Word: mobilization
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...energy company laden with 1.7 billion bbl. of oil reserves, 3.8 trillion cu. ft. of natural gas and 14.3 billion tons of coal, whirled on last week at a billion-dollar pace. The opponents: Du Pont, the largest U.S. chemical producer; Seagram, the world's biggest liquor distiller; Mobil, the second largest American petroleum company; and Texaco, the third-ranking oil firm. As the price for Conoco whirled higher and higher, the contestants launched a global financial free-for-all and corralled almost $20 billion in standby credit at multinational banks from New York to Tokyo...
Then still another bidder joined the action. Mobil put together a $5 billion credit package, and Chairman Rawleigh Warner Jr. issued a statement leaving little doubt that his company was poised to pounce. Said he: "We know Conoco and the business it operates. Conoco is a great company with fine resources and excellent management and personnel." Surprisingly, Warner's message shrugged off possible Government objections, saying, "Preliminary studies indicate that a Mobil-Conoco merger would not create difficulties under existing antitrust guidelines...
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...