The Right Fit for Ueberroth
Adidas AG may be running to change managers, but Peter V. Ueberroth will remain in the lineup.
That is the word from folks close to flamboyant French financier Bernard Tapie, who disclosed plans to take control of the West German athletic shoe and clothing company from heirs of the company founder, Adi Dassler. If he can obtain the financing, Tapie will buy 80% of the stock.
The buyout raised questions about what that would mean for Ueberroth, the former commissioner of Major League Baseball and Newport Beach investor. He has an option to buy 4% of Adidas AG, as well as the right to acquire 40% of Adidas USA in Warren, N.J.
Last September, Ueberroth joined the board of Adidas AG, and his investment firm, the Contrarian Group, took over management of the company’s U.S. subsidiary.
Ueberroth could not be reached for comment. But Joel Rubenstein, a partner in Ueberroth’s investment firm, said Tapie has stated that he is pleased with the group’s management of the U.S. subsidiary and that he hoped to keep its management in place.
“We’re interested in getting Adidas USA back on the right track,” Rubenstein said. “That will not change. From our perspective, this is a positive move.”
B of A Returns to Homeland
When A. P. Giannini, the son of Italian immigrants, opened for business in San Francisco in 1904, he called his operation Bank of Italy, and for years he looked first to the burgeoning Italian community for customers.
It is said that, before determining how much money he would lend to a denizen of Fisherman’s Wharf, he would examine the fisherman’s hands. The harder and bigger his calluses, the greater the loan.
The company today, of course, is known as Bank of America. Last week, it opened the first full-service commercial branch in Italy under the B of A name, in Milan.
Giannini early on developed ties with the Italian financial community, buying a controlling share of that country’s Banca d’America e d’Italia in 1919. That interest was sold in 1986. Bank of America has had a representative office for corporate customers in Milan for about three years, but the new branch will provide a broader range of services for businesses.
Chief Executive Richard M. Rosenberg, who dedicated the branch, noted that B of A is gearing up for European Community market unification in 1992. The Milan branch joins offices in France, Spain, West Germany, England, Switzerland and Greece.
Perfect Spot for Commercial
Sometimes timing is everything.
Last Wednesday’s edition of ABC’s “Nightline” program focused on the crisis in the savings and loan industry.
Among anchor Ted Koppel’s guests was L. William Seidman, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the agency overseeing the thrift cleanup.
After discussing the enormous cost of the bailout effort, Koppel paused for a commercial.
Up came a spot explaining the advantages of borrowing from Cal Fed Bank, a savings and loan.
