The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, representing about 3,700 employees of Zenith Electronics Corp, Glenview, Illinois says that it wants to make an offer for all or part of the Zenith consumer electronics business under an employee share ownership plan. The union confirms the speculation that the loss-making business is for sale, saying that Zenith told it that the bidding process has been under way since early May, and that all bids must be submitted by this week. Zenith has been in talks with bidders that include non-US companies – the union asked for the names with a view to teaming with one, but Zenith said no – and analysts value the business at about $500m. Drexel, Burnham, Lambert is advising the union in its bid, but it may be stymied by the fact that Zenith already has $400m debt. Zenith wants to sell the unit to concentrate on its Data Systems arm.
