1 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 SCHEDULE 13D (Amendment No. )* of Tweedy, Browne Company L.P. SCHEDULE 13D (Amendment No. )* of TBK Partners, L.P. Under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 OIL-DRI CORPORATION OF AMERICA (Name of Issuer) Common Stock, Par Value $.01 PER SHARE (Title of Class of Securities) 677864100 (CUSIP Number) John D. Spears 52 Vanderbilt Avenue New York, New York 10017 (212) 916-0600 (Name, Address and Telephone Number of Persons Authorized to Receive Notices and Communications) UPON EXAMINATION ON JUNE 13, 1997 OF THE ISSUER'S LAST FILING ON FORM 10K (Date of Event which Required Filing of this Statement)
2 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 paid with the statement [ ]. (A fee is not required only if the reporting person: (1) has a previous statement on file reporting beneficial ownership of more than five percent of the class of securities described in Item 1; and (2) has filed no amendment subsequent thereto reporting beneficial ownership of five percent or less of such class.) (See Rule 13d-7.) * The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person's initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information which would alter disclosures provided in a prior cover page. 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 the provisions of the Act (however, see the Notes).
3 SCHEDULE 13D CUSIP No. 677864100 Page __ of __ Pages - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON Tweedy, Browne Company L.P. ("TBC") - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a) / / (b) /X/ - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. SEC USE ONLY - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. SOURCE OF FUNDS* 00 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 SOLE VOTING POWER TBC has sole voting power with respect to 490,190 shares held in certain TBC accounts (as hereinafter defined). Additionally, certain of the general partners of TBC may be deemed to have sole power to vote certain shares as more fully set forth herein. NUMBER OF ------------------------------------------------------------------ SHARES 8. SHARED VOTING POWER BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY 0 shares EACH ------------------------------------------------------------------ REPORTING 9. SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER PERSON 0 shares, except that certain of the general WITH partners of TBC may be deemed to have sole power to dispose of certain shares as more fully set forth herein. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 10 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 518,783 shares held in accounts of TBC (as hereinafter defined). - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 518,783 shares - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES* /X/ - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) 11.57% - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON* BD, IA & PN - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT!
4 SCHEDULE 13D CUSIP No. 677864100 Page __ of __ Pages - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. NAME OF REPORTING PERSONS S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NO. OF ABOVE PERSON TBK Partners L.P. ("TBK") - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP* (a) / / (b) /X/ - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. SEC USE ONLY - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. SOURCE OF FUNDS* WC and BK - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7 SOLE VOTING POWER 14,655 shares, except that the general partners in TBK, solely by reason of their positions as such, may be deemed to have shared power to vote these shares. NUMBER OF ------------------------------------------------------------------ SHARES 8. SHARED VOTING POWER BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY 0 shares EACH ------------------------------------------------------------------ REPORTING 9. SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER PERSON 14,655 shares, except that the general partners WITH in TBK, solely by reason of their positions as such may be deemed to have shared power to vote these shares. ------------------------------------------------------------------ 10 SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER 0 shares - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON 14,655 shares - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES* / / - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) 0.33% - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON* PN - -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *SEE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE FILLING OUT!
5 PRELIMINARY NOTE This Statement on Schedule 13D is being filed because the filing persons may be deemed to be members of a group comprised of Tweedy, Browne Company L.P. ("TBC") and TBK Partners, L.P. ("TBK"), which group may be deemed to be the beneficial owner in the aggregate of in excess of 5% of the Common Stock of Oil-Dri Corporation of America. However, the filing of this Schedule 13D should not be deemed an admission that TBC and TBK comprise a group within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the"Act"). ITEM 1. SECURITY AND ISSUER This Schedule 13D relates to the Common Stock, $.01 par value (the "Common Stock"), of Oil-Dri Corporation of America (the "Company"), which, to the best knowledge of the persons filing this Schedule 13D, is a company organized under the laws of Delaware, with its principal executive offices located at 410 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611. ITEM 2. IDENTITY AND BACKGROUND (a) The persons filing this Schedule 13D are (i) Tweedy, Browne Company L.P. ("TBC"), a Delaware limited partnership and (ii) TBK Partners, L.P. ("TBK"), a Delaware limited partnership. Annexed as Exhibit 99.1, which is incorporated by reference herein, is an agreement between TBC and TBK that this Schedule 13D is filed on behalf of each of them. The filing of this Schedule 13D should not be deemed an admission that TBC and TBK comprise a group within the meaning of Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Act"). This Schedule 13D contains information regarding shares of Common Stock that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by TBC. Such shares are held in the accounts of various customers of TBC, with respect to which accounts TBC has investment discretion (the "TBC Accounts"), and with respect to some of which it has obtained sole or shared voting power. The general partners of TBK are Christopher H. Browne, William H. Browne, Thomas P. Knapp and John D. Spears. The general partners of TBC are Christopher H. Browne, William H. Browne and John D. Spears (the "General Partners"). By reason of their positions as such, the general partners of TBK may be deemed to control TBK and the general partners of TBC may be deemed to control TBC, respectively. (b) The business address of each of TBC, TBK and the General Partners is 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, New York 10017. (c) TBC is engaged primarily in the business of a securities broker and dealer and investment adviser, is registered as a broker-dealer and investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and is a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. TBK is a private investment partnership and is currently, and at all relevant times was, engaged primarily in the business of investing in securities for its own account. The present principal occupation of each of the General Partners is serving as such for TBC and TBK. The present principal occupation of Thomas P. Knapp is serving as a general partner in TBK. The principal business address of each of TBC and TBK is set forth above. (d) None of TBC, TBK, Thomas P. Knapp, nor any General Partner has, during the last five years, been convicted in any criminal proceeding (excluding traffic violations and similar misdemeanors).
6 (e) None of TBC, TBK, Thomas P. Knapp, nor any General Partner has, during the last five years, been a party to a civil proceeding of a judicial or administrative body of competent jurisdiction as a result of which proceeding it or he was or is subject to a judgment, decree or final order enjoining future violations of, or prohibiting or mandating activities subject to, federal or state securities laws or finding any violations with respect thereto. (f) Each of TBC and TBK is a Delaware limited partnership. Each of the General Partners and Thomas P. Knapp is a citizen of the United States of America. ITEM 3. SOURCE AND AMOUNTS OF FUNDS OR OTHER CONSIDERATION As of the date hereof, the number of shares with respect to which TBC may be deemed to be the beneficial owner is 518,783 shares of Common Stock (the "TBC Shares"), all of which shares were purchased in open market transactions. The aggregate cost of the TBC Shares, including brokerage commissions, was $8,074,715. The TBC Shares are held in the TBC Accounts, the funds therefor coming from the funds on hand in each individual managed account and in certain instances from standard margin account borrowings from brokerage accounts maintained at Fleet Clearing Corporation. It is expected that funds used by the TBC Accounts to purchase additional shares of Common Stock, if additional shares are purchased by the TBC Accounts (see Item 4 hereof), will come from the funds on hand for each individual managed account, which funds on hand at any time and from time to time may include, among others, funds borrowed pursuant to margin accounts maintained at Fleet Clearing Corporation. Borrowings made by certain TBC Accounts pursuant to such margin accounts are secured by margin securities owned by the respective accounts, including some of the TBC Shares. Interest on outstanding borrowings under such margin accounts ranges from 1/2% to 2% over the brokers' call rate in effect from time to time at Chemical Bank, New York, New York, depending upon the amount of outstanding borrowings at any given time. As of the date hereof, TBK beneficially owns directly 14,655 shares of Common Stock (the "TBK Shares"), all of which shares were purchased in open market transactions. The aggregate cost of the TBK Shares, including brokerage commissions, was $226,567. It is expected that funds used by TBK to purchase additional shares of Common Stock, if additional shares are purchased by TBK (see Item 4 hereof), will come from TBK's general funds, which include cash and cash equivalents on hand and in banks. TBK's general funds have included, and it is expected that they will from time to time include, funds borrowed by it pursuant to an understanding with Chemical Bank. As of the date hereof, TBK has a loan outstanding with Chemical Bank in the amount of $20,000.00. Borrowings made by TBK pursuant to that understanding bear interest at the brokers' call rate in effect from time to time at Chemical Bank. TBK's funds on hand have also included, and it is expected that they will from time to time include, funds borrowed by it pursuant to an understanding with The Bank of New York, New York, New York. Pursuant to that understanding, TBK may borrow funds at the brokers' call rate charged from time to time by The Bank of New York. As of the date hereof, TBK has a loan outstanding with The Bank of New York in the amount of $10,000.00. Borrowings made by TBK pursuant to its understandings with Chemical Bank and The Bank of New York are secured by securities owned by TBK; such borrowings are not secured by any TBK Shares. No borrowings from Chemical Bank or The Bank of New York were made for the purpose of acquiring the TBK Shares. TBK reserves the right to include all or any of the shares of Common Stock owned by it at any time or from time to time, among the securities that serve as collateral for such borrowings, subject to compliance with any applicable statutes and regulations.
7 ITEM 4. PURPOSE OF TRANSACTION Each of TBC and TBK has acquired the shares of Common Stock owned by it for investment purposes and for none of the reasons enumerated in Item 4 of Schedule 13D, except that TBC and TBK may dispose of all or some of the TBC Shares and the TBK Shares, respectively, or may acquire additional shares of Common Stock from time to time, depending upon price and market conditions, evaluation of alternative investments, and other factors. Currently, TBC and TBK intend to acquire additional shares of Common Stock in the open market, depending upon the price of the Common Stock from time to time. ITEM 5. INTEREST IN SECURITIES OF THE ISSUER (a) As of the date hereof, TBC may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of an aggregate of 518,783 shares of Common Stock, which constitutes approximately 11.57% of the 4,481,803 shares of Common Stock which TBC believes to be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding. The TBC Shares are held in the TBC Accounts. As of the date hereof, TBK beneficially owns directly 14,655 shares of Common Stock, which constitutes approximately 0.33% of the 4,481,803 shares of Common Stock which TBK believes to be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding. Also included in the TBC Accounts are 185 shares of Common Stock held in a charitable foundation of which Christopher H. Browne is a trustee. Mr. Browne is a general partner in TBC and TBK. Each of TBC and TBK disclaims that it is the beneficial owner of any of the shares of Common Stock held in the TBC Accounts. The aggregate number of shares of Common Stock with respect to which TBC and TBK could be deemed to be the beneficial owner as of the date hereof, is 533,438 shares, which constitutes approximately 11.90% of the 4,481,803 shares of Common Stock, which the filing persons believe to be the total number of shares of Common Stock outstanding, but nothing contained herein shall be construed as an admission that TBC is the beneficial owner of any of the TBC Shares. The aggregate number of shares and percentage of Common Stock with respect to which each of the General Partners may be deemed to be the beneficial owner by reason of his being a general partner of TBC and TBK, respectively, is 533,438 shares, which constitutes approximately 11.90% of the 4,481,803 shares of Common Stock outstanding. The aggregate number of shares and percentage of Common Stock with respect to which Thomas P. Knapp may be deemed to be a beneficial owner by reason of his being a general partner of TBK is 14,655 shares of Common Stock which constitutes approximately 0.33% of the 4,481,803 shares of Common Stock outstanding. However, nothing contained herein shall be construed as an admission that any of the General Partners or Thomas P. Knapp is the beneficial owner of any shares of Common Stock, except as set forth herein as expressly and admittedly being beneficially owned by a particular General Partner or Thomas P. Knapp. Each of TBC and TBK disclaims beneficial ownership of Common Stock held by the other. Except as described herein, to the best knowledge of TBC and TBK, no person who may be deemed to comprise a group with any of TBC and TBK or any other person named in Item 2 hereof, beneficially owns any shares of Common Stock. (b) TBC has investment discretion with respect to 518,783 shares of Common Stock held by the TBC Accounts and has sole power to dispose or direct the disposition of all of such shares. Of these shares of Common Stock, TBC has sole power to vote or to direct the voting of 490,190 shares of Common Stock held in certain TBC Accounts. Each of the General Partners of TBC, solely by reason of their positions as such, may be deemed to have (i) shared power to dispose of or to direct the disposition of all of the shares of Common Stock held in the TBC Accounts; and (ii) shared power to vote or direct the vote of 490,190 shares of Common Stock held in certain TBC Accounts.
8 TBK has the sole power to vote or direct the voting of and dispose or direct the disposition of the TBK Shares. Each of the General Partners and Thomas P. Knapp, solely by reason of their positions as general partners, may be deemed to have shared power to vote or direct the vote of and to dispose or direct the disposition of the TBK Shares. (c) During the sixty-day period ended as of the date hereof, TBC and TBK purchased shares of Common Stock in open market transactions as follows: NO OF SHARES PRICE TBC ACCOUNTS PURCHASED PER SHARE 05/27/97 12,700 $15.36811 05/30/97 7,200 $15 3/8 06/03/97 191,245 $15 3/8 TBK: 06/03/97 13,655 $15 3/8 (d) To the best knowledge of TBC, each of the persons maintaining an account with TBC has the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from, or the proceeds from the sale of, the shares of Common Stock held in said person's TBC Account. To the best knowledge of TBK, no person other than TBK has the right to receive or the power to direct the receipt of dividends from, or the proceeds from the sale of, the TBK Shares, except that the General Partners and Thomas P. Knapp may be deemed to have such rights and powers solely by reason of being general partners in TBK. (e) Not applicable. ITEM 6. CONTRACTS, ARRANGEMENTS, UNDERSTANDINGS OR RELATIONSHIPS WITH RESPECT TO SECURITIES OF THE ISSUER. Except as otherwise described herein, none of TBC and TBK, nor, to the best knowledge of TBC or TBK, any other person named in Item 2 hereof, has any contract, arrangement, understanding or relationship with respect to any securities of the Issuer. ITEM 7. MATERIAL TO BE FILED AS EXHIBITS Exhibit 99.1 - - Agreement pursuant to Rule 13d-1(f)(1)(iii).
9 SIGNATURE Each of Tweedy, Browne Company L.P. and TBK Partners, L.P. after reasonable inquiry and to the best of its knowledge and belief, hereby certifies that the information set forth in this Statement (which includes the Exhibit annexed hereto) is true, complete and correct. TWEEDY, BROWNE COMPANY L.P. By _____________________________ Christopher H. Browne General Partner TBK PARTNERS, L.P. By _____________________________ Christopher H. Browne General Partner Dated: June 17, 1997
1 EXHIBIT 99.1 AGREEMENT dated as of June 17, 1997 between Tweedy, Browne Company L.P., a Delaware limited partnership ("TBC") and TBK Partners, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership ("TBK"). WITNESSETH: WHEREAS, TBC and TBK may be deemed to have acquired, in the aggregate, beneficial ownership of more than five percent of the Common Stock (the "Common Stock") of Oil-Dri Corporation of America (The "Company") and WHEREAS, pursuant to Rule 13d-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Act"), a Statement on Schedule 13D must be filed by any person who acquires more than five percent of registered equity securities; and WHEREAS, in accordance with Rule 13d-1(f) of the Act, only one such Statement need be filed whenever two or more persons are required to file such a Statement pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Act with respect to the same securities, provided that said persons agree in writing that such Statement is filed on behalf of each of them. NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual agreements herein contained, the parties hereto agree as follows: TBC and TBK do hereby agree, in accordance with Rule 13d-1(f) under the Act, to file one Statement on Schedule 13D relating to their ownership of the Common Stock, and do hereby further agree that said Statement shall be filed on behalf of each of TBC and TBK. Nothing herein, however, shall be, or shall be deemed to be, an admission that the parties hereto, or any of them, are members of a "group" (within the meaning of Section 13(d) of the Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder) with respect to any securities of the Company. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties have executed this Agreement as of the date first above written. TWEEDY, BROWNE COMPANY L.P. TBK PARTNERS, L.P. By _______________________________ By _____________________________ Christopher H. Browne Christopher H. Browne General Partner General Partner