The Daily Deal articles from December 2002

The Daily Deal archives from December 2002

Buzz-VC.
December 3, 2002... Tirat Hacarmel, Israel-based Buzz-VC Ltd. has raised $750,000 in a second round from Protection Service Industries Inc. of Los Angeles. The 3-year-old startup, valued at $5 million before the new round, develops software and hardware to manage...

Dexterra
December 3, 2002... Wireless software maker Dexterra Inc. of Bothel, Wash., said Monday it had raised $6 million in its first round from Sigma Partners of Menlo Park, Calif. Dexterra also changed its name from Accompany-ME Technology and hired a new chief...

J.P. Morgan Partners Global Investors LP.
December 3, 2002... J.P. Morgan Partners, the private equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., has closed a $7.7 billion private equity fund, the largest private equity fund raised but one that is more than $5 billion short of its original goal of $13 billion. The...

PerOs Systems Technologies.
December 3, 2002... Quebec City-based biotechnology company PerOs Systems Technologies Inc. has received a C$2.5 million ($1.6 million) investment from Foragen Technologies S.E.C., Fonds Bionovation and private investors. PerOs is developing a delivery system for...

Renal Solutions.
December 3, 2002... Kidney disease researcher Renal Solutions Inc. of Pittsburgh announced its $14.7 million first round Monday. Birchmere Ventures of Pittsburgh led the round, which also featured participation by Blue Chip Ventures, Draper Triangle Ventures, the...

Renovo.
December 3, 2002... Manchester, U.K.-based Renovo Ltd. raised $33 million in a second round, which Sweden's HealthCap led and included Care Capital LLC as well as existing investors Atlas Venture and JPMorgan Partners. The new money will allow the company to...

Tarari.
December 3, 2002... Content processing hardware maker Tarari Inc. of San Diego announced Monday it raised $2 million to cap a $15 million first round of financing. The new funding included a new investment from Miramar Venture Partners in Corona Del Mar, Calif.,...

TriVirix International.
December 3, 2002... Medical equipment manufacturer TriVirix International of Chapel Hill, N.C., said Monday it had received $25 million in its fourth round from new investors Grotech Capital Group of Timonium, Md., and Morgan Stanley Venture Partners of New York...

Industry in Distress: Airlines; Airlines struggle to stay afloat in a difficult economy.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Meghan Keane www.TheDeal.com

Global Crossing noteholders balk at plan.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Chris Nolter The votes for Global Crossing's reorganization plan were released Monday, Dec. 2, and the bankrupt telecom faces stiff opposition from a group of investors holding the notes of its Global Crossing North America...

Safety-Kleen unsecureds lambaste plan.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Though Safety-Kleen Corp. has endured multiple rounds of litigation in its 30-month odyssey in bankruptcy, its new reorganization plan may not end the battle anytime soon. A lawyer for the unsecured creditors...

Sealed Air settles asbestos claims for $838M.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas Sealed Air Corp.'s move to settle asbestos claims avoids a lengthy and expensive trial the company probably would have lost. The company was scheduled to go on trial next week. Opposing pressures on both sides...

Bankrupt Ocean Power seeks auction.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Ocean Power Corp. is set to seek court approval Tuesday, Dec.3, to auction its assets after signing a $2 million stalking-horse agreement with two private equity firms. The bankrupt El Dorado Hills, Calif., maker...

Irwins Toys seeks bankruptcy protection.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Laura King Despite hailing this year as its best in a decade just days ago, Irwins Toys, Canada's biggest domestic toy maker, is cutting staff and has filed for bankruptcy protection from creditors both there and in the U.S. ...

VarTec sues BCE over sale of Teleglobe unit.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Dallas-based VarTec Telecom Inc. said Monday, Dec. 2, it has filed a $250 million civil suit against communications conglomerate BCE Inc. over the purchase of a unit of its bankrupt subsidiary, Teleglobe Inc....

Tokheim to sell all units.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Greg Johnson Tokheim Corp., the world's largest maker of gasoline pumps, has agreed to sell most of its North American businesses for $42 million to Greenwich, Conn., buyout firm First Reserve Corp. Fort Wayne, Ind.-based...

