Potential Buyers

There'll be cooking going on, Christmas lights going up, festive ribbons going around gifts. And, perhaps, company going in and out. Potential buyers may see some or all of that if they size up the Bolton Hill home of Drs. Ann Halbower and Rubin Tuder during the holiday season. The couple yearn less for Santa and more for a buyer for their Baltimore house, which has been on the market since September. Although this is the time of year when home buyers are rumored to hibernate before re-emerging when the weather warms, the couple are looking for someone willing to make a change in the cold weather like themselves.

You won't see them in the skyboxes, but a couple of unusual co-owners were included with the sale of the Washington Redskins, an $800 million transaction approved yesterday by the NFL: the state of Maryland and Prince George's County.Under a clause in the 1996 agreement governing the $70 million in public money spent on roads and other infrastructure for Jack Kent Cooke Stadium in Landover, the state and county own a special share in the parent company of the team and stadium.The share pays no dividends, has no value and doesn't give the governor voting rights at NFL owners meetings.

Selling a home can be a stressful experience, especially in the dead of winter when temperatures are dropping, snow is piling up and Americans take the concept of cocooning to a higher level.Brokers agree that the winter months are the toughest months to sell homes. It's almost impossible to lure potential buyers -- cash-strapped from the holidays -- out from in front of a roaring fireplace to shop for a new home."People tend to panic a little bit when they see snow and they nTC stay in the house," said Joanne Figge, an owner and broker with the Prudential Residential 1 Realtors in Columbus, Ohio.

Waverly Inc., one of Baltimore's oldest remaining family-controlled companies, announced yesterday morning that it is putting itself up for sale. Officials of the 107-year-old medical and scientific publisher said a sale is necessary if the company is to thrive in an increasingly competitive international publishing market.A trio of high-ranking Waverly officials made the announcement at a morning news conference at the Center Club downtown. They declined to name potential buyers or estimate a purchase price.

The pool of potential buyers of Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Sparrows Point shipyard has been narrowed to two, and the yard's new owner could be named as early as today, several sources said yesterday.The Bethlehem, Pa., steel giant is considering offers from the Baltimore Orioles' chief executive, Peter G. Angelos, and WHX Corp., the New York holding company for Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp.Bethlehem wouldn't comment. Both WHX and Angelos' group declined to discuss the specifics of their offers.

If you buy a Ravens permanent seat license, you will: have to buy a ticket to every home game the team plays, including playoffs; give the team $50 before selling the license to your neighbor; and agree not to sue if a drunk knocks you down a flight of stairs in the upper deck.And if, by chance, the Ravens leave Baltimore, you won't get your money back.The fine print of the Ravens' controversial seat-licensing plan has finally gone out to potential buyers. The six-page, densely written document covers everything from the team's potential relocation -- an eventuality rendered unlikely by its 30-year stadium lease -- to who can sue whom in the event you slip on a melted ice cream cone.

From condominiums to townhouses to luxury homes, Towson homeowners are preparing to open up their homes to potential buyers.Next weekend the Towson Partnership will hold the Towson Neighborhood Open House, which is geared to show the benefits of owning and living in one of Towson's many neighborhoods.On Saturday, the event will be held on the first level of the Towson Town Center, where Realtors will have brochures available on homes for sale in the area, according to Nancy Horst of the Towson Partnership.

FASHION INDUSTRY leaders say President Clinton's criticism of their use of models who look and often are heroin addicts is late; they have already realized the danger and are making changes. Their response hardly instills confidence.While the most brazen depictions of provocatively dressed children have ended, purveyors of attire and scent still pose seemingly pubescent models in titillating advertisements to sell the product. Past criticism of such "kiddie porn" has ended only the most blatant exploitation.

Former Pittsburgh Steeler Franco Harris wants to buy Parks Sausage Co., but don't automatically assume he'll pull an immaculate acquisition, a come-from-behind win that the meat processor badly needs.The company is deeply in debt. One agreement to sell it already has fallen through.And Mr. Harris acknowledges the potential transaction faces big challenges."It's going to be a tough deal," he said yesterday. "We feel that we're the best people for the job, and we hope there will be some people willing to work with us. It's not going to be easy."

A deal to sell venerable Parks Sausage Co. to two investors tied to TLC Beatrice International has fallen apart because the buyers couldn't get financing, Parks Chairman Raymond V. Haysbert Sr. said yesterday.Parks, Baltimore's biggest black-owned manufacturer, is now negotiating to sell itself to a bakery company headed by former Pittsburgh Steelers football running back Franco Harris, Mr. Haysbert said.But there's no certainty a deal will be struck.At the same time, the city is being asked to boost its financial contribution to the struggling manufacturer.

