The Commercial Appeal from Memphis, Tennessee • 24

PM i 'I i TkiE Commercial Appeal lusieess Memph'is Tenn Wednesday January 29 1986 B6 Cosmiecticet firm beys CbauMiel 24 By TOM WALTER and PAULA WADE Deal subject to FCC approval Precht Communications Corp has agreed to sell WPTY-Channel 24 for $125 million to a Hartford Conn firm and relinquish ownership of the independent Memphis television station after less than two years The new owner subject to Federal Communi- tlons listed than ever Ford said "Most of Chase Enterprises and is a son-in-law of its chairman David Chase The company had been interested in buying a television station for some time said Freeman and arranged the purchase from Crisler Associates media brokers based in Cincinatti He said Chase also has obtained permission to construct a television station in Michigan and agreed to acquire the license of another television station in Hartford The station's seller Robert Precht president of Precht Communications and head of Sullivan Productions is a son-in-law of the late Ed Sulli Freedman said he anticipated no major changes at the station continue to work with cur- them are not doing too well Right now is just a bad time for independent television stations" cations Commission approval is Chase Commu-o of Hartford which owns four Con- nicationsCorp rent management keep the current type of programming but I think we will upgrade the physical facilities somewhat" he said of the station which is at 2225 The original asking price for the station was S19 million said Memphis media broker Milton The reason Ford said is the high cost and low availability of good programming for independents Without good programming hard for independents to attract viewers who have cable video and movie rentals and other alternatives to network television in a market the size of Memphis the price would be about 11 times cash Ford said Freedman said Chase has been in broadcasting necticut radio stations Roger Freedman president of Chase Communications said the company was established to buy the Memphis station The company is a subsidiary of Chase Enterprises a privately owned conglomerate Involved in real estate development cellular radio hotels and insurance throughout the Northeast and Southeast think Memphis is a place where a fine opportunity to do business a market with a great amount of potential" Freedman said to buy the station in February completed that October He re- van portedly paid S13 Precht bought Precht agreed 1984 The sale was rictui uvugui FOrd But hard times in the independent television business forced the price down although the station was making money "I think the station is doing as well as it was when it was sold to Precht because stations usually sold on multiples of cash flow" FOrd million for the station it from Delta Communications iivu which put the station on the air in September 1978 Precht could not be reached for comment since 1974 when the company bought two Hartford radio stations from the Tr avelers Insurance Co Freedman also is executive vice president of USDA rates top farm year Right now Renovation By DON KENDALL WASHINGTON (AP) Farmers have been in a financial squeeze for the last five years with sharp declines in land prices and credit ratings Yet 1984 was a record year for net farm income the Agricul- ture Department says irt of the reason that farmers Parti did so well in the face of turmoil is the way USDA calculates net farm income In addition the figures reflect the national situation in which some areas of the country are worse off and some better off The Economic Research Service has put all the figures together in a new report the National Financial Summary for 1984 Released Monday the report is part of an annual series called Economic Indicators of the Farm Sector According to the report net farm income is oldest and most widely recognized of economic indicators used by the agency to describe the financial situation of farmers farm income in 1984 was a record $345 billion slightly above the previous record of $344 billion of 1973 and more than double the $15 billion of the report said There was ho adjustment for inflation That compares with preliminary figures showing net farm income in 1985 dropped to a range of $25 billion to $29 billion and that another decline is expected in 1986 perhaps to a range of $22 billion to $26 billion One reason for the large surge in 1984 was a return to bumper crop production following Union got more independent UHF sta- the legality of those Consumers benefit from the competition generated by the banks she added Nonbank banks get their name because they only offer check ing accounts or make commercial I loans not both Federal law defines a bank as an institution that provides both services Banking companies are trying to use that loophole to set up subsidiaries outside their nome states moves they might not oth-le to make because erwise be able of legal restrictions on interstate banking The plans of Leucadla National