The Daily Deal articles from February 2004

The Daily Deal archives from February 2004

Bankruptcy reform: One more try.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray in Washington Someone in a bankruptcy court somewhere must have broken a mirror, because bankruptcy reform legislation has had seven years of bad luck in Washington. And even though its chances are dim again,...

Fast-food chain pulls Ch. 11 filing.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton The parent company of Michigan fast-food chain Hot 'n Now has withdrawn its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and is negotiating directly with creditors to restructure its debt. Judge James D. Gregg of the U.S....

Halliburton hopes settlement will spur others.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas Despite insurers' resistance to the bankruptcy filings of two of its subsidiaries, Halliburton Co. is confident that a $575 million settlement payment from Equitas, the reinsurance company for Lloyd's of London, which...

Ormet goes bankrupt.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan Battered aluminum maker Ormet Corp. filed for bankruptcy Jan. 30 in Columbus, Ohio, after failing to convert $225 million in debt to equity. Privately held Ormet filed for Chapter 11 protection with U.S....

Endicott Johnson creditors win $3.1M.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton Unsecured creditors of defunct Endicott, N.Y., shoemaker Endicott Johnson Corp. have won a $3.1 million judgment against its former chairman and president, who was charged with looting the company. Judge Stephen D....

Major turbulence at Hawaiian Air.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Greg Johnson Joshua Gotbaum has not only hit the ground running as the trustee for bankrupt Hawaiian Airlines. He's climbing into the cockpits. New York-born Gotbaum, 52, strolls through restricted areas at airports, sits with...

FAO hearing pushed back.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke A hearing to approve FAO Inc.'s key retention plan has been delayed until Feb. 26 because of an objection from the U.S. Trustee's office. A hearing had been set for Friday, Jan. 30. The plan required a payment of...

Enron can pay workers $36.2M.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke A federal bankruptcy judge granted Enron Corp. permission to pay $36.2 million to several hundred of its remaining employees. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern...

AEP sells power plant stake.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Claire Poole in Houston Columbus, Ohio, utility American Electric Power Co. said Friday, Jan. 30, it would sell its 7.8% stake in the 692-megwatt coal-fired Oklaunion power plant in Vernon, Texas, to Golden Spread Electric...

Editor's letter.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Robert Teitelman The news that Thom Calandra, late of CBS MarketWatch, might be in some hot water with the Securities and Exchange Commission generates the usual mixed feelings. No one likes to see the career of a colleague...

Investors send Eyetech IPO up 55%.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Andrew Morse Shares of Eyetech Pharmaceuticals Inc., which makes drugs to treat age-related macular degeneration, surged in their first day of trading as a public company on Friday, Jan. 30, sparking hopes it would revive the...

Iliad IPO makes billionaire of founder.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Ross Tieman in Toulouse, France The new-issues market in France made a strong start this year as shares in Internet service provider and telecommunications group Iliad SA surged in their debut on Euronext Paris. Shares in the...

Two European telecoms prep IPOs.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Brian Cattell in London Three years after Europe's last significant telecom initial public offering amid a prolonged slump in industry valuations, two of the Continent's lesser-known players are preparing to brave the share markets...

AEP sells power plant stake.
February 2, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Columbus, Ohio, utility American Electric Power Co. said Jan. 30 it would sell its 7.8% stake in the 692-megwatt coal-fired Oklaunion power plant in Vernon, Texas, to Golden Spread Electric Cooperative Inc. of...

Amper buys rival Page Iberica.
February 2, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Spanish telecom and electronics maker Amper SA on Jan. 30 said it agreed to acquire rival Page Iberica SA for [Euro]37 million ($46.1 million). Amper said it's paying [Euro]24.8 million of the purchase price in cash...

ATA Airlines wins debt swap OK.
February 2, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal The parent of discount carrier ATA Airlines Inc. said Jan. 30 it has obtained federal approval for a debt swap that should help it avoid a bankruptcy filing. ATA Holdings Corp. of Indianapolis said that it would...

Cucina! Cucina! chain is sold.
February 2, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Cucina! Cucina!, a Seattle division of Wolfgang Puck Worldwide Inc., said Jan. 30 that eight full-service Cucina! Cucina! Italian Cafes and their trademark has been acquired by an investment group comprising...

