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InterNet Bankruptcy Library - News for March 12, 1997







Bankruptcy News For March 12, 1997




        
  1. Wabash National Corporation Announces
            Intent to Bid on Certain Fruehauf Assets

  2.     
  3. Cistron and PeproTech Settle
            Litigation

  4.     
  5. Workforce Systems elects to terminate its
            efforts to acquire the assets of Star Hosiery

  6.     
  7. Mitcham Industries announces record
            year- end results

  8.     
  9. Planar Systems announces write off of
            equity investment






Wabash National Corporation Announces Intent to Bid on Certain
Fruehauf Assets



LAFAYETTE, Ind., March 12, 1997 - Wabash National Corporation
(NYSE: WNC) announced today that the Company has reached an
expense reimbursement agreement in principal with href="chap11.fruehauf.html">Fruehauf Trailer Corporation ("Fruehauf")
in connection with the Company's proposal to purchase
substantially all of the remaining Fruehauf assets (the
"Assets") other than manufacturing plants in Mexico and
Ft. Madison, Iowa. The Company proposes to purchase the Assets
pursuant to the asset sale bid procedures established by the
United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in
pending Chapter 11 proceedings. The expense reimbursement
agreement provides for the payment of a $1.5 million
"break-up" fee plus certain expenses if the Bankruptcy
Court accepts and approves an offer to purchase the Fruehauf
assets other than the offer to be submitted by the Company. The
terms of the expense reimbursement agreement are subject to
approval by the Bankruptcy Court. The proposed purchase is
subject to approval by the Board of Directors of Wabash National
Corporation, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court and certain regulatory
agencies.



Wabash National Corporation designs, manufactures and markets
standard and customized truck trailers. The Company is the
largest U.S. manufacturer of truck trailers, the leading
manufacturer of both composite trailers and aluminum plate
trailers, and, through its RoadRailer products, the leading
manufacturer of bimodal vehicles.



SOURCE Wabash National Corporation /CONTACT: Donald J. Ehrlich
of Wabash National Corporation, 317- 449-5310/






Cistron and PeproTech Settle
Litigation



PINE BROOK, N.J., March 12, 1997 - Cistron Biotechnology, Inc.
(OTC-CIST) and PeproTech, Inc.,
Rocky Hill, N.J., have settled all outstanding litigation
stemming from Cistron's patent infringement claim against
PeproTech regarding Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1b).



Under the agreement, PeproTech has paid Cistron the sum of
$718,000 for licensing fees and other expenses. The agreement
further provides that PeproTech may sell IL-1b in domestic and
international research markets in accordance with the terms of
certain licensing agreements that have been executed.



The agreement also provides that Cistron will receive
additional royalties on any PeproTech sales of IL-1b during the
eight to 16 year lives of the patents.



The consortium of Massachusetts universities, which licensed
to Cistron the company's initial IL-1b patent, will share in the
PeproTech payments.



As part of the settlement, PeproTech and Cistron have filed a
joint motion to withdraw their appeals to the U.S. Court of
Appeals relating to a November, 1994 judgment in Cistron's favor
by the U.S. District Court of New Jersey. The settlement has been
approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New Jersey and the
District Court. As a result of the settlement, PeproTech has
filed a motion to dismiss its Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding.
/CONTACT: Hal Smith of Hal Smith Associates, 800-743-6632, for
Cistron Biotechnology, Inc.






Workforce Systems elects to terminate its efforts to acquire
the assets of Star Hosiery



KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--March 12, 1997-- Company cites difficulty in
securing additional equity capital to facilitate transaction on a
basis that is fair to current shareholders Workforce Systems
Corp. (OTC Bullentin Board: WFSC) today announced that it has
decided to terminate its efforts to acquire a majority of the
assets of Star Hosiery, Inc., despite recent Bankruptcy Court
approval of Workforce's proposal to assume and/or pay certain
liabilities of Star. Workforce Systems noted that, although it
still believes that the acquisition itself would be highly
beneficial to the Company, the terms it has been presented with
for additional equity financing necessary to facilitate the
transaction and begin to operate Star's business are unacceptable
and would prove highly unfair to current shareholders of
Workforce.



