The Daily Deal articles from December 2004

The Daily Deal archives from December 2004

Judge approves Halliburton deal.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas A judge has approved a settlement between Halliburton Co. and its insurance companies, clearing the way to end a nearly yearlong asbestos bankruptcy case for some of the conglomerate's subsidiaries. Judge Judith...

Briggs & Stratton eyeballs Murray.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton Briggs & Stratton Corp. is considering a bid for bankrupt lawn mower maker Murray Inc., which owes it about $40 million. Briggs & Stratton, a Wauwatosa, Wis., maker of gasoline engines for outdoor power equipment,...

RCN, Chicago settle their dispute.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Erik Moser Chicago seems to have leaned on RCN Corp., reaching a settlement that gives the city $3.45 million and access to 10 dedicated underground fiber-optic strands. The settlement also cancels agreements that required RCN...

NextWave gets preliminary sale OK.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray A New York judge on Tuesday, Nov. 30, gave preliminary approval for bankrupt NextWave Telecom Inc.'s $3 billion sale of its spectrum licenses in 23 markets to Verizon Wireless, a partnership between Verizon...

MissChem to seek OK for new plan.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan Bankrupt Mississippi Chemical Corp. will troop to court Dec. 6 seeking confirmation of a plan that gives creditors a 66% recovery on their claims. The fertilizer maker will ask Judge Edward Ellington of the U.S....

Pegasus sets deal financing.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Erik Moser Pegasus Communications Corp. a announced on Monday that it will use $60 million in financing from Fortress Credit Corp. to form a new unit to purchase its Pegasus Broadcast Television subsidiary out of bankruptcy. ...

Hedge fund managers cheer Trump.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Hedge fund managers like what Donald Trump is doing in bankruptcy, but aren't keen on what Edward Lampert is hatching outside it. At the 11th Annual Conference on Distressed Investing held Tuesday, Nov. 30, at...

British Energy deadline extended.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Renee Cordes East Kilbride, Scotland-based British Energy plc said Tuesday, Nov. 30, it has reached an agreement with creditors to extend its restructuring plan deadline by two months, to March 31, 2005, and hopes to relist shares...

IPO outlook: Dec. 1, 2004.
December 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Jon Asmundsson China Shineway raises $118M Privately held China Shineway Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. raised HK$872 million ($112 million) in an IPO after Hong Kong investors swarmed to take orders for its shares. China...

IPO outlook: December 01, 2004.
December 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Jon Asmundsson edited by Jon Asmundsson China Shineway raises $118M Privately held China Shineway Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. raised HK$872 million ($112 million) in an IPO after Hong Kong investors swarmed to take...

Startups could lose federal funding.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Donna Block in Washington As the 108th Congress prepares to leave town for the last time, it has left dozens of venture capital firms scrambling for new sources of financing. As part of a $388 billion omnibus spending bill,...

Republic Services pays $1.5M settlement.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Jaret Seiberg Republic Services Inc. agreed Tuesday, Nov. 30, to pay $1.5 million to resolve Justice Department charges that the waste hauling company violated the 2000 consent decree that permitted it to exchange assets with...

In play: December 01, 2004.
December 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Carlyle abandons Chilcott bid Carlyle Group said Tuesday it won't bid for Irish drugmaker Warner Chilcott plc. The Washington private equity firm shied away from the auction...

New & noteworthy: December 01, 2004.
December 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Liberty and Sumitomo forge link Liberty Media International Inc. and Sumitomo Corp. announced Tuesday the formation of LMI/Sumisho Super Media LLC, which will hold a majority...

Xstrata slams WMC's record.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Giles Parkinson in Sydney Swiss-based mining group Xstrata plc is attacking the mining development credentials of target company WMC Resources Ltd. as it seeks to justify its low-ball bid for the group of A$7.4 billion ($5.8...

Baugur cuts offer for Big Food.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Laura Board in London Deeside, north Wales-based Big Food Group plc said Tuesday, Nov. 30, its suitor has slashed the level of a proposed offer to [pounds sterling]322.6 million ($616 million) after completing the bulk of its due...

