Feuerstein buyback rejected
But Malden Mills exclusive option is still in place
Aaron Feuerstein's bid to buy back Malden Mills Inc. and regain control of the textile maker his family ran for three generations has been rejected by the company's board, his son said yesterday.
The 78-year-old Feuerstein has been trying to raise money to act on an exclusive option he holds to buy back control of the company.
He resigned as president and board chairman in June after a change in the board's makeup following the century-old textile maker's emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last fall. The reorganization put lenders, including GE Capital Corp., in control.
Daniel M. Feuerstein, Feuerstein's son and a spokesman for the investment group making the buyback offer for the Lawrence company, said his father's option remains in place despite the board's rejection of the offer last month. Malden Mills spokesman Sean Findlen said the company did not immediately wish to comment.
Aaron Feuerstein gained national renown for his decision to keep workers on the payroll after a December 1995 fire destroyed the company's main factory.
In July, the company named Michael Spillane, former Tommy Hilfiger U.S.A. executive, as its chief executive.
Aaron Feuerstein, who has been recovering from emergency heart surgery, has said it is essential for the family to regain control of the firm, to keep it in Lawrence, an economically distressed city.
In trading yesterday, shares of General Electric Co., GE Capital's parent, rose 51 cents to $33.41.