Corp are on hold pending the outcome of two related court cases in federal courts in Geor- gia and Florida said Eric Gardner chairman of American Investment Bank a nonbank bank subsidiary of Leucadla in Salt Lake City But the firm is still interested in setting up shop in Memphis he said Carpenters Steve Boray Jr his son Steve tions to the porch of a house under and assistant Jerry Deron make addi- vationat 1241 Peabody In Business Hotel added to plans A second Courtyard by Marriott hotel is planned in Memphis near Interstate 240 and Millbranch Road in Noncon-nah Corporate Center The company has a contract on a 5-acre site on Noncon-nah Boulevard just east of Millbranch where it plans to build a 149-room facility It will be similar to the 146-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel under construction in East Memphis on Perimeter Parkway at Park Avenue It is leduled to sched this year Also construction is to start by mid-June on a 14-story Marriott Hotel with 325 rooms on Perkins and American Way near Mall of Memphis The timetable for the hotel on Nonconnah Boulevard firm yet but the company is expected to start it early this year Carrier added Federal Express Corp hi bought Lex Wilkinson Ltd British express company fc has a express company for $365 million the company The firm a subsidiary of Lex Services pic has been a contract delivery carrier for Federal Express in the United Kingdom officials said The newly acquired firm will operate as an independent autonomous affiliate of Federal Express Ltd the British subsidiary of the Memphis-based package delivery company they added The acquisition will allow Federal Express to expand package pickup and delivery capabilities in England Scotland and Wales The firm now only has pickups in London and Manchester Lex Wilkinson has 1800 employees handles more than 5 million packages ger year for 10000 customers 1000 radio-dispatched vehicles and runs 16 stations news ahead The Memphis Area Chamber of'Commerce has unveiled its which its leaders say will the good news about Memphis" nationwide The chamber retained the bile relations consulting irm of Coletta Brewer Co owned by former newsman Norman Brewer and Carol Coletta former senior vice president for First Tennessee National Corp Chamber president David Cooley said the news bureau should be running at full steam next month Cooley would not say how much the firm will be paid for its services The news bureau will build mailing lists for the chamber publish press releases furnish photos videotape and feature stories ant publish a quarterly report about the city's economic development efforts Dealer expands Grady Jones Co of Memphis Inc a forklift truck deal er based in Memphis will begin building a 7000-square-loot full-service facility in Jackson Tenn this spring It should be open by late summer The facility will Include a parts department service department rental fleet am sales person It is expected to employ about seven people initially It will be built in Madison West Industrie FUrk The firm also has dealerships in Little Rock Fort Smith and Springdale Ark and Tupelo Miss By Fred Griffith Corp of North Carolina said that company has no Immediate ilans to pursue its application or a Memphis office First Union is busy assimilating the five banks outside North Carolina it acquired since the Supreme Court upheld regional interstate banking laws last year she said Officials of RepublicBank of Dallas the other company with an application for a nonbank bank in Memphis were unavailable for comment and First Union have prelim the! thq Currency for nonbank banks in Memphis Others have applications pending First American Corp of Nash- ville has applications for eight nonbank banks outside Tennessee Including Jackson Miss and Little Rock and is trying to assess the impact of the court decision on its plans spokesman Nell Cunningham said are affected Chuck Sitts industrial relations manager for Beatrice refused to comment He then referred a reporter to Bill Blodgett Beatrice director of corporate relations Blodgett said Beatrice was indeed prepared for a strike Security personnel had been hired and nonunion workers were standing by to restaff the plant if union workers set up picket lines he said were hopeful we could reach a deal but we were pre Schering-Plough regaining stock drought and the P1K acreage program in 1983 when farmers reduced planting free gov- sharply in return for free government-owned commodities as payment-in-kind Under the agency's method of bookkeeping various allowances are made for the value of inventories from year to year and the value of farm dwellings For example a big reason for the jump in 1984 net income was a rapid buildup in the value of farm Inventories from a de cline of $106 billion in 1983 to a boost of $78 billion in 1984 But average prices in net contributed to the rise farm income" in 1984 as well the report said were higher for both livestock and crops Both red meat and poultry prices were higher dairy