Numbers
of companies interested in acquiring Polychrome 4 . By Mr. Bob Gumbinner
In
1979, Rhodia appointed Tony Perone as a director of Polychrome. Mr.
Perone wanted Mr. Halpern to resign. They bought the Polychrome
stock that the Englehard group owned. Then they made a tender offer
to buy at $18 a share to buy a majority of the Polychrome stock. Mr.
Halpern had had an understanding with Mr. Koyashi to merge Polychrome
with Fuji Film. Unfortunately, Mr. Kobyashi had died by this time
and Mr. Onishi was the president of Fuji. Mr. Onishi had been in
charge of the Fuji United States operations. Although Jim Graves and
Bernard Gold had cultivated Mr. Onishi, Mr. Halpern had ignored him.
Mr. Halpern then turned to Dainippon Ink and Chemicals. They
entered in a bidding war with Rhone Poulenc for the Polychrome stock.
They finally offered $27 a share and bought the Rhodia shares and
made a tender offer for the rest. During this period Mr. Picard
supported Mr. Halpern rather than the Rhodia offer. Mr. Piani was
neutral.