Data files Reuters

data/acq/reut2-000x109.txt

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+American Express Co remained silent on market rumors it would spinoff all or part of its Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc ,but some analysts said the company may be considering such a move because it is unhappy with the market value of its stock .American Express stock got a lift from the rumor ,as the market calculated a partially public Shearson may command a good market value ,thereby boosting the total value of American Express .The rumor also was accompanied by talk the financial services firm would split its stock and boost its dividend .American Express closed on the New York Stock Exchange at 72-5 /8 ,up 4-1 /8 on heavy volume .American Express would not comment on the rumors or its stock activity .Analysts said comments by the company at an analysts' meeting Tuesday helped fuel the rumors as did an announcement yesterday of management changes .At the meeting ,company officials said American Express stock is undervalued and does not fully reflect the performance of Shearson ,according to analysts .Yesterday ,Shearson said it was elevating its chief operating officer ,Jeffery Lane ,to the added position of president ,which had been vacant .It also created four new positions for chairmen of its operating divisions .Analysts speculated a partial spinoff would make most sense ,contrary to one variation on market rumors of a total spinoff .Some analysts ,however ,disagreed that any spinoff of Shearson would be good since it is a strong profit center for American Express ,contributing about 20 pct of earnings last year ."I think it is highly unlikely that American Express is going to sell shearson ,"said Perrin Long of Lipper Analytical .He questioned what would be a better investment than "a very profitable securities firm ."Several analysts said American Express is not in need of cash ,which might be the only reason to sell a part of a strong asset .But others believe the company could very well of considered the option of spinning out part of Shearson ,and one rumor suggests selling about 20 pct of it in the market .Larry Eckenfelder of Prudential-Bache Securities said he believes American Express could have considered a partial spinoff in the past ."Shearson being as profitable as it is would have fetched a big premium in the market place .Shearson's book value is in the 1.4 mln dlr range .Shearson in the market place would probably be worth three to 3.5 bilion dlrs in terms of market capitalization ,"said Eckenfelder .Some analysts said American Express could use capital since it plans to expand globally ."They have enormous internal growth plans that takes capital .You want your stock to reflect realistic valuations to enhance your ability to make all kinds of endeavors down the road ,"said E. F. Hutton Group analyst Michael Lewis ."They 've outlined the fact that they 're investing heavily in the future ,which goes heavily into the international arena ,"said Lewis ."...That does not preclude acquisitions and divestitures along the way ,"he said .Lewis said if American Express reduced its exposure to the brokerage business by selling part of shearson ,its stock might better reflect other assets ,such as the travel related services business ."It could find its true water mark with a lesser exposure to brokerage .The value of the other components could command a higher multiple because they constitute a higher percentage of the total operating earnings of the company ,"he said .Lewis said Shearson contributed 316 mln in after-tax operating earnings ,up from about 200 mln dlrs in 1985 .Reuter 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x124.txt

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+Industrial Equity (Pacific )Ltd ,a Hong Kong investment firm ,said it raised its stake in Wrather Corp to 816,000 shares ,or 11.3 pct of the total outstanding common stock ,from 453,300 shares ,or 6.3 pct. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission ,Industrial Equity ,which is principally owned by Brierley Investments Ltd ,a publicly held New Zealand company ,said it bought 362,700 Wrather common shares between Feb 13 and 24 for 6.6 mln dlrs .When it first disclosed its stake in Wrather earlier this month ,it said it bought the stock for investment purposes .Reuter 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x127.txt

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+Liebert Corp said its shareholders approved the merger of a wholly-owned subsidiary of Emerson Electric Co lt EMR .Under the terms of the merger ,each Liebert shareholder will receive .3322 shares of Emerson stock for each Liebert share .Reuter 3 

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+Gulf Applied Technologies Inc said it sold its subsidiaries engaged in pipeline and terminal operations for 12.2 mln dlrs .The company said the sale is subject to certain post closing adjustments ,which it did not explain .Reuter 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x134.txt

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+A group of affiliated Miami -based investment firms led by Fundamental Management Corp said it raised its stake in Robeson Industries Corp to 238,000 shares ,or 14.6 pct of the total ,from 205,000 or 12.8 pct. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission ,the group said it bought 32,800 Robeson common shares between Jan 26 and Feb 9 for 175,691 dlrs .The group said it may buy more shares and plans to study Robeson's operations .Afterwards it may recommend that management make changes in its operations .Fundamental Management Chairman Carl Singer was recently elected to the Robeson board .Reuter 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x152.txt