Huarong cleared to sell bad debt.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong A Morgan Stanley-led consortium and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. won clearance Monday, Dec. 2, to buy a combined $1.5 billion of nonperforming loans from state-run China Huarong Asset Management Corp....

Labor pact unlikely to save UAL.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Lou Whiteman in Atlanta United Airlines parent UAL Corp. cut a new deal with its mechanics union Monday, Dec. 2, but few believe the compromise is enough to keep the company from filing for bankruptcy protection. UAL's...

The CEO Shuffle: week ended Dec. 2.
December 3, 2002... Byline: David Ehrlich Allegedly criminal hijinks from the chief executive class continue to make the news, with a former telecom CEO accused of tapping his company's phone lines and a "royal" couple getting the boot from their top spots...

Merc IPO takes center stage.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Padraic Cassidy Hoping to become the first major market in the United States to be publicly traded, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange is expected to price Thursday for trading Friday, Dec. 6. "You have to look at Chicago...

Daiei sells eatery units to Zensho.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Charles Smith in Tokyo Troubled Japanese department store group Daiei Inc. said Monday, Dec. 2, it has agreed to sell two restaurant subsidiaries to Zensho Co. for [yen]13.2 billion ($108 million). The sale includes Wenco...

Deutsche Tel trims T-Online stake.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Brian Cattell in London Deutsche Telekom AG said Monday, Dec. 2, it sold an 8.2% stake in Internet service provider T-Online AG for [Euro]610 million ($607 million) as the company's new chief executive attempts to kick-start a much...

Nordea may sell unit.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Patricia Koza Scandinavia's leading bank, Nordea AB, said Monday, Dec. 2, it's considering the sale of Sweden's Trevise Bank AB as part of a review of its domestic private banking business. Trevise Bank, with offices in...

Judgment day for France Telecom.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Brian Cattell in London Following a two-month analysis of how to revive beleaguered France Telecom SA, new CEO Thierry Breton will present a wide-ranging rescue plan Thursday, Dec. 5, that could include asset sales, a...

Deal Estate -- Dec. 3, 2002.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily Dec. 2, 2002 Investcorp buys office properties from Rockefeller Group New York-based Investcorp said it acquired three Class A office buildings in Florham Park, N.J., from The Rockefeller Group for...

Korean cablers plot deals.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul The W819 billion ($686 million) acquisition by a Dacom Corp.-led consortium of a controlling stake in Korea Electric Power Corp.'s Powercomm Co. cable operating unit won't mark the end of the dealmaking that...

BNP stalks Credit Lyonnais.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Renee Cordes in Brussels France's largest bank, BNP Paribas SA, has clearly signaled it wants to bid for all of Credit Lyonnais with a second purchase of the smaller bank's stock, but analysts warn a full takeover could prove...

Itau eyes Banco Fiat unit.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Michael Kepp in Rio de Janeiro and Heather O'Brian in Milan Brazil's No. 2 financial group Banco Itau SA said Monday, Dec. 2, it is negotiating to buy the Brazilian arm of Fiat SpA's auto financing division to boost its share of...

M&A Calendar -- December.
December 3, 2002... Byline: compiled by Gerald C. Magpily www.TheDeal.com

HgCapital buys Dana unit.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London London private equity firm HgCapital has agreed to buy Dana Corp.'s clutch and brake hydraulic systems specialist FTE Automotive GmbH. The announcement comes as Hg has also been linked to a possible...

Bear Stearns swallows Vitamin Shoppe.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Kelly Holman Bear Stearns Merchant Banking, the New York private equity arm of Bear, Stearns & Co. , said Monday, Dec. 2, that it had acquired North Bergen, N.J.-based Vitamin Shoppe Industries Inc. in a deal valued at close to...

J.P. Morgan closes $7.7B fund.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Katherine Goncharoff The private equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., J.P. Morgan Partners, has closed a $7.7 billion fund, the largest private equity fund raised to date, but more than $5 billion short of its original $13...

Pomona closes $581M fund.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio In the latest sign of strong interest in the secondary private equity market, Pomona Capital is expected to announce Tuesday, Dec. 3, a final close for its fifth secondary fund at $581 million, exceeding its $400...

