The Daily Deal articles from August 2004

The Daily Deal archives from August 2004

Cornerstone disclosure likely to be OK'd.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray A judge said he would likely approve Cornerstone Propane Partners LP's disclosure statement after the propane retailer works with the creditors' committee to revise the document. Judge Robert D. Drain in the...

CSFB seeks to move Owens Corning case.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas Credit Suisse First Boston, Owens Corning Inc.'s lead prebankruptcy lender, will file a motion Monday, Aug. 2, asking a U.S. District Court judge to take full control of the company's Chapter 11 case, according to...

Applied Extrusion in debt swap pact.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan Applied Extrusion Technologies Inc. and a majority of noteholders have agreed on a debt-for-equity swap. The company, battered by escalating petroleum costs for its resin-related raw materials, agreed in principal...

Judge OKs Weathervane sale.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan A Canadian retailer hopes to close the $2.7 million purchase of the remaining assets of New Weathervane Retail Corp. by the end of August. A Delaware judge approved the sale of Weathervane to Toronto-based Fair...

Delta management asks for $1B.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman Delta Air Lines Inc. management on Friday, July 30, asked its pilots for $1.02 billion in concessions, declaring the union's proposal for $700 million in cuts as inadequate to save the troubled airline. Gerald...

Dan River gets extension.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas A bankruptcy court gave Dan River Inc. two more months to file its reorganization plan, extending the deadline to Oct. 27. The Danville, Va.-based textile company filed for Chapter 11 on March 31, 2004 in the U.S....

EnerSys raises $156M in IPO.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Claire Poole EnerSys Inc. announced Friday, July 30, that it priced its initial public offering of 12.5 million shares at $12.50 an issue. This is below the $15 to $17 a share range that was expected. But the Reading, Pa.,...

Market fears stall IPO revival.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Olaf de Senerpont Domis Intense competition and stock volatility among storage component vendors have led Engenio Information Technologies Inc., the storage technology unit of custom chip designer LSI Logic Corp., to postpone its...

IPO outlook: August 2, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson MortgageIT sets $172.M IPO MortgageIT Holdings Inc. said it expects to raise $175.2 million through its initial public offering after its 14.6 million common shares were priced at $12 apiece. The New...

IPO outlook: August 02, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson MortgageIT sets $172.M IPO MortgageIT Holdings Inc. said it expects to raise $175.2 million through its initial public offering after its 14.6 million common shares were priced...

Bush appoints Majoras.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Donna Block in Washington In a move that was widely expected, President George W. Bush used a procedural maneuver to install Deborah P. Majoras as chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission Friday, July 30, overcoming opposition...

In play: August 02, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson UnitedHealth closes Oxford buy UnitedHealth Group Inc. has completed its $4.9 billion acquisition of Trumbull, Conn., rival Oxford Health Plans Inc., it said Friday....

New & noteworthy: August 02, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson ABN Amro Capital in 4th buy ABN Amro Capital, the private equity arm of the Netherlands' ABN Amro Bank NV, has taken a significant stake in insurer Texa SA. No terms were...

Royal & Sun trims down.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Laura Board in London Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc Friday, July 30, sealed a major disposal in its drive to trim back to its core property and casualty insurance businesses. The London-based company announced a deal...

Deals of the Week: July 30, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily Mylan Laboratories Inc. was crowned with the No.1 domestic deal of the week with its $4.019 billion bid for King Pharmaceuticals Inc. on July 26. King shareholders will receive 0.9 Mylan common shares for each...

International Deals of the Week: July 30, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily English bank Abbey National plc may be speaking Spanish soon as Banco Santander Central Hispano SA of Spain made a whopping $14.3 billion offer for the British financial institution. The transaction was...

M&A in brief: July 30, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson AMERICAS Airgas finishes BOC Group buy Radnor, Pa., industrial gas distributor Airgas Inc. said Friday it closed its purchase of BOC Group Inc's U.S. packaged gas business for $175 million in cash....

Salad days in River Ranch auction?
August 2, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas River Ranch Fresh Foods LLC, one of the top producers of store-brand packaged salads, has been on the block for about two months, according to bankers, and one source close to the situation speculated that the Salinas,...

