Shamrock Offers to Buy Polaroid

Roy Disney’s Shamrock Holdings Inc., the group that sparked a turnaround at Walt Disney Co., said today it has proposed a $2.5-billion buyout of instant photography giant Polaroid Corp.

The move comes about a week after Polaroid announced layoffs and possible anti-takeover stock provisions. Shamrock, headed by the 58-year-old nephew of Walt Disney and vice-chairman of the Disney entertainment conglomerate, has acquired about 8% of Polaroid stock. Polaroid said it had no comment on the disclosure that Shamrock has acquired 4.93 million shares or about $175-million worth of Polaroid. Shamrock said it was ready to pay $40 a share for Polaroid in a negotiated merger transaction. Polaroid stock traded today at $36, up $2, prior to the news, and on resumption of trading soared to $40, up $6 from Tuesday.