SBC Buys Tyson Stock

Swiss Bank Corp. has purchased 11.9 million shares of Tyson Foods Inc. stock, making it the second largest stockholder in Tyson Foods next to Senior Chairman Don Tyson and Tyson Limited Partnership, which together have 69 million shares, according to a Nov. 12 filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.

SBC displaces INVESCO PLC of London, England, as the leading shareholder of Tyson’s class A stock. INVESCO held 4.9 million shares (or 6.5 percent of the class A stock) as of Jan. 10, 1997. SBC purchased 10.9 percent of the class A stock. Don Tyson and the Tyson Limited Partnership owned 68.3 million shares of class B stock (which normally isn’t traded publicly) and 632,941 of class A stock at that time.

SBC is the parent company of SBC Holding (USA), Brinson Holdings Inc., Brinson Partners Inc. and Brinson Trust Co. The Brinson offices are in Chicago. SBC (USA) is located in New York City. SBC’s principal business office is in Basel, Switzerland.

At the Nov. 24 closing price of $18.50 per share, the SBC purchase is valued at $220 million.

Joan Moschello, director of corporate communications for SBC (USA), says SBC is the third largest bank in Switzerland. The New York office is the corporation’s investment banking division, she says. The purchase was probably made simply because Tyson Foods looked like a good investment, Moschello says.

Archie Schaffer, a spokesman for Tyson Foods, says his company doesn’t comment about other companies that are buying Tyson stock.