CSFB vets establish PE-like firm.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Josh Kosman Steve Wiesner, the former head of Credit Suisse First Boston's West Coast M&A business development effort, has established his own firm in order to buy minority stakes in small and microcap public companies. ...

Icahn takes stake in Insignia Financial.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Carl Icahn took a minority stake in New York real estate giant Insignia Financial Group Inc. on Monday, Dec. 2, but the maverick billionaire did not reveal whether he was going to take an activist role in the...

Wound-healing drugmaker nets $33M.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Pharmaceutical startup Renovo Ltd. of Manchester, U.K., landed two new investors in a $33 million second round of venture capital funding to advance two wound-healing drugs and initiate trials on a batch of...

Intel spinoff closes $15M round.
December 3, 2002... Byline: Tyson Freeman Extensible Markup Language, or XML, is fast becoming the standard for storing and sharing information among different network systems and software applications. But this complex lingua franca for data is making big...

2Wire.
December 4, 2002... San Jose, Calif.-based home router manufacturer 2Wire Inc. has raised $27.5 million for international expansion and working capital in a deal led by previous investors Oak Investment Partners, Venrock Associates and Technology Crossover...

Amedis.
December 4, 2002... Cambridge, U.K.-based Amedis Pharmaceuticals has received pound sterling2 million ($3.1 million) from its existing investors, Merlin Biosciences, TTP Ventures and Avlar BioVentures. The drug company also plans to raise substantially for its...

Fractus.
December 4, 2002... Antenna design company Fractus SA said Tuesday it has raised [Euro]8 million ($7.97 million) in a second round of venture capital funding from Apax Partners and 3i Group plc. The Barcelona-based company will use the fresh capital to expand...

FreeBalance.
December 4, 2002... Ottawa-based eGovernment technology company FreeBalance Inc. announced Tuesday it has closed a $3 million second round from lead investor Societe Innovatech du Grand Montreal and existing investor TechnoCap Inc. This round of financing brings...

GCT Semiconductor.
December 4, 2002... GCT Semiconductor, a San Jose, Calif.-based provider of radio frequency integrated circuits for wireless devices, announced Tuesday it has closed its $38 million third round of financing, bringing the total capitalization since inception to...

ISOPur Fluid Technologies.
December 4, 2002... Cheshire, Conn.-based fluid purification systems developer ISOPur Fluid Technologies Inc. said Tuesday it had raised $8 million in its first round of venture funding. FA Technology Ventures and Siemens Venture Capital supplied capital in the...

NeoPhotonics.
December 4, 2002... Fremont, Calif.-based NeoPhotonics Corp., a maker of low-cost optical network components using nanomaterials technology backed by VC firms such as Venrock Associates and Bay Partners, has completed preparations for spinning off its medical...

VetCentric.
December 4, 2002... Annapolis, Md.-based prescription drug distribution company VetCentric received a $14.5 million investment from Sherbrooke Capital, Three Arch Capital LP, Asset Management, the Aurora Funds, Staenberg Private Capital and Vantage Venture...

eCopy.
December 4, 2002... Canon USA Inc., a unit of Japan's Canon Inc. has invested $15.8 million in eCopy Inc., a digital imaging software provider for enterprise networks, as a strategic, second-round investment intended for growth purposes. Ascent Venture Partners...

Irwin Toy owes $46M.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Toronto-based Irwin Toy Ltd., which was granted bankruptcy protection Dec. 2, owes creditors about C$72 million ($45.8 million) after failing to deliver products to stores on time. The company, the biggest...

Bankrupt UPC targets March exit.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London United Pan-Europe Communications NV, Europe's largest cable network operator, filed for bankruptcy protection in the United States and the Netherlands on Tuesday, Dec. 3, with an eye toward emerging with...

Roadblock looms for Global Crossing.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Chris Nolter Global Crossing Ltd. hopes to begin moving toward a January exit from Chapter 11 Wednesday when a judge considers its reorganization plan, but the troubled telecom will find its path out of bankruptcy strewn with...

Safety-Kleen seeks exit financing.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Safety-Kleen Corp. is looking to secure $250 million in exit financing as part of its plan to emerge from bankruptcy. A reorganization plan was filed last week in which Safety-Kleen's banks would get 100% of the...

