Wickes Nets Tidy Profit in Losing Bid for Owens

In the nice-work-if-you-can-get-it file: Wickes Cos. said it will record a total $30-million-plus profit after expenses on its unsuccessful takeover run at Owens-Corning Fiberglas.

Wickes said Tuesday that it sold 2.2 million Owens-Corning shares, or about 7.5% of the Toledo, Ohio-based building products company, after exercising an option that it had to buy the stock from Bear, Stearns & Co. at $61.05 per share. Wickes made $9 million on Owens-Corning shares that it sold last week.

Wickes offered to buy Owens-Corning for $74 per share, but the company rejected the offer. Instead, Owens-Corning opted to restructure, offering to swap shareholders $52 in cash, debt with a $35 face value and one share in the recapitalized company for each common share outstanding.

Owens-Corning led the most active list Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange with nearly 3.9 million shares changing hands. The stock price fell $1.25 a share to close at $77.87 1/2.

Wickes’ stock closed at $5.12 1/2, down 12 1/2 cents, on the American Stock Exchange. It was the exchange’s most active issue with 1.4 million shares trading.