RALSTON PURINA CO
SC 13D/A, 1999-06-11
GRAIN MILL PRODUCTS
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                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

                                  SCHEDULE 13D

                    UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

                               (AMENDMENT NO. 12)

                         Interstate Bakeries Corporation
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                (Name of Issuer)

                          Common Stock, par value $.01
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         (Title of Class of Securities)

                                    46072310
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 (CUSIP Number)

J. M. Neville, Vice President, General Counsel, and Assistant Secretary, Ralston
                                     Purina
   Company, Checkerboard Square, St. Louis, MO 63164  Telephone (314) 982-1266
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
           (Name, Address and Telephone Number of Person Authorized to
                       Receive Notices and Communications)


                                  June 11, 1999
          -------------------------------------------------------------
             (Date of Event which Requires Filing of this Statement)


If  the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report
the  acquisition  which  is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this
schedule  because  of  Rule  13d-1(b)(3)  or  (4), check the following box [  ].

Check  the  following  box  if  a  fee  is  being  paid with the statement [  ].

The information required on the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed
to  be  "filed"  for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934  ("Act") or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act
but  shall  be  subject  to  all  other  provisions of the Act (however, see the
Notes).

<PAGE>
1.   NAME  OF  REPORTING  PERSON
     S.S.  OR  I.R.S.  IDENTIFICATION  NO.  OF  ABOVE  PERSON

     Ralston  Purina  Company
     IRS  Identification  No.  43-0470580
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.   CHECK  THE  APPROPRIATE  BOX  IF  A  MEMBER  OF  A  GROUP

     (a)  [x]  (See  Item  2  of  Schedule  13D)
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.   SEC  USE  ONLY

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.   SOURCE  OF  FUNDS

     OO
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.   CHECK  BOX  IF  DISCLOSURE  OF  LEGAL  PROCEEDINGS  IS  REQUIRED
     PURSUANT  TO  ITEMS  2(d)  or  2(e)                                [    ].

- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.   CITIZENSHIP  OR  PLACE  OF  ORGANIZATION

     Missouri
- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Number  of                    7.   SOLE  VOTING  POWER
  Shares  Bene-
  ficially  Owned                    30,346,154 (See Item 5 of Schedule 13D)
  by  Each  Reporting           -----------------------------------------------
  Person  With                  8.   SHARED  VOTING  POWER

                                     -0-
                                -----------------------------------------------
                                9.   SOLE  DISPOSITIVE  POWER

                                     30,346,154  (See Item 5 of Schedule 13D)

                                -----------------------------------------------

                               10.   SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER

                                     -0-

                               -----------------------------------------------

<PAGE>
11.  AGGREGATE  AMOUNT  BENEFICIALLY  OWNED  BY  EACH  REPORTING
     PERSON

     30,346,154  (See  Item  5  of  Schedule  13D)
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12.  CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN
     SHARES                                                            [    ].
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

13.  PERCENT  OF  CLASS  REPRESENTED  BY  AMOUNT  IN  ROW  (11)

     43%
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

14.  TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON

     CO
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------




<PAGE>
1.   NAME OF REPORTING PERSON
     S.S.  OR  I.R.S.  IDENTIFICATION  NO.  OF  ABOVE  PERSON

     VCS  Holding  Company
     IRS  Identification  No.  43-1379066
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2.   CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP

     (a)  [x]  (See  Item  2  of  Schedule  13D)
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3.   SEC USE ONLY

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4.   SOURCE OF FUNDS

     OO
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5.   CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED
     PURSUANT  TO  ITEMS  2(d)  or  2(e)                               [    ].

- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

6.   CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION

     Delaware
- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Number  of                    7.   SOLE  VOTING  POWER
  Shares  Bene-
  ficially  Owned                    30,346,154 (See Item 5 of Schedule 13D)
  by  Each  Reporting           ----------------------------------------------
  Person  With                  8.   SHARED VOTING POWER

                                     -0-
                                ----------------------------------------------
                                9.   SOLE  DISPOSITIVE  POWER

                                     30,346,154 (See Item 5 of Schedule 13D)
                                ----------------------------------------------
                               10.   SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER

                                     -0-
                                ----------------------------------------------

<PAGE>
11.  AGGREGATE  AMOUNT  BENEFICIALLY  OWNED  BY  EACH  REPORTING
     PERSON

     30,346,154  (See  Item  5  of  Schedule  13D)
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