Gazprom to bid for Yuganskneftegaz.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Nick Watson Russia's OAO Gazprom confirmed Tuesday, Nov. 30, it intends to participate in the auction for OAO NK Yukos' key oil-producing subsidiary in a move that buttresses the widely held belief that the state's endgame for...

International Deals of the Week: Nov. 30, 2004.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily The energy sector picked up some steam in the international M&A scene last week as three of the top 10 deals came from that area. Denmark's state-owned oil and gas company, Dansk Olie og Naturgas A/S,...

Gold Fields cuts Iamgold offer.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Laura King in Toronto South African miner Gold Fields Ltd. has cut the cash portion of its offer for Canada's Iamgold Corp. to try to bolster support among its own shareholders as they prepare to vote on the $2.1 billion deal Dec....

Bid spec grips two banks.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira Bid speculation gripped two banks valued at more than $4.4 billion this week, but bankers warn that we're not in for another round of bank consolidation anytime soon. Shares of New York's Independence Community...

Verizon to sell Telus stake.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Telus Corp. said late on Tuesday, Nov. 30, that U.S. telecom giant Verizon Communications Inc. is selling its 20.5% stake in the Canadian company through a public secondary share offering. The sale of...

Shanda buys Actoz stake for $91.7M.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Shanghai-based Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd., China's largest online games provider, sealed its first overseas acquisition Tuesday, Nov. 30, by agreeing to buy a controlling 29% stake in...

KKR sells former Siemens unit.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Brian Cattell in London Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. on Tuesday, Nov. 30, announced the third disposal of a former unit of German engineering firm Siemens AG that it bought two years ago, agreeing to sell network integrator...

L-3 muscles up with string of deals.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman Big buyer L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. continued its holiday shopping spree Tuesday, Nov. 30, when the defense contractor said it would buy a propulsion system unit of General Dynamics Corp. for $185 million cash....

KKR to buy German recycler.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin German recycling group Duales System Deutschland AG said Tuesday, Nov. 30, it has accepted a [Euro]260 million ($345 million) offer from New York buyout shop Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., ending a...

Movers & shakers: Dec. 1, 2004.
December 1, 2004... Byline: compiled by Baz Hiralal Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has appointed Suzanne Nora Johnson as vice chairman. Johnson, Goldman's highest-ranking woman, currently serves as head of Goldman Sachs' global investment research division and...

Private Capital People: Nov. 30, 2004.
December 1, 2004... Byline: compiled by Baz Hiralal Thomas Turmell has joined Golub Associates Inc. as a principal. He will head the firm's Chicago office and focus on new investments in the Midwest. Previously, Turmell was a vice president with Pfingsten...

Apax buys into LR International.
December 1, 2004... Byline: John E. Morris London- and New York-based private equity firm Apax Partners has acquired a 49% stake in LR-International Cosmetic & Marketing GmbH, which direct-markets cosmetics and nutritional supplements through a network of...

PPR to sell Rexel.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Ross Tieman in Toulouse, France Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc., Eurazeo SA and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity have entered into exclusive talks to buy Paris-based electrical equipment distributor Rexel SA for [Euro]3.7 billion...

Wild Brain nabs $40M up round.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Phineas Lambert DreamWorks and Pixar, you have company. With co-production and co-financing movie deals in hand from Miramax Films and Dimension Films, animation studio Wild Brain Inc. on Tuesday, Nov. 30, announced the first...

Metabolex pulls in Alta to lead recap.
December 1, 2004... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Metabolex Inc. has added $44 million, a high-profile new chairman and a list of new investors in a third close of its $75 million recapitalization round to advance drugs to enhance diabetes treatment. San...

DealFlow: December 01, 2004.
December 1, 2004... Byline: compiled by George White compiled by George White Media Wild Brain Wild Brain Inc. of San Francisco has announced the closing of a $30 million Series B institutional financing round, led by Valence Capital Management...

Wichita Thunder file for Ch. 11.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton The Wichita Thunder occupy first place in the Central Hockey League, but a lawsuit from a fired general manager over the loss of health insurance coverage has trapped the team in its own defensive zone. The club...

NBACC sale to Fortress is approved.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Fortress Investment Corp. won formal approval to buy 11 nursing homes from the National Benevolent Association of the Christian Church for $210 million. Judge Ronald King of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the...

IFS wants pension payments.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Ben Fidler Independent Fiduciary Services Inc. has rejected United Air Lines Inc.'s bid to cut pension payments by issuing a demand of its own: Pay up. The IFS, which was appointed to represent nearly 95,000 United workers,...

Southeast Airlines bails out.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman in Atlanta Charter operator Southeast Airlines Inc. shut down Tuesday, Nov. 30, the victim of high fuel costs and government concerns about the safety of its operations. The Largo, Fla.-based air carrier posted a...

Kiel Bros. nears the end.
December 2, 2004... Byline: David Elman Convenience store operator and fuel wholesaler Kiel Bros. Oil Co. is almost out of gas. Debtor counsel Jay Jaffe at Baker & Daniels in Indianapolis said that substantially all of Kiel's assets have been sold...

GMP Capital, GE Canada halt chase.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Laura King in Toronto GMP Capital Corp. and GE Canada Finance on Wednesday , Dec. 1, abandoned their C$1.1 billion ($928 million) offer for Stelco Inc. The move comes two days after Deutsche Bank AG was approved as...

Applied Extrusion faces trouble.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan Applied Extrusion Technologies Inc. on Wednesday, Dec. 1, made a prepackaged Chapter 11 filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington, but the maker of polypropylene-based film could...

VarTec seeks employee plan OK.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton VarTec Telecom Inc. has requested bankruptcy court approval for its key employee retention and severance program. The company, which filed for Chapter 11 protection Nov. 1, wants to earmark about $2 million for each...

Amcast falls into Ch. 11.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Erik Moser Amcast Industrial Corp. has filed for Chapter 11, but doesn't plan on being bankrupt for long. The auto parts maker filed with pre-arranged agreements with its senior lenders and hopes to have a reorganization plan...

News Corp., Malone may deal.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Richard Morgan Money burns a hole in the pockets of News Corp. chief Rupert Murdoch about as much as the idea of losing corporate control just burns him. So it's hardly a surprise that analysts view News Corp.'s taking on $1.75...

E&Y leaves workout biz to Deloitte.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Whither Deloitte & Touche LLP now that it's the only remaining Big Four audit firm with an in-house restructuring business? The auditing firm became the last man standing Wednesday, Dec. 1, after New York-based...

Telstra seeks new CEO.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Giles Parkinson in Sydney Telstra Corp. Ltd. is looking for a new chief executive as embattled Ziggy Switkowski heads for the exit door and the Australian government prepares for the sale of its remaining A$30 billion ($23 billion)...

HgCapital floats Raymarine.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London London private equity house HgCapital is riding on the crest of a wave after pricing the initial public offering of marine navigation and electronics business Raymarine Group Ltd. at the top of its own...

Italian shoemaker gains toehold.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Liam Moloney in Rome It was a fateful jog Mario Moretti Polegato took 15 years ago on a hot day in Reno, Nev. For his feet became so uncomfortable from perspiration that Moretti Polegato decided to perforate his sneakers, thus...

IPO outlook: Dec. 2, 2004.
December 2, 2004... Byline: edited by Jon Asmundsson Poland's TVN prices on high side Polish private television broadcaster TVN SA on Wednesday, Dec. 1, set the final price for its initial public offering at 32 zloty, the high end of its range, valuing...

IPO outlook: December 02, 2004.
December 2, 2004... Byline: edited by Jon Asmundsson edited by Jon Asmundsson Poland's TVN prices on high side Polish private television broadcaster TVN SA on Wednesday, Dec. 1, set the final price for its initial public offering at 32 zloty, the...

Poland plans to use 'golden veto'.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Patricia Koza in Warsaw with Renee Cordes in Brussels Poland's government has approved legislation that would give the Treasury a "golden veto" over board decisions at companies that are considered of strategic importance in which...

Bull runs after EU bailout approval.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Ross Tieman in Toulouse, France, and Renee Cordes in Brussels Onetime French computer champion Bull SA is setting course for an enduring recovery after the European Commission on Wednesday, Dec. 1, approved a [Euro]517 million...

ContentGuard probe suspended.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Renee Cordes in Brussels The European Commission has suspended its in-depth probe into plans by Microsoft Corp. and Time Warner Inc. to purchase stakes in Bethesda, Md.-based ContentGuard Inc. to gather more information from the...

