‘Junk Bond’ Financiers Back Pickens : Bid for Unocal Gets Support of Some Top Takeover Artists

The cadre of investors that T. Boone Pickens has lined up to finance his threatened takeover of Unocal reads like a Who’s Who of “junk bond” financiers, many of whom have made hostile corporate acquisition attempts themselves.

Saul P. Steinberg of Reliance Group, a huge New York financial-services firm. The wealthy Canadian Belzberg family, whose investments are made through their First City Financial firm. Charles W. Knapp, ousted chairman of Financial Corp. of America, who now manages his investments through his Trafalgar Holdings concern. Nelson Peltz of Triangle Industries. Meshulam Riklis of Rapid-American Corp. Gene Phillips of Southmark Corp. Harold Simmons of Keystone.

These investors, all of whom have participated in earlier junk bond-financed takeover attempts, are among the best known of the 139 corporations and individuals identified Wednesday as the backers of the Pickens group’s proposed two-step bid for Unocal.

Others on List

Also on the list, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, are such well-known names in the financial community as Minneapolis financier Irwin Jacobs, through Minstar Inc., the firm he heads; the family of Roy E. Disney, through its private Shamrock Holdings, and Frederick W. Field, a member of the Marshall Field family of Chicago who now lives in Southern California.

The investors were assembled for the Pickens group by Drexel Burnham Lambert, the New York investment banking firm whose name is most associated with the proliferation of the high-yield, low-rated securities known as junk bonds. Drexel was hired by Pickens’ Mesa Petroleum to raise $3 billion of the $3.9 billion in financing for the Unocal offer, a job it finished in a single week.

For the money, Drexel has turned to many of the same investors who lined up behind Carl C. Icahn’s recent quest to take over Phillips Petroleum.

MAJOR INVESTORS JOINING THE PICKENS GROUP BID FOR UNOCAL Reliance Insurance $50 million Subsidiary of Reliance Group Holdings, New York concern headed by financier Saul P. Steinberg

Minstar Inc. $100 million Minneapolis investment firm headed by financier Irwin Jacobs

Bank of British Columbia $100 million Vancouver institution partially owned by the wealthy Belzberg family of Canada

First City Financial $65 million Vancouver, Canada investment firm controlled by the Belzberg family

McCrory Corp. $60 million Retailing subsidiary of Rapid-American Corp., New York conglomerate headed by financier Meshulam Riklis

INVESTORS IN PROPOSED TAKEOVER OF UNOCAL

Here is a complete list of the corporations and individuals who have agreed to invest in a proposed takeover of Unocal by the T. Boone Pickens investor group:

Millions Name of dollars AFG Industries 15 ARA Manufacturing of Delaware 10 A.S.F. Inc. 12 Norman E. Alexander 20 Alinco 10 Alliance Capital Management 20 Amalgamated Sugar Retirement Trust for Hourly Workers 2 Amalgamated Sugar Retirement Trust for Non-Union Employees 2 American Lutheran Church 10 American Security Bank 20 Ampacet Corp. 5 Anita Holdings 30 Ashwood Investments 12.53 Athlone Industries 5 B.A.I.I. Plc 10 Bambrit & Co. 10 Bank of Bermuda 3 Bank of British Columbia 100 Bankers Life & Casualty 20 Bayford Inc. 7.52 Bow River Capital 20 Bradford & Marzec 4 C & L Financial 10 Carlyle Investment 25 Central Jersey Industries 10 Chanel Corp. 5 Cherbourg Holdings 45 Chicago Assets Management 5 Clarendon America Insurance 10 Courtleigh Associates 22.53 Dryden & Co. 22.53 Economy Fire & Casualty 4 Eileen Corp. 25 Elk Grove Associates 22.5 Equity Holdings 6 Federal Kemper Life Assurance 6 Frederick W. Field 5 Financial Trustco Capital 45 First City Financial 65 First City Trust 35 First Investors Management and First Investors Asset Management 22.5 Fisher Brothers 50 Five Arrows Ltd. 10 Foothill Group 15 Forum Group 25 General Defense Corp. 15 Glinkenhaus & Co. 25 Granite Finance 88 Great American Industries 6 Great Harbor Investment 35 Great Pacific Capital 10 Great Pacific Industries 20 Jerome L. Greene 6 H.S. Corp. 5 Home Insurance 60 W.R. Huff Asset Management 5 Hunter Lyon Inc. 30 Incon Associates 10 Independent Southwest Services 8 Institutional Partners 35 Instrument Systems 10 Jesup & Lamont Holding 25 Kemper Investors Life Insurance 20 Kemper Reinsurance 5 Keystone Master Pension Trust 6 Keystone Provident Life Insurance 20 Lambert Brussels Financial 15 Lee National 10 Life Investors Management 5 Lincoln American Fin Investment 50 Lincoln National Investment Management 20 Lorimar 30 Lumbermans’ Mutual Casualty 15 M.I. Ventures 5 MSWB Corp. 25 MacAndrews & Forbes Group 10 MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings 10 Magten Asset Management 85.1 Ted Mann 5 Marquez Co. 22.5 Maryland Casualty 6 McCrory Corp. 60 Megra Partners 30 Minstar Inc. 100.1 Mocatta Organization 10 Modern Woodmen of America 5 Mutual First 25 Mutual Security Life Insurance 10 Natio Valeurs 10 Nortek 10 Northeast Investors Trust 3 Northern Capital Management 20 Olympia & York Developments 50 Orion Capital 12 Panther Holdings 22 Paragon Holdings 33 Pico Financial 10 Presidential Life Insurance 25 Progressive Properties 30 Reimer & Kroger Associates 13.5 Reliance Insurance Co. 50 Remington Investments 10 Requite Ltd. 20 Roland International 20 Royal Investment 10 Rozzi Inc. 45 Ruxley Inc. 50 SP Investors International 30 S.S.C. No. 3 Corp. 50.1 Savoy Partners 15 Schenley Industries 40 Shamrock Holdings 15 Melvin Simon 10 Snowpea Corp. 2.5 Solomon Asset Management 25 Martin T. Sosnoff 10 Southferry Building Co. 20 Southmark Corp. 25 Springs Hotel Corp. 12 Steinhardt Partners 35 Sterling Software 5 Sunshine Mining 20 Tigo Corp. 50 Trafalgar Holdings 45 Triangle Industries 25 Tudor International 5 Tuscany Operating Corp. 10 United Greenbush 15 United Houston Financial 50 United Oil Producers 5 United Shelters 50 Variable Annuity Life Insurance 24 Volt Holding 10 Washington Funding 10 Wilshire Corp. 20 Woodbern Corp. 5 Worldwide Trading Services 71.6 Sam Wyly 5 Zenith National Insurance 5