Kaiser Cement Corp

Kaiser Cement Corp. reported a 1984 net loss of $52.5 million, including a loss of $51.5 million from its investment in China Cement Co. (Hong Kong) Ltd. which, as previously announced, was written off in the third quarter. In 1983, Kaiser Cement reported a net loss of $5.2 million, which included a net loss from China Cement of $3.7 million and an after-tax gain of $565,000 from the sale of surplus land. Revenue for the year totaled $249.3 million, up 16%.

Walter E. Ousterman Jr., chairman, president and chief executive of Kaiser Cement Corp., announced that he will retire in early March. His retirement after 11 years as president will follow the Oakland company's pending merger with a subsidiary of Hanson Group (USA) Ltd. Ousterman will serve as a consultant to Hanson for an unspecified period. Ousterman, 56, also announced that John H. Wimberly, the company's chief operating officer, will succeed him as president and chief executive.

A Japanese mining company, part of the vast Mitsubishi group, announced Monday that it is buying California's second-largest cement plant for $185 million in cash. The acquisition represents the first major Japanese investment in the $4 billion U.S. cement industry, which is more than half owned by foreign companies.

A Japanese mining company, part of the vast Mitsubishi group, announced Monday that it is buying California's second-largest cement plant for $185 million in cash. The acquisition represents the first major Japanese investment in the $4 billion U.S. cement industry, which is more than half owned by foreign companies.

The Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union said it sued Los Angeles-based Murdock and several associates in U.S. District Court, accusing them of using assets of the Cannon Mills retirement plan to further Murdock's corporate takeover strategies. The suit said Murdock used the pension plan as a "capital accumulation vehicle."

Less than six weeks after fending off a hostile bid from Minorco, Consolidated Gold Fields PLC agreed Tuesday to a $5.5-billion merger, the biggest in British history, with industrial conglomerate Hanson PLC. Hanson, one of the most predatory companies on the British scene, said Cons Gold had agreed to be acquired for $24.17 a share, most of it cash. On June 22, Hanson offered $22.59 a share in cash for Cons Gold, but the mining concern turned the bid down as inadequate.

From the window of his 24th-floor office at the Kaiser Center, Walter E. Ousterman can see downtown Oakland settling into middle-age spread and, in the distance, the pastel blush of San Francisco. In the buildings and in the highways and bridges that lace the cities together, he can see Kaiser cement. But Ousterman, the 55-year-old chairman, president and chief executive of Kaiser Cement Corp.

Walter E. Ousterman Jr., chairman, president and chief executive of Kaiser Cement Corp., announced that he will retire in early March. His retirement after 11 years as president will follow the Oakland company's pending merger with a subsidiary of Hanson Group (USA) Ltd. Ousterman will serve as a consultant to Hanson for an unspecified period. Ousterman, 56, also announced that John H. Wimberly, the company's chief operating officer, will succeed him as president and chief executive.

Kaiser Cement Corp. reported a 1984 net loss of $52.5 million, including a loss of $51.5 million from its investment in China Cement Co. (Hong Kong) Ltd. which, as previously announced, was written off in the third quarter. In 1983, Kaiser Cement reported a net loss of $5.2 million, which included a net loss from China Cement of $3.7 million and an after-tax gain of $565,000 from the sale of surplus land. Revenue for the year totaled $249.3 million, up 16%.

In a decision with potentially far-reaching impact, a state Court of Appeal ruled Wednesday that asbestos manufacturers may not be sued as a group for the cost of removing the suspected cancer-causing substance from an estimated 4 million homes in California. The appeal panel unanimously upheld the dismissal of a class-action lawsuit filed in behalf of the owners of homes built from 1912 to 1978. About 40 companies that manufacture or supply asbestos were the targets of the suit.

Britain's Hanson Trust PLC announced an agreement Wednesday to acquire Kidde Inc. for $1.6 billion in cash and stock rights, capping months of speculation that had pegged the diversified U.S. company as a takeover target. The friendly deal is a slight departure for Hanson Trust, the giant conglomerate whose biggest deals have included hostile takeovers of SCM Corp. and Britain's Imperial Group PLC. Although the merger included provisions for the possible spinoff of the Saddlebrook, N.J.