The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 88

ryrw yvwf vrwr 7 Amex14D NASDAQ0TC15D ooo Tuesday February 1 1983 The Miami Herald 8D A 1 OusIeigss llovM Wometco stock peaks on talk of sale 1 I Tfl1llHI 6-MONTH BILLS gf Treasury diiis 3-month bills 3 mon Jan 24 8055 Jan 31 8122 6 mon Jan 24 8144 Jan 31 8225 4 bottling cable television and movie the- aters could bring at least $8 a share more than the prevailing price of Wometco common Stanley Fishman an analyst with Fahnestock Co said a split-up Wometco could be worth $40 a share -Bonnie Cook who covers Wometco or the securities firm of JC Bradford estimated the value in the mid- to high forties sibly higher if they start tearing it in And Tavlin said real value could be even greater great unknown factor has been the value of real he said Tavlin said he suspects the land holdings which span North America and include good chunk of downtown are being carried on the books at far less than their real value No company has publicly expressed Please turn to WOMETCO I9D Wometco common rose to $3225 a share an all-time high at the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange Analysts said the price rise was the latest in a series of upward movements that began last February when Wolfson suffered two heart attacks that kept him sidelined for several weeks has been speculation that with no Wolfsons in management the company would soon be up for sale in whole or in said David Sosh-nik an analyst with the St Louis securities firm of Scherk Stein Franc Ed Tavlin an analyst in the Miami office of Prescott Ball Turben said he also thought it likely that the company will be in the wake of death Wometco for its part said reports of the impending sale were more than rumor and A spokesman for the company Richard Lehman said Wometco directors would meet Thursday to select a new president and added that the company run until then The two men mentioned most frequently as candidates to succeed Wolfson are Arthur Hertz senior vice president and financial officer and Charles Simons a former vice chairman of Eastern Airlines who served as acting president during convalescence last year Wolfson hinted last November that he had indicated his own selection in his will but Lehman said Monday that one at Wometco has any of such a provision Speculation about impending sale stems from the recognition that no member of the Wolfson family occupies a key management position and from the widely held view that Wometco stock is substantially under-priced If purchased as a single unit and sold off in pieces analysts say the interests in broadcasting soft-drink By BRIAN DICKERSON Herald Business Writer Speculation that Wometco Enterprises Inc may be sold in the wake of its death boosted the Miami-based entertainment stock to a new high Monday Mitchell Wolfson who built Wometco into a $500-million leisure-time company with interests in television stations tourist attractions soft-drink bottling companies and other properties died Friday of a heart attack An indomitable octogenarian who was at his desk two days before his death Wolfson insisted in a November interview that his company would never be sold or broken up But analysts said Monday that the lack of an heir-apparent to the man who ruled Wometco for 57 years makes the firm an irresistible takeover target Fueled by speculation that relatives who own 21 per cent of outstanding stock are now in a position to entertain offers the price of 13 JO 3 Dtc Jan Source: US Treasury Dept iUl Cpo lrriir'rr I JKNI SOmicro AwAh Aw The Creator i i BATTLE VAUGHENMiami Herald Staff John Gordon below sells computer magazines at his Software Centrum in Coral Gables Treasury-bill yields climb for 2nd week From Herald Staff and Wire Reports Yields on short-term Treasury securities rose slightly in auctions marking a second straight week of gains after nearly two months of declines About $6 billion in new three-month bills were sold at an average discount rate of 8122 per cent up from the 8055 per cent of last Monday In addition the government sold about $6 billion in six-month bills at an average rate of 8225 per cent up from last 8144 per cent The new rates were the highest since the 828 per cent of Nov 29 for three-month bills and the 8254 per cent of Dec 6 for six-month bills The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors an average of 841 per cent for three-month bills and 87 per cent for six-month bills Airlines EASTERN AIRLINES is registering a new issue yof preferred stock with the Securities and Ex-t change Commission Frank Borman Eastern chairman who said last week that the company was hoping to raise money through a sale of equities said Monday that he hopes the sale of the preferred occur very Spokesmen disclose the size of the offering but they said it would be smaller than the 100-million in notes recently announced by Pan Am A FEDERAL BANKRUPTCY judge approved a plan that avoids complete liquidation of Braniff International The ruling by US Bankruptcy Judge John Flowers in Forth Worth puts some of the defunct jets and employes back in the air under the colors of Pacific Southwest Airlines However the plan still faces opposition from Braniff competitors and the federal government who said they would probably continue to challenge the deal in higher courts CONTINENTAL AIRLINES said it was reducing