Koch Industries gets G-P unit.
February 2, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Peter Love in the Washington office of Jones Day is antitrust counsel to Wichita, Kan., industrial conglomerate Koch Industries Inc. for its $735 million acquisition of Georgia-Pacific Corp.'s Brunswick Pulp & Paper...

MTM gets $25M from Pequot.
February 2, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Valley Cottage, N.Y., IT services firm Micros-to-Mainframes Inc. said Jan. 30 it has agreed to sell an undisclosed stake to Pequot Ventures, the private equity arm of Pequot Capital Management Inc., for up to $25...

Rogers acquires Korea's KF.
February 2, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Rogers Corp., a Rogers, Conn., supplier of composite materials, said Jan. 30 it has acquired Hwasung City, South Korea, fuel-tank-sensor maker KF Inc. for about $3.5 million. KF posted 2003 sales of about $3 million....

Softbank Finance sells unit stake.
February 2, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Japanese Internet conglomerate Softbank Corp. said Jan. 30 that its subsidiary Softbank Finance Corp. had sold a 17.7% stake in venture capital unit Softbank Investment Corp. for [yen]11.737 billion ($111 million)....

Westaim sheds two divisions.
February 2, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Calgary, Alberta, industrial materials supplier Westaim Corp. said Jan. 30 that it has sold its Ambeon division and its Neomet Ltd. subsidiary to coatings supplier Sulzer Metco US Inc. for $35 million. Westaim said...

Yukos tightens grip on Sibneft.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Nick Watson OAO Yukos on Friday underlined its intention to treat estranged merger partner OAO Sibneft as its asset by announcing plans to start consolidating Sibneft's financial results from the fourth quarter of 2003. Yukos'...

Sale looms for Suez TV stake.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Ross Tieman in Toulouse, France French utility group Suez SA could sell most of its [Euro]1.3 billion ($1.6 billion), 36.45% stake in France's Metropole Television SA to a group of investors this week, according to a person close...

Analyst: Rescue of Aventis unlikely.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin and Ross Tiemann in Toulouse, France Analysts cast cold water Jan. 30 on the likelihood Novartis AG would try to rescue Aventis SA from hostile bidder Sanofi-Synthelabo SA. Meanwhile, investors await...

Deals of the Week: Jan. 30, 2004.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Matthew Wurtzel While bank M&A continued to drive deal flow, industrial businesses also announced big transactions in the recent week. The largest deal of the week was from a classic old-economy business: 139-year-old Cargill...

International Deals of the Week: Jan. 30, 2004.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily Rumors of a bid for Aventis SA became reality when Sanofi-SynthElabo launched a $61 billion hostile takeover offer Jan. 26 for the Franco-German pharmaceutical company. The bid -- this week's largest...

Cingular may be alone in AT&T Wireless auction.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter As the Feb. 13 bidding deadline for AT&T Wireless Services Inc. approaches, potential buyers have about two weeks to weigh their options, barring a change to the schedule. AT&T Wireless and its coveted base of...

Wary PeopleSoft lowers guidance.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Cheryl Meyer PeopleSoft Inc. is playing it safe by lowering Wall Street expectations for 2004, analysts said Friday after the software company predicted tepid growth for the first quarter. "PeopleSoft is particularly motivated...

Epiq buys Poorman-Douglas for $115M.
February 2, 2004... Byline: David Shabelman In a move to diversify its revenue base, bankruptcy software provider Epiq Systems Inc. said Friday, Jan. 30, it paid $115 million for Poorman-Douglas Corp., which makes software to manage class actions. "We've...

PeopleSoft sets March shareholder meeting.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Cheryl Meyer Business software maker PeopleSoft Inc. said late Friday, Jan. 30, that it will hold its annual shareholder meeting on March 25. The company also nominated four of its directors for re-election. The move came as a...

Movers & shakers: Feb. 2, 2004.
February 2, 2004... Byline: compiled by Lisa Camerlengo WR Hambrecht + Co. has added 15 senior investment bankers from SoundView Technology Group Inc. Brian Bristol, former head of investment banking at SoundView, and Jonathan Meyers, who led SoundView's...