Strong signal for MobileOne.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong On the eve of its trading debut, Singapore's second-largest mobile phone operator, MobileOne Ltd., has wrapped up a successful offer of its shares based on strong interest from retail investors. ...

Hain reaches for nondairy milk maker.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Dennis Fitzgerald Expanding once again, Hain Celestial Group Inc. said Monday, Dec. 2, that it had acquired privately held Imagine Foods Inc., an organic-food company whose products include rice and soy milk. Under the terms of...

Vivendi moves on Cegetel.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Peter Lauria Widely expected since rebuffing Vodafone Group plc's more than $6 billion takeover offer, Vivendi Universal SA on Tuesday, Dec. 3, announced plans to acquire majority control of telecommunications operator Cegetel by...

Celeritek urged to reconsider buyout.
December 4, 2002... Byline: David Shabelman in San Francisco Pressure is mounting on Celeritek Inc. to reconsider a buyout bid from wireless technology rival Anaren Microwave Inc. B. Riley & Co., a Santa Monica, Calif.-based investment firm that owns...

Zuckerman unloads NY tower.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Financing the $1.06 billion purchase of Citigroup Inc.'s New York headquarters is turning out to be a fairly swift process for Mortimer Zuckerman. His Boston Properties Inc. used a one-year, $1 billion bridge...

Rawlings Sporting Goods catches two takeover bids.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Josh Karlen Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. Inc. on Tuesday, Dec. 3, said it would consider a takeover proposal thrown at it by its largest shareholder, investor Daniel Gilbert. It was the second unsolicited takeover the Fenton,...

Deutsche Post eyes Austrian counterpart.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin The purchase of Austria's state-run post office by Deutsche Post AG would be simple, if expensive, but it's unlikely to occur any time soon, analysts said Tuesday, Dec. 3. Austrian papers last weekend...

Benetton: No rival bid for Autostrade.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan Despite renewed speculation of a counter-bid for Autostrade SpA, the Italian highway management company's shares are trading only slightly above the price the Benetton family-led consortium Schemaventotto...

ChoicePoint to buy records technology firm.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Josh Karlen in New York ChoicePoint Inc., a leading provider of customer data for insurers, has agreed to acquire VitalChek Network Inc., which offers technology for state and local governments to manage information about...

Schneider to sell Legrand for $3.6B.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Renee Cordes in Brussels French electrical equipment maker Schneider Electric SA said Dec. 3 that it has decided to sell its 98.1% stake in Legrand SA to a group led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Wendel Investissement, ending...

Baxter dialysis units for sale.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Andrew Morse In a move that analysts say could fetch it about $500 million, healthcare giant Baxter International Inc. announced Tuesday, Dec. 3, it would sell most of its global dialysis operations to focus on products used in...

UCB tacks on Solutia units.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London and Dennis Fitzgerald in New York Belgian pharmaceutical company UCB SA said Tuesday, Dec. 3, it would buy St. Louis-based Solutia Inc.'s resins, additives and adhesives business for $510 million in cash to...

Imperial unit goes to Hormel.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Josh Karlen in New York It's not a sweet deal for struggling Imperial Sugar Co. The company, one of the largest processors and marketers of refined sugar in the United States, said Tuesday, Dec. 3, it has signed a preliminary...

CSN to resume buyout talks with Corus.
December 4, 2002... Byline: Mike Kepp in Rio de Janeiro Cia. Siderurgica Nacional said Dec. 3 it plans to resurrect a $3.5 billion deal with U.K. counterpart Corus Group plc, whose $3.5 billion takeover of the Brazilian steelmaker fell through last month. ...

Letter from Delaware: Adult supervision.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray with staff reports Now that an examiner has concluded that Caribbean Petroleum LP has been plagued by conflicts of interest, incompetence, gross mismanagement and fraudulent transfers, a major creditor has asked...

DIP Dimensions: Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Corp.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke All debtor-in-possession lenders have their eyes on a bankruptcy's endgame, since that's when they get paid, usually before everyone else. But the Citigroup Inc.-led syndicate that recently gave bankrupt Wheeling...

Global Crossing defends reorg plan.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Chris Nolter Global Crossing Ltd. will present its reorganization plan in bankruptcy court Thursday after failing to reach a settlement with a group of objecting bondholders. Paul Basta of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP,...

