P.M. BRIEFING : CRT Group May Make Eastern Bid
<i> From Times wire services </i>
NEW YORK —
The chairman of CRT Group, one of the country’s most active options and futures trading firms, is interested in bidding for Eastern Airlines and has lined up Shearson Lehman Hutton Inc. to provide financial backing, it was reported today.
The Wall Street Journal said the chairman, Joseph Ritchie, is being advised by Frank Carlucci, former defense secretary, about a possible bid. Carlucci is vice chairman of the Carlyle Group of Washington.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Burton Lifland set Wednesday as the deadline for would-be buyers of Eastern to come forward. Other interested suitors include Chicago financier Jay A. Pritzker, TWA Chairman Carl Icahn and an investor group that includes former Piedmont Airlines Chairman William Howard.
