← B.E. 40th ANNIVERSARY COVER GALLERY

nd-1987-NOVEMBER

By Alfred Edmond, Jr. | Published August 8, 2010 | Full size is 500 × 320 pixels

Our editors literally stopped the presses in order to report one of the greatest deals in black business history: Reginald F. Lewis’ historic $985 million leveraged buyout of Beatrice International Foods Cos. – the largest offshore transaction at the time. Our November 1987 cover story, with its exclusive interview with Lewis, scooped much of the business press. As a result of the transaction, the late financier would create TLC Beatrice, the first African American global enterprise to break the billion-dollar revenue mark. Lewis’ financial prowess continues to inspire a generation of African American entrepreneurs.

Our editors literally stopped the presses in order to report one of the greatest deals…