Instead, Mr. Olayan, who offered a rare interview, made it clear that he is a friendly investor with no takeover in mind.

None are thought to have bought significant blocks of the stock sold yesterday and all are regarded by Texaco as "friendly" investors.

To reduce its debt, Texaco would then sell the stock to the public or to a friendly investor.

A white knight in finance is a friendly investor who steps in to rescue a company from a hostile takeover.

Berkshire originally became involved with Salomon in 1987, when it bought the preferred stock for $700 million as a friendly investor.

The arrival of several large friendly investors should also offer the company further protection against an unwanted takeover.

Companies find it a lot cheaper to keep big shareholders happy than to protect themselves by finding new, friendly investors.

In business, a white knight, or "friendly investor," may be a corporation or a person that intends to help another firm.

A more likely defense, according to some analysts, would be to line up a core group of friendly investors.

Analysts said that Mr. Singleton was regarded as a friendly investor.