net income by 315 percent. Stockholders who had remained through the buyback achieved a phenomenal gain of about 3,000 percent. Peak and decline Going into its third decade, Teledyne sales passed the $3 billion mark in 1980, with industrial products leading in both sales and net income. In the race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, government sales reached almost $800 million. The first significant slump in Teledyne business began in 1985. Sales for 1984 had been about $3.49 billion, but decreased to around $3.26 billion the next year and remained essentially flat for the remainder of the decade. In April 1986, Singleton, who was then 69 years old, turned the position of CEO over to Roberts, but remained as Board Chairman. During 1988, Teledyne faced a number of legal problems, none of which were the direct result of wrongdoings of Singleton or Roberts. After agreeing to plead guilty to officials in Teledyne Electronics having made false statements, Teledyne was fined $17.5 million. After guiding Teledyne for 29 years, Singleton retired as an employee and officer in April 1989. Nevertheless, that was a peak year for Teledyne sales ($3.53 billion) and earnings ($392 million). Teledyne stock price reached $388.88, the highest in the nation. Total employment also peaked at near 43,000. Henry Singleton retired as Teledyne Chairman in 1991, and was replaced by George Roberts; William P. Rutledge was named President and CEO. Roberts then retired in 1993 and was replaced by Rutledge; Donald B. Rice, previously Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, was then named President and CEO. Many companies had been sold during the prior several years, and in 1993, through consolidations, the number was further reduced from 65 to 18. In January 1995, Teledyne Electronic Systems was sold to Litton Industries, essentially ending the business on which Teledyne had originally been formed. In the early 1990s, while the company underwent these turnovers in leadership, two lawsuits were brought against Teledyne by whistleblowers under the False Claims Act. The suits charged the company with falsifying test reports for relay devices sold to the US government for weapons and spacecraft use, and with padding government contract cost estimates. In April 1994, Teledyne settled both cases for $112.5 million, at the time one of the largest settlements by military contractors in a qui tam case. In late 1994, Teledyne was subjected to a hostile takeover attempt by WHX Corporation.