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+A senior official of Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc and his father told the Securities and Exchange Commission they have acquired 258,591 shares of Epsilon Data Management Inc ,or 9.4 pct of the total outstanding .Kenneth Thomas ,senior vice president -investments at Drexel's Los Angeles office ,and his father ,retired university professor C.A. Thomas ,said they bought the stake for 2.1 mln dlrs primarily for investment purposes .They said they may buy more stock or sell some or all of their stake ,depending on market conditions ,but have no plans to seek control of the company .Reuter 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x156.txt

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+Nova ,the Canadian company that owns 56 pct of Husky Oil Ltd ,said it received government approval for a transaction under which lt Union Faith Canada Holding Ltd would buy a 43 pct stake in Husky .Nova said the Minister of Regional and Industrial Expansion ,Michel Cote ,ruled that Union Faith's purchase of the Husky stake would not result in Husky ceding control to a non- Canadian company .It said this ruling was a key condition in completing the deal .Union Faith is equally owned by lt Hutchison Whampoa Ltd and lt Hong Kong Electric Holdings Ltd .Under the agreement with Union Faith ,Husky will become a private company with Union Faith and Nova each holding 43 pct of its stock .Nine pct of Husky would be owned by relatives of Li Ka-Shing ,chairman of Hutchison ,and five pct by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerice .Reuter 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x161.txt

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+Suffield Financial Corp said the Federal Reserve Board approved its application to acquire Coastal Bancorp lt CSBK ,Portland ,Me. Suffield said it still needs the approval of the superintendent of Maine's banking department .Reuter 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x184.txt

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+lt Versatile Corp said it agreed in principle to sell its Alberta -based Versatile Noble Cultivators Co division to Vicon Inc ,of Ontario ,for undisclosed terms .The division manufactures tillage and spraying equipment .Reuter 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x185.txt

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+(Groupe Videotron Ltd )said it agreed to buy 50 pct of (Groupe Promexpo Inc ),a company which specializes in product exhibits ,for three mln dlrs .Reuter 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x198.txt

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+Circuit Systems Inc said it has bought all of the stock of (Ionic Industries Inc )in exchange for 3,677,272 shares of its common .Following the exchange there will be 4,969,643 shares of Circuit Systems stock outstanding .Ionic holders will own about 74 pct of the outstanding stock of Circuit Systems ,it said .Ionic ,a maker of circuit boards ,had revenues of 8.4 mln dlrs and pretax profits of 232,000 dlrs in 1986 ,up from revenues of 5.9 mln and pretax profits of 204,000 dlrs in 1985 ,Circuit Systems said .Reuter 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x259.txt

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+Toshin Steel Co Ltd lt TOSS .T and lt Azuma Steel Co Ltd ,affiliates of Nippon Kokan KK lt NKKT .T ,are considering a merger ,company spokesmen said .Toshin Steel ,owned 41.9 pct by Nippon Kokan ,and Azuma Steel ,owned 41.3 pct by Nippon Kokan ,are expected to decide by the end of March ,they said .Both firms have been struggling with losses caused by the recession in the steel industry and the yen's appreciation .Azuma Steel's current losses are estimated at 3.1 billion yen in the year ending March 31 against a 6.99 billion loss a year earlier ,a spokesman said .The firm employs 1,100 workers Toshin Steel ,with 1,700 workers ,has given no forecast for the year ending March 31 .But industry sources said they expected the company to show current losses of about five billion yen or more in 1986 /87 compared with a 2.98 billion loss in 1985 /86 .REUTER 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x301.txt