prices were slightly lower Prices rose for feed crops oil crops cotton fruits and vegetables Prices de- dined for feed grains and In the previous record year of 1973 American agriculture was in a boom with exports rising and the future looking rosy Also when the adjustments for inventory changes are discounted 1973 was still tl the bigger ear for net farm Income 95 billion against $267 billion in 1984 On the basis of net income per farm also before allowing for inventory adjustments 1973 stacked up at an average of $10964 per farm against $11471 That was fairly per farm in 1984' close even though there were 495000 more farms to share the a in 1973 There were no state--state figures in the national report wanted takeover The company could re-issue the stock if necessary to make it harder for an unwanted suitor to gain control of the drag companies repurchasing their shares are Most of them feel that they're undervalued and that a repur- if chase is a good he be inclined He said to take profits at this but said that the stock should hold at present levels in the nearterm and may rise if a takeover is tided "I'm not saying he said Schering-Plough also announced it will increase its regular quarterly dividend to 45 cents a share up from 42 cents major line of business is pharmaceuticals Its consumer products division based in Memphis makes May-belline cosmetics Coppertone lotions and oils St Joseph aspirin Dr foot care products and Correctol laxatives The company recently dropped a suit against Hutton after Hutton divested itself of Schering-Plough stock Scher-ing-Plough had charged Hutton with using inside information in purchasing a massive amount of the stock found it necessary to negotiate a contract that would make us more he said think we should have stances we feel the contract is the best deal for both Blodgett said the company has spent a lot of money in recent years modernizing the plant With the lower wage rate the plant may be able to offer more fob opportunities in the future Court ruling opens door for bank push Memphis eyed latory authority called nonbank banks Terry Honeycutt an assistant vice president of First Union By PAULA WADE Schering-Plough Corp which has for months been the subject of numerous takeover rumors announced yesterday that it will buy back $300 million worth of its stock on the open market The Madison NJ-based company would not say whether the action was taken as a defensive measure however Its spokesman Ronald Asinari would not say whether the company knows of any takeover attempts in the making shares wjll be used for employee benefit plans and other corporate purposes so that's going to be our Asinari said At current market prices the stock closed at 62 up 2 yesterday the company could buy 48 million shares for $300 ty million 9 percent of the 51370000 shares of common stock outstanding Asinari said the stock repurchase would be financed Internal not through borrowing Robert Hodgson analyst for Oppenheimer Co of New York said that by repurchasing shares the company will be better equipped to fight off an un- pared to run the plant with or without the current he said The tough stance by Beatrice was part of a strategy designed to lower wage costs in Memphis Blodgett said The Memphis plant makes salad dressing vegetable oils and related products had one of the highest pay rates in the corporation Blodgett said so wage cuts were needed to keep the plant price competitive with Procter Gamble Beatrice's biggest competitor for expansion outside firms by By DAVID FLAUM At least two of the five banking companies with applications for banks in Memphis are planning to push those applications in light of US Supreme Court decisions that may make approval of those banks more likely Great Western Financial Services of Beverly Hills Calif which operates four Bluer Financial Services offices in Mem- phis will pursue its pending applications for nonbank banks in Memphis and Jackson Miss said spokesman Ian Campbell So will Barclay's American Coro of Charlotte NG said spokesman Julie Thordesen She said the US Supreme Court ruling Jan 20 that the Federal Reserve Board has no regu- Wage By MIKE BRENNAN Union leader Tommy Powell was philosophical commenting on the sharp wage cuts with Beatrice Grocery Group's Wesson Oil plant in Memphis "Sometime got to know when to hold them and know when to fold he said quoting a popular country-West-ern song Powell chief executive officer of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 515 said he was foiced to accept wage cuts after cuts accepted at Beatrice Beatrice threatened to lock out workers if they went on strike went ahead and hired all the guards and said Powell who also serves as presi-lAFLCIOLa-te drug out the DecTil negotations from Dec I but finally we had to The settlement with Beatrice rolls wages bpek 50 cents during the first year of the contract and 25 cents each of the remaining two years he said Minimum wage was cut to $1127 an hour Powell said about 150 workers 1 Mb.