The Daily Deal articles from July 2002, page 8

The Daily Deal archives from July 2002

Burberry IPO bottoms out.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London LONDON -- The share price for fashion and luxury-goods retailer Burberry Group plc was set at the bottom of its price range in its initial public offering Thursday, July 11, as market turmoil forced other...

Gold miner and retailer brave public markets.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Donna Block Gold mining and exploration company Randgold Resources Ltd. and a home decor retailer braved the bears and made their debuts Thursday, July 11, on the Nasdaq. Trading in the United States as American Depositary...

Microsoft closes Navision buy.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Joshua Jaffe The U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. said Thursday, July 11, that it has closed its acquisition of the Danish enterprise software maker Navision Software AS for approximately DKr10.97 billion ($1.45 billion) in...

Expedia snubs Diller.
July 12, 2002... Byline: David Shabelman and Richard Morgan Expedia Inc. made it official Thursday, July 11, thumbing its nose at Barry Diller and his proposal for his USA Interactive Inc. to buy the 35% of the world's largest online travel agent it...

Report: UK life insurers should combine.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday LONDON -- British life insurers may have to merge or form alliances to cut costs in the wake of recommendations made in a government policy paper on the domestic savings market earlier this week, ratings agency...

Pace Micro ripe for takeover.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Joshua Jaffe LONDON -- Three profit warnings in four months combined with a plummeting stock price have cast a question mark over the future of the U.K.'s Pace Micro Technology plc as an independent company. Europe's largest...

Deals Interrupted - July 12, 2002.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily A deal's announcement is just the beginning of a long, tortuous process. Legal challenges, alternate bids and internal dissent are just some of the land mines that lie between a merger's inception and its...

HPL bids $99M for IDS.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Olaf de Senerpont Domis Chip-processing software developer HPL Technologies Inc. continued its steady acquisition pace by announcing a $99 million bid for privately held IDS Software Systems Inc. San Jose, Calif.-based HPL...

Clear Channel Hong Kong unit in deal talks.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen HONG KONG -- Clear Media Ltd., a Hong Kong-listed media company 60%-owned by Clear Channel Communications Inc. of San Antonio, is in talks to take over MediaNation Inc., a smaller rival in mainland China's...

Mets owners feud over buyout pledge.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke The feuding between New York Mets co-owners Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday escalated Thursday when the former filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against the latter, giving Major League Baseball another black eye...

Hollywood Casino draws 3 suitors.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Despite a new and potentially onerous tax in Illinois where its crown-jewel gaming property is, Hollywood Casino Corp. is attracting offers. One source close to the situation said Las Vegas-based Harrah's...

UAE pact ups hope of Atlantis sale.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Scott Stuart Progress made with Petroleum Geo-Services ASA's sale of Atlantis in the United Arab Emirates should bolster PGS' roughly $2.4 billion merger with Veritas DGC Inc. Unfortunately, its unclear how far the sale has...

Private Equity Briefcase - Madison Dearborn Partners.
July 12, 2002... Byline: George White www.TheDeal.com

Woori gives Lone Star nod.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon in Seoul South Korea's Woori Bank said Thursday, July 11, it has chosen Dallas-based private equity firm Lone Star Fund as the preferred bidder for a 70.2% stake in Hanvit Leasing and Finance Co. Woori Bank is...

Over the hedge; Over the hedge.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Stephen Taub A poison pill has touched off a nasty scuffle between two money management titans with sizable hedge fund assets. Mario Gabelli, chairman and founder of Gabelli Asset Management, which runs more than $26 billion,...

Capital calls - July 12, 2002.
July 12, 2002... Byline: edited by John E. Morris What do hamburgers and phone books have in common? Both have pitted Texas Pacific Group against a team of Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc. and Apax Partners in the high-stakes bidding for the spinoff of...

Icahn letter blasts Morton's management.
July 12, 2002... Byline: David Carey Add Carl Icahn to the list of those wagging their fingers about the evils of American capitalism. Involved in an ongoing bidding war for Morton's Restaurant Group, Carl Icahn fulminates: "When President Bush...

Code Hennessy bags Otis Spunkmeyer.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Josh Kosman Chicago-based buyout firm Code Hennessy & Simmons LLC has proven to be something of a cookie monster. The firm bid aggressively and won the auction for Otis Spunkmeyer Inc., a San Leandro, Calif.-maker of frozen...

