The Daily Deal articles from February 2003

The Daily Deal archives from February 2003

Talks drag on Ottawa Senators.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Laura King in Toronto The beleaguered Ottawa Senators hockey club may be finding that the offer that the bankrupt team's majority owner has made for the team is even more complicated than he said it is. Ron Bryden, the majority...

Russell is to buy Bike Athletic.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Russell Corp. of Atlanta announced Jan. 30 that it will acquire Bike Athletic Co. out of bankruptcy for $16.25 million. Bike Athletic, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based maker of biking gear such as knee pads and performance...

ACL gets $75M DIP promise.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray American Commercial Lines LLC has been promised up to $75 million in debtor-in-possession financing from a group of banks led by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. The barge operator filed for Chapter 11 protection...

Divine sued by subsidiary.
February 1, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman in San Francisco Facing a lawsuit accusing it of improperly using $74 million belonging to a subsidiary, divine Inc. said the matter could be resolved before it gets to court. In a suit filed Jan. 28 in the U.S....

AK Steel leads race for NatSteel.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson AK Steel Corp. has set itself up pretty well in the derby for National Steel Corp. with a $1.125 billion bid, but it's got a long way to go before it can repaint the signs outside the bankrupt steelmaker's mills. ...

Aurora Foods reviews offers for brands.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Aurora Foods Inc. will sort through bids from prospective buyers in the next few weeks for several frozen foods brands the company has up for sale. Aurora's Van De Kamp and Mrs. Paul's frozen fish and its Aunt...

Federal-Mogul, creditors agree on reorg plan.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Federal-Mogul Corp. said Friday, Jan. 31, it had reached an agreement with major creditors on a consensual plan of reorganization that would eliminate more than $2.5 billion in debt. According to the agreement,...

India sets carmaker IPO.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Josey Puliyenthuruthel in Bangalore Barely a week after its privatization program was revived, India announced it will complete an initial public offering of car manufacturer Maruti Udyog Ltd. "We're trying to complete the IPO...

EADS to buy rest of Astrium.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Brian Cattell in London Franco-German aerospace group EADS NV said Friday, Jan. 31, it has finally agreed to acquire the 25% it doesn't already own in space satellite company Astrium from Britain's BAE Systems plc. In effect,...

Ryanair get Buzz for peanuts.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London Low-cost airline Ryanair Holdings plc said Friday, Jan. 31, it agreed to buy rival budget carrier Buzz from KLM Royal Dutch Airlines NV for [Euro]23.9 million ($25.8 million) in cash. The Dublin-based...

M&A Calendar.
February 1, 2003... Byline: compiled by TheDeal.com staff www.TheDeal.com

E.ON rescues Ruhrgas deal.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin German utility group E.ON AG said Friday, Jan. 31 it sealed an 11th-hour settlement with rivals and, after nearly two years of wrangling, now can complete its [Euro]10.4 billion ($11.2 billion) acquisition...

Callahan's German cable dream fades.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Brian Cattell in London Cable tycoon Richard Callahan has been forced to relinquish his flagship European investment, German operator Ish, after creditor banks took over the indebted company. A consortium of 38 creditor banks...

Bayer finds little relief.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Andrew Morse With problems throughout its chemical and pharmaceutical empire, executives at Germany's Bayer AG are probably reaching for the company's flagship aspirin brand. Bayer has no shortage of migraine-inducing...

On the Cheap: week ended Jan. 31.
February 1, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman "On the Cheap" is certainly an appropriate term to describe many Internet and software companies. Many of those discussed in this column once boasted enormous valuations but crashed back to earth when the Internet...

Unilab stiffs CSFB, then reconsiders.
February 1, 2003... Byline: David Weidner Unilab Corp.'s chief financial officer on Friday, Jan. 31, backed off earlier statements that his company was going to stiff Credit Suisse First Boston for a $3 million fee after the bank recommended against a...

Deals of the week: week ended Jan. 31.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Emily Burg Unlike those of recent weeks, this week's biggest deal is a very basic, straightforward, simple, non-controversial case of a solid company acquiring the non-essential business of aother solid business. While...

