Many Winners, Few Losers

No sooner had Standard Oil of California agreed to buy Gulf Oil than Wall Streeters began speculating on who would win, and who would lose, in the $13.2 billion deal. At the top of everyone's winners list was Corporate Raider T. Boone Pickens Jr. and his partners. Together with Pickens' Texas-based Mesa Petroleum, they acquired 13.2% of Gulf stock at an average price of $45 a share, and now stand to reap $760 million from Socal's takeover for $80 a share. Mesa alone will rake in $506 million.

Gulfs top executives can also benefit mightily. Chairman James E. Lee, who steered his company to Socal in order to evade Pickens, could pick up some $10 million by exercising options to buy Gulf shares. A clutch of other officers can look forward to the same type of windfall. They include: President Edward Walker, $8.8 million; Executive Vice President Harold Hammer, $6.4 million; Executive Vice President Melvin Hill, $4.6 million; and J.L. Huitt, president of Gulf Oil Exploration and Production Co., $2.9 million.

Nor will Gulfs 300,000 shareholders fare badly. They hold 165 million shares that since last summer have jumped in value from $40 to $80 a share, for a total gain of more than $6 billion. Says Donald Drapkin, a merger specialist with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, a leading New York City law firm: "Pickens created real value for Gulf shareholders in a stock that was stagnant before he arrived on the scene."

The moneymen who worked on the merger have been major winners too. Salomon Bros, and Merrill Lynch, Gulfs advisers, will split $46 million in fees. Morgan Stanley, Socal's investment banker, has received $1 million so far, and will be paid $15.5 million more when more than half the Gulf shares are acquired. And Bank of America, which arranged a $14 billion credit line to finance the buyout, will collect $500,000 for that service.

Of course, the deal is creating losers as well. Atlantic Richfield, for example, outbid by Socal for Gulfs stock, will have to pay several million dollars in fees to the 61 banks that raised $12 billion to support the Arco offer. Setbacks have also befallen investors, many of whom began selling their Gulf shares last week as the market turned against them, fearing that the merger would be blocked. Said one speculator: "We got hurt two days in a row on this. What's the sense of being right if you're losing money?"