Allied absorbs Bendix; Martin Marietta goes free

The bitter Bendix-Martin Marietta takeover battle is over. Instead of winding up in charge of Martin Marietta, Bendix chairman William Agee agreed to merge Bendix with Allied Corporation, letting Martin Marietta go free.

In one of the most complicated takeover battles in US corporate history, the two principals sued each other in court; changed their company regulations; teamed with outside firms to tilt the balance their way, bought a substantial portion of the other side's stock; and in the end were unable to vote on the shares they controlled. Then Allied, which entered the fray only last Wednesday to help Bendix defeat Martin Marietta, ended up absorbing Bendix at an estimated cost of $2 billion.