BANKING & FINANCE - March 18, 1994

Kemper Rejects General Electric Bid: Kemper Corp.’s board voted unanimously to reject a $2.2-billion hostile takeover offer from General Electric Co. In a letter to General Electric Chairman John F. Welch, Kemper Chairman David B. Mathis called the GE bid a “low-ball proposal” and said that “Kemper’s stockholders are best served by providing current management with the opportunity to realize Kemper’s tremendous upside potential.” But the mutual fund company’s shareholders have been far more enthusiastic about a possible sale of the firm.