Dham launches $50M India fund.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Josey Puliyenthuruthel BANGALORE -- Vinod Dham, a chip-design engineer who led development of Intel Corp.'s first Pentium microprocessor, on Thursday, July 11, announced a $50 million venture fund that will invest in and nurture...

NEA, InterWest embrace life-science deals.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Katherine Goncharoff Mergers, medical devices and milestone-based deals were the most salient themes to emerge in life-science investing last quarter, according to the two most active venture capital investors in the area. ...

Integra reaps $22 million.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Clifford Carlsen In a market that's seen more bankruptcies than fundings lately, Portland, Ore.-based telecommunications-services provider Integra Telecom convinced its long-suffering investors to kick in an additional $22...

War of quiet skirmishes.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio After 38 years as a lawyer for the venture capital industry, Joseph Bartlett, a senior partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP's New York office, finds himself in a quandary. Bartlett, an authority on venture...

MetaPhore scores $30M.
July 12, 2002... Byline: Tyson Freeman MetaPhore Pharmaceuticals Inc. has completed a $30 million financing to further the development of a group of antioxidant drugs aimed at the treatment of a wide range of diseases and conditions ranging from cancer...

Acadia acquires shopping centers.
July 11, 2002... Acadia Realty Trust said its joint venture acquired its first three supermarket-anchored shopping centers for $26.7 million. Acadia intends to take a 22% stake in the joint venture, which expects to acquire $300 million in shopping centers....

Alchemy-backed management wins control of FCX.
July 11, 2002... FCX International plc management is claiming victory in its Alchemy Partners-backed buyout bid. On Wednesday, Alchemy's bid vehicle, XCF, announced it has the support of shareholders representing 51.9% of FCX, despite opposition from minority...

Bank Leumi to pursue Israel Discount Bank unit.
July 11, 2002... Bank Leumi will join the bidding for Israel Discount Bank of New York, according to a senior bank official. The decision follows an initial approach by Bank Hapoalim to acquire troubled Israel Discount Bank's New York subsidiary. Bank Leumi...

BroadQ.
July 11, 2002... Austin, Texas-based BroadQ LLC, a startup developer of digital home entertainment software, said Wednesday it has received somewhat less than $1 million in seed funding from a small group of private investors "who actively participate in the...

Continuum Photonics.
July 11, 2002... Billerica, Mass.-based Continuum Photonics Inc., an optical component startup, said Wednesday it has closed a $14 million second round co-led by new investors Flagship Ventures and Prism Venture Partners. Other new investors included Haris &...

Enterprise Products buys gas plant.
July 11, 2002... Houston's Enterprise Products Partners LP said Wednesday an affiliate would acquire the Toca-Western natural gas processing plant in Yscloskey, La., from Denver's Western Gas Resources Inc. for $32.5 million. Enterprise already owns 28.2% of...

GTC purchases CanWest papers.
July 11, 2002... Montreal publishing giant GTC Transcontinental Group Ltd. said Wednesday it has acquired 12 community newspapers and 32 other publications from CanWest Global Communications Corp. in a deal worth C$255 million ($169 million)....

Germany's Merck gets Richelet.
July 11, 2002... German pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA said Wednesday it has acquired Laboratoires Richelet SA, a privately held French vitamin maker, for an undisclosed sum. Lyon, France-based Richelet, which posted [Euro]11 million ($10 million) in sales...

ICEsoft Technologies.
July 11, 2002... Calgary, Alberta-based ICEsoft Technologies Inc. said Wednesday it received C$5 million ($3.3 million). The first-round funding came from BDC Venture Capital of Montreal and Greenstone Venture Partners of Vancouver. ICEsoft, which makes...

Kiewit Materials sold to CSR unit.
July 11, 2002... Believing it's too small to compete in a sector increasingly dominated by large companies, Omaha construction materials supplier Kiewit Materials Co. said Wednesday it has agreed for rival Rinker Materials Corp. to acquire it in a transaction...

NexTone Communications.
July 11, 2002... Rockville, Md.-based NexTone Communications Inc. said Wednesday it received $3.5 million in venture funding led by Core Capital Partners of Washington, D.C. Prior investors who also participated in this round include Mid-Atlantic Ventures,...

NightFire Software.
July 11, 2002... Oakland, Calif.'s NightFire Software Inc., a provider of intersystem service management software to the telecoms sector, said Wednesday it has received $4.5 million from Technology Partners in Series D financing. Existing backers New...

