1 Price Stern Sloan Inc. said it hired an investment banking firm to assist in evaluating restructuring or merger alternatives and reported a net loss of $8.1 million, or $2.14 a share, for the third quarter ended Sept.
2 These results compare with net income of $1.8 million, or 44 cents a share, for the corresponding period last year.
3 This quarter's loss includes pretax charges of $4.9 million on the proposed discontinuation of the company's troubled British subsidiary, and $3.7 million of other write-offs the company said were non-recurring and principally related to inventory, publishing advances and pre-publication costs.
4 The publishing concern said it retained the investment banking firm of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Inc. to act as its financial adviser, assisting in the evaluation of various financial and strategic alternatives, including debt refinancing, raising capital, recapitalization, a merger or sale of the company.
5 The company also retained attorney Martin P. Levin, a director of the company and former head of the Times-Mirror Publishing Group, as an adviser.
6 Net sales for this year's third quarter were $14 million, down from $21.4 million last year.
7 The company attributed the decrease in part to the exclusion of the company's British sales from the current year's figures as a result of the subsidiary's status as a proposed discontinued operation and, in part, to lower sales in certain key foreign and domestic accounts.
8 U.K. sales for last year's quarter were about $3 million.

The company also retained attorney Martin P . Levin , a director of the company and former head of the Times - Mirror Publishing Group , as an adviser .
as an adviser
what will he advise for specifically?