Word: araskog
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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DIED. HAROLD GENEEN, 87, empire builder; of a heart attack; in New York City. During his 18 years as CEO of International Telephone & Telegraph (1959 to 1977), Geneen used some 300 takeovers to build ITT into one of history's most sprawling conglomerates, only to see a successor, Rand Araskog, strip down the company to its hotel-and-gaming core, which is likely to be sold...
...vicious proxy contest this week with Hilton Hotels for control of ITT Corp. By topping Hilton's offer with a $10.2 billion bid for ITT, Sternlicht has thrust himself into what had been a very personal battle between Hilton CEO Stephen Bollenbach and ITT boss Rand Araskog--and thus into the public spotlight. Sternlicht is a Wall Street darling. His stock, including dividends, has soared 86% in the past year. But even for a darling, the heat of bright lights is no place to be when your company employs a rare and mysterious tax structure, as does Sternlicht's. That...
...battle, replete with name calling, to buy ITT and its prized Sheraton properties and Caesars hotels and casinos, Bollenbach came up empty. But the escape from Hilton cost ITT its independence. Fearful that ITT shareholders would accept Hilton's $70 a share offer in two weeks, ITT chairman Rand Araskog pulled a rabbit out of a hat by agreeing to sell ITT to Starwood Lodging for $82 a share. That's 17% more than Hilton's "final" offer...
...loophole in the tax laws that jacks up a reit's market value. If ITT stockholders approve the deal, the new combination would become the largest lodging company in the world, with 650 hotels in 70 countries and total annual revenues of more than $10 billion. As for Araskog, 65, under the plan he will step down next year and get a seat on Starwood's board plus a consolation prize: a $55 million severance package that was designed as part of ITT's "defense" against a takeover...
...over, right? Well...there is an enticing story line that could have the wily Araskog pulling off one last masterly stroke. Once ITT shareholders formally reject Hilton's bid next month, the ITT chairman could cancel the Starwood deal and continue his 18-year reign over the company. No one ever played Monopoly like this...