RioCan REIT, Kimco finish shopping center purchase.
July 11, 2002... Canada's biggest real estate investment trust, Toronto-based RioCan REIT, and its New Hyde Park, N.Y., joint venture partner, Kimco Realty Corp., said Wednesday they have completed their acquisition of the Tillicum Shopping Center in British...

Seoul delays sale of Korea Tobacco stake.
July 11, 2002... South Korea's Finance Ministry said Wednesday that it would postpone a sale of the government's remaining 14% stake in Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corp. to overseas investors. The holding was to set to be sold Sunday, but the government decided...

Shareholder, Netro continue board seat battle.
July 11, 2002... The war of words between disgruntled Netro Corp. shareholder Robert Coates and the company continues, even though Coates came up short in a bid to get a seat on the Netro board. Coates claims a poison pill approved by the company in July 2001...

SignalGene hires BMO Nesbitt.
July 11, 2002... Montreal-based SignalGene Inc. said Wednesday that it has retained BMO Nesbitt Burns as its financial adviser to help find ways to maximize value for shareholders, which could include a merger or an acquisition. SignalGene creates and...

TekCel.
July 11, 2002... Hopkinton, Mass.-based TekCel, a maker of drug discovery work stations including micro-plate work benches, has closed an $8.7 million round led by Ampersand Ventures. Other investors included Boston Community Venture Fund and Hawthorne...

Two Pennsylvania banks merging.
July 11, 2002... Legacy Bank of Harrisburg, the Harrisburg, Pa., parent of Legacy Trust Co., and rival Northern State Bank of Towanda, Pa., said Wednesday they are merging in a one-for-one stock swap. Legacy will be the surviving company when the deal closes...

DIP Dimensions: Adelphia Business Solutions.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke While many people spent their Memorial Day weekend ringing in summer, Andrew Beal was on a plane to Pittsburgh. Such are the sacrifices for those who want to be part of the world of debtor-in-possession financing....

Letter from Delaware: Fleet week.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray with staff reports An unusual move In an unusual move for a bankrupt company, ANC Rental Corp. has received court approval for a securitized debt offering to raise up to $575 million to lease a new fleet of...

Two firms vie for Republic Tech.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Greg Johnson Despite 10 potential offers, the battle for bankrupt steelmaker Republic Technologies International LLC has come down to two bidders. KPS Special Situations Fund LP and Hunt Investment Group LP of Dallas will go...

The pennysaver.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas As the newly appointed monitor in the Securities and Exchange Commission's fraud lawsuit against WorldCom Inc., Richard C. Breeden has returned to the limelight. It's a long way from trying to track down a 240-foot...

Gores to bid for Global Crossing.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Cheryl Meyer LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles buyout firms Gores Technology Group and Platinum Equity LLC are joining to submit a bid for bankrupt telecom company Global Crossing Ltd., a source close to the deal said late Wednesday,...

Icahn seeks to buy XO debt.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Carl Icahn made an offer Wednesday, July 10, to acquire $331 million of bankrupt XO Communications Inc.'s bank debt in an attempt to regain the upper hand in this high-profile battle. Icahn is offering 40 cents...

Togut to be trustee as Moe Ginsburg liquidates.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Albert Togut of Togut, Segal & Segal has taken the reins of trustee as Moe Ginsburg Inc. converts its Chapter 11 reorganization to Chapter 7 liquidation after the fabled men's wear retailer apparently failed to...

Trustee, creditors pan Mpower plan.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray The U.S. Trustee and several creditors are objecting to Mpower Holding Corp.'s reorganization plan. The trustee is charging that a provision would require Mpower to pay the administrative expenses of its...

WorldCom bondholders call in help.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Chris Nolter and Leon Lazaroff As WorldCom Inc. continues negotiations with its bank lenders on a $3 billion credit line, the company's bondholders are readying for a battle with the banks in the likelihood that the second-largest...

Will Medco IPO woes hurt underwriters?
July 11, 2002... Byline: Andrew Morse and Heidi Moore Drug giant Merck & Co. postponed the initial public offering of its pharmacy benefits management unit for a third time Tuesday, July 9, but savvy maneuvering by the two lead underwriters, Goldman,...