Valley City Steel gets interim DIP.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan An Ohio judge has granted interim approval to a $5.25 million debtor-in-possession financing from Comerica Bank for bankrupt Valley City Steel LLC, according to an official with the company's 49% minority owner,...

MobileOne slips in IPO.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Beset by bad news from the global telecommunications market and a stream of selling orders from retail investors, Singapore's second-largest mobile operator, MobileOne Ltd., staged a...

Deals Deferred -- Dec. 4, 2002.
December 5, 2002... Byline: compiled by Gerald C. Magpily Marriott International's plans to unload its assisted living business face a new obstacle after a Massachusetts court temporarily barred it from closing any sale of the unit following a lawsuit by...

Atmos closes Mississippi Valley deal.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Claire Poole Dallas natural gas distributor Atmos Energy Corp. said Wednesday, Dec. 4, it completed its purchase of Mississippi Valley Gas Co. of Jackson, Miss., for $195 million. Closing was delayed by the Mississippi Public...

Banco Fiat goes to Itau.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan and Michael Kepp in Rio de Janeiro Taking another small step to cut its crippling debt, Italian automaker Fiat SpA said Wednesday, Dec. 4, it will sell its Brazilian consumer finance unit to Banco Itau SA,...

Israel's Koor seen as target.
December 5, 2002... Byline: Neal Sandler in Tel Aviv With its share price and earnings ailing, Israeli conglomerate Koor Industries has long been seen by analysts as a potential takeover target. But an article by an influential Israeli daily earlier this...

Alfalight.
December 6, 2002... Madison, Wis.-based Alfalight Inc. has raised $15 million in third, insider round of funding led by Arch Ventures Partners of Chicago. Alfalight specializes in high-powered laser diodes and is developing several laser products targeting...

BaroSense.
December 6, 2002... Obesity treatment firm BaroSense has secured $6.2 million in first round financing. Frazier Healthcare Ventures and Delphi Ventures led the round. BaroSense is a graduate of the SyneCor LLC incubation model and focuses on devices that...

Integrated Development Enterprise.
December 6, 2002... Concord, Mass.-based Integrated Development Enterprise Inc., a provider of product development management software, has obtained $13.25 million in a fourth round of funding led by Tudor Ventures. Other investors are Dominion Ventures, Flagship...

QuantumShift.
December 6, 2002... Novato, Calif.-based strategic communications management technology provider QuantumShift Inc. announced the closing of a $10 million fifth round of financing co-led by existing investors Thomas Weisel Capital Partners LP and Mayfield Fund. The...

Rothschild Group.
December 6, 2002... The Rothschild Group in Australia said Thursday it has restructured its private equity division through a management buyout of its early-stage bioscience area, the Australian Financial Review reported. The bioscience funds unit, Rothschild...

Similarity Systems.
December 6, 2002... Dublin-based data quality management software vendor Similarity Systems announced it has raised an additional [Euro]2 million ($2 million) in a round of financing led by AIB Equity. New investors participating in the round included Ion Equity...

Targacept.
December 6, 2002... Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Targacept Inc. raised $46 million in second-round venture financing to advance drugs made of nicotinic compounds to treat neurological and other disorders. Nomura International's London-based Healthcare Private Equity...

Fairchild Dornier aims to split assets.
December 6, 2002... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin The administrator of bankrupt German plane maker Fairchild Dornier GmbH hopes to split the company in three, selling pieces to Russian, Swiss and U.S. bidders while excluding an offer by the company's...

Consolidated Freightways starts auctions.
December 6, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan An auction Friday for trailers and office equipment at bankrupt Consolidated Freightways Corp. will kick off about 70 similar sales across the country involving the assets of the nation's third-largest...

XSDP gets Blackstone Tech.
December 6, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Christmas came early to a lending group led by technology venture capital firm Ampersand Corp., which backed a $4.28 million bid for bankrupt Blackstone Technology Group Inc. that prevailed when no other qualified...

American Paper gets two bids.
December 6, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray At least two bidders are vying for the assets of bankrupt American Paper Group Inc., a manufacturer of church-offering envelopes and other religious products, according to court filings. MWM Dexter Inc., an...