GROUP TO BOOST FAIRCHILD INDUSTRIES (FEN) STAKE An investor group led by New York investor George Soros said it was dissatisfied with Fairchild Industries Inc management and was considering boosting its holdings to as much as 49.9 pct of the aerospace and aviation company's outstanding stock. The group already controls 1,647,481 Fairchild Industries shares or 11.5 pct of the total outstanding. The group said it filed on Wednesday with federal antitrust regulators for advance clearance to buy enough additional shares to increase its total stake to up to 49.9 pct of the total outstanding stock. The group said its representatives had met with Fairchild Industries officials to inform them "that they do not believe management has been successful in enhancing or protecting shareholder values." It said it was considering the additional share purchases to enable it to "assert a greater degree of influence over the future management and policies of the issuer." It said a decision on the specific level of share ownership it would seek depended on market prices, future changes in management policies, available financial resources and other factors. The group said it also reserved the right to pursue other measures intended to influence Fairchild management and policies, either alone or in concert with other investors. The group includes Soros and Quantum Fund, an offshore investment firm headquartered in Curacao, Netherlands Antilles that is advised by Soros. The group said that since its last SEC filing, made Jan. 2, it had purchased no additional Fairchild shares and had sold 6,700 shares on the New York Stock Exchange Jan. 19. A Fairchild Industries official later said Soros had told the company he was not dissatisfied with its management. "Contrary to the filing, Mr. Soros has told the company today that he is not dissatisfied with management," Fairchild's Bill Fulwider told Reuters. However, Fulwider said the company would have nothing to say at this time about Soros' disclosure that he may buy up enough additional Fairchild shares to hold as much as 49.9 pct of the company's outstanding stock.