Josten

"Josten would have been an ideal acquisition for Textron since it fitted our basic concept of being a leader in a relatively small in- dustry. Today Josten is the undisputed leader in the school ring business, and their performance is so superb that their shares are selling at a price/earnings multiple of 12, whereas Textron stock has recently been selling at only 6 times. In retrospect, of the many situations that Textron missed by being too conservative in the price we were willing to pay, the outstanding examples have got to be Tupperware and Josten."

"ADVICE: Ifyou have an opportunity to purchase a company as outstanding as Josten, don't let a mere $500,000 stand in the way. If a business such as Josten's with its tremendous future potential is worth $12,500,000 it cer- tainly is worth $ 1j,000,000. Refusing to meet the firm offering price in this case was one of the worst mistakes I ever made at Textron."