Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 35

Chicago Tribune, Friday, August 31 1990 Section 3 3 IT Jfl Jt, JL dTi A I i role in electric utilities i. VJVP1 -mr-st I v. 1 By Charles Storch Centel continuing its transformation into a pure local-exchange telephone and cellular communications company, said Thursday it plans to sell its original business, electric utilities. The Chicago firm said it decided to sell the electric operations, which serve a combined 136,000 customers in Kansas and Colorado, after receiving "considerable" expressions of interest from parties it didn't identify. Centel retained the investment banking firm of Smith Barney, Harris Upham Co.

to handle the sale. Centel didn't say how much it expects to receive for the properties, although it is believed they could fetch more than $300 million. The company predicted it could have an agreement to sell the electric utilities by the end of this year, although it could take several more months for the transaction to clear all regulatory hurdles. Eugene H. Irminger, Centel's senior vice president and chief financial officer, said the company plans to use sale proceeds to reduce debt, but the plans could change by the time a sale is closed.

News of the planned sale didn't spare Centel from the stock market's broad decline Thursday. On the New York Stock Exchange, Centel's shares closed at $23.50 a share, off $1.37. Centel's stock has been under pressure recently amid concern about debt incurred in expanding its cellular telephone business. Partly to reduce that burden, Centel in the last year has sold its cable television systems, its stake in two long-distance telephone firms and one of the three pieces of its business-systems segment The company already had an agreement to sell another piece of the business-systems segment and was seeking offers for the last piece when it put the electric operations on the block. When those sales are accomplished, Centel will be in two businesses: providing local-exchange telephone service in nine states, including Illinois, and operating cellular telephone franchises in 15 states.

Centel's roots go back to 1909, when it was founded in Kansas (where it remains incorporated) as Concordia Electric Light Co. It wasn't until 1922 that the company entered the telephone business. Centel will be losing a piece of its past as well as one of its takeover defenses when the electric operations are divested. The parent Centel is an electric company whose subsidiaries are in various telecommunications bust- nesses. The federal Public Holding Act of 1935 imposes re strictions on any party acquiring" an electric company restrictions, likely to deter those not already in the electric business.

Centel's electric utility business has been relegated to a lesser role for many years, although it contin- ued to be appreciated for itsT steady cash flow. In 1989, electric operations posted pretax operating profits of $29 million on revenue of $165 million or about 16 peii cent of Centel's total pretax oper- ating income of $182 million and 14 percent of the $1.19 billion in revenues last year. For the first half of 1990, elecy" trie operations had pretax of $12.7 million on revenue of $80.3 million. Separately, Centel announced. the retirement of James A.

Lovelffj, 62, as executive vice presidents, and a director. His retirement, ef-; fective immediately, reduces the' number of directors to 12. Lovell will remain a with the company. Lovell joined Centel in Before entering the telephone busiv ness, Lovell was widely known as) "1 the astronaut who piloted they command module on the Apollo 8 -moon mission and was spacecraft. commander for Apollo 13.

Tribune photo by Ovie Carter PUSH spreads boycott message Operation PUSH volunteers distribute leaflets explaining its boycott of Nike products Thursday at the Foot Locker store at 167 N. State St. The leaflets also were handed out at the Evergreen Plaza Shopping Center in Evergreen Park. Factory orders show sluggish industry Factory orders In billions of dollars; seasonally adjusted $242i 234 lip 232 1 i-rf tiih-. ties America Inc.

in New York. One thing we can see happening is the weak dollar aiding exports, giving some boost to manufacturing, but households may cut back consumption" because of rising oil prices and diminished confidence in the economic outlook. "These orders show the same pattern of an economy barely growing, perhaps on the brink of a recession, and possibly about to be pushed over the edge by a sharp drop in consumer confidence, said David Jones, senior economist with Aubrey G. Lanston Co. in New York.

The factory orders gain last month was slightly better than the 1.3 percent forecast by economists and followed a revised 1.9 percent drop in June orders. The gain was due mainly to a pickup in commercial aircraft orders, which shot up 25.3 percent in July after declining in June by 13.2 percent. Boeing Co. has a backlog of orders from overseas for that should last for years. The transportation category, which includes aircraft, gained 4.9 percent in July after a 6.3 percent June fall.

Excluding transportation, factory orders gained 1.1 percent in July after an equal 1.1 percent fall in June, the department said. A key component of factory orders, durable goods, rose 2.8 percent in July after falling 3.1 percent in June. Durables are items designed to last at least three years. Since orders for durable goods account for about half the factory orders index, any change in volume affects the monthly figures and large swings are not unusual. Within the durable goods category, healthy gains were posted by primary metals, up 3.5 percent, nonelectrical machinery, up 2.3 percent, and fabricated metal products, up 3.6 percent.