NEW YORK - With the sharp stock market decline for Citigroup rapidly becoming a full-blown crisis of confidence, the company's executives entered into talks with federal officials yesterday about how to stabilize the struggling financial giant. In tense meetings and telephone calls, the executives and officials weighed several options, including whether to replace Citigroup Inc.'s leadership or sell all or part of the company. Other options discussed included having the government try to steady Citigroup with a public endorsement or a new financial lifeline, people involved in the talks said.

The brick townhouse is a bright eight-year-old end unit with a list of upgrades - $10,000 in plantation shutters alone - and tasteful decor. Outside, it has a deck screened for privacy; inside, it has a big kitchen island. It's also in a convenient location, all likely pluses. However, condos and apartments recently replaced the trees that were behind it and a dozen other townhouses are for sale in this Owings Mills complex, including three end units. All factors likely to limit its appeal.

There'll be cooking going on, Christmas lights going up, festive ribbons going around gifts. And, perhaps, company going in and out. Potential buyers may see some or all of that if they size up the Bolton Hill home of Drs. Ann Halbower and Rubin Tuder during the holiday season. The couple yearn less for Santa and more for a buyer for their Baltimore house, which has been on the market since September. Although this is the time of year when home buyers are rumored to hibernate before re-emerging when the weather warms, the couple are looking for someone willing to make a change in the cold weather like themselves.

Owners of the legendary Club 4100 in Brooklyn Park were negotiating with potential buyers late yesterday after a morning auction failed to produce a winning bid. "We withdrew it at $650,000," said auctioneer Andrew J. Billig, who said owners Manny and Dino Spanomanolis, who want to retire, "were not going to let it go" at that price. He would not identify the potential buyers but said negotiations were particularly "close" with one. The auction of the 48-year-old former hangout of Johnny Unitas and other Baltimore Colts drew more than 200 people, a handful of them bidders.

Despite a record U.S. population and more licensed drivers than ever, sales of new vehicles slipped nearly 3 percent last year to their lowest level since 1998 and are down the same amount this year. Analysts and auto manufacturers point to several factors for the sales slide, including high gas prices, sagging home values and sluggish economic growth. But those who study car-buying habits see another factor keeping a lid on car sales: the aggressive borrowing habits of consumers today.

Officials from Chicago-based Esmark Inc. toured Sparrows Point yesterday, the latest in a string of potential buyers that have filed through the Baltimore County steel plant in the past two weeks. Netherlands-based Mittal Steel Co. NV, which must sell Sparrows Point to abide by a Justice Department ruling, has been tight-lipped about who has come through the plant. Workers say the tours are led by managers, who refuse to disclose who the interested parties are. Esmark's chairman and chief executive officer, James P. Bouchard, confirmed yesterday that he was at the plant for a tour.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- D.R. Horton Inc., the second-largest U.S. homebuilder by revenue, said yesterday that orders for its houses tumbled 37 percent in the first three months of this year. Orders for the fiscal second quarter fell to 9,983 houses from 15,771 a year earlier, the builder said. The value of houses ordered plunged 41 percent to $2.6 billion from $4.4 billion a year earlier. Builders, including D.R. Horton and industry leader Lennar Corp., are in their second year of slowing sales as buyers wait for prices to stop falling before making an offer.

Faced with a federal investigation into its stock options practices and the need to restate years of financial results, SafeNet Inc. contacted 35 potential buyers before agreeing to be bought by San Francisco private equity firm Vector Capital, the Harford County company disclosed in a document filed late yesterday with the SEC. Seventeen of those signed confidentiality agreements and conducted due diligence, and three - including Vector Capital -...

Dubai Ports World last week launched its effort to sell some of the U.S. marine terminals it controls after facing a blistering rebuke earlier this year from congressional leaders. The state-owned Arab company agreed to find an American buyer after it was unable to sway critics that it was not a security threat. It plans to sell only the U.S. portion of the $6.8 billion global portfolio it bought in March from London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. The company and analysts said at the time that it was sure to be a complicated effort.

Mittal Steel Co. NV has begun showcasing its Sparrows Point steel mill to potential buyers, believing that it might have to sell the plant for antitrust reasons if it wins a hostile takeover fight for its biggest global rival, Arcelor SA. Mittal officials confirmed yesterday that representatives of German steelmaker ThyssenKrupp AG expressed interest after touring the Baltimore County complex last week. Plant general manager Thomas Russo declined to comment on the ThyssenKrupp visit, other than to say he was "glad we have interest."