Wisconsin State Journal from Madison, Wisconsin • 16

8B Wisconsin State Journal Wednesday, January 13, 1993 Business editor: Robert L. Franzmann, 252-6153 STOCK LISTINGS6B MUTUAL FUNDS7B Tak9 new boss plans no sale Consultant says he's pleased with WKOW By Jennifer Riddle Assistant business editor The new head of Tak Communications says he has no plans to sell any of the company's Wisconsin television stations or other broadcast properties as part of an effort to reorganize the business. Tak Communications, the parent company of Madison's WKOW Channel 27, filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code in January 1991. Earlier this month, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Martin approved a plan for a reorganization that included the appointment of Michael Eskridge as operating agent effectively the new chief executive.

Eskridge, who started the CNBC cable television network, is a broadcast management consultant with an office in Fort Lee, N.J. In a telephone interview Tuesday, Eskridge said he is generally pleased with WKOW and is now studying the rest of the Tak operation. Tak Communications, which in 1991 lost $9.4 million on revenue of $59.3 million, owns three radio and six televsion stations including WKOW, WAOW in Wausau, WQOW in Eau Claire and WXOW in La Crosse. Eskridge said his first priority is to learn more about all stations in the group and monitor their results as advertising revenues improve along with the rest of the economy. "On an operations basis, the group has done very well, particularly given the horrendous conditions that have existed in the industry," Eskridge said.

"I have no specific agenda now other than running the group of stations like a broadcasting business." One factor that figures against a quick sale of the properties may be the relatively depressed prices of. broadcast industry properties. For example, while company founder Sharad Tak acquired the various properties during the mid-'80s for a total of just over $240 million, bankruptcy court records estimate the value of the properties at about $194 million less if a quick sale is forced. Instead, Eskridge said he will work to strengthen the stations as the entire opera and TCW Special Credits. Other creditors, including the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America, Lutheran Brotherhood and Columbia Savings and Loan, are gaining 80 percent of the stock in the reorganized group.

The new board of directors is being appointed by the banks and institutional investors, and Eskridge will report to them. While Eskridge said he hopes to have the broadcast licenses transferred and the company reorganized in less than a year, documents in bankruptcy court indicate one potential threat to the plan. Shockley Communications Corp. of Madison has filed competing applications for the licenses of the television stations in Madison, La Crosse, Eau Claire and Wausau. On Tuesday, Shockley officials did not return a telephone call seeking comments on the FCC filings.

Although Eskridge said he had no plans to sell any of the Tak Communications broadcast properties, he said he is considering a $1.9 million offer by the state of Wisconsin to buy 15 acres adjoining the University Research Park. The land now holds a transmitting tower for Channel 27. tion completes its plan to pay off creditors now owed some $266 million. As part of the reorganization process, company founder Tak will stay on as a consultant while the Federal Communications Commission processes applications to transfer Tak's broadcast licenses to the new owners of the business. Tak, a former defense industry contractor who used federal minority tax credits to help finance his broadcast acquisitions, is being paid $300,000 plus other fees of up to $1.5 million for his assistance in the reorganization.

Under terms of the plan approved by Judge Martin, ownership and control of Tak Communications has been passed to creditors including several major East Coast banks and institutional investors. As part of the plan, the banks involved in the case are receiving notes totaling $130 million, $27 million in cash and 20 percent of the stock in the reorganized corporation. They are: Chemical Bank of New York; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as receiver for the New Bank of New England and New Connecticut Bank and Trust; Heller Financial Services; Bank of Nova Scotia; Cargill Financial Services Corp. Upjohn defends Depo-Provera price NEW YORK Upjohn Co.

defended its pricing Tuesday of Depo-Provera, saying the three-month birth-control injection would cost women about the same as contraceptive pills. The federal Food and Drug Administration approved Depo-Provera as a contraceptive Oct. 29. It had been used for some time before that to treat liver and uterine cancer. The new contraceptive, which works by inhibiting production of a hormone necessary for ovulation, is believed to be more than 99 percent effective, the same as surgical sterilization or the five-year implant Norplant.

Since the FDA approval, several women's health advocates have accused Upjohn of price gouging. The Midwest Health Center for Women, for instance, said a contraceptive-strength shot of Depo-Provera recently rose from $12 to $34. The stock market was whipped in both directions by computer trading Tuesday, but when the session came to a close, equities were little changed. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials added 1.89 to 3,264.64. NYSE volume was 239.25 million shares, up from 217.15 million Monday.