Workforce noted that McGinn, Smith & Co., who the Company
had retained to assist it in obtaining additional equity
financing in the amount of $4.5 million to facilitate the
transaction, has so far been unable to present financing
transactions that it believes would properly protect the
interests of current shareholders and provide long term
enhancement to shareholder value. Specifically, Workforce stated
that it deems any financing transactions involving the use of
Regulation S offerings, or consisting of Convertible Preferred
shares that do not have a price floor in the conversion feature
or similar protective measures, to be wholly unacceptable. The
Company believes that such financing transactions would cause a
significant dilution of current shareholder interest that would
not be compensated for by the benefits to be derived from the
Star transaction.



Workforce Systems Corp., whose subsidiaries include companies
involved in manufacturing, marketing and distribution, and
employee staffing services, is a growth-oriented small-cap
company. The Company's manufacturing unit, Industrial Fabrication
& Repair, provides specialized fabrication, machining and
design of maintenance and production related equipment. The
Company's Products That Produce, Inc. subsidiary, which is
responsible for marketing "Mr Food(R)'s AlloFresh,"
specializes in identifying, developing and marketing innovative
new consumer products. Its staffing units, American Industrial
Management and Outside Industrial Services, provide light
industrial and light manufacturing employee staffing on a
contract basis.



Workforce's application for the listing of its common stock on
NASDAQ is pending. While there can be no assurances such listing
will be granted, management believes Workforce meets all
requisite criteria for inclusion.



CONTACT: Workforce Systems Corp., Knoxville Ella Chesnutt,
423/524-4885 or Resource Capital Management, 954/713-8130






Mitcham Industries announces record year- end
results



HUNTSVILLE, Texas--March 12, 1997--Mitcham Industries, Inc.
(NASDAQ:MIND) today announced record fourth quarter and year-end
results for fiscal 1997.



For the year ended January 31, 1997, total revenues increased
nearly 101.5% to $14.7 million from $7.3 million in fiscal 1996.
Lease revenues for the year rose 61.8% to a record $8.3 million
as compared to $5.2 million reported last year, and sales of
seismic equipment rose 197.2% to $6.3 million, up from $2.1
million in fiscal 1996. Net income for fiscal 1997 increased
57.7% to $2.7 million, or $.60 per share, as compared to $1.7
million or $.52 per share last year. It should be noted that
earnings per share for the year ended January 31, 1997 are
calculated on 36.8% more shares than in the prior year.



For the fourth quarter ended January 31, 1997, revenues were
$7.3 million, up 230.3% compared to $2.2 million in the same
period of the prior year. Lease revenues increased 73.2% to $3.0
million from $1.7 million reported for the same period last year.
Net income increased 71.2% to $1,084,000, or $.23 per share, as
compared to $633,000, or $.18 per share reported last year. Per
share calculations for the fourth quarter ended January 31, 1997
were based upon 34.8% more shares than in the prior year's fourth
quarter.



The Company pointed out that the record results achieved for
the fourth quarter and year ended January 31, 1997 were
accomplished despite a $500,000 increase in allowance for
doubtful accounts to provide for the filing by href="chap11.grant.html">Grant Geophysical, Inc. for
bankruptcy protection.



Commenting, Billy F. Mitcham, Jr., Chairman, President &
CEO of Mitcham Industries, stated, "Total revenues nearly
doubled in fiscal 1997, due to significant gains in both
equipment leasing and sales. Particularly gratifying was the
revenue acceleration that took place in the fourth quarter, so
strong in fact that revenues for the final quarter of fiscal 1997
exceeded revenues for all of the prior fiscal year."



Mr. Mitcham continued, "Since the September 1996 signing
of our agreements with Sercel, Sercel has been referring all
short-term leasing customers to us, which accounted for a portion
of the increase in lease revenues for the fourth quarter. The
nearly ten- fold increase in seismic equipment sales was not only
the major impetus behind fourth quarter revenue growth,. but was
also the cause of the shift in revenue mix. This revenue mix
shift came as a result of certain equipment leasing customers
deciding to purchase equipment."