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+Sweden's Wallenberg group fought back a bid by the London -based Swedish financier Erik Penser to secure a large stake in Swedish Match lt SMBS ST ,one of the companies at the core of their business empire .A statement issued by the Wallenberg holding companies AB Investor and Forvaltnings AB Providentia said they had taken over an option held by Nobel Industrier Sweden AB to acquire 33 pct of the voting rights in Swedish Match .Thre Wallenbergs paid Nobel Industrier lt NOBL ST ,in which Penser group has a 72 pct stake ,about 20 pct over the market price for the Swedish Match option ,the statement said .Swedish Match's B shares open to foreign buyers closed at 424 crowns on Friday .The A shares --with increased voting rights --closed at 450 crowns for the restricted and 455 for the free shares .The statement said the deal increased Investor's stake to 49.4 pct of the voting rights and 14.8 pct of the share capital while Providentia is left holding 34.1 pct of the voting rights and 14.5 pct of the share capital in Swedish Match .The Wallenbergs 'stake in Swedish Match had previously amounted to 52 pct of the voting rights in the company .The Swedish Match deal will cost the Wallenbergs about 400 mln crowns ,share analysts said ,making it one of the most expensise moves the group has undertaken in the last four years to defend its far-flung interests from outside predators .The Wallenbergs originally sold Nobel Industrier ,an arms and chemicals group ,to Penser in 1984 to pay for buying Volvo lt VOLV ST out of two other key group companies ,Atlas Copco lt ASTS ST and Stora Koppabergs lt SKPS ST .Since then ,the Wallenbergs were ousted as the largest shareholders in SKF (SKFR ST by Skanska AB lt SKBS ST and Frederik Lundberg wrested control of Incentive AB from them .Lundberg ,a Zurich -based Swedish property tycoon ,also managed to acquire a 25 pct stake in another Wallenberg company ,the diary equipment firm Alfa -Laval AB lt ALFS ST .During 1986 ,the Wallenbergs have been concentrating on building up their stake in Investor and Providentia to prevent any raid on the heart of their business empire .But analysts say the Wallenbergs 'position in the electrical engineering firm ASEA AB lt ASEA ST is also too small at 12.6 pct of the voting rights and there has been growing speculation that the group will be forced to sell off fringe interests to protect its core activities .REUTER 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x303.txt

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+lt SHV (United Kingdom )Holding Co Ltd said it was making a tender offer for up to 33 mln ordinary shares in Imperial Continental Gas Association .lt ICGS .L .It said in a statement the offer was on the basis of 700p for each IC Gas ordinary and 252p for every one stg nominal of IC Gas loan stock .SHV already holds 6.8 mln IC Gas ordinary stock units representing around 4.9 pct of the current issued share capital .Successful completion of the offer would increase SHV's stake in IC Gas to 39.8 mln shares ,representing around 27.9 pct of issued share capital ,it said .The offer capitalises IC Gas at around one billion stg. It said it was tendering for both ordinary stock and loan stock ,which when fully converted ,gave a total of 33 mln IC Gas ordinary .It is making the tender offer through N.M. Rothschilds .IC Gas said in a statement it noted the SHV tender offer and the terms were being considered .It said a further statement would be made as soon as possible .REUTER ...3 

data/acq/reut2-000x314.txt

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+lt Sale Tilney Plc said it has purchased 80 pct of the ordinary share capital of lt B and R International Inc .,a U.S. Insurance broker ,for 5.6 mln dlrs .Sale is paying 3.6 mln dlrs in cash on completion ,with the balance plus interest to be paid in equal instalments over the next six years .B and R posted pretax profit of 855,000 dlrs in the year to Dec 31 ,1986 when it had net tangible assets of 563,000 dlrs .REUTER 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x330.txt

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+lt Exco International Plc ,a subsidiary of British and Commonwealth Shipping Co Plc lt BCOM. L ,said it had agreed in principle to buy an 80 pct stake in lt RMJ Holdings Corp for about 79 mln dlrs .Exco Chairman Richard Lacy told Reuters the acquisition was being made from Bank of New York Co Inc lt BK. N ,which currently holds a 50.1 pct ,and from RMJ partners who hold the remainder .Bank of New York and the partners will retain about 10 pct each and these stakes will be bought over the next six years .RMJ is the holding company of RMJ Securities ,one of the largest U.S. Government securities brokers .It is also involved in broking notes ,obligations and other instruments sponsored by U.S. Federal agencies .Lacy said Exco had been considering buying a U.S. Government securities broker for the past four years and had made an offer for RMJ when it was sold by Security Pacific Corp lt SPC .N in 1985 .RMJ was then valued at about 50 mln dlrs .B and C managing director Peter Goldie said RMJ would be bought at about the same multiple as Exco ,suggesting net income of around 16 mln dlrs .The company's earnings had not been hit by the halving of brokerage fees some 14 months ago as volumes had since doubled .Lacy said that RMJ employed some 300 people ,with 200 in the brokerage business and about 70 in its lt SMS unit ,which provided computer software for the financial services community .RMJ Securities had offices in New York ,where total market turnover of U.S. Government securities was 110 billion dlrs a day ,and in London where it has 15 billion .It was also given permission last week to open an office in Tokyo where total market turnover had lifted rapidly to about five billion dlrs a day .The acquisition would contribute between five and 10 pct of B and C's share earnings in 1987 on a proforma basis .REUTER 3 