Sirius launches debt swap.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Kelly Holman New York satellite broadcaster Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. proceeded with its $1.2 billion restructuring by launching a debt exchange offer Friday, Jan. 31. About 79% of the company's debt holders have agreed to...

Lone Star rejoins Berlin bank auction.
February 1, 2003... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin Buyout firm Lone Star Fund re-entered the race for Germany's troubled Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG, logging a last-minute bid to compete with Texas Pacific Group and its ally J. Christopher Flowers. Lone...

What's Hot: Jan. 31, 2003.
February 1, 2003... Byline: George White Venture capital dealflow edged higher in the week ended Jan. 31, rising a lackluster 7% to $217.7 million from the prior week's dismal $203.44 million. Although the number of financings increased to 23 from 18, the...

BofA wins round with WorldCom.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter While Bank of America NA won the first round of a court battle against WorldCom Inc. over $35 million in cash the bank had been holding as collateral, the wrangling over the money is by no means over. U.S....

SaskPool restructuring set for approval.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Bondholders are expected to approve Tuesday, Feb. 4, a restructuring plan for beleaguered Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, whose revenue plummeted following two consecutive summers of prairie drought. The...

Conseco banks ready to flex muscles.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Conseco Inc.'s future lies in the hands of its bondholders. But its bank lenders will play a key role if the insurer's fortunes don't improve. Conseco filed a reorganization plan Friday, Jan. 31, that puts 56%...

Harvard wins on liquidation.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan A path appears has finally cleared for Harvard Industries Inc. to stay in control of its liquidation. Rival auto parts maker Cortran Industries Inc. withdrew without reservation its motion to convert Harvard's...

Buffalo Sabres buyers skate away.
February 4, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke The Buffalo Sabres on Monday, Feb. 3, lost their chief suitors, which which puts the bankrupt National Hockey League franchise on the open market. Chartwell Investments president and founder Todd Berman ended an...

Perry Ellis snags licensee.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Perry Ellis International Inc. is buying the biggest licensee of its designer label brand for $91 million in cash and stock. The sale of Salant Corp., which distributes and markets Perry Ellis and other fashion...

Genuity sold for less cash.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter Level 3 Communications Inc. on Tuesday closed its acquisition of Genuity Inc. and announced that the cash portion of the closing price had fallen by more than $100 million since the deal was announced about two months...

FAO plans to slim down.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson FAO Inc., the bankrupt parent of legendary toy store FAO Schwarz Inc., is going on a diet. The King of Prussia, Pa.-based holding company, which also owns the Zany Brainy and Right Start retail chains, has filed a...

Cannondale stabilizes with $4.9M DIP.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson Bicycle maker Cannondale Corp. will keep spinning now that it's received interim approval to use up to $4.9 million of its debtor-in-possession loan. The Bethel, Conn., producer of mountain bikes will learn if it...

DIP lender fights Atlantic Express extension bid.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Bankrupt Atlantic Express Transportation Corp.'s debtor-in-possession lender has objected to the school bus service provider's motion to extend its exclusivity for a second time. Congress Financial Corp., which...

El Al sets May offering.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Neal Sandler in Tel Aviv After several false starts, the Israeli government finally appears to be getting serious about privatizing El Al Israel Airlines, the state-owned carrier. "The initial offering will take place in May...

Rivals protest Spanish satellite deal.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Danny Fortson in Seville, Spain The controversial merger of the satellite TV operations of Telefonica SA and Sogecable SA still faces intense opposition from rivals and skepticism in the financial community. Several Spanish...

Front-runner emerges in Sudameris sale.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Michael Kepp in Rio de Janeiro The latest European to join the stampede out of South America is expected to be Italy's IntesaBci SpA, when it offloads its Banco Sudameris Brasil retail bank unit possibly within days. The most...

Regal pays $200M for Hoyts theaters.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Peter Lauria Regal Entertainment Group, the theater circuit billionaire Phillip Anschutz assembled by acquiring three bankrupt chains in the past two years, announced Tuesday, Feb. 4, a deal for Hoyts Cinemas Corp. assets valued at...

