CONTROL SHIFTS TO PBGC ON SMITH CORONA PLAN

WASHINGTON-The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. will terminate and take over Smith Corona Corp.'s underfunded pension plan covering hourly employees and retirees as part of an agreement with the financially troubled manufacturer of word processors and electric typewriters.

Under the agreement, the PBGC would take over the plan, which is underfunded by $15.3 million, with $29.5 million in assets and $44.8 million in liabilities. The Smith Corona plan has 3,200 participants.

The agreement is part of Smith Corona's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case in federal bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Del. As part of the agreement, the PBGC will file a claim in bankruptcy court for an $8.3 million in underfunding in the hourly plan.

The agreement would end litigation that began in August 1996, when Cortland, N.Y.-based Smith Corona asked the bankruptcy court for approval to terminate both the hourly plan and an underfunded plan covering salaried employees.

Under the terms of the agreement, Smith Corona would continue the salaried plan, which is underfunded by about $14.5 million.