Manville's Bold Maneuver

Battered by lawsuits, the asbestos giant seeks a bailout

The announcement was dramatic but also mystifying. The Manville Corp., the Denver-based building-materials and forest-products giant, known until last year as Johns-Manville, had filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code. It was the same Manville that earned $60.3 million on sales of $2.2 billion last year. The same Manville that ranks 181st on the FORTUNE 500 list of America's largest industrial corporations. The same Manville that, for more than half a century, has been one of the 30 companies included in...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!