GE buys Abbey consumer finance unit.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London General Electric Co. said Tuesday, Feb. 4, it will acquire the consumer finance business of Abbey National plc for pound sterling848 million ($1.4 billion) in cash to expand its U.K. operations. The...

Spartan Stores shops Food Town.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Tara Croft Midwest supermarket operator Spartan Stores Inc. said Tuesday, Feb. 4, that it is exploring strategic alternatives for its 39 Food Town grocery stores. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company, which runs 94 supermarkets...

Buongiorno to buy online music company.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Joshua Jaffe in London Long after they stopped drawing attention, Internet companies continue mergers and acquisitions. In the latest move, Italian online music company Vitaminic SpA said Tuesday, Feb. 4, it had signed a...

Hutchison profits in water deal.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. lived up to its reputation as an astute dealmaker after announcing Tuesday, Feb. 4, that it booked a [Euro]230 million ($248 million) profit on the sale...

U.K.'s Grafton to buy rival.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London A major U.K. building-materials retailer, Grafton Group plc, has made one of its largest purchases yet in a furious run of acquisitions, agreeing Tuesday, Feb. 4, to buy a big regional rival, Jacksons...

Invitrogen buys biochemical product lines.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Andrew Morse In a complex deal involving the transfer of about 300 patents, biotechnology testing kit maker Invitrogen Corp. said it was buying three product lines from a Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. unit for $95 million in cash....

Next Level sues to block bid.
February 5, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman in San Francisco An already tense standoff between Next Level Communications Inc. and majority owner Motorola Inc. is getting downright ornery. Next Level, a Rohnert Park, Calif., broadband equipment maker,...

Private Capital People: Feb. 4, 2002.
February 5, 2003... Byline: compiled by George White Movers & Shakers: Jan. 31, 2003 The Carlyle Group promoted 10 senior mangers and even managed to snare an adviser from the outside. Here's a rundown: In the U.S., Ted Hobart, co-head of...

Eurazeo wins Eutelsat stake.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Brian Cattell in London France Telecom SA said Tuesday, Feb. 4, it has agreed to sell its 19% stake in European satellite operator Eutelsat to French private equity firm Eurazeo SA for [Euro]379 million ($408 million), further...

Comcast assets fetch $675M.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Kelly Holman Bresnan Broadband Holdings LLC of White Plains, N.Y., and Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. announced Tuesday, Feb. 4, that Bresnan Communications agreed to acquire cable television systems in four Western states from...

VC funds go on crash diet.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Katherine Goncharoff "Small is beautiful" is the new fund-raising mantra for venture capital firms, including blue-chip players such as Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, which are seeking to raise new funds...

LLR pockets Dime's VC portfolio.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio Private equity firm LLR Partners Inc. said Tuesday, Feb. 4, it has acquired the venture and buyout portfolio of Dime Capital Partners, the private equity unit of Dime Bancorp Inc., the New York savings bank...

Investors stand by Tropic.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Canadian startup Tropic Networks Inc. returned to existing investors hat in hand Tuesday, Feb. 4, to raise $20 million in a third round of venture capital amid a brutal fund-raising climate for optical equipment...

Brecis Communications raises $20M.
February 5, 2003... Byline: Tyson Freeman In the current technology market, where startups face stiff funding and business challenges, system developers are wary of buying into chip designs coming out of startups, even when the technology is sound. But a...

CSTV: College Sports Television
February 7, 2003... New York-based CSTV: College Sports Television has completed a $25 million round of financing led by Constellation Ventures. Also participating in the funding were Chilton Investment Co., Court Square Ventures, Allen & Co., Wasserman Holdings...

Key Research.
February 7, 2003... Palo Alto, Calif.-based Key Research Inc. has completed a $12.5 million second round of financing. The funding was co-led by Charles River Ventures and Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, with CMEA Ventures, Skymoon Ventures, ChevronTexaco...

TransTech Pharma.
February 7, 2003... High Point, N.C-based drug discovery company TransTech Pharma Inc. announced it has raised $24.5 million through two rounds of funding in the past nine months. The capital came from its largest shareholder, New York-based MacAndrews & Forbes...

