HARPER AND ROW &lt;HPR> TO MULL OPTIONS AFTER BIDS

  Harper and Row Publishers Inc said its
  board of directors decided to take no action on two takeover
  bids that the company has received. Instead, it appointed a
  committee of independent directors to study strategic
  alternatives for the 170-year-old firm.
      The alternatives include continuation of the company's
  existing business plans, possible business combinations, sales
  of stock, restructuring and the sale of all or part of the
  company.
      Kidder Peabody and Co Inc has been retained to advise on
  the alternatives, Harper and Row added.
      Private investor Theodore Cross last week offered 34 dlrs a
  share for Harper and Row, prompting a rival bid of 50 dlrs a
  share from another publishing firm, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
  Inc &lt;HBJ>.
      After carefully considering the two offers at a meeting on
  Friday, the Harpers and Row board decided not to act on them.
      The directors unanimously expressed their strong desire to
  preserve the company's independence and take advantage of its
  "considerable future prospects," according to director Winthrop
  Knowlton, former chief executive and now chairman of the newly
  established independent committee.
      "However, given the significant current interest in the
  company, we also feel that we should carefully review all the
  options available. The committee will consider all the
  pertinent facts and alternatives... We intend to make a careful
  and informed decision but will proceed expeditiously to a
  conclusion," Knowlton said.
      Pending its deliberations, Harper and Row's board has
  postponed indefinitely a special meeting of stockholders that
  had been scheduled for April 2 to discuss a proposal to
  recapitalize the company's stock in order to create two classes
  of shares with different votinmg rights.
  