Synopsys buys Nassda for $192M.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Olaf de Senerpont Domis in San Francisco Chip design software maker Synopsys Inc. said Wednesday, Dec. 1, it has ended a long-running legal battle with rival Nassda Corp. by doing one of the things it does best -- buying companies....

New & noteworthy: December 02, 2004.
December 2, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Scotiabank buys Mexican lender Bank of Nova Scotia has agreed to buy 80% of Mexico's third-largest mortgage finance company, Hipotecaria Credito y Casa SA de CV, for an...

In play: December 02, 2004.
December 2, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Blockbuster willing to go higher Dallas video chain Blockbuster Inc. confirmed Wednesday that it would be willing to increase its $11.50 a share bid for Hollywood Entertainment...

Blockbuster may raise Hollywood bid.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira Dallas-based video retailer Blockbuster Inc. said Wednesday, Dec. 1, it is willing to raise its $700 million bid for smaller rival Hollywood Entertainment Corp., which has two other suitors. The top U.S. movie...

DB buys TUI stake, sells in parts.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin Germany's Deutsche Bank AG on Wednesday, Dec. 1, bought a 31.3% stake worth about [Euro]1 billion ($1.3 billion) in tour group TUI AG from state-run rival WestLB AG and said it will sell the holding to...

Ratings Review: Dec. 1, 2004.
December 2, 2004... Byline: compiled by TheDeal.com news staff Kmart Holding Corp. picked up a major stocking stuffer two weeks ago with the acquisition of one of America's oldest retailers, Sears Roebuck & Co. The credit rating agency Moody's Investor...

Carlyle gets Rhythm.
December 2, 2004... Byline: David Carey Washington, D.C., private equity firm Carlyle Group landed a deal to buy Japanese auto-parts maker Rhythm Corp. in a secondary buyout from J.P. Morgan Partners for about [yen]20 billion ($194 million), sources said. ...

Movers & shakers: Dec. 2, 2004.
December 2, 2004... Byline: compiled by Baz Hiralal C.E. Unterberg, Towbin's new president and chief executive officer is James Satloff. He comes to the firm after eight years at Standard & Poor's, where he was most recently managing director of investment...

Venture firms roll out new funds.
December 2, 2004... Byline: George White The recovery of the technology marketplace and the venture capital industry has depleted the coffers of funds raised during the tech bubble, prompting VCs to start roadshows to raise new venture funds. In the third...

Alcan plans Novelis IPO.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Lisa Gewirtz Alcan Inc. rejected final bids for its aluminum rolled mills business, sources said, and now plans to spin off the unit, worth about $4 billion, to the public markets. About half a dozen private equity firms...

Harvest Partners buys Levlad.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman New York private equity firm Harvest Partners Inc. has completed its acquisition of personal care product maker Levlad Inc., best known for its Nature's Gate product line. No terms were disclosed, but Harvest...

Levine Leichtman buying InterDent.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman Levine Leichtman Capital Partners is taking a majority stake in dental practice management company InterDent Service Corp. from Wellesley, Mass.-based DDJ Capital Management LLC. The two firms had jointly provided...

PE firms check out Toys "R" Us.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke As many as three groups, each led by private equity firms, have lined up to bid for Toys "R" Us Inc., the struggling Wayne, N.J.-based retailer. "It's a deal in search of a process," said one source familiar...

Intarcia gets $50M in fifth round.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Specialty pharmaceutical company Intarcia Therapeutics Inc. has closed a $50 million fifth round of venture funding that it believes will be its final private investment as the startup deploys the new money to...

XDx raises $20M up round.
December 2, 2004... Byline: Phineas Lambert With the launch of its first product only weeks away, molecular diagnostics company XDx Inc. announced Wednesday, Dec. 1, that it has secured $20 million in Series D venture financing, bringing in several new...

DealFlow: December 02, 2004.
December 2, 2004... Byline: compiled by George White compiled by George White Software Tsunami Research Computing software startup Tsunami Research Inc. of St. Louis has announced a $2.7 million add-on to its Series A round to close the...

