The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-11-10
OPTION, ID EXPIRE, CAUSES RUMORS OF. HUGE MERGER HERE
Many Factors in the Iron and Steel Trade Are Involved in Proposed Com
 bination


 Option on the furnace, coking and coal mining properties of the Ala
 bama company granted Lloyd M. At kinson and associates, of New York
 city, two months ago, is understood
 on good authority. to be about to expire, and this fact, it Is believed, has led to bringing to a head, one way or another, the proposal to con-
 solidate this with other Alabama coal and furnace properties.
 The lineup of the latest proposal differs from any heretofore mem toned locally or in New York finan- cial Journals Properties understood to be included are Central Iron and Coal company, subsidiary of the Iron Products corporation, of which the Central Foundry company is another: the Alabama company, the Woodstock corporation, the two Vanderbilt fur- naces of the Woodward Iron com
 pany in East Birmingham, and the coking plant of the Alabama By
 Products corporation in East Bir- mingham.
 The Central Iron and Coal has a blast furnace, pipe plant, by-product oven plant at Holt, in Tuscaloosa county, and large coal mines at Kei- lerman.
 lb1ast furnaces at Gadsden and two at 1ronaton, coal mines at Brook wood, Searles and Lewisburg and cokfng plants at Brookwood and lLewisburg.
 The Woodstock corporation has a blast furnace at Anniston.
 The Alabama By Products corpora ton has a 50-oven Koppers by product eoking plant.
 Eight Blast Furnaces
 The consolidated properties would include eight blast furnaces with a rated capacity of 500,000 tons of iron year.
 The properties of the Alabama com pany. the Alabama By-Products com pany and the two Vanderbilt fur naces are strategically connected by the company line of the Alabama company, extending four and half miles from the Lewlsburg coal ovens to the Vanderbilt furnaces and the Alabama By-Products. The properties
 of the Alabama company in Etowah and Calhoun counties would be well connected with the Woodstock fur naces at Anniston.
 No Real Knowledge The officials of the Alabama By
 Products company deny that there Is an option on their property. Locally there seems no knowledge on the sub ject other than the option on the Alabama company.
 With reference to the proposal. the Wall Street Journal, which has kept lin touch with various mergers com l. Fo-
 said:
 k New York Statement
 Negotiations for consolidation of a number of Alabama pig iron, coal, coke and ore properties are coming to a head and it will be decided in the near future whether or not to proceed immediately with plans as drawn If completed, resulting com
 bination will be one of the largest of southern pig iron producers. having annual furnace capacity of over 500,- 900 tons, and will be self-contained as to raw materials. Properties un- derstood to be included are Central lTron and Coal company, which Is a subsidiary of Iron Products corpora l ton; Alabama company, Woodstock Operating corporation, the two Van
 derbilt furnaces of Woodward Iron
 company. A. B. C. Coke company and some ore lands in addition to those of Central Iron and Coal. Alabama
 and Woodstock companies. options on these properties are held locally.
 Terms of Options
 Terms of options call for acquisi- ton of physical properties only. Working capital Is to be supplied through sale of securities of the new company by local syndicate. Capitali-
 zation will include common and pre- ferred stocks. and later, as needs de- velop, bonds. Although terms of options call for payment for proper l ties in cash. 1t is believed that stock of new company will be attractive enough to be substituted for cash payment in many cases. Interests behind one company involved have already indicated their desire so to participate.
 Savings in production cost through consolidation are estimated at s2.50 per ton of pig iron