JUDGE ALLOWS DEAL ON RICH FOLKS' PENS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 24, 1993                   TAG: 9303240027
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short
JUDGE ALLOWS DEAL ON RICH FOLKS' PENS
A federal judge refused Tuesday to block the Gillette Co.'s proposed takeover of Parker Pen Holdings Ltd., saying the deal would harm only rich people seeking another status symbol.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Sporkin rejected a request by the Justice Department for a temporary restraining order that would have prohibited Gillette from offering $561 million to buy out Parker.
The Justice Department filed a suit late Tuesday to halt the deal, claiming it would give Gillette monopolistic powers in violation of the Clayton Antitrust Act to fix the prices of premium fountain pens now selling in the range of $50 to $400.
Through its Waterman subsidiary, Gillette controls 21 percent of the $46 million U.S. market in high-priced fountain pens, while Parker has a 19 percent share, based on 1991 retail sales, the Justice Department said. Richemont, a German company that markets its fountain pens under the Montblanc and Cartier brands, has the largest share, 40 percent.
Sporkin rejected a Justice Department attorney's arguments that the acquisition would end price competition between Waterman and Parker and allow Gillette to raise the price of both brands at an irrevocable harm to the public.
"You're dealing in an area where rich people are concerned," the judge said. "I don't think poor people buy these pens. You think these lawyers on Wall Street are going to complain if they have to pay so much for these pens? It's a status thing for them."

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB