The New York Times/1925/12/14/New Orleans Syndicate Buys Huylers, Inc.
New Orleans Syndicate Buys Huylers, Inc.; $7,500,000 Raised to Expand Candy Business
Special to The New York Times.
NEW ORLEANS, La., Dec. 13—Huylers, Inc., candy manufacturers of New York, has been purchased by a Southern syndicate to which $7,500,000 has been subscribed and will be taken over Jan. 2, it was announced tonight.
Heading the syndicate are Rudolf S. Hecht, President of the Hibernis Bank and Trust Company; Fred W. Evans, President and General Manager of D. H. Holmes Company; Irvin Fuerst, former head of the Fuerst & Kraemer of this scity, and now of New York; Percy H. Johnston, President of the Chemical National Bank of New York, and H. B. Baruch of Henry Hents and Co., New York.
The syndicate subscription, it is announced, is sufficient to cover the purchase price and to provide ample capital for expansion, which is planned on a large scale. The program includes the construction of branch factories, of which the first will probably be in New Orleans; the opening of new Huyler retain stores all over the country.
Mr. Hecht, who led the syndicate that reorganized the Southern Cotton Oil Company recently, will be Chairman of the board. Mr. Fuerst will be President in complete charge of operations and management, and Mr. Evans will be one of the Vice Presidents. Associated with the new company as directors will be A. D. Geogahan, President of the Wesson Oil and Snowdrift Company, which succeeds the Southern Cotton Oil Company, and Meler Elsemann, New Orleans realtor, who, with H. Clifford Bangs of Washington, was instrumental in bringing together the principals of the recent negotiations.
Irvin Fuerst, the new head of Huyler, has had long experience in the candy business. The executive offices and main factories of Huylers will remain in New York, where Mr. Fuerst's headquarters will be established.
Huylers was established fifty years ago. It has large factories in New York, Chicago, Boston and other cities, and operated a chain of fifty-five retail stores.
The business was closely owned by the Huyler family, and was incorporated recently. At that time there was talk of a merger with Schrafft's, Inc. The deal, just closed, however, assures its continuation as a separate business with no other affiliations.
Percy H. Johnston, President of the Chemical National Bank, at his home in Montclair last night said that he had agreed some time ago to take a substantial financial interest in the syndicate which had arranged to acquire the Huyler organization, but added that he had no official information as to whether the deal had been closed. Herman B. Baruch could not be reached at his home last night. Frank DeK Huyler, President of the company which bears the family name, said that he had no comment to make a this time. Coulter D. Huyler, Secretary and Treasurer of the company, could not be reached.