VoiceRamp Technologies.
February 7, 2003... Richardson, Texas-based VoiceRamp Technologies Inc. has closed a $7.8 million first round of funding co-led by CenterPoint and Star Ventures, with STARTech Early Ventures also participating. VoiceRamp develops software for broadband access and...

KESI finally succumbs.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson Kentucky Electric Steel Inc. on Thursday, Feb. 6, kept a promise it would rather not have made. The Ashland, Ky., producer of special quality steel bar filed for Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern...

Hayes Lemmerz has half a deal.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Shanon Murray and Greg Johnson After weeks of talks with miffed bondholders, Hayes Lemmerz International Inc. has reached an accord on a disclosure statement. Now, it just has to win over unsecured creditors. The bankrupt...

AK Steel named lead bidder for NatSteel.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson AK Steel Corp. took a major step toward becoming one of the top U.S. steelmakers Thursday, Feb. 6, when its $1.3 billion offer for National Steel Corp. was officially declared the preferred bid. But Middletown,...

Cruise line liquidation approved.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Sam Zell's American Classic Voyages Co. on Thursday, Feb. 6, won court approval on a liquidation plan that pays creditors from a penny to 20 cents on the dollar. Visiting Judge Jerry Venters in U.S. Bankruptcy...

Former Kmart exec wants to tap D&O policy.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Former Kmart Corp. CEO Charles Conaway wants the retailer's insurance company to pay his legal fees. Conaway on Thursday, Feb. 6, asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago to...

Formica wins nod to get exit financing.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Formica Corp. is getting the money it needs to emerge from bankruptcy. The Cincinnati countertop maker now has permission to make a $250,000 deposit payment to CIT Group/Business Credit Inc. for $75 million in exit...

Court allows UAL to keep lease terms secret.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas At a hearing Thursday, UAL Corp. received permission from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago to keep the terms of billions of dollars of renegotiated aircraft leases secret. "United has obtained court approval to...

Layoff Roundup: week ended Feb. 6.
February 7, 2003... Byline: David Ehrlich Fewer folks lined up for unemployment in the week ending Feb. 1, but layoff announcements rose in January at U.S. companies. Adding to the figures for February are bankrupt WorldCom Inc., eliminating 5,000 jobs,...

Infinity delays IPO again.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Frances A. McMorris For the second time this week, insurer Infinity Property and Casualty Corp. delayed its $235 million share sale, offering yet another example of the lifelessness of the 2003 IPO market. An insurer of...

Stocks roiled by economic data.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Donna Block Wall Street's major indexes remained turbulent in early trading Thursday, Feb. 6, as investors weighed some dismal economic news and Secretary of State Colin Powell prepared to take his case for war to Capitol Hill. ...

Starwood seeks $500M for hotels.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. is quietly shopping a portfolio of Sheraton hotels for $500 million as part of its continued efforts to pare down debt, according to sources close to the situation. White...

National Golf deal complete.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Scott Stuart Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Starwood Capital Group on Thursday, Feb. 6, completed the buyout of National Golf Properties Inc. for about $1 billion, including debt. GS Capital Partners 2000 and Whitehall Street Real...

Broadwing may float broadband unit.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter There are fresh signs a telecom deal may be imminent, as Broadwing Inc. disclosed late Thursday that its chief executive Kevin Mooney and other officers will receive bonuses if a sale of its broadband unit is...

Vivendi tempers U.K. water aims.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Nicola Hobday and Jonathan Braude in London French utility Vivendi Environnement SA's attempt to skirt antitrust concerns in its takeover of Britain's Southern Water would leave it holding only one-quarter of the company and give a...

Babcock Borsig sheds asset.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin In its final divestment before dissolution, German engineering group Babcock Borsig AG agreed to sell a majority stake in its power plant equipment division to Japan's Babcock-Hitachi KK, following the...

