Business & Finance: Deals: Jun. 23, 1930

Van Camp-Jewel. Van Camp Packing Co. of Indianapolis merged with Jewel Tea Co., Inc. of Barrington, Ill. Van Camp (pork & beans, catsup, spaghetti, evaporated milk, etc.; established 1861) passed its first quarter dividend on 7% preferred though business for the first two months of the year showed an increase over 1929. Jewel (tea, coffee, other staples; first twelve week sales $3,693,872; directorate mostly Lehman Bros, and Goldman Sachs) distributes its products direct to the consumer by means of more than 1,200 automobile routes in 40 states. Van Camp will issue $2,500,000 additional preferred.

Ohio Oil-Transcontinental Oil. Ohio Oil (founded 1887; former Standard subsidiary; assets $110,000,000; in 1929 earned $12,392,097; crude producer and refiner) bought Transcontinental Oil (small but well-integrated and recently prosperous; Amos L. Beaty, former Chairman of Texas Corp., has been Transcontinental Chairman since August 1929; 1929 earnings $4,723,990, three times 1928). The union is logical because the companies jointly control rich Yates Pool in Pecos County, Texas.

North American Aviation-Berliner-Joyce (see p. 52).Anglo-Canadian — Canada Power.

Anglo-Canadian Pulp & Paper Mills, Ltd. (controlled by Harold Sidney Harmsworth, Lord Rothermere; brother of late great Lord Northcliffe; owner of London Daily Mail, London Evening News, Sunday Dispatch, Northcliffe Newspapers, Ltd.), consolidated with Canada Power & Paper Corp. (controlled by Sir Herbert Samuel Holt and James Henry Gundy who recently [TIME, June 2] consolidated Canadian steel and coal properties). The combined companies, 97% British and Canadian controlled, will have daily newsprint capacity of 2,500 tons, largest in British Empire.

National-Pacific. National Biscuit Co. (largest biscuit maker [500 kinds] in the world; also breadmaker; owns Shredded Wheat Co.; 1929 net $21,422,357) acquired Pacific Coast Biscuit Co. (biscuits, candy, sold on the Pacific Coast, in the Hawaiian Islands, the Philippines, the Orient; 1929 net $522,676).

Continental Construction Co. and Natural Gas Co. of America were last week formed, the first to build, the second to finance, the new natural gas line from Texas Panhandle to Chicago (1,000 miles of 24-inch high pressure main line pipe; additional 1,000 miles of auxiliary line; cost at more than $100,000,000; construction under direction of Henry L. Doherty & Co.). The new line is backed by oil & gas interests (Mr. Doherty’s Cities Service, the Insull companies, Standard of New Jersey, Texas Corp., Skelly Oil, Phillips Petroleum and Columbian Carbon) with assets of more than four billion dollars. The line will call for more than 310,000 tons of steel.

Gramophone-Graphophone. Gramophone Co., Ltd., is the British affiliate of Radio Corp. Columbia Graphophone Co., Ltd., is an English graphophone company with a U. S. subsidiary, Columbia Phonograph Co., Inc. Last week it was reported that Columbia Graphophone, Ltd. would rid itself of Columbia Phonograph Co., probably by sale to some cinema company, to be able to merge with Gramophone. Negotiations for a Gramophone-Graphophone merger were begun in 1929, reputedly under the direction of Morgan Partner Thomas Cochran, but Radio Corp.’s ownership of Victor Talking Ma-chine make it desirable for the English Columbia Graphophone to get rid of its U. S. Columbia Phonograph lest the indirect consolidation of Columbia Phonograph with Victor Talking Machine arouse U. S. anti-trust action.