Business & Finance: Deals: Feb. 10, 1930

Bathroom Merger. On many Prophylactic toothbrushes has been spread toothpaste made by the Lambert Co. Likewise on many a Prophylactic shaving brush has been squeezed Lambert’s shaving cream. And in many a medicine chest Prophylactic hairbrushes repose side by side with bottles of Lambert’s Listerine and boxes of Lambert’s throat tablets. Last week a merger was announced between Lambert Co. and Prophylactic Brush Co., on terms of one share of Lambert for two of Prophylactic. Although Lambert’s $5,500,000 total assets are not double Pro-phy-lac-tic’s $4,032,000, Lambert’s high earnings make the merger desirable to Prophylactic shareholders. In the last few years Lambert has turned in this rapid progression: $1,288,000 in 1926; $2,998,000 in 1927; $4,447,000 in 1928; over $6,500,000 estimated for 1929.

Stockings. “Du Barry Wasn’t Dense. . . . Surely Du Barry, like all beautiful women, would have chosen Propper Chiffon Stockings.”

So read a recent advertisement of Propper Silk Hosiery Mills, Inc., makers of Propper Blue Edge stockings. Last week there was another Propper announcement. President Leo Propper joined with President George B. McCallum of McCallum Hosiery Co. to say that the two companies would merge, thus refuting a statement last fortnight in which Mr. McCallum said negotiations had been “definitely terminated.”

McCallum is the second oldest U. S. hosiery company, makes wear for men and women. It prepares its own thread in four plants, is closely held by the McCallum family, stresses the point: you just know she wears them.

Propper specializes on high grade hosiery (“At all shops serving a discreet clientele”) between $3 and $6 the pair. In 1929 its gross earnings were $691,127, gathered from some 130,000 dozen pairs of stockings. Propper stock is listed on the New York Curb. When it first appeared, President Leo Propper received a note daintily written on a small card, saying: “May your stock run as well as your stockings.”

Matches. When Ivar Kreuger and his Swedish Match Co. offered Germany a $125,000,000 loan at 6%, they made the condition that a match monopoly should be established in which the government and Swedish Match*should participate. Last week the Reichstag debated this proposal. The People’s Party, the Democrats, the Communists began to object, criticize. But when Finance Minister Paul Moldenhauer gravely announced that if the match agreement were not ratified, the Reichstag exchequer would face a deficit of 273,000,000 marks by July, the delegates hastened to approve the agreement by a vote of 240 to 145. So lusty are the Swedish Match finances that Lee, Higginson & Co., Manhattan bankers for the company, thought it might well carry through its $125,000,000 loan without any borrowing on this side of the Atlantic.

Siemens-G. E. A bitter opponent of German General Electric (A. E. G.) is Carl Friedrich von Siemens, both because German General Electric is his greatest rival and because it has violated his nationalistic feelings by allowing Americans from General Electric to sit upon its board. Yet last week Herr von Siemens apparently neared a truce with German General Electric, allowed U. S. capital to flow into his own company. The truce was taken for granted because of a new $32,000,000 issue of Siemens debentures to be sold in the U. S. It was rumored that about 80% would be bought by General Electric. While these debentures have no voting power and this technically keeps Herr von Siemens immune from being called a hypocrite, Germans take it for granted that General Electric will manage to keep the two German firms from further squabbling.

* Swedish Match then controlled 70% of German match production.