Word: du
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Instead of ending the affair, however, the Du Pont-Conoco merger announcement merely unleashed a new flurry of financial maneuvering. Within four days, Texaco quietly arranged $5.5 billion in credit from a group of banks led by Chase Manhattan. Pundits speculated that Texaco was gearing up to boost its bid for Conoco or pursue another oil company. Meanwhile Edgar Bronfman, Seagram's tenacious chairman, was mulling his own countermove. He called his board of directors into a special session. The verdict: up the ante. The new offer: $85 per share for 51% of Conoco stock...
...Du Pont's top officers immediately huddled at their Wilmington, Del., headquarters to size up the new Seagram challenge. During a marathon session in the walnut-paneled executive committee room, Chairman Jefferson exhorted his troops: "Du Pont is a strong company, and we're going into this thing...
Rather than wait for Mobil's move, Du Pont launched a pre-emptive strike. Chairman Jefferson called Conoco's Bailey with a sweetened offer: $7.6 billion, or $86.19 per Conoco share. At the same time, Du Pont went back to its banks to boost its line of credit from $3 billion to $4 billion in case it needed more money to capture Conoco...
...After Du Pont's new offer, an uneasy and temporary lull settled over the competition. Explained a top financial adviser to Seagram's Bronfman: "We're just going to sit back for a while and see what happens." But then, after three days of waiting, Mobil moved. It offered $7.7 billion, or $90 per share. The other bidders immediately returned to their calculators to plot their next ploys...
...Conoco shareholders will determine whose offer wins. Though Mobil's bid is now the highest, analysts still believe that Du Pont has the best chance because of the antitrust uncertainty surrounding the oil firm's offer. Says Garo Armen, of the E.F. Hutton investment firm: "Du Pont has the edge even though Mobil's offer is higher. Seagram is out of the running on price...