Word: borden
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Corporate raids have inspired such colorful defensive tactics as the Pac-Man counterattack and the poison pill. Now the managers at Borden, the food and consumer-products giant, have created a novel repellent they call a "people pill." Borden said last week that its top 25 officers have agreed to resign en masse during any takeover attempt if they believe stockholders are getting less than a fair price or if any executives are fired or demoted...
...Borden has no bidders now, but last year's food-industry takeovers worried its managers. Chairman Romeo Ventres, who dreamed up the strategy in a sauna, said it might make raiders "think twice." But bidders might be less interested in Borden's bosses than in its brand names (Cracker Jack, Wise potato chips). And Elsie the cow, who appears on Borden's milk cartons, would certainly not stray...
Until recently, the East Cambridge neighborhood where First Street is located had little to offer the middle class--unless they were lawyers in court there. The waterfront area was the province of factories, like Borden's candy plant, and stores more like Wool-worth's than Bloomingdales. But Cambridge can't stand to be behind the times. And it's catching up with other cities at a furious pace...
True, traces of an earlier era persist in the Lechmere area. The smell of chocolate and peppermint and coconut bits still assaults the senses in front of Borden's plant, and the Lechmere department store still sells cheap TVs. But these businesses now share the space with upscale office buildings and chic restaurants...
...more and more restaurants like the First Street Cafe or Michela's make homes for themselves in East Cambridge, they will inevitably force out the mom and pop stores and the Borden factory. The city will be prettier, no doubt, but will it be better...