Edison Mission retrenches.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Lisa Clifford in London British energy group International Power plc said Friday, July 30, it joined with Japan's Mitsui & Co. Ltd. to buy Irvine, Calif.-based Edison Mission Energy's international generation portfolio for $2.3...

BAT smokes Italian unit.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan British American Tobacco plc said Friday, July 30, it will sell the company's Italian distribution unit to Franco-Spanish group Altadis SA in a deal worth [Euro]590 million ($710 million). BAT had...

Sumitomo Mitsui swoops in on UFJ.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Charles Smith in Tokyo The future of troubled Japanese bank UFJ Inc. was thrown into doubt Friday, July 30, after Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group expressed interest in a merger if UFJ's proposed merger with a rival lender group...

Royal & Sun retrenches further.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Laura Board in London Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc on Friday, July 30, sealed a major disposal in its drive to pare back to its core property and casualty insurance businesses. The London-based company announced a...

Edison exits overseas energy.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Lisa Clifford in London British energy group International Power plc has joined with Japanese trader Mitsui & Co. Ltd. to buy Rosemead, Calif.-based Edison Mission Energy's portfolio of international power generation plants for...

At long last, Barclays get Telegraph.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Brian Cattell in London and Richard Morgan in New York Billionaire businessmen the Barclay brothers have finally completed a deal to buy The Telegraph, concluding an eight-month struggle for control of the prestigious U.K. daily...

Mover & shakers: Aug. 2, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: compiled by Lisa Camerlengo compiled by Lisa Camerlengo Movers has learned that Charles Bobrinskoy, the head of Citigroup Global Markets Inc.'s Chicago office, has resigned. Sources say Bobrinskoy will join Ariel Capital...

MMC Capital closes $1.1B fund.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman MMC Capital Inc., the Greenwich, Conn.-based private equity unit of Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., has closed on $1.1 billion of commitments for its Trident III LP private equity fund, which will invest in the...

PE firms snag Mervyn's.
August 2, 2004... Byline: David Carey Discount retailer Target Corp. said it will sell its troubled Mervyn's department store unit for $1.2 billion to a trio of private equity firms. Separately, Minneapolis-based Target agreed to sell Mervyn's credit...

Tumi gets strategic, financial bids.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman Both strategic and financial buyers have shown strong interest in luggage maker Tumi Inc., which Los Angeles private equity firmOaktree Capital Management LLC has put on the block. Deutsche Bank AG has fielded...

What's hot: Aug. 2, 2004.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Matthew Wurtzel Despite the slumping biotech sector, the week's $325 million tally is almost twice the prior week's $172.2 million. While venture capitalists invested in only five more startups than the prior week, two of them...

SurfKitchen clinches new investors.
August 2, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin Having weathered the telecom downturn, 5-year-old British mobile phone software maker Surf Kitchen on Friday, July 30, said it has secured a third round of financing months after announcing an Asian...

Breuners GOB sales approved.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Erik Moser "Bankruptcy Sale" will appear in Huffman Koos' windows soon. The furniture retailer's parent, Breuners Home Furnishing Corp., on July 30 won approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware in...

Outback wins Chi-Chi's auction.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Ben Fidler In a real "bonzer" of an upset, Outback Steakhouse Inc. has come out of nowhere to win an auction for bankrupt Chi-Chi's Inc. With a successful offer of $42.5 million in cash, Outback has been given the rights to...

Ross angles for Horizon auction advantage.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Wilbur L. Ross will learn Friday what kind of leverage he will have for a Aug. 17 auction for the non-union divisions of Horizon Natural Resources Co. Ross's consortium wants permission from Judge William S....

Creditors want New World debt recast.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan Creditors of bankrupt New World Pasta Co. want permission to sue the company's controlling owner, private equity firm JLL Partners Inc., for allegedly trying to disguise an equity investment as three pre-petition...

Protarga files disclosure statement.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Alex Lash Bankrupt drug maker Protarga Inc., a developer of cancer drugs based in King of Prussia, Pa., proposed that unsecured creditors get 31% to 38% of their investment and equity holders receive no distribution, according to a...

