Mergers

Tendency to merge, consolidate, combine, acquire, reorganize, was last week illustrated by:

Crackers, Cookies. National Biscuit Co., world's largest biscuit makers, announced that plans were virtually completed for it to acquire control of Christie, Brown & Co., Ltd., biggest makers of crackers, cookies, cakes and puddings in Canada. Basis of the deal: one share of National Biscuit common stock for two shares of Christie, Brown common.

Hats. Cavanagh-Dobbs, Inc. (fine hats) purchased Sunfast Hats, Inc., of Danbury, Conn., with the idea of adding lower-priced hats to its family.

Bonds. C. F. Childs & Co., oldest U. S. house specializing in government bonds, with offices from coast to coast, merged with the American National Co., securities subsidiary of the American Trust Co. of San Francisco. It was pointed out that neither house is "absorbing" the other. C. F. Childs & Co., the bigger of the two, did $4,000,000,000 business in government bonds last year.

Zinc. By an exchange of stock, Missouri-Kansas Zinc Corp. acquired Kansas Zinc Mills Corp.

Paper. Kimberly-Clark Co. manufactures rotogravure paper for 80% of the newspapers and magazines in North and South America, also controls the Spruce Falls Power & Paper Co., Ltd. (50% of its production is for the N. Y. Times). Last week, the two companies were reorganized under the name of the Kimberly-Clark Corp.

Magazines. In the field of trade journals, where editorial problems are simple, profits great, was a merger: A. W. Shaw Co. (Magazine of Business, System) and McGraw-Hill Publishing Co. Inc. (Electrical World, Coal Age, Radio Retailing, Bus Transportation, and many another).

Coal. Isaac T. Mann, president of the Pocahontas Fuel Co., reported that agreement was being reached among some 80 soft coal operators in Virginia and West Virginia for the consummation of a $200,000,000 merger.