12.  CHECK  BOX  IF  THE  AGGREGATE  AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN
     SHARES                                                           [    ].
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

13.  PERCENT  OF  CLASS  REPRESENTED  BY  AMOUNT  IN  ROW  (11)

     43%
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

14.  TYPE  OF  REPORTING  PERSON

     CO
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

<PAGE>
                           RALSTON PURINA COMPANY AND
                               VCS HOLDING COMPANY
                   Statement pursuant to Section 13(d) of the
                         Securities Exchange Act of 1934
                         -------------------------------


Item  1.  Security  and  Issuer.
          ---------------------

Item  1  of  Schedule  13D  is  amended,  in  pertinent  part,  as  follows:

     This  Amendment  No.  12  to Schedule 13D relating to the Common Stock, par
value  $.01  per  share,  of Interstate Bakeries Corporation ("Issuer") is being
filed  on  behalf of the undersigned to further amend the Schedule 13D which was
previously  filed  on July 31, 1995; Amendment No. 1 thereto, which was filed on
September  22,  1995;  Amendment  No.  2 thereto, which was filed on October 10,
1995; Amendment No. 3 thereto, which was filed on January 9, 1996; Amendment No.
4  thereto,  which was filed on May 10, 1996; Amendment No. 5 thereto, which was
filed on November 7, 1996; Amendment No. 6 thereto, which was filed on August 8,
1997;  Amendment  No.  7 thereto, which was filed on October 14, 1997; Amendment
No.  8  thereto,  which  was  filed  on  February  10, 1998; and Amendment No. 9
thereto,  which  was filed on April 7, 1998; Amendment No. 10 thereto, which was
filed  on April 17, 1998; Amendment No. 11 thereto, which was filed on August 6,
1998.    Unless  otherwise  indicated, all capitalized terms used herein but not
defined  herein  shall  have  the same meaning as set forth in the Schedule 13D.

Item  5.  Interest  in  Securities  of  the  Issuer.
          -----------------------------------------

     Item  5  of  Schedule  13D  is  amended,  in  pertinent  part,  as follows:

     William P. Stiritz, Chairman of the Board, beneficially owns 817,600 shares
of  the  outstanding  Common  Stock of the Issuer.  He has sole power to vote or
direct  the  voting  and  to  dispose  or direct the disposition with respect to
647,600  shares.   Mr. Stiritz shares with his wife, Susan Stiritz, the power to
vote  or  direct the vote and to dispose or direct the disposition of 140,000 of
such  shares  and shares with his son, Nick Stiritz, the power to vote or direct
the vote and to dispose or direct the disposition of 30,000 of such shares.  The
total  of  817,600 shares beneficially owned by Mr. Stiritz are derived from the
shares  of  Common  Stock  previously  owned  by  Mr.  Stiritz  and  from shares
beneficially  owned  as  a  result  of  the  transactions  set  forth  below:

Shares of Mr. Stiritz:
     20,000 shares sold at a price of $33.25 on November 13, 1997;
     20,000 shares sold at a price of $33.4415 on November 14, 1997;
     100,000 shares acquired at a price of $21.25 on March 23, 1999;
     50,000 shares acquired at a price of $21.246 on March 23, 1999;
     20,000 shares acquired at a price of $21.25 on March 24, 1999;
     100,000 shares acquired at a price of $21.2298 on March 25, 1999;
     20,000 shares acquired at a price of $21.875 on March 29, 1999;
     200,000 shares acquired at a price of $21.8748 on March 31, 1999;
     5,000 shares acquired at a price of $22.625 on April 5, 1999;
     50,000 shares acquired at a price of $22.9375 on April 16, 1999; and
     100,000 shares acquired at a price of $23.00 on April 19, 1999.

Shares of Mrs. Stiritz:
     100,000 shares acquired at a price of $22.716 on April 5, 1999;
     30,000 shares acquired at a price of $23  on April 5, 1999; and
     10,000 shares acquired at a price of $22.25 on  April 9, 1999.

Shares  of  Mr.  Stiritz'  son:
     30,000  shares  acquired  at  a  price  of  $23.00  on  April  8,  1999.