Advent in $349M Bulgarian phone deal.
February 2, 2004... Byline: Brian Cattell in London After two years of tortuous negotiations and many false dawns, Advent International Corp. could be about to pull off one of Eastern Europe's biggest-ever private equity deals. The Boston-based buyout...

Palatin raises $22.7M in PIPE.
February 2, 2004... Byline: David Carey Palatin Technologies Inc., which is developing a drug to treat sexual dysfunction, said Jan. 30 that it raised $22.7 million in a PIPE funding from a group of venture capital investors. The Cranbury, N.J.-based...

GIT-n-GO seeks DIP loan.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan Bankrupt grocery chain GIT-n-GO Inc. was scrambling Monday, Feb. 2, to lock in a $4 million debtor-in-possession financing from its senior lender. The Tulsa, Okla.-based food chain was putting the finishing...

VT Group buys J.A. Jones contracts.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton Shipbuilding company VT Group plc of Southampton, England, has completed the acquisition of 10 support services contracts in the U.S. held by bankrupt J.A. Jones Services Group of Charlotte, N.C., for [pounds...

MinorPlanet in bankruptcy.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray MinorPlanet Systems USA Inc. garnered $1.3 million in debtor-in-possession financing after filing for bankruptcy protection Monday, Feb. 2, to restructure its long-term debt. The Richardson, Texas, supplier of...

Promax Energy sells last assets.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Laura King Insolvent Promax Energy Inc. of Calgary, Alberta, said Monday, Feb. 2, it has agreed to sell its remaining assets to a buyer it did not name for an undisclosed sum. Under the terms, the buyer becomes the sole...

Factory 2-U wins DIP approval.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman San Diego, Calif., retailer Factory 2-U Stores Inc. said Monday, Feb. 2, that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington has given it final approval to use its full $45 million...

Garden Ridge files for Ch. 11.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Trapped in a thicket of costly lease obligations, Houston-based Garden Ridge Corp. filed Monday, Feb. 2, for bankruptcy protection. The retailer of home decor, pottery and other crafts filed for Chapter 11 in the...

Wolin rules against his recusal.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas U.S. District Court Judge Alfred Wolin ruled against his own recusal from five major asbestos-related bankruptcy cases filed in Delaware. Wolin, who was expected to rule in his own favor, issued his 105-page...

Health food chain files for Ch. 11.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton Health & Harvest Inc., a Louisville, Ky., operator of three health food stores and a restaurant, has filed for Chapter 11. None of its stores will close, owner and president Faith Barrient said, but Health & Harvest...

U.S. hedge fund grabs Stelco stake.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Laura King in Toronto U.S. hedge fund Amaranth LLC has acquired nearly 20% of insolvent Canadian steelmaker Stelco Inc. for C$16 million ($12 million). The purchase comes after Stelco, Canada's largest steel producer, filed for...

Gotbaum comfortable in the cockpit.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Greg Johnson Joshua Gotbaum wants his critics to know one thing: So far, the bankruptcy court agrees with him. The trustee for Hawaiian Airlines Inc. said his job is to save the insolvent carrier, which is quite different than...

Atlas Air lands $50M DIP.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman Cargo airline operator Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection late Friday, Jan. 30, when the Purchase, N.Y.-based company executed a long-awaited prepackaged Chapter 11 filing that included...

Amerco clears key reorg hurdle.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke A federal bankruptcy judge on Monday, Feb. 2, tentatively confirmed the reorganization plan of U-Haul International's parent, Amerco Inc., following the company's recent settlement with its last batch of dissenting...

Shanghai developer ups price of IPO.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Shanghai Forte Land Co. Ltd., the largest real estate developer in Shanghai, raised HK$1.5 billion ($193 million) Monday, Feb. 2, in an initial public offering as it priced its shares at the top end...

IPO flow this week.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Frances A. McMorris From a trickle to a flood: That's the only way to describe the initial public offering lineup this week. With nearly one dozen companies slated to make their trading debuts, all eyes are on the $2 billion...

Congress gives gift to big media.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Ron Orol in Washington Congress may have given large U.S. media companies an unexpected present late last month when it raised the national television ownership limit to 39%. In a brief filed with a federal appeals court in...

M&A earnings help Bush budget.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Donna Block in Washington Antitrust fees paid to the U.S. government by companies seeking to merge wonOt contribute much to President BushOs $2.4 trillion election-year budget unveiled Monday, Feb. 2, but that didnOt stop the...

