Adrenalina proxy fight resolved

Pacific Sunwear, the Anaheim, Calif. based clothing retailer aimed at teens and young adults, announced that Adrenalina has withdrawn its slate, ending a proxy context for control of PacSun's board of directors.

Adrenalina, remember, is the Florida based company that calls itself the "extreme store." It is headed by Ilia Lekach.

Lekach met PacSun's leading independent director and other bigwigs, and after the meeting all was sweetness and light. Or as Lekach said in a statement, he "appreciated the opportunity to meet with [Peter Starrett] ... and to communicate my ideas for strenghtening PacSun's business."

Adrenalina has not had a great year (see the stock chart above) and it is possible they are fortunate PacSun resisted their embrace -- they might have had a tough time raising the money they would have needed to pay off on last year's bid had it been accepted.

Big Win for Steel Partners

Point Blank held its long-deferred annual meeting yesterday. And Steel Partners II won a smashing victory, putting five nominees on a seven-member board.

Point Blank is a Florida based manufacturer of body armor.

It would now seem to be in the control of Warren Lichtenstein, the principal of Steel Partners. Mr. Lichtenstein's victory statement said: "We continue to believe that Point Blank should not remain a standalone company competing on uneven terms against much larger competitors in a weakening market."

He and his associates will presumably begin the search for a buyer.

The vote wasn't even close. Seldom are victories for the dissidents this lopsided. Steel's five nominees received 65 percent of the voted shares, compared with only 14 percent for Point Blank's candidates.

The results render moot some litigation now before the Chancery Court of the state of Delaware.

Family Businesses

One word to successful entrepreneurs with children.

You've worked hard for much of your life, you've built a company that (I'll suppose) retails shoes. It started off as a single store, and has become a chain.

Congratulations. I admire such a life. But what now ... a dynasty? You have a child or more, and I'll suppose they're young adults. Are you grooming one or more of them to take over when you retire?

Please don't, without considering alternatives. You can end up with a fellow who has no real interest in marketing shoes, presiding over the company because he believes it's his obligation to do so. And you'll probably be looking over his/her shoulder from your Florida condo. Not an optimal situation for either of you.

When you're ready to retire, go public. Hire the right advisers and prepare an initial public offering. If properly done, and given our assumption that you have a sound underlying business to sell, you'll get plenty of money for that condo and the lifestyle to go with it, or a second career if you prefer.

What about the kid? Give him a share of the IPO proceeds, rather than the business. Let him do what he thinks best with his life and the money. There are plenty of professional managers out there who aren't related to you, and the process of going public includes finding the right ones.

Just a thought. The kids prefer the cash. Almost always.

(This will count as what is usually my Sunday entry to this blog. You'll next hear from me on Monday.)