Beset by financial woes, California's pioneering Douglas Aircraft Co. last week was 1) negotiating with eight banks for a loan of about $100 million, some $56 million of which the company hopes to have underwritten by the Defense Department, 2) understood to be seeking $175 million more, for a total of $275 million in financing, and 3) taking evasive action from what appears to be a strong takeover effort by the McDonnell Co. of St. Louis.
Although such a move has been rumored for weeks, confirmation of a sizable McDonnell holding of Douglas common stock surprised both Wall Street and...