WestPoint Stevens wins extension.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke WestPoint Stevens Inc. said Monday the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan extended its exclusive right to file a reorganization plan until October 1. The West Point,...

Lernout & Hauspie creditors file $340M suit.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas Over a year after Lernout & Hauspie Speech Products NV finished bankruptcy proceedings in the U.S. by liquidating its assets, unsecured creditors of the Belgian software company on Monday filed a $340 million lawsuit...

Hanbo Steel changes hands.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Roger du Mars and Ben Fidler A consortium comprised of the steelmarking arms of INI Steel Co. and Hyundai Hysco have agreed to take over South Karea's Hanbo Steel Co. and have assured the company's workers that they will keep their...

Spectrum Restaurant reorg OK'd.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray A bankruptcy judge Monday, Aug. 2, confirmed Spectrum Restaurant Group Inc.'s reorganization plan, which allows the use of cash to repay unsecured creditors. The consensual plan the debtors filed with the...

Korean portal buys Lycos for $95.5M.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Roger du Mars South Korea's No.1 portal, Daum Communications Corp., signed a memorandum of understanding Monday to acquire 100% of the U.S. portal business of Spanish Internet company Terra Lycos SA for W111.2 billion ($95.5...

CEO shuffle: Aug. 2, 2004.
August 3, 2004... Byline: David Ehrlich Apple Computer Inc. co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs is taking a month-long break to recuperate from successful surgery for a rare form of pancreatic cancer, he told workers in a company-wide email on Sunday, Aug. 1. ...

Choice One weighs restructuring.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter After lengthy talks with its lenders, Choice One Communications Inc. on Monday, Aug. 2, announced the details of a restructuring that will likely involve the telecom declaring bankruptcy. Many in the debt markets...

Chipmaker CSMC revives IPO.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Chinese chipmaker CSMC Technologies Corp. revived an initial public offering Monday with plans to raise up to HK$335.34 million ($43 million), half of that from its 13 key venture capital...

IPO outlook: Aug. 3, 2004.
August 3, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson U-Store files for $300M IPO U-Store-It Trust looks to raise $300 million through an initial public offering. The Cleveland-based U-Store filed its preliminary prospectus with the SEC on Monday and looks...

IPO outlook: August 03, 2004.
August 3, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson U-Store files for $300M IPO U-Store-It Trust looks to raise $300 million through an initial public offering. The Cleveland-based U-Store filed its preliminary prospectus with...

Cablers fear 'a la carte' menu.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Ron Orol in Washington Cable programmers worry that the Federal Communications Commission could spark another round of media consolidation. The concern stems from the agency's decision to review how cable companies sell...

FTC, Muris scramble to finish work.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Jaret Seiberg in Washington Federal Trade Commission Chairman Timothy J. Muris said Monday, Aug. 2, that he will leave the agency on Aug. 15, triggering a flurry of activity as agency staff try to complete work within the next two...

In play: August 03, 2004.
August 3, 2004... edited by Greg Johnson Hicks Muse gets Persona Inc. Dallas buyout firm Hicks Muse Tate & Furst said it completed its C$406 million ($305 million) acquisition of Persona Inc., Canada's sixth-largest cable television operator. Private...

New & noteworthy: August 03, 2004.
August 3, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Silver Lake sheds Gartner stake New York and Menlo Park, Calif., private equity firm Silver Lake Partners LP will sell back 9.2 million of its Gartner Inc. shares to the...

Cox family seeks cable buyout.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Laura Board Further consolidation in the U.S. cable industry loomed Monday, Aug. 2, as the controlling shareholder of Atlanta-based Cox Communications Inc. offered to buy out the outstanding shares for $7.9 billion. Cox...

HBOS ponders rival bid for Abbey.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira in London A bid for Abbey National plc is never a simple matter, as Banco Santander Central Hispano SA is finding out. One week after Madrid-based Santander bid [pounds sterling]8.5 billion ($15.5 billion) for the...