PCCW says C&W rejected takeover approach.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Brian Cattell in London and Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Hong Kong-based telecom PCCW Ltd. on Thursday, Feb. 6, confirmed its preliminary takeover approach to U.K. telecom Cable & Wireless Ltd., but said it was rebuffed Jan....

EU set to rule on Pfizer deal.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Andrew Morse and Renee Cordes The European Commission said Thursday, Feb. 6, that it has "restarted the clock" on its review of Pfizer Inc.'s $60 billion acquisition of rival Pharmacia Corp. and expects to issue a ruling by the end...

Swallowing the Pill: Feb. 7, 2003.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily To defend against hostile takeovers, some companies have enacted shareholder rights plans, or poison pills. Developed in the 1980s, shareholder rights plans are the strategy of choice for publicly traded...

Marvell makes defensive play for Radlan.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Olaf de Senerpont Domis in San Francisco In a move that could deprive a key rival of an important storage networking asset, Marvell Technology Group Ltd. said Thursday, Feb. 6, it would acquire privately held Radlan Computer...

Will regional airlines get bumped?
February 7, 2003... Byline: Lou Whiteman in Atlanta As airlines bleed through billions of dollars, speculation mounts that AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Delta Air Lines Inc. could move to sell their regional affiliates as a way to raise money. ...

Brazil's top airlines plan to merge.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Michael Kepp in Rio de Janeiro Brazil's two largest airlines, Viacao Aerea Rio-Grandense SA and TAM Linhas Aereas SA, agreed Thursday, Feb. 6, to merge into a $4.5 billion company pending a change in law to allow such a deal. ...

Russia piques PE interest.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio Four years after Russia's financial crisis, Western private equity funds are circling the nation, eager to tap into the potential of its reviving economy. In the past year, a half dozen firms have sounded out...

PE firms buy researcher.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Kelly Holman Boston private equity firm Boston Ventures and Chicago-based Prairie Capital teamed with an international investor group to acquire Fairfield, Conn.-based Survey Sampling Inc., a provider of information used in...

The Long March.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Rebecca Fannin Nobody would accuse Dan Carroll of picking the easy deals. Not too many people would consider buying control of a bank owned by a city government in China or taking stakes in struggling Chinese and South Korean...

Capital Calls: Come on down!
February 7, 2003... Byline: edited by John E. Morris Are venture capitalists starting to play their own version of "The Price is Right," the perennially popular game show where you try to pick the right dollar amount for things like hatchbacks and...

Charter hires Lazard as vultures circle.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Josh Kosman and David Carey Debt-plagued Charter Communications Inc. has chosen Lazard as its restructuring adviser, even as vulture and private equity investors continue to circle America's third-largest cable television operator,...

One Equity buys PwC unit.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Kelly Holman One Equity Partners, the Chicago-based private equity unit of Bank One, said Thursday, Feb. 6, that it has acquired beTRUSTed, an e-commerce security unit of PricewaterhouseCoopers. Deal terms were not disclosed....

InfiniBand slows to a crawl.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Three years ago analysts were breathlessly touting the potential for InfiniBand to transform information technology systems, allowing them to handle virtually limitless processing and storage demand. Venture...

Tiger cubs play International Game.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Stephen Taub A conspicuous number of large, secretive and wildly successful hedge fund managers loaded up on the shares of International Game Technology, the largest maker of casino game machines, during the third quarter. ...

TransTech nets $24.5M.
February 7, 2003... Byline: Clifford Carlsen After a strenuous, year-long fund-raising effort, drug developer TransTech Pharma Inc. of High Point, N.C., has closed a $24.5 million fifth round of equity financing that the startup, its key financial backer and...

Deal for NHL's Senators remains elusive.
February 8, 2003... Byline: Laura King The Ottawa Senators hockey team is skating through its fourth straight weekend without knowing whether creditors will accept a bid by majority owner Rod Bryden to buy the team out of bankruptcy and keep it in the...

WorldCom's plan rife with unknowns.
February 8, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter On paper, Michael Capellas' plan to slash $2.5 billion in annual costs at WorldCom Inc. could swing the telecom into the black, or at least put it pretty close. This would improve the company's prospects for...