BASS GROUP SAYS IT HAS HAD TALKS ON TAFT <TFB>
A group led by members of the
wealthy Bass family of Fort Worth, Texas, which holds a 24.9
pct stake in Taft Broadcasting Co, said it has had talks about
taking part in a move to take control of the company.
    In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
the group said it has had discussions with other Taft
stockholders and some company managers and directors
"concerning participation in a group to acquire control" of the
company.
    The Bass group, which did not identify any of the other
people with whom it said it has had talks, said it plans to
continue evaluating Taft and "will be involved in further
discussions relating to the future control and direction" of
the company.
    The group, which holds 2,291,210 Taft common shares, said
its members may buy more shares of Taft common stock, or may
decide to sell some or all of its stake.
    On Friday Taft said it would negotiate with a group led by
its vice chairman, Dudley Taft, and a Rhode Island investment
firm, which had offered 150 dlrs a share for the company.
    The Dudley Taft group, Theta Corp, which also includes
Narragansett Capital Corp, a Providence, R.I., investment firm,
is seeking to take the company private in a leveraged buyout
valued at 1.38 billion dlrs.
    Besides the Bass group, another major Taft shareholder,
Cincinnati, Ohio, financier Carl Lindner, has also said he has
had talks about increasing his stake in the company, taking
part in a takeover effort, or launching one himself.
    Lindner controls 1,489,298 shares of Taft common stock, or
16.2 pct of the total.
 Reuter