its operations 15 per cent and laying off 2000 employes The Los Angeles-based airline which merged its operations with Texas Air last October said the cutbacks would strengthen its Houston hub and streamline its route system No cities currently served by the airline will be abandoned through the cutbacks the company said High-tech magazine sales blooming with computers Coca-Cola of Miami to be sold By MARTIN MERZER Herald Business Writer The Coca-Cola Bottling Co Miami which distributes Coke products throughout South Florida will be sold to a group of private investors for $154 million the company said Monday Under an agreement in principle the unidentified investors will pay Coca-Cola of Miami shareholders $102 per share a deal that could represent a bonanza for stockholders many of whom bought their stock for $40 or less per share The major beneficiary however would be Carl Navarre who has run the Coca-Cola of Miami franchise for more than 20 years Navarre is chairman of the privately held Navarre Corp which owns about 33 per cent of the stock in Coca-Cola of Miami His firm would receive about $51 million if the sale is completed been a super company for Mr Navarre and for personal reasons he is selling said Joseph Davenport III senior vice president and treasurer of Coca-Cola of Miami is selling it for estate planning and other Navarre is about 62 years old Davenport refused to disclose details of the purchasing group saying only that it includes persons who hold other Coke bottling franchises Other company sources said the group did not include any South Floridians but did include several prominent Texans Industry analysts said they could not even guess who purchased the company and they expressed surprise over the price $154 million is a big said Edward Tavlin an analyst who follows Coca-Cola of Miami for Prescott Ball Turben the buyers must have a lot of In the past Wometco Enterprises Inc the Miami-based leisure-time conglomerate that owns some bottling francises had been named as a possible buyer of Coca-Cola of Miami The Coca-Cola Co the Atlanta-based firm that sells syrup to bottlers and owns some bottling franchises itself had been named as another potential buyer But neither firm was involved in the actual sale officials said Monday Like most Coke franchises Coca-Cola of Miami is immensely profitable The company which distributes the most-popular carbonated soft drink from south of Stuart to Key West earned $69 million during 1981 the last full year for which results are available Shares in Coca-Cola of Miami selling for $40 last September on the over-the-counter market rose to $96 a share by mid-day Monday when trading was suspended pending news of the sale CoCo intended only to explore the color graphic capabilities of the TRS-80 line is scheduled to come out this spring Hot CoCo will bring to six the number of thick monthly publications about the TRS-80 computer a figure rivaled only by the five similar monthly magazines singing paeans to the line of computers manufactured by Apple Computer Inc There seems no end to new high-tech magazines If the markets for microcomputers software video equipment electronic entertainment cable television and video equipment are booming the once moribund magazine industry is sprouting glossy advertisement-choked publications almost daily for users of the emerging technolo- Please turn to MAGAZINES 10D By ARTHUR HOWE Knight-Ridder News Service NEW YORK Micro 80 is a glossy 500-page monthly magazine devoted solely to the TRS-80 computer model But then Rainbow Load 80 and Microcomputer News are also mass-market monthlies dedicated exclusively to the TRS-80 Still another publication Computronics may be slightly thinner but it insists that it is magazine about the TRS-80 All these newsstand magazines aimed at users of a single machine? know incredible These things are proliferating all over the said Jon Shirley vice president of the computer division of Tandy Corp the Fort Worth Tex manufacturer of the TRS-80 computer In fact yet another magazine Hot In Florida Penney to shut auto appliance centers Donald Seibert Penney chairman said that he is now confident we have an effective strategy to serve our customers better and improve substantially our operating results in the years Reactions among employes affected by the changes were less enthusiastic Hugh Richard who has worked in automotive sales for Penney for the past qine years said start looking for a job because I see where they can place everybody in other Richard who works at the Penney auto center in Plantation said that employes were told of the changes Monday morning we had sensed something was in the Richard said that the auto center in Plantation will close March 5 but regional spokesman Jacqueline Volski said that a timetable has not been set All will be closed by the end of the year jobs for about 800 of its 7300 automotive workers and for about 500 of its 2000 appliance service employes which would leave 8000 employes without work Based on those figures the cuts are likely to mean that about 130 South Florida workers will lose their jobs While shutting down the auto and appliance operations Penney will proceed with its previously announced plans to spend $1 billion on renovations of its 500 largest stores Approximately 1200 smaller stores be affected In South Florida the company