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Romy Hammes, Inc., Petitioner v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, RespondentRomy Hammes, Inc. v. CommissionerDocket No. 7444-73September 13, 1977, Filed
United States Tax Court *47Decision will be entered for the respondent .In 1968 four active corporations, A, B, C, and D merged into a fifth active corporation, P. The premerger corporations engaged in disparate and nonintegrated business activities which activities were continued as separate divisions of the postmerger corporation. The premerger and postmerger corporations had one common shareholder, but there was a significant difference in the shareholders and their proprietary interests among the premerger corporations and between the premerger and postmerger corporations. The postmerger corporation sustained a net operating loss during 1970 due to a business formerly carried on by P and seeks to carry the loss back to offset the premerger income of A.
Held : The merger of four active corporations into a fifth active corporation, each with disparate, nonintegrated business operations and with significantly different shareholder interests, does not constitute asec. 368(a)(1)(F) reorganization. Accordingly, a postmerger net operating loss incurred by a business formerly operated by corporation P may not be carried back against the premerger income of corporation A undersec. 381(b)(3) . , *48 for the petitioner.Charles M. Boynton James F. Hanley, Jr ., for the respondent.Wilbur,Judge .WILBUR*901 Respondent has determined a deficiency in petitioner's Federal income tax for the taxable year 1967 in the amount of $ 19,210.85. The issue for decision is whether petitioner, as successor by merger, is entitled to carry back a portion of its net operating loss to the 1967 premerger income of Romy Hammes, Inc., an Illinois corporation. The resolution of this issue depends largely on whether the multicorporate merger in 1967, of which petitioner is the surviving corporation, qualified as a reorganization under the provisions of
section 368(a)(1)(F) . *49 certain of his assets and liabilities having a net asset value of $ 350,000 to Nevada in exchange for its initial issue of 3,500 shares.On December 29, 1967, the following four operating corporations entered into a merger agreement with Nevada for the purposes of merging these corporations into Nevada:
(1) Romy Hammes Co., Inc., an Indiana corporation (Company);
(2) Romy Hammes Corp., an Indiana corporation (Corporation);
(3) Hammes Enterprises, Inc., an Illinois corporation (Enterprises);
(4) Romy Hammes, Inc., an Illinois corporation (Illinois).
Company was organized and incorporated in Indiana on June 17, 1946. It acquired the Singer property located in South Bend, Ind., in 1955 which consisted of approximately 50 acres and which had been used as a woodworking facility for the Singer Co. Company then tore down the brick and frame *902 buildings but left the reinforced concrete building which was converted into office and warehouse space which it rented. In addition, it constructed an A & P store which it rented under a long-term lease and a one-floor retail facility which it held for rent. On the Singer property it also constructed an automobile agency facility which it rented to Corporation. *50 It conducted and managed the Maytag appliance franchise for Indiana and Michigan. Company's income was derived from the rental properties and from the sale of Maytag appliances to dealers in Indiana and Michigan under its franchise agreement with the Maytag Co.
Corporation was organized and incorporated under the laws of the State of Indiana on July 22, 1950, and operated, managed, and engaged in the business of the sale of Ford Motor products in South Bend, Ind. It operated the dealership which sold at retail Ford automobiles and trucks and tractors. It was located at 244 South Olive Street, South Bend, Ind., and leased its premises from Company which owned the real estate. The dealership was sold in 1974.
Enterprises was organized and incorporated in Illinois on July 1, 1946, to deal in real estate. It acquired land and caused to have constructed commercial buildings in the area of Kankakee, Ill., which it leased. On February 6, 1962, Romy Hammes Homes, Inc., an Illinois corporation, (Homes-Kankakee) was merged into Enterprises. Prior to the merger, Homes-Kankakee had built homes for rent and sale in Kankakee, Ill. Among the assets transferred to Enterprises as a result of *51 the merger were the rental houses and the installment contracts on the homes previously built and sold by Homes-Kankakee.
Illinois was organized under the laws of the State of Illinois on July 2, 1946. Prior to its 1968 merger into Nevada, Illinois constructed, then rented, various commercial buildings, among them a shopping center in Joliet, Ill.*52 *903
Shares (1) Nevada Romy Hammes 3,500 (2) Company Romy Hammes 179 1/4 Gerald Hammes 124 Romy Hammes Trust 726 3/4 (3) Corporation Romy Hammes 4,000 Gerald Hammes 1,000 30 Employees 590 (4) Enterprises Romy Hammes 1,589 1/2 Gerald Hammes 575 Romy Hammes Trust 335 1/2 (5) Illinois Romy Hammes 1,112 1/2 Gerald Hammes 200 Romy Hammes Trust 383 1/2 Hammes Enterprises, Inc. 400 Eighteen of the individual employee shareholders of Corporation did not desire to go along with the merger and, prior to the finalization of the merger, Corporation redeemed 155 shares of Corporation stock from the dissenting shareholders for a total purchase price of $ 3,467.
Upon the merger of the four corporations into Nevada, the survivor issued its stock as follows: *53