CORPORATIONS: Hughes in Public

The prospectus that arrived at the Securities and Exchange Commission last week was illustrated with color pictures of dragon-teethed drilling bits —the applicant's main product. It might have been just one of dozens of similar documents submitted by firms before their stock can be sold to the public —except for the name. The Hughes Tool Co., crown jewel of the Howard Hughes financial empire, was up for sale. Hughes inherited Toolco in 1924 at the age of 18 from his father, who had invented a triple-headed conical drilling bit that revolutionized the oil-drilling business. The company became the cornerstone...

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