The  following  information  is  provided  with  regard  to  Mr.  Stiritz's son:

     (a)          Nick  Stiritz;
     (b)         c/o Agribrands International, Inc., 9811 South Forty Drive, St.
Louis,  MO  63124;
     (c)          Student;
     (d)          He has not in the last five years been convicted in a criminal
proceeding;
     (e)     He has not in the last five years been party to a civil proceeding;
and
     (f)          U.S.  Citizen

Signature
- ---------

     After  reasonable  inquiry and to the best of our knowledge and belief, the
undersigned  certify  that  the information set forth in this statement is true,
complete and correct.  The undersigned hereby agree that this statement is filed
on  behalf  of  each  of  Ralston  and  VCS.


Dated:    June  11,  1999

                                        RALSTON  PURINA  COMPANY

                                        /s/  Nancy E. Hamilton
                                        Name:  Nancy E. Hamilton
                                        Title:  Vice President, Secretary
                                        and Senior Counsel



<PAGE>

                                        VCS  HOLDING  COMPANY

                                       /s/ James M. Neville
                                       Name:  James M. Neville
                                       Title: Vice  President


<PAGE>
                                                                      APPENDIX I


                             RALSTON PURINA COMPANY
                             ----------------------

     Set  forth  below  with  respect  to each director and executive officer of
Ralston  Purina    Company  ("Ralston")  are  his or her name and (a) his or her
business  address  (unless another address is set forth, the business address of
each  person  is Checkerboard Square, St. Louis, Missouri 63164); (b) his or her
present  principal  employment  or  occupation and the name and (if not Ralston)
principal  business  of  any  corporation  or  other  organization in which such
employment  or  occupation  is carried on and the address of such corporation or
other  organization  (which, unless another address is set forth, is the same as
the business address set forth for such person); and (c) the number of shares of
the  Common Stock of the Issuer beneficially owned by him or her.  The reporting
persons  believe  that the information regarding Stock ownership set forth below
is  correct  as  of  June  11, 1999.  It will be updated when amendments to this
Schedule  13D  are  filed.



                               EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
                               ------------------

J.  R.  Elsesser:  (a) see above; (b) Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
of  Ralston;
     (c)  49,100.

P.  C.  Mannix:    (a)  see above; (b) Vice President of Ralston; and President,
Eveready  Battery  Company,  Inc.  (a  wholly  owned  subsidiary  of  Ralston);
     (c)  none.

W.  P.  McGinnis:    (a) see above; (b) Chief Executive Officer and President of
Ralston;  and  President  and  Chief  Executive  Officer,  Pet Products Group (a
division  of  Ralston);
     (c)  none.

J.  P.  Mulcahy:   (a) see above; (b) Vice President of Ralston; and Chairman of
the  Board and Chief Executive Officer, Eveready Battery Company, Inc. (a wholly
owned  subsidiary  of  Ralston);  (c)  none.

J. M. Neville:  (a) see above; (b) Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant
Secretary  of  Ralston;  (c)  none.

A.     M. Wray: (a) see above; (b) Vice President and Controller of Ralston; (c)
none.

R.  D.  Winney:    (a)  see  above;  (b)  Treasurer  of  Ralston;  (c)  none.

<PAGE>
                                                            APPENDIX I continued


N.  E.  Hamilton (a) see above; (b) Vice President, Secretary and Senior Counsel
of  Ralston;
     (c)  none.


                                    DIRECTORS
                                    ---------


David  R.  Banks:  (a) 5111 Rogers Avenue, Suite 40A, Ft. Smith, Arkansas 92919;
(b)  Chairman  of  the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Beverly Enterprises,
Inc.;  (c)  none.

John  H. Biggs:  (a) 730 Third Avenue, New York, New York 10017; (b) Chairman of
the  Board,  Chief  Executive  Officer  and  President  of  TIAA-CREF; (c) none.

Donald  Danforth,  Jr.:    (a)  Suite  330, 700 Corporate Park Drive, St. Louis,
Missouri  63105;
     (b)  Chairman  of  the Board and Treasurer of Kennelwood Village, Inc.; (c)
none.

William  H.  Danforth:   (a) Campus Box 1044, 7425 Forsyth Boulevard, Suite 262,
Clayton, Missouri 63105; (b) Chairman of the Board of Washington University; (c)
none.

David  C.  Farrell:  (a) 611 Olive Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63101; (b) Former
Chairman  of  the Board and Chief Executive Officer of The May Department Stores
Company;  (c)  none.

M.  Darrell  Ingram:  (a) 44 Tiburon Drive, Austin, Texas 78738; (b) Chairman of
the  Board  of  Red  Fox  Environmental  Services,  Inc.;  (c)  none.