Mr. Mitcham concluded, "We are enthusiastic about our
Company's prospects for the new fiscal year. Importantly, with
the infusion of $16.1 million in new capital from our secondary
offering, we plan to diversify even further and grow our lease
pool. In addition, we are expanding into international markets.
Since signing agreements with Sercel in September, we are now
operating as their exclusive sales agent in Canada and have
opened an office in Calgary for that purpose. Mitcham is also in
an enviable competitive position, in that our exclusive lease
referral agreements with Sercel and I/O, which together
manufacture 90% of the land seismic systems used throughout the
world, fortify barriers to entry for competitors."



The Company, from time to time, may discuss forward-looking
information. Except for the historical information contained in
this release, all forward looking information are estimates by
the Company's management and are subject to various risks and
uncertainties that may be beyond the Company's control and may
cause results to differ from management's current expectations.



Mitcham Industries, Inc. is the leading independent company
specializing in the leasing of 3-D seismic equipment to the oil
and gas exploration industry. Mitcham also sells new and
"experienced" seismic equipment.



                           MITCHAM INDUSTRIES,
                           INC.
                        SELECTED FINANCIAL
                        INFORMATION
                (In thousands, except share and
                per share data)


                           For the year ended 
                           For the three months
                           ended
                                       January
                                       31,       
                                          January
                                       31,
                                      1997     
                                      1996      
                                      1997    
                                      1996
        Revenues:
           Leases of seismic equipment  $8,345   
           $5,157      $2,989
        $1,726
           Sales of seismic equipment    6,345   
            2,135       4,337
        492
         Total revenues             14,690    
         7,292       7,326    2,218
        Net income                      $2,702   
        $1,713     $ 1,084  $ 633 Primary
        earnings per share     $  0.60   $  0.52
           $  0.23  $ 0.18 Weighted average
        common shares
         outstanding                 4,522,000
         3,306,000   4,661,000
        3,457,000


CONTACT: Mitcham Industries, Inc. Roberto Rios Chief Financial
Officer (409) 291-2277 or INVESTOR RELATIONS COUNSEL: The Equity
Group Inc. Linda Latman (212) 836-9609 Caroline Royall (212)
836-9611






Planar Systems announces write off of equity
investment



BEAVERTON, Ore.--March 12, 1997--It was recently announced
that Virtual i-O Inc., a
privately held Seattle based virtual reality company, has filed
for voluntary reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy laws.



Virtual i-O currently produces head sets for gaming and
entertainment applications using LCD technology. In October of
1995, Planar entered into a strategic relationship with Virtual
i-O to jointly develop high performance headsets that
incorporated Planar's proprietary active matrix
electroluminescent (AMEL) high resolution image sources. In
connection with this strategic relationship, Planar made a $2
million dollar equity investment in Virtual i-O. During the first
fiscal quarter of 1997, Planar wrote off approximately $250,000
of this investment to non operating expense. It is anticipated
that the remainder of the investment will be written off during
second quarter 1997.



Planar will continue the development of AMEL image sources
independently utilizing the expertise developed over the course
of our relationship with Virtual i-O. Planar either
independently, or through another strategic partnership, will
continue to actively develop the emerging market for head mounted
displays.



Planar Systems, Inc. is a worldwide leader in the development,
manufacture and marketing of high performance commercial
flat-panel display components, CRT and flat-panel based display
products for federal markets and display systems for specialized
applications. The primary market sectors that Planar serves today
are medical, industrial, instrumentation, defense,
communications, transportation and business/office. The Company
competes on a global basis with full development, manufacturing
and marketing operations in both the United States and Europe.
-0-



"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995:



The Statements which are not historical facts contained in
this release are forward looking statements that involve risks
and uncertainties, including but not limited to, market
acceptance risk, the effect of economic conditions, the impact of
competitive products and pricing, product development,
commercialization and technological difficulties, capacity and
supply constraints or difficulties, and other risks detailed in
the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.



PLANAR is a registered trademark of Planar Systems, Inc.



CONTACT: Planar Systems Inc.



Jack Raiton, 503/690-6959