FTC offers research on antitrust.
February 3, 2004... Byline: Jaret Seiberg Companies involved in mergers that result in only four significant competitors in the market should be prepared for an antitrust fight. Data released Monday, Feb. 2, by the Federal Trade Commission shows the...

OAO Yukos taps CSFB, Cleary.
February 3, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal OAO Yukos said Monday it has hired Credit Suisse First Boston as its second financial adviser and Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton as outside counsel. Yukos is involved in an increasingly bitter fight with OAO...

Gadzooks struggles after conversion.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke In what may be a case of the right move at the wrong time, Gadzooks Inc.'s decision to convert its clothing empire to an all-girls format has done more harm than good. On Tuesday, Feb. 3, the Dallas-based company...

Stratacache gets Fantastic.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Greg Johnson Stratacache Inc., a Dayton, Ohio, maker of content streaming and Web server products, said Tuesday that it has acquired the U.S. division of bankrupt Zug, Switzerland-competitor Fantastic Corp. No terms were...

Intrepid USA files Ch. 11.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton Home-care provider Intrepid USA Inc. of Edina, Minn., has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing the bankruptcy filing of a primary lender, DVI Inc. Privately held Intrepid, which operates in 30 states,...

Fleming faces yet another headache.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Fleming Cos. could face a major obstacle in exiting bankruptcy after a judge decided to create a unique committee of creditors. The creditors, a group of trade vendors, are vying to prove they are owed about $240...

Adelphia founder seeks more cash.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Greg Johnson Adelphia Communications Corp. founder John Rigas is asking for another $15 million for legal expenses. The request, filed Friday, Jan. 30, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in...

H.I.G. Capital buys Brookfield Group.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman Miami private equity firm H.I.G. Capital LLC has reportedly agreed to buy the assets of injection molder Brookfield Group LLC out of bankruptcy for an undisclosed sum. The companies signed the purchase agreement, which...

Aurora Foods wins DIP approval.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Greg Johnson Aurora Foods Inc. has won approval for a $50 million debtor-in-possession loan. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington on Jan. 28 approved the loan from a group of lenders led by J.P....

Metabasis plans $86.3 million IPO.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira San Diego-based Biopharmaceutical company Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc. is planning an initial public offering to raise an estimated $86.3 million, according to a preliminary prospectus filed Tuesday, Feb. 3, with the...

Bancorp shares jump in debut.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira Bancorp Bank of Philadelphia raised a net total of $72.3 million in an initial public offering of its shares, which began trading Tuesday, Feb. 3. By noon, Bancorp's stock price had risen to $15.66, a jump of...

GTx struggles in IPO debut.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Andrew Morse Memphis, Tenn.-based GTx Inc. became the second biotechnology company to take its shares public in 2004, raising the anticipations of other privately held drug enterprise hoping to tap the public market. In early...

Blackstone recoups some cash.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman Shares of TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. sputtered off the starting line Tuesday, Feb. 3, opening below the company's $28 offer price on its first day of trading. The Livonia, Mich.-based company raised $675.8...

Volvo may float Scania stake.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Patricia Koza Leading European truckmaker Volvo AB said Tuesday, Feb. 3, it hasn't found a buyer for its stake in Swedish heavy-vehicle producer Scania AB and may exit the investment by transferring shares to a newly formed company...

Wella minority digs in.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin Minority shareholders of German haircare group Wella AG said Tuesday they would sue majority owner Procter & Gamble Co. in German court after receiving short shrift at an extraordinary shareholders meeting...

Caremark-AdvancePCS: Smooth sailing.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Jaret Seiberg in Washington Despite a campaign by independent pharmacists and chain drug stores to derail the $6 billion deal, the Federal Trade Commission is expected within the next few weeks to clear Caremark Rx Inc.'s...

Chorion rejects ER takeover bid.
February 4, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal London media group Chorion plc on Tuesday rebuffed a formal offer from crosstown rival Entertainment Rights plc worth about [pounds sterling]43.5 million ($79.1 million) in cash and shares. Chorion said its board...

