Federated Department Stores’ board of directors met...

Federated Department Stores’ board of directors met in New York to consider alternatives to a hostile takeover by Campeau Corp., but the department store company, parent of Bullock’s and Ralphs Grocery, did not issue a statement. Meanwhile, James Tobin, an Ohio Bar Assn. official, warned that the courts likely would strike down a proposal in the Ohio Senate to protect Federated from a hostile takeover if it became law. But Roderick Willcox, an attorney for Federated, told the committee that recent court decisions tend to support an approach aimed at protecting companies from hostile bids. They spoke before a state Senate committee hearing testimony over two bills aimed at blocking Toronto-based Campeau’s offer to acquire Federated, based in Cincinnati, for $5.5 billion.