Weekly television digest (Jan-Dec 1960)

22 DECEMBER 5, 1960 Mergers & Acquisitions: Audio-Dynamics’ proposed mer ger with Teletray (Vol. 16:47 p22) will be voted by stockholders Dec. 9. The amalgamation would grant public shareholders of Audio-Dynamics 70 shares of Teletray for each 100 of A-D; management shareholders, 37 of Teletray for each 100 A-D. Teletray last week declared a l-for-3 stock dividend, payable Dec. 22 to shareholders of record Dec. 5. • Dictograph Products has acquired controlling interest in Bellaire Electronics, Red Bank, N.J. maker of electronic devices. American Electronics and Electronic Specialty plan to merge & operate under a new corporate name, subject to the approval of both companies’ stockholders at special meetings in January. Under the proposed amalgamation, American’s Chmn.-Pres. Philip W. Zonne will become president of the new company. Electronic Specialty’s Chmn.Pres. William H. Burgess will serve as chairman. American holders would receive one share of the new firm for each share held. Electronic Specialty holders would get 114 shares for each share held. • Houston Fearless, for 80,000 shares of common, has acquired privately-held Masterite Industries, Inglewood, Cal. manufacturer of printed-circuit connectors, electronic contacts and electrical assemblies. Masterite will function as a Houston Fearless div. • Telectro has formed & holds a 50% interest in TelectroMek, established to produce measurement & control instruments for jet engines. Telectro-Mek Pres. Daniel G. Russ holds the other 50% interest. Bendix has sold its 7.5% interest in ElliottAutomation, British manufacturer of industrial instruments & equipment. • Sonotone has established a special department to design & develop new types of sintered plate, nickel-cadmium batteries. • English Electric Co. & London-based General Electric Ltd. have called off their merger plans (Vol. 16:40 pl7) after failure “to bring to a successful conclusion their discussions on a merger by means of a holding company.” • Friendly Frost (radio WGLI Babylon, N.Y., operator of 20 Friendly Frost Stores appliance & houseware outlets, other retail & service activities) has acquired County Hardware & Appliances’ chain of 5 stores & warehousing in N.Y. & Conn. Kriss Electronics Inc., 191-95 Graton St., Newark, has been accused by FTC of misrepresenting rebuilt TV picture tubes as new. The FTC complaint alleged that used parts have been used in tubes labeled “new,” giving “uninformed or unscrupulous dealers the means to deceive the public.” General Dynamics and Doubleday are publishing Dynamic America, a $20 “history book” dealing with “the revolutionary transformation of America from an agrarian to an industrial civilization, the scientific & technical advances that caused it, and the contributing role of an astonishing American corporation. General Dynamics.” TV-accessory market for converters, tuners and antennas is opening up in West Germany with the advent Jan. 1 of the new commercial network there (Vol. 16:24 p7), the Commerce Dept.’s Bureau of Foreign Commerce points out. It estimates that about 3 million receiving sets will require accessories for uhf reception. Obituary H. Robertson Boswell Jr., 66, recently retired sales executive, Westinghouse Electric International, died Nov. 28 at St. Luke’s Hospital in N.Y. after a long illness. He had been asst, to the vp for foreign accounts. Surviving are his wife, a brother and 2 sisters. Finance Electronics Funds Report: The net assets of the Television-Electronics Fund climbed to an annual record of $339,389,489 at the close of its 1960 fiscal year Oct. 31. However, while assets were up sharply from $308,147,613 a year ago, they were down from the $357.8 million posted at the close of the 3rd fiscal quarter July 31 (Vol. 16:36 pl5). The fund’s annual report gives net asset value per share as $7.41 on Oct. 31, 1960, down from $7.93 one year earlier. As of Oct. 31, the mutual fund’s portfolio included $261,809,680 in common stocks, $2,196,250 in preferred, $13,567,559 in corporate bonds, $33,295,361 