New Giant

The biggest aviation merger in world history was all set and ready to go last week: ingenious, light-plane maker Vultee Aircraft into venerable, bomber-builder Consolidated Aircraft. When officially joined some time this month, the new Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp. will be a vast, highflying enterprise with $270,000,000 total assets, annual sales of over $500,000,000, annual profits of roughly $15,000,000. Its line of aircraft, moreover, will include everything from Stinson "flying jeeps" and private planes to deadly Vultee dive-bombers, long-range, four-engined Consolidated Liberator bombers and Coronado flying boats--plus a titanic, semisecret 400-passenger plane now abuilding.

The merger is no surprise. It was in the cards back in December 1941 when little Vultee bought a 34% stock interest in much bigger Consolidated. The present deal will merge the two companies completely, thus eliminate all corporate boundaries, permit free interchange of all materials, manpower, parts and blueprints.

The Signal-Caller. But this is more than a big aircraft merger--it is the successful conclusion of one of the boldest financial plans since the merger-crazy '20s. The planner: resourceful Victor Emanuel, a fast-moving financial quarterback who bosses the rambling Aviation Corp. The plan: expand Aviation Corp. from an overweight aviation holding company into a General Motors of the air.

Financier Emanuel started off by cutting the fat from Aviation Corp., getting top-notch production men to run the manufacturing divisions. Then he started pushing Aviation Corp.'s Vultee and Stinson divisions, pushed so hard Vultee was soon the No. 1 U.S. training-plane maker and Stinson one of the best known private-plane makers. Then came Emanuel's big coup: with $11,000,000 cash (two-thirds of it begged & borrowed) his pet Vultee bought into Consolidated. To make sure nothing went wrong, Emanuel tagged tough, dynamic Republic Steel Board Chairman Tom Girdler to run both Vultee and Consolidated.

Since then both companies have roared ahead: airplane output more than tripled last year; profits rose despite terrific taxes; Army-Navy "E"s showered down. And if Emanuel has not yet got an airborne General Motors, he has the next thing to it. His manufacturing divisions make all types of aviation parts, his new-formed Consolidated Vultee makes all kinds of aircraft, his Aviation Corp. holds 10 to 34% stock interests in Pan American Airways, American Airlines and Roosevelt Field. And Consolidated's own Consairways operates a vast cargo-carrying airline across the Pacific.

The Danger Signals? The big question in Emanuel's strong and massive new setup is whether it is fast and flexible enough to jump the hurdles which have tripped many a big-time industrial conglomeration. Outstanding example is Curtiss-Wright Corp., an outfit which was tossed together in 1929 with high hopes and publicity, promptly piled up big deficits because of the great depression, gangling training schools, overfinanced flying fields and loosely coordinated manufacturing divisions.

But Financier Emanuel knows all about this, thinks he can keep his companies young and vigorous, thus avoid such pitfalls. One thing is certain: he and his pals have plenty of the kind of fight needed to preserve and nourish the U.S. economy. When Tom Girdler was running short of materials last year, he scrapped and cussed his way right to Washington's high command, finally got ironclad promises for enough materials to do the job.

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