HARPER AND ROW <HPR> TO MULL OPTIONS AFTER BIDS
Harper and Row Publishers Inc said its
board of directors decided to take no action on two takeover
bids that the company has received. Instead, it appointed a
committee of independent directors to study strategic
alternatives for the 170-year-old firm.
    The alternatives include continuation of the company's
existing business plans, possible business combinations, sales
of stock, restructuring and the sale of all or part of the
company.
    Kidder Peabody and Co Inc has been retained to advise on
the alternatives, Harper and Row added.
    Private investor Theodore Cross last week offered 34 dlrs a
share for Harper and Row, prompting a rival bid of 50 dlrs a
share from another publishing firm, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
Inc <HBJ>.
    After considering the two offers at a meeting on Friday,
the Harper and Row board decided not to act on them.
    The directors unanimously expressed their strong desire to
preserve the company's independence and take advantage of its
"considerable future prospects," according to director Winthrop
Knowlton, former chief executive and now chairman of the newly
established independent committee.
    "However, given the significant current interest in the
company, we also feel that we should carefully review all the
options available. The committee will consider all the
pertinent facts and alternatives.... We intend to make a
careful and informed decision but will proceed expeditiously to
a conclusion," Knowlton said.
    Pending its deliberations, Harper and Row's board has
postponed indefinitely a special meeting of stockholders that
had been scheduled for April 2 to discuss a proposal to
recapitalize the company's stock to create two classes of
shares with different voting rights.
 REUTER