in commercial paper, $13,460,614 in govt, securities. Portfolio changes during the quarter ended Oct. 31 : New additions: $231,000 American Optical Co. 4.40% 1980 debentures; $200,000 Comptometer 6%%-1970; 250 units Teleregister $1,000 6% 1980 bonds (including 40 shares of common stock per unit). Purchases; 5,000 shares of AT&T; 4,800 Bendix; 3,800 Clevite; 3.300 General Cable ; 4,000 GE ; 2,500 International Nickel (Canada) ; 8.300 Mallory; 4,200 National Cash Register; 12,000 Pitney-Bowes ; 3.500 RCA; $150,000 Bausch & Lomb 4%%-1980; $100,00 Burroughs 4%%-1981; 132,000 Collins Radio 4%%-1980; $200,000 Philco 4%%1984; $200,000 Sperry Rand 5%%-1982; $179,000 Thompson Ramo Wooldridge 4%%-1982. Securities eliminated: 17,900 shares of Amphenol-Borg ; 4,000 Atlee Corp. ; 14,500 Bullard Co. ; 23,600 Bulova ; 32,500 Columbia Pictures ; 14.500 Federal Pacific Electric ; 5,750 Lab for Electronics ; 20,000 W. L. Maxson ; 15,300 Oak Mfg. Co. ; 19,400 Philco ; 6,000 So. Cal. Edison ; 15,360 Systron-Donner ; 18,000 Telecomputing ; 2,400 TV Associates ; 33,400 20th Century-Fox; $550,000 Ampex 5%-1972 ; $200,000 Telautograph 4%%-1965. Holdings reduced by sales; Sold 8,800 shares of ACF Industries: 10,764 Addressograph-Multigraph ; 17,200 Allegheny-Ludlum ; 15,000 Allis-Chalmers ; 16,150 American Bosch Arma ; 10,000 Borg-Warner ; 10.000 Cincinnati Milling Machine; 9,100 Eaton Mfg. Co.; 4.600 Friden ; 15.000 Ford Motor ; 5,000 Garrett Corp. ; 10,200 (general Mills ; 10,00() GM : 10,000 General Railway Signal ; 16,500 General Telephone ; 8,300 Harris-Intertype ; 15,000 ITT ; 12,300 Lockheed Aircraft ; 12,450 Mergenthaler Linotype : 5,000 Minn. Mining ; 8,000 National Acme ; 6,000 Northrop ; 16,00() Otis Elevator ; 39,200 Paramount Pictures. ♦ * * Electronics Investment Corp. reports its net assets climbed to $32,377,675 as of Oct. 31 — up from $29,416,986 one year earlier. Its semi-annual report notes that net asset value per share declined slightly to $7.26 from the preceding year’s $7.31, after adjustment for the mutual fund’s net capital gains distribution of 55.5^ a share paid May 31, 1960. As of Oct. 31, the portfolio included $26,801,072 in common stocks, $26,869, 514 preferred, $2,787,293 bonds & notes, and $1,535,406 U.S. govt, obligations. Portfolio changes during the July 31-Oct. 31 quarter: Purchases: 1,200 shares of Aerojet General (making a toal of 13, 200): 4,200 Ampex (total 19,200) ; 4,000 Elliott Automation (152,300); 800 GE (8,000) : 14,500 Hallicrafters (14,500) ; 173,900 Hartmann & Braun (173,900) ; 2,300 Litton (8,500) ; 1,500 Microwave Associates (18,700) : 3,600 Packard Bell (26,732) ; 1 Raytheon (10,757) ; 200 Siemens & Halske (7,000) ; 1 Varian (21,334) ; 2,200 Western Union (12,200). Bonds purchased: $310,000 Collins 4%% convertible debentures due 1980 ($890,000) : $100,000 Eitel-McCullough 6*4 convertible subordinate debentures due 1974 ($240,000). Sales: 700 Borg-Wamer (8,300 still held) ; 15,200 Cohu (6,043) ; 2.500 Eastern Industries (6,548) : 3,400 Emerson Electric (10.749) ; 400 Hazeltine (8,172) ; 3.000 Speer Carbon (7,000) ; 4.400 Sperry Rand (10.500) : $2.2 million U.S. Treasury bills ($1.6 million). AB-PT expects record profits for 1960 on gross revenues of about $325 million — or 13% higher than last year’s $288 million — Pres. Leonard H. Goldenson told the Investment Analysts Society of Chicago last week. He said the improvement in net income may not equal the 48% rise in per-share results reported for the first 9 months of this year. Most of the improvement, he predicted, will be due to an anticipated 30% rise in gross billings of ABC-TV network — to about $164 million from $126 million last year. In the next 5 years, he foresaw the network’s gross revenues doubling, due to increasing penetration of top markets, a possible rate increase and expansion of the broadcast day. Noting that TV is now growing faster overseas than in the U.S., he pointed out that AB-PT has interests in TV stations in Australia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Lebanon and 5 countries in Central America.