Hostile Offer for DeSoto: A New York...

Hostile Offer for DeSoto: A New York investment company, Sutton Holding Group, mounted a $220-million, $50-a-share hostile takeover of Des Plaines, Ill.-based DeSoto Inc, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of paint products. A Sutton Group statement released in New York said the company would begin its unsolicited cash tender offer “as soon as practicable, but in any event within five business days.” It said financing for the bid already was in place with commitments from Paine Webber Funding Inc. and Austria’s Creditanstalt bank. DeSoto officers could not be reached for comment.