Morgan Stanley buys A&G stake.
February 4, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Morgan Stanley, has bought a 20% stake in A&G Group Ltd., according to news reports. Terms weren't disclosed. London-based A&G is parent of Garrard jewelers...

Sonic Solutions lands InterActual.
February 4, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Novato, Calif.-based DVD software maker Sonic Solutions said Tuesday it has agreed to buy InterActual Technologies Inc., a San Jose, Calif., supplier of technology that publishes DVD content on the Web, for $8.8...

Tyco claims progress on sales.
February 4, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Management at Tyco International Ltd. said Tuesday that the company has made significant progress toward selling more than 50 divisions this year. CEO Edward Breen told investors during a conference call that his...

Warburg Pincus gets Polypore.
February 4, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Polypore Inc., a Charlotte, N.C., maker of filtration products, announced Tuesday that it has agreed to be sold to private equity firm Warburg Pincus LLC for an undisclosed sum. Polypore shareholders, led by North...

Zhone Tech acquires Gluon.
February 4, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Zhone Technologies Inc., an Oakland, Calif., provider of telecom equipment, said Tuesday it has agreed to buy Petaluma, Calif., competitor Gluon Networks Inc. for about $7 million in cash and stock. Under the terms,...

Pioneer buys NEC's plasma unit.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Charles Smith in Tokyo Japanese home audio equipment maker Pioneer Corp. said Tuesday, Feb. 3, it has agreed to buy the plasma display business of NEC Corp. to create what it claimed will become the world's largest maker of such...

S. Korean broker weighs LG bid.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul South Korea's Mirae Asset Securities Co. seeks to form a consortium to acquire LG Investment & Securities Co. Ltd., LG Investment Trust Management Co. Ltd. and other investment trusts. Mirae president...

Yukos, Sibneft to unravel merger.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Nick Watson OAO Sibneft and OAO Yukos announced Tuesday, Feb. 3, that core shareholders had reached an agreement to unwind their multibillion dollar merger without compensation. While this suggests the Russian oil giants will...

Swallowing the Pill: Feb. 3 , 2004.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily To defend against hostile takeovers, some companies have enacted , or poison pills. Developed in the 1980s, shareholder rights plans are the strategy of choice for publicly traded companies. Poison-pill...

Dynegy sells unit for $2.3B.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Claire Poole in Houston After its first sale attempt failed, Houston energy company Dynegy Inc. said Tuesday, Feb. 3, it found a willing buyer for electric and natural gas distributor Illinois Power Co. in St. Louis utility Ameren...

GreenPoint tiptoes onto the block.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Vipal Monga GreenPoint Financial Corp., the owner of one of New York's biggest thrifts, has hired Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc., Lehman Brothers Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to explore a sale of the company, according to...

Sprint starts at home.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter At Sprint Corp.'s annual meeting with analysts Tuesday, Feb. 3, the subject of wireless consolidation is sure to be close at hand. But rather than concerning themselves with what other companies might be up to, Sprint...

Movers & shakers, Feb. 4, 2004.
February 4, 2004... Byline: compiled by Lisa Camerlengo Jefferies & Co. has hired Robert Schenosky as a managing director and senior equity research analyst. Schenosky joins fellow senior equity research analyst Masroor Siddiqui, who moved over to...

Aventis in talks with Blackstone.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Ross Tieman in Toulouse, France Aventis SA, the target of a hostile [Euro]48.5 billion ($61 billion) bid from Paris-based rival Sanofi-Synthelabo SA, is in early-stage talks with about six competing private equity firms about a...

BC Partners to sell C&C.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London London buyout shop BC Partners is seeking a buyer for Cantrell & Cochrane Ltd., the Irish drinks and snacks group it bought from Allied Domecq four years ago. The January 1999 buyout valued the business at...

Private Capital People: Feb. 3, 2004.
February 4, 2004... Byline: George White Movers & Shakers: Feb. 2, 2004 WR Hambrecht + Co. has added 15 senior investment bankers from SoundView Technology Group Inc. Brian Bristol, former head of investment banking at SoundView, and Jonathan Meyers, who...

Oak tops Airgo up round.
February 4, 2004... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Wireless semiconductor developer Airgo Networks Inc. has raised $25 million in a fourth round of venture capital led by Oak Investment Partners LP of Palo Alto, Calif., bringing investment to $77 million as the...