Fifth Third buys First National.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Olaf de Senerpont Domis Fifth Third Bancorp announced a pricey bid Monday, Aug. 2, to bulk up its presence in the lucrative Florida banking market with a $1.58 billion agreement to acquire First National Bankshares of Florida Inc....

Karstadt out to shed fitness centers.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin Suffering from continuing weak sales, German retailer KarstadtQuelle AG plans to sell its fitness studios and may jettison a stake in German sports broadcaster DSF. Essen-based KarstadtQuelle said...

Nestle floats Perrier sale.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin Swiss food giant Nestle SA, the world's biggest bottled-water company, may put its Perrier division on the block after failing to settle a spat with the unit's union over proposed layoffs. Vevey,...

DirecTV grabs Pegasus Satellite.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Richard Morgan DirecTV Group Inc. and Pegasus Satellite Communications Inc. ended five years of legal squabbling Monday, Aug. 2, with a $938 million deal that left bankrupt Pegasus all but crying "uncle." The deal, as approved...

Cox moves to take unit private.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Peter Lauria Cable industry stocks, driven into the doldrums by subscriber defections, increased satellite and phone competition and Comcast Corp.'s failed hostile takeover of Walt Disney Co., received an unlikely boost Monday,...

HBOS weighs Abbey bid.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira in London British bank HBOS plc said Monday, Aug. 2, that it has begun considering a bid for rival Abbey National plc, which last week agreed for Santander Central Hispano SA of Spain to buy it. Santander intends...

Sumitomo fights for UFJ.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Charles Smith in Tokyo Troubled Japanese banking group UFJ Holdings Inc. said Monday, Aug. 2, it had officially rejected a merger proposal from Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., but the potential suitor said it would still...

DealEstate: Aug. 2, 2004.
August 3, 2004... Byline: compiled by TheDeal.com news staff BANKRUPTCY July 28 Hotel Syracuse sale dead First Bank of Oak Park has backed out of plans to sell the 80-year old Hotel Syracuse to the city of Syracuse for $1. What will happen to...

GE takes Hyundai Capital stake.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul GE Consumer Finance agreed Monday, Aug. 2, to acquire a 38% stake in South Korea's No. 1 vehicle loan financing firm, Hyundai Capital Services Inc., in a deal valued at nearly W1 trillion ($859 million), as...

Whitehall 2001 gets Queens Moat.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Lisa Clifford in London Troubled British hotel chain Queens Moat Houses plc said Monday, Aug. 2, it had agreed to the terms of a takeover offer by a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. real estate fund that values the company at [pounds...

Movers & shakers: Aug. 3, 2004.
August 3, 2004... Byline: compiled by Lisa Camerlengo Goldsmith Agio Helms tells Movers it has opened an office in London and tapped Daniel Confino to serve as managing director of the new location. Confino, who was most recently head of international...

Heritage buying Donnelley division.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman Chicago printing giant R.R. Donnelley & Sons Co. said Monday, Aug. 2, it has agreed to sell its package logistics business to Boston private equity firm Heritage Partners Inc. The price was not disclosed, but a...

Herald Media recapitalizes.
August 3, 2004... Byline: David Carey Audax Group and Weston Presidio Capital recouped roughly 90% of their original $60 million preferred equity investment in Herald Media Inc. with a leveraged recapitalization, Audax vice president Colbert Cannon said....

Sanrad gets $8M.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Israeli storage switchmaker Sanrad Inc. raised $8 million in its first institutional round of funding to establish a U.S. headquarters and expand sales and marketing, as acceptance of the iSCSI standard for cheap...

Mirage Networks gets $13M round.
August 3, 2004... Byline: Paul Bonanos Network security systems developer Mirage Networks Inc. of Austin, Texas, will promote its first product with $13 million in new venture funding. The startup's second round was led by Trinity Ventures of Menlo...

DealFlow: August 03, 2004.
August 3, 2004... Byline: compiled by George White compiled by George White Networking hardware and software Mirage Networks Networking security startup Mirage Networks Inc. of Austin, Texas, has raised a $13 million Series B round that was led...

