| By John K. McGuiness With shocking rapidity, LuthorCorp has acquired U.K.-based recycling giant Hardwick Enterprises in a hostile takeover. The two titans--or more accurately, their equally driven CEOs, Lionel Luthor and Sir Harry Hardwick--had been battling for years in a power struggle that baffled market watchers, since none of their holdings overlapped or presented any direct competition. Although LuthorCorp is known for its dominance in the fertilizer market and several other sectors, this is the conglomerate's first foray into a salvage-related business. Luthor has been uncharacteristically quiet about the acquisition, which significantly boosts LuthorCorp's presence in the United Kingdom. But The Daily Planet is reporting that a press release from the Metropolis | Chamber of Commerce announced the city had awarded its exclusive recycling contract to Hardwick Enterprises only two days earlier. Despite that coup, Hardwick's stock immediately plummeted at the start of trading the following day, primarily because of Hardwick's simultaneous purchase of a majority interest in Cadmus Labs, a technology firm that had never shown any promise. That extremely ill-advised move left Hardwick open to a hostile takeover, and Luthor pounced. Interestingly, Luthor's son, Lex, and Hardwick's daughter, Victoria, had recently been seen together in Smallville and Metropolis, fueling speculation of some sort of merger between the two heirs. Those rumors have now faded, however, as Lionel Luthor wins yet another corporate chess match. |