Beatrice Companies Inc

Robert M. Freeman, the former Goldman, Sachs & Co. executive convicted of insider trading in 1989, agreed Monday to surrender $1.1 million and to a three-year suspension from the securities industry. Freeman and the Securities and Exchange Commission reached the agreement in what may be the last chapter in the government's insider-trading probe of the 1986 Beatrice Companies Inc. takeover. Freeman agreed to surrender $1.

Robert M. Freeman, the former Goldman, Sachs & Co. executive convicted of insider trading in 1989, agreed Monday to surrender $1.1 million and to a three-year suspension from the securities industry. Freeman and the Securities and Exchange Commission reached the agreement in what may be the last chapter in the government's insider-trading probe of the 1986 Beatrice Companies Inc. takeover. Freeman agreed to surrender $1.

Leveraged buyout specialist Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said Thursday that it will sell its giant food unit Beatrice Co. to ConAgra for $1.34 billion in a cash and stock deal that will make ConAgra the second-largest U.S. food-processing company. Under terms of the transaction, which must be reviewed by the federal government, ConAgra will pay $11.50 per Beatrice share, plus put up $626 million in cash. Omaha-based ConAgra has long boasted that it is the only major U.S.

Leveraged buyout specialist Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. said Thursday that it will sell its giant food unit Beatrice Co. to ConAgra for $1.34 billion in a cash and stock deal that will make ConAgra the second-largest U.S. food-processing company. Under terms of the transaction, which must be reviewed by the federal government, ConAgra will pay $11.50 per Beatrice share, plus put up $626 million in cash. Omaha-based ConAgra has long boasted that it is the only major U.S.

Food maker Beatrice Co., parent of Fullerton-based Hunt-Wesson, has taken itself off the auction block following the collapse of negotiations with an unidentified buyer. Chicago-based Beatrice disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has ended talks concerning the possible sale of its operating companies and the acquisition of Beatrice by a third party.

Looking for Prospects: Beatrice Co. said it is looking for acquisitions in a policy switch following three years of rapid-fire divestitures. Beatrice was taken private in a 1986 leveraged buyout led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Beatrice has sold several of its holdings, including the Avis car rental firm, the Tropicana juice business and underwear-maker Playtex. Proceeds were used to pay down debt. The company's remaining businesses are almost all food-related, and Chief Executive Fred Rentschler said he's looking for businesses compatible with operations such as Beatrice's Swift-Eckrich meat division or its Hunt-Wesson food operations.

Beatrice-Hunt-Wesson will close its Wesson oil refinery and eliminate about 100 jobs, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday. The subsidiary of the Chicago-based Beatrice Cos. notified its workers on Jan. 25 that the Wesson refinery will be closed soon because of "economic and strategic reasons," company spokeswoman Kay Carpenter said.

Donald P. Kelly, former chairman of Beatrice Co. and a near-legendary deal maker, has formed a new limited partnership designed to acquire businesses that can be bought for as much as $1 billion. The investment firm Salomon Inc. will be a permanent partner to D. P. Kelly & Associates, arranging financing and finding investors for Kelly's new pursuits, Kelly said Tuesday. "We provide the managerial skills," Kelly said. "We don't have to worry about where we're going to get the equity.

Canadian liquor giant Seagram Co. proposed the ultimate in mixed drinks Thursday, announcing it will buy orange juice producer Tropicana Products Inc. for $1.2 billion to expand Seagram's share of the beverage market. The Canadian liquor-and-beverage giant's acquisition of Tropicana from Beatrice U.S. Food Corp. marks a "diversification and an expansion" of Seagram's product line, Seagram Chairman Edgar M. Bronfman said in a statement.

A little-known investment firm founded just four years ago is suddenly poised to become far-and-away the nation's largest black-owned business with plans to purchase a controlling interest in Beatrice Cos.' international foods division. The firm, TLC Group LP of New York, along with the New York investment banking firm of Drexel Burnham Lambert, announced plans Sunday to buy the Beatrice division for $985 million.

Beatrice-Hunt-Wesson will close its Wesson oil refinery and eliminate about 100 jobs, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday. The subsidiary of the Chicago-based Beatrice Cos. notified its workers on Jan. 25 that the Wesson refinery will be closed soon because of "economic and strategic reasons," company spokeswoman Kay Carpenter said.

Looking for Prospects: Beatrice Co. said it is looking for acquisitions in a policy switch following three years of rapid-fire divestitures. Beatrice was taken private in a 1986 leveraged buyout led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Beatrice has sold several of its holdings, including the Avis car rental firm, the Tropicana juice business and underwear-maker Playtex. Proceeds were used to pay down debt. The company's remaining businesses are almost all food-related, and Chief Executive Fred Rentschler said he's looking for businesses compatible with operations such as Beatrice's Swift-Eckrich meat division or its Hunt-Wesson food operations.

Donald P. Kelly, former chairman of Beatrice Co. and a near-legendary deal maker, has formed a new limited partnership designed to acquire businesses that can be bought for as much as $1 billion. The investment firm Salomon Inc. will be a permanent partner to D. P. Kelly & Associates, arranging financing and finding investors for Kelly's new pursuits, Kelly said Tuesday. "We provide the managerial skills," Kelly said. "We don't have to worry about where we're going to get the equity.

The mention of Wall Street's recent mania for food companies brings a knowing smile from Reginald F. Lewis, chairman of the New York investment firm TLC Group. It was, after all, Lewis who in August, 1987, agreed to buy the international foods division of the Beatrice Cos. and in one complicated $985-million deal, catapulted from a little-known Baltimore lawyer and aspiring venture capitalist to what one newspaper called "the most influential black businessman in America."

Food maker Beatrice Co., parent of Fullerton-based Hunt-Wesson, has taken itself off the auction block following the collapse of negotiations with an unidentified buyer. Chicago-based Beatrice disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has ended talks concerning the possible sale of its operating companies and the acquisition of Beatrice by a third party.

Canadian liquor giant Seagram Co. proposed the ultimate in mixed drinks Thursday, announcing it will buy orange juice producer Tropicana Products Inc. for $1.2 billion to expand Seagram's share of the beverage market. The Canadian liquor-and-beverage giant's acquisition of Tropicana from Beatrice U.S. Food Corp. marks a "diversification and an expansion" of Seagram's product line, Seagram Chairman Edgar M. Bronfman said in a statement.

The mention of Wall Street's recent mania for food companies brings a knowing smile from Reginald F. Lewis, chairman of the New York investment firm TLC Group. It was, after all, Lewis who in August, 1987, agreed to buy the international foods division of the Beatrice Cos. and in one complicated $985-million deal, catapulted from a little-known Baltimore lawyer and aspiring venture capitalist to what one newspaper called "the most influential black businessman in America."

A leading Wall Street executive today said he will plead guilty to one criminal charge of insider trading after a two-year investigation that he said made his life "a nightmare." Robert Freeman, who was arrested in his office, Feb. 11, 1987, said in a resignation letter to Goldman, Sachs & Co. officials that he "never conspired . . . to swap inside information" and called the charges he originally faced "totally false."

A little-known investment firm founded just four years ago is suddenly poised to become far-and-away the nation's largest black-owned business with plans to purchase a controlling interest in Beatrice Cos.' international foods division. The firm, TLC Group LP of New York, along with the New York investment banking firm of Drexel Burnham Lambert, announced plans Sunday to buy the Beatrice division for $985 million.