M&A surges in Japan.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Charles Smith in Tokyo Japanese M&A transactions jumped 38% in the first half of 2002 from a year earlier, driven mostly by a surge of domestic deals, according to preliminary figures compiled by Nomura Securities Co. Nomura...

Jones Apparel to buy RSV Sport.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas Looking to target a younger set of buyers, Jones Apparel Group Inc. announced Wednesday, July 10, a $385 million deal to acquire RSV Sport Inc., makers of the l.e.i. brand of girls' jeans. Jones, which owns...

Italy details privatization.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Heather O'Brian MILAN -- The sale of an additional 37.6% stake in state-owned electricity company Enel SpA tops the Italian Economics Ministry's list of privatizations planned over 18 months, according to details of the...

DOD review of TRW should be smooth, but... DOD review of TRW should be smooth, but ...
July 11, 2002... Byline: Scott Stuart See today's Arbitrage situations chart. The dominant view of Northrop Grumman Corp.'s $7.6 billion acquisition of TRW Inc. is that it raises few antitrust problems. But the review might not the cake-walk many...

Clarus: We've got bidders.
July 11, 2002... Byline: David Shabelman SAN FRANCISCO -- An official with Clarus Corp. said Wednesday, July 10, that the procurement software maker remains in talks with a "number" of interested parties. Clarus CEO Stephen Jeffrey declined to name...

Abbey Aussie target?
July 11, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday LONDON -- Shares of Abbey National plc climbed as much as 7% Wednesday, July 10, amid renewed media speculation that National Australia Bank has approached Britain's sixth-largest lender about a takeover. NAB...

NTT DoCoMo confirms talks.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon and Charles Smith The Japanese mobile phone giant NTT DoCoMo has acknowledged that company executives have met separately with counterparts of South Korea's KTF Corp. and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. to discuss...

Lukoil drops bid for Polish refinery.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Patricia Koza WARSAW -- Russian oil giant Lukoil Co. has dropped out of a consortium with the U.K.'s Rotch Energy Ltd. in the final stage of a bid for Rafineria Gdanska, a move that could further delay the long-postponed sale of...

DealEstate - July 11, 2002.
July 11, 2002... Byline: compiled by Gerald C. Magpily July 10, 2002 General Growth Properties closes buy of JP Realty General Growth Properties Inc. closed its acquisition of JP Realty Inc., in a deal valued at about $1.1 billion. When the deal...

Shareholders OK Comcast-AT&T deal.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Leon Lazaroff and Peter Lauria AT&T Corp. moved another step closer Wednesday, July 10, to returning to its roots as the dominant U.S. provider of long-distance telecommunications services. Shareholders of both AT&T and...

SABMiller still thirsty for deals.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday LONDON -- The day after becoming the world's second-largest brewer, SABMiller plc said Wednesday, July 10, it will sell shares to raise up to about pound sterling700 million ($1.1 billion) for potential...

Burlington Resources eager to buy.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Claire Poole in Houston Houston natural gas explorer Burlington Resources Inc. said Wednesday, July 10, it is wrapping up its $1.2 billion divestiture program and is looking to buy assets and perhaps a whole company. At a...

EU approves Telia-Sonera merger.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Renee Cordes BRUSSELS -- Swedish telecommunications company Telia AB won approval on Wednesday, July 10, from European Union antitrust regulators for its [Euro]7.3 billion ($7.25 billion) all-stock, friendly offer for Finnish...

Icahn bids $17 a share for Morton's.
July 11, 2002... Byline: David Carey Hours after hiking his takeover bid for Morton's Restaurant Group Inc. to $16 a share, only to see Castle Harlan Inc. match it, financier Carl Icahn offered $17 a share for the New Hyde Park, N.Y.-based steakhouse...

Dave and Buster's tender fails.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Kelly Holman Dallas restaurant chain Dave & Buster's Inc. said Wednesday, July 10, that the tender offer by D&B Acquisition Sub Inc., a vehicle formed by Investcorp and others to acquire the publicly traded company, expired...

$661M bid for yacht-maker Ferretti.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan Once you've experienced the best life has to offer, it's hard to do without. Just ask London-based private equity firm Permira, which late Tuesday, July 9, offered [Euro]674.3 million ($661.1 million) for...

AGY raises $31 million.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Clifford Carlsen AGY Therapeutics Inc. raised $31 million in a third round of financing designed to take its first neurological drug candidates into clinical trials, with an eye to taking its next fund-raising effort to the...