Jolt, the soft-drink company that brought you "all the sugar and twice the caffeine," is introducing a diet lemon-lime soda. Diet Citra Soda will have the same 72 milligrams of caffeine per 12-ounce serving as its sister soda Jolt, but only one calorie per can. The caffeine content is just below the maximum allowed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and double the amount in regular Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Ashland Oil has reached a tentative agreement to sell its 51 SuperAmerica convenience stores in Florida to Shell Oil Co.

The sale is part of Ashland Oil's debt-reduction plan to sell about $200 million in properties and businesses. Terms of the agreement with Shell were not released, and the sale is still subject to a definitive agreement, the company says. Prodigy Services Co. has laid off 250 employees and transferred 65 more to Utah under a reorganization plan to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The majority of the cuts affect the company's headquarters in White Plains, N.Y., where 1,000 people are employed.

The layoffs affect secretaries, managers, programmers, and systems analysts. Peeling paint on some GM cars and trucks has led the automaker to tell its 13,000 dealers to cut deals with customers for new paint jobs on affected vehicles. The problem, similar to one encountered by Ford on its F-series pickup trucks last year, could involve millions of vehicle models made from 1986 to present. State Journal wire services MGE plans new storage building at foundry site lv f4ffio 1) fm "wl welcomeI ri. -m mmmmum -T1WMXju Sitana- 8 V7iS.

--'I'm I 1984, discontinuing operations there several months before the building was purchased by MGE. Montgomery said the Madison Enterprise Center, which also has a 100 S. Baldwin St. address and is owned by MGE, will not be affected by the project. The foundry consists of about 100,000 square feet, and the building replacing it will have about 90,000 square feet, Montgomery said.

He said most MGE trucks are now stored outdoors overnight. The new building will provide indoor space for them and permit stocking of trucks during the night, a task that now has to be performed at the start of drivers' work days. Montgomery said the building, expected to be ready for occupancy in early 1994, also will include restrooms, showers, lockers, a break area, lunch room and office space. Construction is expected to begin this spring, he added. MGE representatives have already met with the Marquette Neighborhood Association and Aid.

Bert Zipperer, District 6, and will soon meet with Marquette School representatives about traffic on Baldwin Street, Montgomery said. "We want Baldwin Street to be a safe crossing area for kids," he said. By Roger A. Gribble Business reporter Madison Gas and Electric Co. plans to demolish the old Gisholt Machine Co.

foundry building at 100 S. Baldwin St. to make way for a $2.3 million storage building for its trucks, other equipment and supplies. Jim Montgomery, MGE facilities manager, said approval of the Public Service Commission is needed for the project to begin. "We believe we'll seek PSC approval this week and it should take about 30 days for approval," he added.

The building, owned by MGE since 1984, is used to store large-diameter cables and similar, equipment, he said. "We first evaluated whether it would be cost-efficient to renovate the building," Montgomery said, but energy consumption considerations made that option not feasible. Gisholt Machine owned by Giddings and Lewis, manufactured machine tools. Long one of Madison's major industries, it employed 875 people when it closed in 1971. A year later, the State Building Commission voted to buy and remodel part of the plant for use as a central storage facility for state agencies.

Montgomery said Giddings and Lewis continued to operate the foundry until late 1983 or State Journal photo Station nears completion Construction of a new Superamerica service station places a much smaller station at the site. The at 4902 Verona Road is nearing completion in $865,000 station includes a canopy over the gas preparation for its opening in about mid-February, pump area. The contractor is Stevens Construction said Rick Ryka, its manager. The new station re- of Madison. No jobless comp offices to close Savings bond sales break 48-year-old record By Scott Lautenschlager Wisconsin State Journal Plans to automate Wisconsin's unemployment compensation program don't include any office closings, a spokesman for the state labor department said Tuesday.

In addition, the expected cost savings won't translate into reduced taxes for the employers who fund the program. "We are not anticipating" any closings, said David Blaska, public information officer for the Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations. "That's not part of the plan." and help, Blaska said. DILHR operates 25 unemployment compensation offices, many of them in the same buildings as state Job Service offices. The new system will enable Wisconsin's unemployed to file weekly claims from touch-tone telephones 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Now, the unemployed have to mail cards or visit an unemployment office weekly. The program will start by serving people who file claims to continue benefits; first-time applicants are expected to be added in 1995. DILHR said Monday that between 80 and 120 jobs will be eliminated statewide as a result of establishing a telephone system for filing claims, beginning next year. Blaska said his office had received several calls concerning a rumor that the unemployment office in Eau Claire will be closed. But "there is nothing on the boards that says we are going to close the Eau Claire office." Even after the new system is operating, there will remain a need for offices where unemployed people can get information 1944, the old record.

