GOODYEAR <GT> TO SELL CELERON
Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co said it
expects to sell its Celeron Corp oil and gas subsidiary for
about two billion dlrs in about two months.
    After the company's annual meeting, Rober Mercer,
Goodyear's chairman and chief executive officer, also said 
Goodyear expects to report a profit of more than one dlr a
share from continuing operations in the first quarter. In the
same year-ago period, Goodyear reported a loss of 64 cents a
share from continuing operations.
    Mercer said about seven companies are interested in buying
Celeron and they may form a consortium to buy the unit.
    Celeron consists of oil and gas reserves and an almost
complete pipeline linking drilling operations in Santa Barbara,
Calif., to Texas refineries. Mercer said Celeron's reserves
would not be sold separately from the pipeline.
    Concerning speculation that two billion dlr price tag for
Celeron was too high, Mercer said "There is no fire sale going
on here and we can continue to keep Celeron as a profitable
operation throughout the year."
    Mercer said the expected 1st quarter operating profit was
based on the new share total after Goodyear's share repurchase
last year to fend off Sir James Goldsmith's hostile takeover
bid.
 Reuter