Inventories rose 0.7 percent in the latest report to $373.27 billion, the largest monthly increase since February. The rise indicates "intended replenishment of inventories in hopes of better production levels," said John McCauley, economist with R.H. Wrightson Associates New York. From Chicago Tribune wires WASHINGTON Orders for goods made by U.S. factories rose 1.6 percent, to $240.35 billion, in July because of more demand for aircraft, the Commerce Department said Thursday in a report that added to the impression of a sluggish industrial sector.

Shipments of finished goods dropped from June, stocks of unsold goods rose and the department noted that orders for manufactured goods have remained flat for the last 2Vi years at an average $236 billion a month since December 1988. "There's not much stimulus to the manufacturing sector of the economy," said Michael Moran, chief economist for Daiwa Securi Mil A SON DJ FM AM Chicago Tribune Chart; Source: U.S. Department of Commerce Business briefs Kemper tightens rules for golf telecast ads Kemper National Insurance a major advertiser on televised golf tournaments, said it won't advertise at tournaments played at golf clubs with discriminatory membership policies. "Kemper will not advertise on golf tournaments played at clubs which the appropriate sanctioning bodies certify have discriminatory membership policies. In deciding if Kemper will or will not advertise on golf telecasts under this policy, we will make our own judgment calls independently of the actions of other advertisers or organizations," said Gerald L.

Maatman, Kemper National's chief executive officer. Although several professional golf organizations announced their intention to ban tournaments at discriminatory clubs after a controversy at the recent PGA championship at Shoal Creek club in Alabama, some events still are scheduled at such clubs. Molex closes deal on Taiwan venture Electronic connector manufacturer Molex Lisle, completed the acquisition of the remaining SO percent of its joint venture, Molex-Alin, in Taipei, Taiwan. The purchase price wasn't disclosed. Molex entered into the joint venture in February with Lan Alin Industries whose chairman and former owner, James Wu, was retained to manage the new company.

However, Wu voluntarily stepped down and sold his remaining interest in the company to Molex. Jason Huang, former general manager of Molex Thailand, has taken over for Wu. Molex indicated that the Taiwan company name would be changed, but a new name hasn't yet been chosen. Prime Group purchases Steel Supply facility The Prime Group a Chicago-based real estate development firm, bought the 123-acre, former U.S. Steel Supply facility at 13535 S.

Torrance Ave. on Chicago's Far South Side from U.S. Metalsource Corp. The asking price for the property was $12 million. The Prime Group is transforming the property, which includes 1 million square feet of existing industrial facilities, into an industrial park.

U.S. Metalsource already has leased back 500,000 square feet of space within the complex, and Signode a metal stripping and machinery manufacturer, nas leased 150,000 square feet. Meat plants will test new health guidelines The Department of Labor reached agreement with the United Food and Commercial Workers, AFL-CIO, the American Meat Institute and the National Institute for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to test government guidelines aimed at reducing repetitive motion trauma in plants that process red meat The initial program includes voluntary guidelines and a special inspection program. Companies that don't agree to the guidelines will be subject to inspections beginning in 1991. Allercare unit to sell condom operation Allercare Lincolnwood, said its wholly owned subsidiary, Aller-careNSL will sell its condom business, whose principal brand is Protex, to Schmid Laboratories Inc.

of Little Falls, for $4 million cash. A company spokesman said 80 jobs will be eliminated in Lincolnwood after the sale, which is expected to close Sept 17. In addition, he said Allercare is expected to move its corporate headquarters to Minneapolis, affecting six jobs. Allercare, formerly of Minneapolis, bought National Sanitary Laboratories Inc. of Lincolnwood in 1989.

Goodyear lays off 800 in Quebec, Tennessee Goodyear Tire Rubber Co. laid off about 270 employees at its Union City, plant and 530 at its Valleyficld, Quebec, plant. The company blamed production cutbacks due to continued sluggishness in the vehicle manufacturing market, combined with corporate efforts to balance inventory levels. IBM plans 4 hikes on hardware, software International Business Machines Corp. will boost prices 4 percent in the U.S.

for many hardware and software products, effective Jan. 1. The announcement doesn't affect product prices or price changes announced after June 1. It also excludes: maintenance agreement charges; information network charges; professional services charges; customer education courses; Enterprise System3090(a); Personal System2(a) processors, Operating Systcm2(a); disk operating systems; memory for the RISC sys-tem6000(a) and the IBM 3990; the lascrprintcr, and the proprin-terfa). Patent wins pioneer a page in chip history INFINITI M30 ACURA LEGEND LS 3 I I Standard features Anti-Lock Braking System Leather-trimmed interiorsteering wheel Power-assisted driver seat 4-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission Automatic climate control Bose music system Theft deterrent system Driver information center Standard features Anti'Lock Braking System Leather seating surfaces and steering wheel trim Rwer-assisted driver seat Electronicallyontrolled automatic transmission with overdrive Automatic temperature control system Premium Bose Audio System Anti-theft system Driver information center APLMarntatD $23,850 $31,785 Infiniti is showing you this comparison to give you yet another option.

