchi client. Bates also represents the Anacin brand of American Home Products while Saatchi's client list includes Johnson Johnson's Tylenol. Crane said he expects the price to be between $320 million and $350 million. He said the agency's primary attraction is probably its worldwide chain of offices, but hibitively expensive.

A breathing spell might be welcomed by both Icahn and Viacom, as they work out their separate strategies. Viacom executives, who have indicated a strong desire to remain independent, were said to be in meetings Friday night and were unavailable for comment. Executives at other entertainment companies speculate that Viacom initially will search for a friendlier investor to buy out Icahn or look for another large acquisition to increase Viacom's debt, which has climbed to about $900 million with recent purchases. Several entertainment companies including Warner Communications and Walt Disney Co. have expressed willingness to hold friendly talks if Viacom signals for help, sources said.

Most Wall Street traders interviewed Friday expressed the view that Icahn wants to push the company into a merger or have his shares purchased at a profit. Viacom reportedly turned down an Icahn request last week to buy back his holdings Carl Icahn Raises Stock Holding in Viacom to 17, Sources Say By KATHRYN HARRIS, Times Staff Writer Financier Carl C. Icahn bought 1.5 million shares of Viacom International stock Friday, increasing his stake to about 17 of the entertainment company, Wall Street sources said. The New York investor is widely believed to have purchased the block from Chicago-based JMB Realty executives, who have been holding nearly 2.37 million Viacom shares or 11.6 for the past five months. Icahn's aggressive buying will likely cease for now, however, because an investment exceeding 15 typically requires a 20-day review by the Federal Trade Commission, under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

In addition, Icahn presumably is not yet willing to trigger an anti-takeover defense adopted recently by Viacom, which would occur if he acquires 20 or more. If the price that he is paying for Viacom shares is deemed unfair by management and its investment banker, other shareholders would receive special stock that could make an unwelcome takeover pro Friday, May 9, 1986 rsieji nsacn nwn nacsi isaca nr nr it ur xi nr si iir i i i DBBBQ CnaD OmmmQ BbbbQ DOW 30 NYSE AMEX NASDAQ WILSHIRE 3.22 0.37 0.44 1.70 7.167 W. R. Grace Board OKs Buyout The board approved in principle a plan to sell controlling interest in Grace's $1 -billion restaurant operation to the group's management. Please see Page 2 New York Exchange page 4 American Exchange 3 OTC Markets 7 Bonds 6 Commodities 6 Mutual Funds 6 Options 3 Stocks Rally in Late Trading The market rallied near the close of a drifting session.

Retailing stocks and a smattering of computer issues were among the beneficiaries. Please see Page 2.