GENCORP <GY> BIDDER PLANS SALE OF AEROSPACE UNIT
<General Partners>, controlled by
privately-held Wagner and Brown and by AFG Industries Inc, said
plans to sell GenCorp Inc's aerospace and soft drink bottling
divisions if it succeeds in acquiring the company.
    In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
General Partners said proceeds from the sale of GenCorp's
aerospace division would help it repay some of the debt it
would incur in the 100 dlr a share cash tender offer.
    General Partners, which launched the surprise tender offer
today, said it already 2,180,608 shares of GenCorp, or 9.4 pct
of the total outstanding common stock.
    General Partners, which estimated the total cost of the
takeover at 2.5 billion dlrs, also said it plans to continue
GenCorp's policy of trying to settle Federal Communications
Commission charges against two of its television and 12 radio
station licenses.
    It said it would also continue GenCorp's policy of trying
to sell its New York-area television station WOR to MCA Inc
<MCA> for 387 mln dlrs and its Los Angeles station KHJ to Walt
Disney Co <DIS> for 217 mln dlrs.
    But General Partners said it plans to keep GenCorp's
headquarter in Akron, Ohio.
    General Partners also said it would maintain GenCorp's
plastics and industrial products division as well as tires and
related products.
    But it left open that it might make other changes in
GenCorp's operations after it completes the merger.
    Besides using 250 mln dlrs of its own equity for the tender
offer, General Partners said it would seek one billion dlrs
under a secured margin facility from Wells Fargo Bank N.A.
and other banks. It also said it would seek 1.25 billion dlrs
from the sale to Shearson Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc or its
affiliates of senior subordinated promissory notes.
    In a March 18 letter to GenCorp Chairman William Reynolds,
which was included in the SEC filing, General Partners
officials said they were "confident of our ability to promptly
obtain the remaining funding as described in our offer
materials."
    "For this reason, we do not forsee any obstacles to a
prompt consummation of the transaction," General Partners said.
    Shearson is dealer manager of the General Partners offer
for GenCorp.
 Reuter