"The dramatic increase in bond sales over the past decade tells us that the American public has regained its confidence in savings bonds," said Kate Todd Beach, acting U.S. treasurer. WASHINGTON (AP) The Treasury Department sold $17.7 billion in U.S. savings bonds in 1992, breaking a 48-year-old record set during World War II. The latest annual sales total compares with $12.4 billion sold in I Pierce Shea Lewis Hebl USDA's corn crop estimate rises to reflect record harvest Rate Effective Yield 1992 Mini Jumbo Two Year CERTIFICATE of DEPOSIT RateYield 5 Year CD 6.00 3 Year CD 5.75 2 Year CD 5.55 1 Year CD 4.55 $19,000 Minimum $92,000 Maximum Limited offering Interest paid annually by check.

Substantial penalty for early withdrawal. By Mike Flaherty Agriculture reporter Since November, farmers in Wisconsin and the nation have been upset that the U.S. Department of Agriculture overestimated the size of their corn crop thus causing corn and soybean prices to plummet. Tuesday, however, the USDA released its final estimate of the 1992 crop and it was even bigger than the estimate made in November. The Agriculture Department Tuesday said U.S.

farmers harvested a record 9.48 billion bushel corn crop 27 percent above the 1991 crop and 2 percent above the November forecast. The record-breaking yield of 131.4 bushels per acre exceeded the previous record of 119.8 bushels per acre set in 1987. The 1992 yield was 22.8 bushels above the 1991 yield. As livestock feed, corn is the largest and most important U.S. farm crop and is essential for the production of meat, poultry and dairy products.

For Wisconsin, the report reinforced an already poor economic situation for farmers: Wisconsin's farmers had a lousy harvest but also suffered low grain prices because of the huge national crop. The state's corn crop totaled 306.8 million bushels, down 74 million bushels from last year's record crop. The 104 bushel-per-acre average was down 15 bushels from last year. Meanwhile cash prices are ranging below $2 per bushel well below most farmers' cost of producing the crop. Farmers had hoped that because many farmers in Wisconsin and Michigan still had corn standing in fields that the USDA would lower Its final crop estimate and, thus, boost corn prices.

But Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service statistician Roger Stewart said the USDA Interviewed farmers with corn in the fields to determine how much of the crop would be harvested. Tuesday's estimate assumes most will be harvested, he said, though Wisconsin farmers still have 23 percent of their corn standing in fields. In other areas: Wisconsin farmers harvested 22.08 million bushels of soybeans, down slightly from last year's 23.1 million bushels. Nationwide, the crop is estimated at 2.2 billion bushels, up 11 percent from 1991 and 1 percent above the Nov. 1 forecast.

Wisconsin yielded 32 bushels per acre and nationwide, farmers averaged 37.6 bushels. Wisconsin did lose about one third of its hay crop. The total dry hay harvest for 1992 totaled 6.09 million tons, down from last year's 9.06 million tons. Nationwide, the hay crop totaled 149 million tons, 3 percent less than 1991. Tobacco production totaled 1.68 billion pounds, 1 percent above 1991 and up 4 percent' from the 1990 crop.

It was the largest crop since 1984, when production was measured at 1.73 billion pounds. Wisconsin's tobacco harvest was 14.4 million pounds, unchanged from last year. Patrick Pierce has joined South Central Properties in Lake Mills and Cambridge as a broker associate. Michael Shea has been named loan officer at Madison Bank's Middleton office. Madison photographer Barry Lewis has been elected to the board of directors of the South Central Photographers Association as well as print chairman of its 1993 photography competitions.

Judy Hebl, formerly with Jon Lancaster has joined Smart Motors, 5901 Odana Road, as a sales associate for Volvo, Toyota and used cars. Michael Hull has joined the sales staff of Metropolitan Life Insurance Co's. Dane Branch, 660 W. Washington Ave. Topps Motel in Windsor has been purchased by Windsor Motels and is managed by National Lodging Co.

Plans are underway to convert the 57-unit motel to a Super 8 Motel by Apr. 1. Changes compiled by Elaine Winter First Business Bank Of Madison University Research Park (608) 238-8008 Offices in Kingston and Dalton Member FDIC A locally-owned, independent bank Retirement Account Eligible -It.