Louisiana blues
NEVER a dull moment for investors in L. Texas Petroleum, whose shares, when offered on the London Stock Exchange, proved to be such a dry well. Tense City meetings followed ('nearing high noon in Fenchurch Street,' as City and Suburban put it, 'deep in the heart of Texas') and now the shares have been exchanged for those of The Exploration Company of Louisiana. This, shareholders have been informed, has been designated as a 'target' by a grand jury in the state of Louisiana, which is investigating the alleged bribery of state officials, notably the state's Gov- ernor. This is the remarkable Edwin Ed- wards, who came up for trial last week on other charges, to do with permits for building hospitals. The Governor is alleged to have received $2 million in commission. As a good gambling man (the prosecution has subpoenaed 12 casino managers), Gov- ernor Edwards has been laying two to one on his acquittal. He would then have to talk to the grand jury, about his dealings with oil companies. The Exploration Com- pany of Louisiana retained Mr Edwards's services from 1982 to 1984 (before he was inaugurated as Governor), paying him in cash and shares. I forbear to tease the City merchant bank which arranged a London listing for the company's shares (and gave us L. Texas, too), but it would be better off sticking to Telecom.
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