Chi-Chi's sues suppliers.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Ben Fidler After being on the defensive for 11 months, Chi-Chi's Inc. is fighting to clear its name. The Louisville, Ky.-based Tex-Mex eatery chain filed a lawsuit against three food wholesalers it charged with supplying the...

Garden Ridge seeks to expand DIP.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan Bankrupt Garden Ridge Corp. wants to expand its debtor-in-possession financing facility to $75 million and to hike borrowings during peak sales periods. The retailer of home decor and crafts has petitioned the...

Spiegel sheds Eddie Bauer building.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas A bankruptcy court judge approved the sale of Eddie Bauer's headquarters in Redmond, Wash., to Microsoft Corp. for $38 million at a hearing on Tuesday, Aug. 3. Spiegel Inc., Eddie Bauer's parent, didn't receive any...

Schlotzsky's files Chapter 11.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Amid management turmoil and mounting losses, sandwich chain Schlotzsky's Inc. on Tuesday, Aug. 3, filed for bankruptcy protection and hopes to carry out a $3.4 million real estate asset sale so it can fund...

Jillian's plan approved.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray A Kentucky judge has approved Jillian's Entertainment Holdings Inc.'s disclosure statement over the objections of the company's unsecured creditors' committee. The panel asked Judge David T. Stosberg of the...

ISAT looking for little DIPper.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Erik Moser Internet Satellite Platform Inc. is still looking for debtor-in-possession financing to maintain its orbit. The Altamonte Springs, Fla., based company, which does business as ISAT, filed for Chapter 11 protection in...

NorthWestern plan challenged.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke One of the largest holders of preferred securities in NorthWestern Corp. is challenging the validity of the bankrupt utility's reorganization plan in hopes of boosting its own recoveries under the proposal. ...

AlixPartners' Koch helped Champion.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Like so many restructuring professionals, Albert A. Koch only gets a call from a company when it's on the brink of bankruptcy. But Champion Enterprises Inc. was different. Koch, a partner at crisis management...

Ross forms International Textile.
August 4, 2004... Byline: David Carey New York private equity firm W.L. Ross & Co. said it merged Burlington Industries and Cone Mills into a new company, International Textile Group Inc. W.L. Ross acquired the two textile manufacturers separately out...

IPO outlook: Aug. 4, 2004.
August 4, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson TCL Corp. withdraws IPO TCL International Holdings Ltd., a Hong Kong-listed unit of China's largest TV maker, and its Huizhou, Guangdong-based parent TCL Corp., announced in separate notices Tuesday that...

IPO outlook: August 04, 2004.
August 4, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson TCL Corp. withdraws IPO TCL International Holdings Ltd., a Hong Kong-listed unit of China's largest TV maker, and its Huizhou, Guangdong-based parent TCL Corp., announced in...

In play: August 04, 2004.
August 4, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Lagardere cleared to buy Editis The final chapter in French aerospace group Lagardere SCA's two-year campaign to become France's biggest publisher looks ready to close after...

New & noteworthy: August 04, 2004.
August 4, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Leonard Green reaps VCA profit Los Angeles buyout firm Leonard Green & Partners will reap a more than 325% profit from an investment in VCA Antech Inc. Green invested $99.5...

Royal Bank of Scotland to buy Lynk.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc is continuing to build up its credit card business in the United States by agreeing to buy the merchant acquiring business Lynk Systems Inc. for $525 million. Atlanta-based Lynk,...

Prudential calls off Egg auction.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira in London British insurer Prudential plc on Tuesday, Aug. 3, pulled the auction for its 79% stake in the Internet bank Egg plc after an overly generous buyer failed to emerge and the insurer decided it didn't need to...

Royal Bank of Scotland buys Lynk.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira in London Neither Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc's $525 million U.S. acquisition nor its soaring first-half profit -- both announced Tuesday, Aug. 3 -- could keep an audience of analysts and journalists from...

Cinergy profits from sale of towers.
August 4, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter Midwestern power company Cinergy Corp. said Tuesday, Aug. 3, that it would reap a $20 million pretax gain from Global Signal Inc.'s purchase of assets from Lattice Communications LLC. Cinergy will book the gain...