Ross spins BI and Cone Mills into ITG.

• Position: TRIAD - WL Ross & Co acquired Burlington Industries and Cone Mills - Brief Article

Two tattered Tar Heel textile titans have become one. New York-based WL Ross & Co. plucked Burlington Industries and Cone Mills from bankruptcy within the past six months, paying $704 million, then combined them in March to form International Textile Group. Wilbur Ross, WL Ross & Co.'s chairman and CEO, is the chairman of ITG, which probably will be based in Greensboro. Negotiations over economic incentives haven't been completed. ITG has about $900 million in annual sales and about 7,200 employees. Ross says headcount is unlikely to change much in the near future. He wants ITG to make the lowest-priced textiles in the country. That, he says, should help it compete with Asian producers. Asian textile companies face, among other disadvantages, tariffs and steeper transportation costs than U.S. makers, he says. They can't supply...