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

DATE: THURSDAY, July 29, 1993                   TAG: 9307290089
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARK FOLK AND CHRISTINE TATUM LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: EDEN, N.C.                                LENGTH: Short

FIELDCREST WORKERS TIRE OF WAITING

Fieldcrest Cannon Inc. employees said Wednesday they are growing tired of playing a waiting game while owners of the textile company decide who will get control of the nation's largest towel maker.

"Most everybody wants all of this to hurry up and get over with," said Ronald Robertson, 50, a 31-year worker in the blanket finishing mill.

Rumors of Fieldcrest's sale began in January when the Dumaines Trust said it was interested in selling its stake in the North Carolina textile company, which operates a towel mill in Henry County, Va.

Bidding ended Friday. Textile industry analysts identify the top bidders as Fort Mill, S.C.-based Springs Industries; Apollo Advisors, a New York investment firm; and a Fieldcrest Cannon management-led buyout team.

A Fieldcrest manager said Wednesday he didn't think Dumaines Trust would disclose the buyer's name until a deal is final. That could happen any day.

Robertson said the company's secretive negotiations have been hard to endure. "Things are so uncertain. People are saying this company could buy us out and then turn around and sell to someone else or close us down," he said. "No one has told us anything."

by CNB