1 THE D Wednesday August 1989 BEST CNE will survive the Takeover bids head north Your Business Diane Thomson Nam Service So many big controversial deal have been done lately that we tend to grow complacent about them South of the border hostile takeovers have been done of com panies worth billion S more When the news is first an critics say there no wa the raiders will be able to come up with that much money But they do the target company falls and is broken up and sold piece by piece Uually the ones who benefit are the shareholders who sell and the buyers who flip the different divisions for a fast buck Don t look now but these fast buck operators may be sniffing around Canada looking for something to grab and pull apart To be fair takeovers are often good for the company and the economy They shake up sleepy management and revitalize com suffering from a disease that af big several unrelated businesses Stock prices of conglomerates usually do not reflect the com s true value because analysts can t figure them out But if some deals ought not to done for financial reasons other call up sterner prohibitions One such is the rumored takeover of Canadian Pacific Ltd by a of U S or British based raiders IMPOSSIBLE DEAL The rumored offer may not come to pass But if it does the takeover of Canadian Pacific by foreign in is a deal that should not be done No matter how much money the predators may have letting CP fall to foreign buyers is politically unacceptable It would be like the Japanese buying IBM Fat chance Americans would go for that Canadian Pacific is one of Canada s oldest and largest com panies One does not have to be an economic nationalist to sense something wrong in such a deal has some holdings that we would do well to keep Canadian Rail for example Underneath the parent company lies a wealth of real estate assets no doubt part of its attraction If indeed CP were to fall prey to a leveraged buyout where the buyers borrow the purchase price against the target company assets and earning power let the buyers be Canadian Even then we would have come a long way in seven years since the last time so meone tried to take a run at CP Back then both the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec the Quebec pension fund manager and Paul Desmarais Power Corp ex pressed an interest buyhing CP TURNED DOWN FLAT Ottawa said no deal If today some American raider were to come prowling around this historic company Ottawa would be hard pressed to keep its lips sealed But what happens if foreign buyers join forces with one or two homegrown bidders to go after Canadian Pacific Analysts think this is exactly what is likely to hap pen Federal takeover watchdogs would have their hands full for months trying to figure out if the deal was good for Canada Mr and Power Corp still be interested analysts speculate Power is flush with cash after the sale of Montreal Trust and Consolidated No doubt Mr Desmarais could do good things with CP Even so a list of CP s holdings reveals the significance of a change in owner ship CP Rail the Soo Line CP Ships CP Trucks an interest in Transportation dian Petroleum Ltd CP Forest Products CP Telecommunica CP Hotels Marathon Realty and AMCA International If and when an offer is made it will be gripping to watch this great Canadian drama unfold Toronto Bureau Thomson News Ser The and Blue Jays won i be at the Canadian National Ex this summer that doesn t have organizers They are predicting Canada largest fair can be just as good without the Canadian Football League and baseball s American League Jays who have moved from the CNE grounds to the new SkyDome We re quite confident that a significant number of people came to see the Blue Jays and the Argos came as well to see the fair said CNE genera manager Peter Moore I m not tickled pink that the Argos and Blue Jays aren t here But it their move affords us the opportunity to do other things For example the grandstand is now available for the Hollywood Stunt and Thrill Show a daredevil show that runs daily There is also time for additional evening concerts Three extra con certs have been added to a schedule that includes Starr and the AllStars Aug 19 Stevie Nicks Aug 17 and Randy Travis Aug The 111th CNE runs from Aug to Sept More than two million visitors are expected this year with most coming from southern Ontario Tim Belch a senior publicist 0109 Simon CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT with the CNE said about per cent of the visitors live within a ile radius of Toronto However he said the CNE does attract its share of people from northern Ontario other provinces and the world That can be anywhere from Europe to western Ontario to the United States he said One incentive the CNE is offer ing to visitors this year is a number of free attractions including the Beef and Dairy Cattle Shows Aug to at the Pavilion and the Best Dressed Pig Contest on Aug 27 in the Swine Barn The pig contest pits the costum ed animals In a competition for the best fashionable appearance People in farming might want to mark Aug 29 on their calendar since that is the of Agriculture Day The day spotlights the wide number of goats sheep and cattle on display at the fair grounds din ing the event Belch calls the largest agricultural competition in Canada There will be different agricultural competitions during the CNE s threeweek run Another attraction is the Thailand exhibit at the Interna Pavilion Thailand is the featured country this year and the exhibit includes an authentic Thailand restaurant A water tank will also be used to create a Thailand floating market where merchants sell goods from their boats As welt there is a plethora of entertainment features including the Canadian International Air Show Sept to and the Moscow Circus Aug to Sept This year children and under can get into the CNE for free Mon day to Friday with a Kentucky Fried Chicken coupon while seniors and over are admitted free on weekdays courtesy of Golden Griddle Pancake House The regular admission price for adults is on weekdays and on weekends and holidays kml Mens STORE HOURS 30 a m 6 m except Thursday day 9 30am City Stylos Closa To Hornet 211 Guelph Street Georgetown NORTHVIEW CENTRE Communications Inc if 1H