Covanta Lake reorg approved.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan A judge approved the reorganization plan for Covanta Lake II Inc. that primarily details the settlement of a lawsuit between the waste processing plant and a Florida county. Judge Cornelius Blackshear in the U.S....

Deloitte & Touche tapped by CAO.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong China Aviation Oil (Singapore) Corp. Ltd., a Singapore-listed arm of China Aviation Oil Holding Co., has appointed Deloitte & Touche LLP as financial adviser for a court-supervised restructuring. ...

Cape Colony gets Florida land.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Erik Moser Cape Colony SA put down $5.8 million to win nine acres of Florida land that was up for auction by bankrupt Gardens Commercial Holdings Ltd. The land, about seven miles northwest of downtown Miami in Hialeah Gardens,...

BofA wants to kill Parmalat lawsuit.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Two months after Parmalat Finanziaria SpA's bankruptcy administrator filed a lawsuit against Bank of America Corp. seeking $10 billion in damages, the Charlotte, N.C.-based banking giant has filed a motion seeking...

Judge OKs AstroPowers plan.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan Unsecured creditors of bankrupt AstroPower Inc. would recover between 18% and 77% under the solar energy company's liquidation plan that a Delaware judge approved Thursday, Dec. 2. Chief Judge Mary Walrath in U.S....

Court rejects ABB's reorg plan.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas An appeals court on Thursday, Dec. 2, tossed out ABB Ltd.'s reorganization plan, a move that throws doubt on the Swiss engineering giant's ability to settle its asbestos claims. Among the key provisions in the plan...

Rhodes to sell 24 property.
December 3, 2004... Byline: David Elman Atlanta-based furniture retailer Rhodes Inc. has hired DJM Asset Management LLC of Melville, N.Y. to dispose of 24 stores and warehouses as part of Rhodes' Chapter 11 restructuring. The move must be approved by the...

Farmland execs can sue.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan Former CEO Robert Honse at liquidating Farmland Industries Inc. can join another ex-chief executive in pursuing unsecured salary claims against their former employer. Honse has the right to seek to collect $3.6...

Gadzooks to hire new CFO.
December 3, 2004... Byline: David Elman Dallas-based Gadzooks Inc. will re-hire Monty Standifer as its chief financial officer, subject to bankruptcy court approval. Standifer filled the post at the clothing and shoe retailer from 1992 to 1999,when the...

Layoff roundup: Dec. 2, 2004.
December 3, 2004... Byline: David Ehrlich First-time jobless claims in the U.S. were up more than expected last week, rising by 25,000 to 349,000 in the Thanksgiving holiday-shortened work week, the Labor Department said on Thursday, Dec. 2. Wall Street...

ING sells BHF-Bank.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira Continuing to shuffle its operations, Dutch financial group ING Groep NV agreed Thursday, Dec. 2, to sell most of its underperforming German unit ING BHF-Bank to Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. KGaA for [Euro]600 million...

Scrushy fails in Sarbanes challenge.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Jaret Seiberg Richard Scrushy may be better remembered as the CEO who validated the constitutionality of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act rather than as the disgraced founder of the HealthSouth Corp. chain of rehabilitation centers. ...

New & noteworthy: December 03, 2004.
December 3, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Viacom buys California station Viacom Inc., the parent of the CBS television network, said Thursday it had agreed to purchase KOVR-TV, a CBS affiliate in Sacramento, Calif.,...

In play: December 03, 2004.
December 3, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Fox Paine recaps Paradigm Foster City, Calif.-based private equity firm Fox Paine & Co. LLC has completed its recapitalization of Netherlands energy exploration software...

M&A Calendar: November 2004.
December 3, 2004... Byline: compiled by TheDeal.com news staff www.TheDeal.com

Consortium to buy NTL unit.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Giles Parkinson in Sydney A consortium led by Australia's Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group will buy NTL Inc.'s U.K. broadcast and towers unit for [pounds sterling]1.27 billion ($2.45 billion) after beating four rivals...

Czechs set Cesky sale deadline.
December 3, 2004... Byline: Brian Cattell in London The Czech government kept alive the hopes of bidders interested in buying a minority stake in Cesky Telecom a.s. as ministers agreed on a compromise plan for the privatization. Amid a split between...