Business Notes DEALS

The man with the golden touch has struck it rich again -- or has he? Former Treasury Secretary William Simon reaped a $66 million profit when he and fellow investors acquired Gibson Greetings in 1982 and sold the card company back to public stockholders 16 months later. That windfall helped create the 1980s boom in leveraged buyouts and established Simon's reputation as a master of mouth-watering financial deals.

Simon now stands to pocket an estimated $20 million by selling First Interstate of Hawaii, which owns the state's fourth largest bank, to First Hawaiian, the second largest banking firm, for about $140 million. Simon's investment group paid $31 million for First Interstate when it acquired the holding company last year.

But the Justice Department has urged the Federal Reserve Board to reject Simon's latest deal on the ground that it would substantially lessen competition among Hawaii's banks. In its application, First Hawaiian, which has 58 branches, said it would sell three offices outside Honolulu once the merger was approved. Bank officials had hoped the step would help eliminate antitrust objections to the purchase of First Interstate. Even if the Federal Reserve ultimately approves the merger, Justice could go to court to block the deal.