Word: conoco
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...Pont acquires Conoco after a historic takeover battle
...headquarters in Wilmington, Del. Chairman Edward Jefferson had gathered some 60 top advisers, secretaries, chauffeurs and the pilots of the company's jets to celebrate Du Pont's victory in the greatest takeover struggle in American corporate history. Only 160 miles to the north, in Stamford, Conn., Conoco executives met in Chairman Ralph Bailey's office for their own celebration. One vice president walked up to the bar and jocularly ordered, "Seagram's on the rocks...
Thus ended five weeks of financial maneuvering, courtroom battles, noisy public name-calling and political infighting, all aimed at acquiring the nation's ninth largest oil company. Du Pont had won Conoco by outbidding Seagram, the world's biggest liquor distiller, and Mobil Oil, the second largest American petroleum firm. "There's never been a merger contest like it," said Joseph Perella, a member of the team of investment bankers from First Boston that advised Du Pont on its winning strategy...
...Pont won its hotly contested prize through skill and guile. After making the initial takeover bid on Conoco, Du Pont stood by quietly as Mobil and Seagram aggressively justified their positions in newspaper ads and Conoco filed harassing lawsuits against both. At the same time, Du Pont was executing a clever financial play that enabled it to acquire a majority of Conoco shares at a lower price than Mobil was offering...
With all the fanfare complete, lacocca gave out the news: after 27 months and $3.1 billion of losses, Chrysler had made a profit of $12 million during the second quarter. Quipped lacocca: "With our second quarter profits, we too might make a tender offer for Conoco. What the hell, everybody else...