will be spending about $175 million to spruce up the seven largest of the 11 stores Retail industry analysts hailed the moves as a giant step in the right direction for Penney Ira Hersch an analyst with Fourteen Research said is quite good because really getting rid of the losing aspects of the business and putting more emphasis on the areas where By DAN FESPERMAN Herald Business Writer In a move that will eliminate 8000 jobs JC Penney Co will close its automotive and appliance businesses this year to concentrate on selling its bread-and-butter lines of clothing home furnishings and leisure goods Penney which rnks behind No 1 Sears Roebuck and Co and mart Corp will shut down its 434 automotive centers and will no longer sell most major appliances in its stores although some will still be sold through catalogs Penney will also close its 53 appliance service centers Included are the six auto centers and two appliance centers scattered among 1 1 Penney stores in Dade Broward and Palm Beach counties Penney also has 1065 smaller stores that already emphasize apparel and soft goods about 100 stores with limited product lines 343 drug stores and 73 stores in Belgium Company officials expect to find new A FEDERAL JUDGE in Miami has lifted a seven-month-old embargo on the importation of Mexican limes and lemons The fruit had been banned because of an isolated outbreak of a bacterial disease called lime can- ker which weakens citrus trees and causes them to produce fewer and smaller fruit The disease had been discovered in the Mexican state of Coli-ma After a hearing last week US District Judge -Sidney Aronovitz refused to extend an injunction that prohibited shipment of the foreign fruit to stateside markets FLORIDA EAST COAST quarter-(ly earnings jumped 64 per cent L- Fourth quarter net income for the St Augus-Ltine-based company was $36 million or 38 cents a share vs $22 million or 24 cents a share for the j-same period a year ago Revenue dropped 2 per -cent to $252 million from $257 million APPLIED DEVICES CORP is reviewing its debt restructuring The Palm Beach-based defense-related manufacturer also announced that it is negotiating to l-sell its Datatrol Inc subsidiary Applied Devices defaulted on an interest payment in November and later said it would probably not be able to pay its bank debt in fiscal 1983 If completed the restructuring and sale eliminate existing bank defaults and reduce the debt said President Malcolm Fleschner The Honey Line '-S Florida prime mortgage rate 1125-1375 Florida prime rate 11-1 15 13-week T-bills 8122 13-week CDs 8122 26-week T-bills 8225 26-week CDs 8725 2 -year CDs 970 Rate ii for Banks pay one-quarter percentage point less Tha Doftom Line 5 Shareholders of Allied Corp and Bendix Corp formally approved $18-biliion takeover of the smaller Bendix Gulf Oil Corp reduced the price it offers for domestic crude oil by $1 a barrel The Wall Street Journal launched a European edition Monday publishing a two-section 32-page newspaper Mercedes-Benz will offer optional air bags on some 1984 models Bally Manufacturing Corp will acquire Health Tennis Corp of America Ford Motor Co reportedly plans to sell in the United States two upscale cars that it will manufacture in Europe Gold soared to $510 an ounce in New York and silver jumped to $1425 an ounce a two-year high for both metals approves Warner purchase sought a major infusion of equity capital he said and Warner fit the bill Because of large operating losses in the last two fiscal years net worth has been reduced to $395 million investment will boost net worth to about $496 million Marvin brings to the picnic is an infusion of capital his very successful career and contacts nationally and Broad said made good sense to us to form an he added access to capital is very important to purchase will probably result in stock being delisted by the New York Stock Exchange Shepard Broad told shareholders will endeavor to do our level best to keep our he said but if neces- Please turn to AMERICAN f10D By EMILY RUBIN Herald Business Writer Shareholders of American Savings and Loan Association of Florida Monday ratified financier Marvin 20 per cent purchase of the Miami-based although purchase probably will result in losing its New York Stock Exchange listing Warner an investor in Florida bank and stocks and a former US ambassador has agreed to pay $102 million or $1460 per share for 700000 authorized but unissued shares of American purchase will bring his holding in the third-largest in the state to 289 per cent investment involves the creation of a voting trust under which Shepard Broad chairman and Warner are the voting trustees of 68 per cent of stock The Broad fami ly and Warner will control equal shares of the trust The voting trust was agreed upon to insure the continuity of management according to the Broads and Warner It will be effective for 10 years Warner in a brief address to shareholders said: was very flattered and touched when Shepard and Morris Broad asked me if I would be interested in investing in American Savings somewhat overwhelmed with the Broad family- a matter of he added a pleasure to pay my 15 cents every time I go over the (125th Street) Broad Causeway In an interview last week Morris Broad president explained that investment will boost net worth by 256 per cent Throughout 1982 American actively JL.