Pluris shuts for good.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Katherine Goncharoff Pluris Inc., a maker of network routers for the Internet that raised $215 million in venture capital, has shuttered. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company, founded in 1997, had yet to release a...

Savvion collects $16.7M.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Tyson Freeman After the reckless technology spending of the 1990s, companies have loads of expensive software to manage their businesses. Now a brand of software is emerging that aims to make those investments produce. ...

(Embargoed for London Pub_VCaddex)Startup aims to cure addictions.
July 11, 2002... Byline: Joshua Jaffe If Index Ventures and Sofinnova Partners' newest portfolio company had been around 15 years ago, Robert Downey Jr., Pete Rose and Michael Douglas might have had an easier time fighting their reported addictions to...

20-20 Technologies.
July 10, 2002... Investissement Desjardins, Capital regional et cooperatif Desjardins and Montreal Partners have invested C$3 million ($2 million) in 20-20 Technologies Inc., a Laval, Quebec-based developer of interior design and sales software for residences...

Ailing Credit Stores admits its facing bankruptcy.
July 10, 2002... Credit Stores Inc. said Tuesday that it could file for bankruptcy if it cannot resolve its liquidity problems by the end of this month. The Sioux Falls, S.D.-based financial services company said it is in talks with its institutional...

Berwind Property closes $384M real estate fund.
July 10, 2002... Privately held Berwind Property Group Ltd. said Tuesday it closed a $384 million real estate fund. Philadelphia-based Berwind contributed $30 million of the equity in the fund, while the rest will come from its clientele. Since 1993, Berwind...

Centerpoint closes industrial portfolio purchase.
July 10, 2002... CenterPoint Properties Trust, an Oak Brook, Ill.-based real estate investment trust, has closed the purchase of a 15-building industrial portfolio from CalEAST Industrial Investors LLC for $45.6 million late Monday. CalEAST is a joint venture...

EnCana shedding pipeline assets.
July 10, 2002... Calgary, Alberta-based energy giant EnCana Corp. said Tuesday it plans to sell its stakes in two western Canadian pipelines to raise about C$1.3 billion for exploration. EnCana, which was formed earlier this year through the merger of Alberta...

Energy East details early results of RGS merger.
July 10, 2002... Albany, N.Y., utility Energy East Corp. announced Tuesday the preliminary results of its $1.4 billion merger with RGS Energy Group Inc. of Rochester, N.Y. Exchange agent Mellon Investor Services LLC estimates that RGS shareholders will...

Globe Tool and Manufacturing sold.
July 10, 2002... Wilson Greatbatch Technologies Inc., a Clarence, N.Y., supplier of power sources for medical device implants, said Tuesday that it has acquired a company that makes titanium cases for implants in a transaction valued at about $57 million. WGT...

Isagro.
July 10, 2002... MILAN -- Shareholders of Italian agrochemical manufacturer Isagro SpA have approved plans for an initial public offering on the Milan stock exchange. An Isagro spokesman said Tuesday that the IPO is expected to take place by the end of this...

Israel.
July 10, 2002... Venture capital investment fell 36% to $217 million in the second quarter from the first three months of the year, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers Kesselman & Kesselman. The figure represents the lowest amount of investment...

Kingsway gets Solutions Lab.
July 10, 2002... Hong Kong financial services firm Kingsway International Holdings Ltd. said Tuesday it has acquired Singapore-based Solutions Lab Pte. Ltd. through its HK Weaver Group Ltd. subsidiary for $5.76 million. Kingsway said it paid $760,000 in cash...

Korea.
July 10, 2002... The Ministry of Environment in Korea said Monday it will raise an W11 billion ($9.2 million) fund to invest in venture firms with potential for developing environmental technology, the Korea Herald reported. The new fund comprises W4 billion...

LVMH increases its Fendi stake.
July 10, 2002... French luxury goods group LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA increased its majority holding in Italian leather goods maker Fendi SpA to 66.9% with the acquisition of the 15.9% stake held by Franca Fendi, one of five family shareholders. A...

Malone's Liberty reworks ACTV deal.
July 10, 2002... Liberty Media Corp. Tuesday revised terms for its previously announced agreement to acquire the stock of digital media company ACTV Inc. it doesn't already own, reducing the original consideration by 17.5% and extending its period of...