Business Notes Takeovers

Wall Street has been abuzz for the past month with rumors that a mysterious investor was acquiring a major stake in Unocal (1984 sales: $11.5 billion) and might launch a takeover battle for the 14th largest U.S. oil company. Last week the great accumulator stepped forward. Texas Oilman T. Boone Pickens Jr. said that he and a group of partners have spent $584 million to acquire 13.8 million Unocal shares, or 7.9% of the company's stock.

Pickens, who last year waged fights with Phillips Petroleum and Gulf, claimed that he had no present plans to seek control of Unocal. Nonetheless, he added, he was prepared to spend an additional $616 million to buy more of the California firm's shares. A Pickens takeover bid would be strongly opposed by Unocal Chairman Fred Hartley, who has declared that his firm is not for sale.

Phillips Petroleum, meanwhile, was still feeling the effects last week of its encounter with Pickens. Financier Carl Icahn, who opposes a December agreement that ended the Pickens-Phillips fight, was cleared by a court ruling to proceed with his own takeover bid for the Oklahoma company.