data/acq/reut2-000x333.txt

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+lt Coloroll Group Plc said it has entered into a conditional agreement to acquire the business and assets of lt Wallco Inc and related companies for 14.5 mln dlrs .Miami -based Wallco manufactures and distributes wallcoverings and showed a pretax profit of 1.5 mln dlrs on turnover of 37 mln in the year ending June 1986 .The total U.S. Market was estimated to be worth 840 mln dlrs in 1986 ,having grown by 47 pct in the previous five years ,Coloroll said .The combined sales and profit of the enlarged Coloroll U.S. Business would be 67 mln and four mln dlrs respectively .REUTER 3 

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+Scientific Micro Systems Inc said it has acquired Supermac Technology ,a rapidly growing supplier of enhancement products and disc drive subsystems for the Apple personal computer market .Scientific Micro said it acquired all the common stock of Supermac in exchange for 1.05 mln shares of its own common stock .The stock closed at 5.50 dlrs bid on Friday .Supermac ,a privately held firm based in Mountain View ,California ,as is Scientific Micro ,reported a net profit of 300,000 dlrs on revenue of 9.5 mln dlrs in fiscal 1986 .It expects its revenue to approximately double in 1987 .Reuter 3 

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+American Express Co ,rumored to be considering a spinoff of part of Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc ,said it is studying a range of options for its brokerage unit that could improve Shearon's access to capital and help it meet broadening international competition .In a joint statement ,American Express and Shearson said the actions under consideration are an integral part of American Express 'worldwide financial services strategy and that the two companies have been having both internal and external discussions on the matters .American Express said no decision has been reached on the strategic options and that it and Shearson could ultimately decide to follow growth plans already in place .Last week ,rumors circulated on Wall Street that the financial services giant was considering a spinoff of part of Shearson and there was speculation it may be considering selling a stake to a Japanese firm .Analysts said the speculation also focused on American Express selling 20 pct of the profitable brokerage firm to the public .There was some speculation that American Express had also considered a total spinoff of Shearson ,but the plan was considered highly unlikely ,analysts said .American Express said in the statement on Sunday that it will not comment on rumors and speculation and a spokesman would not go beyond the statement .The company also remained silent last Thursday and Friday ,as rumors drove American Express stock up a total of 5-1 /2 dlrs in two days to bring it to a Friday close at 74 .It said it issued the statement on Sunday because a similar statement was being circulated to employees .Analysts have been divided on whether it makes sense for American Express to give up a stake in the wholly-owned brokerage ,which improved its after-tax earnings by about 50 pct in the last year .Some analysts said American Express may consider spinning off part of Shearson because it is concerned that its stock price does not fully reflect the value of the brokerage firm .Shearson contributed 316 mln dlrs of American Express '1.25 billion dlr net in 1986 .American Express 'ambitious plans for international growth may be also enhanced by the added cash that spinning out part of Shearson would bring .Analysts speculated that all of Shearson would have a market value of about 3.5 billion dlrs .To some however ,the need for added capital is puzzling ."(American )Express is in a position where they can raise capital if they need to ,"said Larry Eckenfelder of Prudential-Bache Securities .Analysts said rumors were fed by the reorganization of Shearson management Wednesday .Chief operating officer Jeffrey Lane got the added ,previously vacant ,post of president .The reorganization also created four new positions for chairmen of Shearson's operating divisions ,a move analysts speculated would allow Shearson to be a stand alone company .Analysts ,contacted on Sunday said the statement does little to clarify last week's market speculation .It does confirm ,however ,that the financial services firm ,which unsuccessfully attempted to expand Shearson with a major acquisition last year ,is looking beyond its own walls for growth and positioning in the global market competition .Late last year ,Shearson's takeover offer to the E. F. Hutton Group Inc was rejected by Hutton ,and analysts said there had been speculation that Shearson also was rebuffed when it approached another major Wall Street brokerage .Reuter 3