Hale Group

Even if dissident shareholders win their suit in U.S. District Court to take over Baltimore Bancorp, they probably will have to wait until appeals are exhausted before taking control of bank, according to Judge J. Frederick Motz.At the end of a hearing yesterday, Motz said if he finds in favor of the dissidents, he probably will stay the order to prevent them from taking over the bank and dropping all litigation.Lawyers for the dissidents had discussed the possibility that if Motz ruled in their favor their clients could take over the bank and short-circuit the legal battle.

Now that dissident shareholders have apparently won control of Baltimore Bancorp, they may find it difficult to either sell the holding company or significantly improve its earnings, according a banking consultant."

A group of dissidents has launched round two in its battle to take over Baltimore Bancorp, parent of the Bank of Baltimore, by urging shareholders to finish the job and put it in control of the bank's board.In a proxy statement mailed to shareholders earlier this week, the dissidents, headed by Baltimore Blast owner Edwin F. Hale Sr., cite their successes in a May proxy fight: the election of six directors, the elimination of the bank's "poison pill" defense against takeovers and the establishment of a shareholders advisory committee.

Blaming ousted management, Baltimore Bancorp, the parent company of the Bank of Baltimore, announced a $40 million loss during its third quarter, wiping out the bank holding's company's profits in the first two quarters.The company also announced that it is suspending common stock dividend for the first time since it public in late 1984.Bank analysts had expected a large loss as a result of the new management's close scrutiny of its financial books. By taking a large provision for possible loan losses now, the company also protects itself from future problems.

Moments before the annual meeting of Baltimore Bancorp began today, the head of a group trying to take over the state's fifth-largest bank-holding company denounced an extension of voting beyond the meeting.Baltimore Bancorp, the target of a bitter proxy fight over control of the company, announced yesterday that it will extend stockholder voting for directors on the board and other issues through noon next Tuesday."We believe the bank's 11th-hour announcement of an adjournment until May 28th makes a mockery of the shareholders' rights at an annual meeting," said Edwin F. Hale Sr., leader of the dissidents.

Robert F. Comstock, the new chairman and chief executive officer of Baltimore Bancorp, has one overriding objective -- bringing an end to the bitter and distracting proxy battle that has engulfed the bank."

Six days before all ballots are due, dissidents trying to take over the board of Baltimore Bancorp are claiming victory -- a claim that was immediately challenged by the bank's management.Shortly after the 2 1/2 -hour annual meeting yesterday, Edwin F. Hale Sr., leader of the dissident group, issued a press release saying a preliminary tally of results indicates his slate of candidates got a majority of the shareholder votes and was "duly elected."Hale, a Baltimore truck and shipping executive and owner of the Baltimore Blast soccer team, heads a 16-person group trying to seize control of Baltimore Bancorp, the parent of Bank of Baltimore.

The battle over who will control Baltimore Bancorp, the parent company of the Bank of Baltimore, moved a step closer to resolution today as balloting ended for shareholders even as the contesting parties continued their war of words.Meeting at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel this morning, shareholders voted whether to enlarge the bank holding company's board from 18 to 28 positions.Such a move would hand over control of Baltimore Bancorp to a group of 16 dissident shareholders led by Edwin F. Hale Sr., a Baltimore truck and shipping business owner who also owns the Baltimore Blast, a professional indoor soccer team.

Both sides in the struggle for control of Baltimore Bancorp, parent company to the Bank of Baltimore, are expressing confidence that they will win the fight even though official results won't be known for a week.Edwin F. Hale Sr., leader of a dissident group of shareholders trying to take over control of the bank, emerged from a shareholders meeting yesterday saying an 11th-hour "flurry of activity" convinced him that his side would be victorious.But Robert F. Comstock, Baltimore Bancorp's chairman, said he had seen no such signs and stated confidence in his side prevailing.

A group of 16 dissident shareholders led by Baltimore Blast owner Edwin F. Hale Sr. has apparently won control of Baltimore Bancorp, the parent company of the Bank of Baltimore.A preliminary count released today shows that shareholders voted 5.3 million shares to 5 million shares for Hale's plan to enlarge Baltimore Bancorp's board of directors. The tally was supplied by Corporation Trust Co., the company that counted the ballots. However, bank management did not concede defeat and said it will carefully review the tally.