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Frank StantonFrank Stanton
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expertise in that case. Could you explain a little about how the membership of the AEA would become involved with a company that's purchased? Do they become a part of an executive committee of the company? How does that work? And do they have more stock options than, say, another person in AEA who is not so directly linked to that particular company?

Stanton:

No. If we're looking at something that one member of the group knows either because it's in the field in which he's spent his life--Carl Hess [CEO of AEA Investors] used to and now Vincent Mai, who is the CEO of AEA, will meet--generally alone, or maybe in a small group--and invite one of the members in and simply say, “We're looking at a company in your field.” For example, they've gone into cable. I was invited over to talk with the staff about the particular cable opportunity they were looking at.

Then at about that same time, Tom [Thomas R.] Murphy of ABC was invited into the group, and because he had had more recent experience in that particular aspect of cable, he joined the meeting. I know I was favorably impressed with the opportunity they had and I think Murph was, too, and for, I guess, the better part of a year it was studied and kicked around and finally, just recently, I think, they went in--I think we went in for a couple of hundred million into cable. And that's a drop in the bucket.

There they leaned on Murphy and me because I owned a cable system and Murphy, in his company, had cable. So.

We got into a telephone supply company out in the Middle West--an independent venture. Small. Charlie [Charles L.] Brown, who had retired as chairman of AT&T, was asked if the





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