Simon, Parsky Business Breakup Continues
Former Treasury Secretary William E. Simon and Los Angeles lawyer Gerald L. Parsky, once close business associates until a bitter split last year, are continuing to divide up the business holdings they accumulated through various Los Angeles-based entities.
Parsky said Thursday that arrangements are being made to buy out his interests in the three Southland thrifts that he and Simon purchased using money from investors. Simon in turn is increasing his role in overseeing the holding companies that own Western Federal Savings, Southern California Savings and West Coast Savings, Parsky said.
The sale of a fourth institution Simon and Parsky bought, Honfed Bank in Hawaii, to BankAmerica Corp. is expected to be final in the third quarter. Simon could not be reached for comment.
Meanwhile, Parsky disclosed that WSGP Partners, the main investment vehicle the two men used during the 1980s, has been renamed Aurora Partners. The name change reflects the Parsky-Simon split that occurred last fall after friction grew between the two men. The name “WSGP” came from the initials of Simon and Parsky. Former Federal Reserve Board Vice Chairman Preston Martin also was a partner and has joined Simon.
Parsky said that Aurora will boast a prominent, four-member advisory committee headed by Los Angeles businessman John E. Anderson, for whom the UCLA Business School is named. Others include former Rockwell Chairman Robert Anderson, former Labor Secretary James D. Hodgson and Simon Ramo, the co-founder of TRW.
Parsky and three other general partners--Simon is no longer involved--will be using the firm to make investment in mid-size industrial companies with revenue from $50 million to $250 million. In March, the group acquired Roller Bearing Co. of America, a maker of ball and roller bearings.
In addition to Parsky, the other general partners include two longtime associates, Richard Crowell and Richard Roeder. The fourth partner is investor Jeffrey Deutschman, who has been involved in separate two corporate buyouts involving well known clothing manufacturers, Warnaco and Cherokee Group.
