Bolles v. Commissioner

69 T.C. 342, 1977 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 16
CourtUnited States Tax Court
DecidedNovember 30, 1977
DocketDocket No. 869-76
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 69 T.C. 342 (Bolles v. Commissioner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Tax Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bolles v. Commissioner, 69 T.C. 342, 1977 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 16 (tax 1977).

Opinion

Forrester, Judge:

Respondent has determined a deficiency in petitioners’ Federal income tax for the taxable year 1969 in the amount of $107,147. There are two issues presented for our decision: (1) A determination of the fair market value of a package of securities received by petitioners on August 7,1969; and (2) whether certain contract rights which petitioners received on August 7, 1969, had an ascertainable fair market value and, if so, a determination of such fair market value.

FINDINGS OF FACT

Some of the facts have been stipulated and are so found.

Petitioners John S. and Mary P. Bolles, husband and wife, resided in San Francisco, Calif., at the time they filed the petition herein. Petitioners filed a joint Federal income tax return for 1969 with the District Director, Internal Revenue Service, San Francisco, Calif.

Mary P. Bolles is the daughter of William T. Piper, Sr. Prior to May 8,1969, petitioners owned 22,759 shares of common stock of the Piper Aircraft Corp. (Piper). Petitioners held 195 of these in joint tenancy with the remaining 22,564 shares being the separate property of petitioner Mary P. Bolles.

On December 30, 1968, Chris-Craft Industries, Inc. (CCI), purchased its first shares of Piper. At such time Piper had 1,641,890 shares issued and outstanding. These shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) from October 1, 1968, to August 11, 1969 (except for a suspension of trading from April 7, 1969, to April 18, 1969), and then on the Philadelphia-Baltimore-Washington Stock Exchange (PBWSE).

Between January 3, 1969, and January 22, 1969, CCI purchased an additional 198,500 shares of Piper common stock. CCI informed Piper on January 23,1969, that it would be announcing that day a cash tender offer for the purchase of Piper’s stock and that CCI had tentative plans to acquire a majority of Piper’s stock. On that same day, a CCI press release announced a cash tender offer beginning immediately and ending on February 3, 1969, for up to 300,000 shares of Piper common.

The Piper board of directors adopted on January 25, 1969, a resolution that CCI’s offer was not in the best interests of the Piper shareholders and it sent out letters that day to the Piper shareholders requesting that they delay accepting the CCI offer pending Piper’s response. On January 27, 1969, Piper sent a letter, signed by W. T. Piper, Jr., to its stockholders recommending rejection of the CCI offer.

By February 3, 1969, CCI owned 541,906 Piper shares which represented approximately 33 percent of the outstanding Piper shares. On February 27, 1969, CCI filed with the SEC an S-l registration statement and a preliminary prospectus for an exchange offer to acquire at least 80,000 and up to 300,000 Piper shares. At the annual meeting of Piper shareholders on March 25,1969, CCI elected two members to the eight-member board of directors.

At its April 1, 1969, meeting, the Bangor Punta Corp. (BPC) considered disposing of the Bangor and Aroostock Railroad (BAR), and its board appointed a committee headed by Curtis Hutchins to study various methods of disposition. Hutchins later met with Frederic Dumaine, chairman of the board of Amoske-ag, Inc., to discuss the possible sale of the BAR to Amoskeag. On May 12, 1969, Dumaine offered $5 million for the BAR and he indicated no preference for buying assets or stock at that time but on May 15 he decided to buy stock. Hutchins’ committee agreed that a sale to Dumaine at $5 million would be BPC’s best course of action and Hutchins reported Dumaine’s offer and his committee’s recommendation at a BPC board meeting on May 21, at which time Nicholas M. Salgo, BPC’s chairman, suggested selling 51 percent of the BAR then and 49 percent later for a total consideration of $7 million. Such proposal was rejected by Dumaine and on May 27 he and Hutchins formulated a letter of understanding, which was not signed by Hutchins, stating “you [Dumaine] and I have agreed * * * on the sale” at $5 million, but with the qualification that any understanding was subject to the BPC board approval. On June 16, Hutchins informed Dumaine that the BPC board had refused to approve the letter of understanding and that the BPC management considered it essential that the legal and accounting effects of the transaction be studied. While he explained that such investigations probably could not be completed for another 2 months, Hutchins expressed to Dumaine his personal opinion that a deal would be made.

On May 7, 1969, CCI announced a new exchange offer which increased the value of the package offered on February 27,1969, by $10. The February 27, 1969, offer was withdrawn when the new offer became effective on July 24,1969. Such new offer was terminated on August 4, 1969, at which time CCI held 668,298 shares or 41 percent of Piper’s outstanding shares. CCI made additional purchases of 29,200 shares between August 12 and August 18,1969, and then withdrew from the contest for Piper.

On May 8,1969, petitioners, together with 41 other holders of Piper common stock who were related members of the Piper family and Piper family trusts, entered into an agreement for the sale or exchange of the 501,090 Piper shares which they held to BPC. The May 8,1969, agreement provided in part as follows:

Section 1. Escrow. * * *
(B) * * * William T. Piper, Jr. * * * is hereby * * * designated the Agent (“the Agent”) for the Sellers [Piper family shareholders including petitioners] as to all matters and controversies relating to this Agreement * * *
Section 2. Exchange Offer. (A) Bangor Punta will as soon as practicable submit to a meeting of its shareholders a proposal for, and an unqualified recommendation of approval of, an exchange offer (“the Exchange Offer”) as hereinafter described and will use its best efforts to obtain the necessary shareholder and governmental approval therefor. The Exchange Offer will be for all outstanding shares of Piper Common Stock owned by Sellers at the time of the Exchange Offer. If Bangor Punta’s shareholders disapprove such proposal, this Agreement and the Escrow shall forthwith terminate without further action by Bangor Punta or Sellers.
(B) Under the Exchange Offer each share of Piper Common Stock will be exchanged for (i) one share of Bangor Punta Common Stock, par value $1 per share, as constituted on the date hereof, (ii) Bangor Punta Warrants — Series C, expiring March 31, 1981, to purchase 2.2 shares of Bangor Punta Common Stock as constituted on the date hereof, and (iii) $15 principal amount of a new Bangor Punta 5y2% 25-year Convertible Subordinated Debenture, convertible into Bangor Punta Common stock as constituted on the date hereof at a conversion price of $55 per share (and having other privileges and protections, such as against dilution, that are customary in publicly offered convertible debt securities).
(C) Sellers will cooperate with Bangor Punta in making the Exchange Offer and obtaining any governmental approval appropriate in connection with the making of the Exchange Offer and in connection with the issuance of the Bangor Punta securities issuable as part of such offer.

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Bolles v. Commissioner
69 T.C. 342 (U.S. Tax Court, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
69 T.C. 342, 1977 U.S. Tax Ct. LEXIS 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bolles-v-commissioner-tax-1977.