Business: I Am a Conglomerate

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Irate Charges. Having won over Rosenstiel with tactics that included a personal investment of $350,000 in the purchase of Rosenstiel's six-story Manhattan town house, Riklis ran into some new obstacles to the $410 million takeover. There were new rumors that P. Lorillard & Co., the big cigarette, maker which had been rebuffed by Rosenstiel in an earlier merger attempt, was renewing its effort. These were reinforced when the Schenley board failed to take any action acknowledging the Riklis bid.

For the other Schenley stockholders, Riklis has announced terms quite different from the Rosenstiel purchase. Though Rosenstiel was paid largely in cash, other shareholders will be offered a package of cash, long-term debentures and warrants for their stock. The terms were hardly made known when last week three irate Schenley stockholders brought suits to block the deal. Among their charges: that Riklis would merely raid Schenley's treasury to recoup the merger costs.

Riklis, of course, rejects such accusations, has endless faith in a historical inevitability that his operations will continue to expand. "I'm a conglomerate," he explains. "I am what I am. This is what interests me."