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EQUITABLE HELPS PUT THE DAN BELL GROUP IN CHOCOLATE.

[image - photograph of four men behind a desk]]
[[caption]]From left to right: Cocoline Chocolate Company President Leonard S. Halpert, George F. Woodson, Vice President of the Dan Bell Group, TELCEC Vice President Clarence C. Loftin, III, and Howard H. Mackey, III, TELCEC President, in the Cocoline plant Brooklyn.[[/caption]]

Early in 1974, the Dan Bell Group came to Equitable's subsidiary, TELCEC - The Equitable Life Community Enterprises Corporation - looking for investment capital to purchase a profitable business that was for sale. In conjunction with two other financial institutions, TELCEC participated in the financing of the purchase of the Cocoline Chocolate Company of Brooklyn, N.Y., a bulk supplier of chocolate and related products to candy manufacturers, bakeries and ice cream producers. 
The Dan Bell Group is an affiliate of Daniels & Bell, the first black investment banking firm to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The Dan Bell Group's objective is to acquire select small companies for its own account.
The Cocoline transaction is one example of the work of TELCEC, which was formed by Equitable to provide continuing business guidance and capital investment for minority-owned businesses. Backing a portfolio of eleven minority ventures with equity capital and management advice - important leverage factors needed for small businesses to attain growth and visibility - TELEC'S mission is to put into action The Equitable's commitment to foster minority economic development.
Commenting on the program, TELEC President Howard Mackey says, "We've taken an active role in aiding ten other minority-owned businesses, and we're constantly seeking new investment opportunities in well-managed, growth-oriented enterprises."
In the words of The Equitable's President, Coy Eklund, "Not because it's good business, though it is, but because its right."

THE EQUITABLE LIFE ASSURANCE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES

The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States, N.Y., N.Y.