Steinberg Hikes Stake in Ailing Tiger to 15.2%

An investment firm controlled by New York financier Saul P. Steinberg has increased its stake in Tiger International, the Los Angeles parent of the financially troubled Flying Tiger air cargo line.

Steinberg’s Reliance Financial Services boosted its stake in Tiger International to 15.2% from 12.9%, according to documents filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Steinberg paid between $6.23 and $6.43 a share--a total of $4.36 million--for 690,600 Tiger shares, the documents said.

Steinberg started his most recent buying spree Nov. 28, the day after the management of Flying Tiger reached an agreement with its 650 pilots on massive wage and benefit cuts. The 3 1/2-year pact is expected save Flying Tiger $37 million a year.

The management of Flying Tiger had said the airline would be sold piecemeal if no agreement was reached with pilots. The air cargo line, the world’s largest, has been losing an average of $74,600 a day since 1981.

A spokesman for Steinberg said the investor purchased the shares “to reflect his confidence in the management of Tiger, in what they have accomplished and what they will accomplish ahead.” The spokesman said Steinberg, who once attempted to take over the company and who now controls two seats on its board, bought the shares strictly as an investment.

Candace Kale, a spokeswoman for Tiger International, said the company had no comment on Steinberg’s purchases.

Flying Tiger executives are seeking concessions from the airline’s other employees and began negotiations last Thursday with the International Assn. of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, which represents 2,200 of the company’s 6,500 employees. According to an informed source, the company is seeking another $37 million a year in concessions from the machinists.