Compare the two charts above and you'll satisfaction of saving nearly $8,000. up I NEW YORK (AP) A patent granted to an obscure inventor for a basic computer chip design could cost the computer industry hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties and rewrite the industry's history, experts said Thursday. But the major computer chipmakers could mount a court battle that would block any payment for years, or even overturn the patent, analysts added. Experts predicted Gilbert Hyatt, a Southern California engineer, would face a stiff fight from big firms that hold patents on chips. "Twenty years after the fact, it's going to be hard for him to collect anything right away," said Tim Bajarin, an industry consultant in Santa Clara.

And experts were divided as to the scope of devices covered by the patent won by Hyatt. Some believed it covers microprocessors, the computers-on-a-chip that are the "brains" of computers and calculators. Others believed it covers only microcontrollers, the less sophisticated but more widely used chips found in household appliances and other electronic devices. Intel the computer chip-maker that has been credited with inventing the microprocessor, and Texas Instruments Inc. both have patents that cover the device.

Experts said it is unclear how Hyatt's patent differs. Spokesmen for Intel, Texas Instruments and Motorola another major chipmaker, declined to comment until their attorneys had time to study Hyatt's patent Hyatt, 52, of La Palma, battled with the U.S. Patent Office for 20 years before he was granted the patent last month. Hyatt said his intention in seeking the patent was to set history straight as well as to earn royalties. He has not said how much money he is seeking.

He said he hopes to negotiate licenses under which electronics companies will pay him royalties for using his invention. Hyatt began working on the technology at Micro Computer which he founded in 1968. The company grew to about 25 employees before going out of business in 1971, he said. "The work I did at Micro Computer Inc. is the forerunner of the PCs," Hyatt said.

"I don't know if all PCs are using the same technology in the patents, but they sure stem from the work I did." Hersaid he is not bitter about see the Infiniti M30 and Acuta Legend share the same high standards. Except for one key area. The price. Which means, you could buy a luxury sports coupe of M30 calibre. Get virtually all the performance, Or, qualified customers can take advantage of an attractive short term lease from Infiniti Financial Services.

Whatever you decide, you have to admit, the Infiniti M30 gives you a lot more options for the money. IIJ '-t': 4 Gilbert Hyatt holds one of his micro chips Wednesday after winning a 20-year patent tight. seeing his invention widely used without financial gain to him in the years since he filed his claim, and he will not seek retroactive payments. "That's how business works," he said. Bajarin said the patent assures Hyatt a place in computer history.

"He can lay claim to being a forefather of the processor," Bajarin said. Daniel Klcsken, an analyst at Prudential-Bache Securities said he figured out what the patent could cost Intel and Motorola, the two largest U.S. chipmakers, if it applied to their entire line of microprocessors and microcontrollers. A royalty of 0.5 percent, the low end of usual rates, would cost Intel $10 million and Motorola $6 million a year, he said. A 2 percent royalty would cost Intel $40 million and Motorola $24 million, Under patent law, Hyatt can only seek royalties back to the date the patent was issued, not when it was filed.

Experts predicted a legal battle could determine whether Hyatt ever sees any royalties unless he agrees to fees low enough that the chip companies would rather pay him than take him to court. "It won't take much to make Hyatt a very rich man, which is petty cash for most of these guys," said Millard Phelps, an analyst at the San Francisco brokerage Ham-brecht Quist. "They're also used to litigating for years on end if they, chose not to pay." UlllVlllilVtl (IIIU OUlk i features that you desire. And fcp experience the information or to arrange for a test drive, call your intense Infiniti dealer today. Infiniti M30 I i ti i i -I- Loeber Infiniti 1100 N.

Clark St. Chicago (312)944-0500 Motor Werlc8 Infiniti Barrington Dundee Roads Barrington (708)381-8900 Performance Infiniti 2300 Skokie Valley Rd. Highland Park (708)433-1100 created by Nissan Manufacturer's suggested retail price including destination charges; title, taxes and license fees not included. 3ased on comparison of manufacturer's suggested retail price for comparably equipped Acura Legend LS. Prices include destination charges; title, taxes and license fees not included..