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Group gives up on Harvard effort

 
Published Oct. 27, 1994|Updated Oct. 8, 2005

A British investment trust has given up its effort to win control of Harvard Industries' board of directors, but urged the Tampa-based auto parts manufacturer to hire an investment banker and find ways to increase the company's value.

The North American Smaller Companies Investment Trust, managed by J.O. Hambro & Partners Ltd., said Wednesday in a regulatory filing that it is abandoning the proxy fight.

It noted that Harvard last week named John W. Adams, president of Smith Management Co., to the board. The trust said Adams shares many of its goals for improving Harvard's value. Smith Management is a private New York-based investment firm.

Harvard Industries stock closed at $17.25 per share Wednesday, down 25 cents from Tuesday.

If nothing else, the Hambro trust has made a lot of money from its lukewarm attempt at a proxy fight.

In a Sept. 19 SEC filing, Hambro announced it had acquired 300,000 shares of Harvard's Class B shares at $13.87{. That means those shares are now each worth $3.37{ more than when the group bought them _ or combined, about $1-million more.

In all, Hambro owns almost 9 percent of Harvard's 6.59-million outstanding shares.

Harvard's chairman is Vince Naimoli, who also is trying to bring Major League Baseball to Tampa Bay. Naimoli has said he thought the group was actually friendly to Harvard's management.

While giving up its proxy fight, the Hambro group criticized Harvard's shareholder rights plan _ or "poison pill" _ adopted a week ago. It said the poison pill "may have the effect of discouraging potential investors or prospective buyers of the company," according to the filing.

_ Staff writer Robert Keefe contributed to this report.