Richard  A.  Liddy:  (a) 700 Market Street, St. Louis, MO 63101; (b) Chairman of
the  Board,  Chief  Executive  Officer  and  President  of General American Life
Insurance  Company;
     (c)  none

John  F.  McDonnell:    (a)  1034  South Brentwood Blvd., Suite 1840, St. Louis,
Missouri  63117-1218;  (b)  Former  Chairman  of  the  Board and Chief Executive
Officer  of  McDonnell  Douglas  Corporation;  (c)  none.

W.  P.  McGinnis:    (a) see above; (b) Chief Executive Officer and President of
Ralston;  and  President  and  Chief  Executive  Officer,  Pet Products Group (a
division  of  Ralston);
     (c)  none.

J.  P.  Mulcahy:   (a) see above; (b) Vice President of Ralston; and Chairman of
the  Board and Chief Executive Officer, Eveready Battery Company, Inc. (a wholly
owned  subsidiary  of  Ralston);  (c)  none.


<PAGE>
                                                            APPENDIX I continued


Katherine  D.  Ortega:  (a) 800 25th Street, N.W. #1003, Washington, D.C. 20037;
(b)  Former  Alternate  Representative  of the United States to the 45th General
Assembly  of  the  United  Nations;  (c)  none.

Ronald  L.  Thompson:   (a) 513 Napoleon Road, Bowling Green, OH 43402-4822; (b)
Chairman,  President  and  Chief  Executive  Officer  Midwest  Stamping  and
Manufacturing  Company;  (c)  none.

W.  P.  Stiritz:    (a)  9811  South Forty Drive, St. Louis, MO 63124; (b) Chief
Executive Officer and President Agribrands International, Inc.(c) See Item 5.*



                               VCS HOLDING COMPANY
                               -------------------

     Set  forth below with respect to each director and executive officer of VCS
Holding Company  ("VCS") are his or her name and (a) his or her business address
(unless  another  address  is  set forth, the business address of each person is
Checkerboard  Square,  St.  Louis,  Missouri  63164);  (b)  his  or  her present
principal  employment  or  occupation  and  the  name and (if not VCS) principal
business  of  any  corporation or other organization in which such employment or
occupation  is  carried  on  and  the  address  of  such  corporation  or  other
organization  (which,  unless  another  address is set forth, is the same as the
business address set forth for such person); and (c) the number of shares of the
Common  Stock  of  the  Issuer  beneficially owned by him or her.  The reporting
persons  believe  that the information regarding Stock ownership set forth below
is  correct  as  of  June  11, 1999.  It will be updated when amendments to this
Schedule  13D  are  filed.


                               EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
                               ------------------

J.  R. Elsesser, Chief Executive Officer and President:  (a) see above; (b) Vice
President  and  Chief  Financial  Officer of Ralston Purina Company; (c) 49,100.

P.  C.  Fulweiler,  Vice  President:    (a)  222  Delaware  Avenue,  17th Floor,
Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (b) Vice President and Department Manager, Corporate
Financial  Services  of  PNC  Bank;  (c)  none.


<PAGE>
                                                            APPENDIX I continued

J.  P.  Mulcahy,  Vice  President:  (a) see above; (b) Vice President of Ralston
Purina  Company; and Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Eveready
Battery Company, Inc. (a wholly owned subsidiary of Ralston Purina Company); (c)
none.

J.  M.  Neville,  Vice  President:    (a) see above; (b) Vice President, General
Counsel  and  Assistant  Secretary  of  Ralston  Purina  Company;  (c)  none.

T.  L.  Grosch,  Secretary:   (a) see above; (b) Deputy General Counsel, Ralston
Purina  Company;  (c)  none.

R. D. Winney:  (a) see above; (b) Treasurer of Ralston Purina Company; (c) none.


                                    DIRECTORS
                                    ---------

J.  R.  Elsesser:  (a) see above; (b) Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
of  Ralston  Purina  Company;  (c)  49,100.

P.  C.  Fulweiler:    (a)  222 Delaware Avenue, 17th Floor, Wilmington, Delaware
19801;  (b)  Vice President and Department Manager, Corporate Financial Services
of  PNC  Bank;  (c)  none.

R. D. Winney:  (a) see above; (b) Treasurer of Ralston Purina Company; (c) none.



*Amendment No. 11 incorrectly reflected Mr. Stiritz' IBC stock holdings as
 44,500 instead of 42,600.



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