The Daily Deal articles from July 2002

The Daily Deal archives from July 2002

Altrimega cancels AMW deal, announces another.
July 31, 2002... Earlier this year, Amarillo, Texas-based Altrimega Health Corp. wanted to be a telecommunications company. Now it wants to be in the resorts business. Altrimega said Tuesday that a merger agreement with Advanced Messaging Wireless Inc. has...

AngloGold increases Cerro stake.
July 31, 2002... South Africa's AngloGold Ltd. said Tuesday it has bought Perez Companc International's 46.25% stake in Argentina's Cerro Vanguardia gold mine for $90 million. AngloGold said it now owns 92.5% of Cerro Vanguardia. Fomento Minero de Santa Cruz...

Campbell Soup unit finishes Snack Foods buy.
July 31, 2002... Campbell Soup Co. announced Tuesday that its Australian subsidiary, Arnott's Biscuits Holdings Pty Ltd., has received more than 90% of the shares of Australian salty snack maker Snack Foods Ltd. Campbell said total consideration for Arnott's...

Dundee Wealth nears Canadian First takeover.
July 31, 2002... Toronto's Dundee Wealth Management Inc. said Tuesday that 98.72% of the outstanding shares of Canadian First Financial Group Inc. have been tendered during its C$11 million ($6.9 million) offer. Dundee will acquire the remaining shares under...

FEI buys Oregon property.
July 31, 2002... FEI Co., a Hillsboro, Ore., equipment supplier to semiconductor manufacturers, said Tuesday that it has purchased land in its headquarters town from Tokyo Electron Ltd. to consolidate its operations. FEI said it would make $23 million in...

Frictionless Commerce.
July 31, 2002... Cambridge, Mass.-based Frictionless Commerce, a provider of enterprise sourcing software, has secured $14.4 million in additional funding led by its current investor Polaris Venture Partners. The round also included participation by Olympus...

Homestead Technologies.
July 31, 2002... Web site software and hosting company Homestead Technologies Inc. of Menlo Park, Calif., has raised $5.4 million in a fifth round from Institutional Venture Partners, Meritech Capital, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and other previous investors. The...

Hotsip.
July 31, 2002... Stockholm-based Hotsip AB, a developer of infrastructure applications for mobile devices, said Tuesday it had raised [Euro]4.5 million ($4.44 million) in follow-on funding from several of its investors. 3i Group plc, Argnor Wireless Ventures...

IMG purchases Napster clone.
July 31, 2002... IMG Entertainment revealed Tuesday that it has bought Napster Inc. clone Songspy.com for an undisclosed sum. Unlike Napster, which angered some artists and was sued by recording companies over copyright infringement, Songspy.com was smart...

Lend Lease buys Miami landmark.
July 31, 2002... An Australian real estate investment trust fund run by Lend Lease Real Estate Investments of Atlanta is in a deal to acquire the First Union Financial Center in Miami for about $294 million from The Shorenstein Co., according to sources. The...

MediaQ.
July 31, 2002... Santa Clara, Calif.-based MediaQ Inc., a developer of wireless chips, has raised $15 million in a fourth round of financing. The investment was led by El Dorado Ventures, with Weston Presidio Capital, Summit Accelerator Fund, ViVentures,...

Mexico's Cemex grabs Puerto Rican Cement.
July 31, 2002... Mexican cement maker Cemex SA de CV has completed a $250 million purchase of Puerto Rican Cement Co. The deal was first disclosed June 11. Cemex of Monterrey, Mexico, said its $35 a share tender offer for PRCC that began July 2 expired...

Savvydata.
July 31, 2002... Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Savvydata Inc. has raised $1 million in a private equity round from private investors. The developer of RedAlert data security software will use the funds to maintain overall corporate operations and development...

Sensys Medical.
July 31, 2002... Medical device manufacturer Sensys Medical Inc. has raised $31 million in a new fourth round of funding and completed its name change, the company said Tuesday. The Chandler, Ariz.-based developer of glucose monitoring systems, formerly known...

Starwood Hotels sheds CIGA assets.
July 31, 2002... Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. has managed to unload its CIGA properties in Italy but at a price far below what it hoped. The White Plains, N.Y.-based hotel and leisure group said Tuesday it's selling the 25 luxury hotels, golf...

U.K.'s Kallo Foods is bought out.
July 31, 2002... Dutch food group Koninklijke Wessanen NV is continuing its natural foods kick. The Amstelveen, Netherlands, company said Tuesday it has agreed to acquire U.K. organic foods supplier Kallo Foods Ltd. for an undisclosed amount of cash. While...

Winmark injects $6M into Archiver.
July 31, 2002... Winmark Corp., a Golden Valley, Minn., backer of retail store chains, said Tuesday that it plans to pump $6 million into photography service specialist Archiver's in the next 12 months. The move would give Winmark a 20% stake in Archiver's...

iSymmetrics is acquired by First American.
July 31, 2002... First American Default Technology Group, a Dallas provider of mortgage industry software, said Tuesday it has acquired iSymmetrics Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Merrillville, Ind.-based iSymmetrics offers an online mortgage invoice management...

Canmine to seek protection from creditors.
July 31, 2002... Byline: Laura King Mine and refinery operator Canmine Resources Corp. of London, Ontario, said Monday, July 29, that it will seek protection from creditors under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act. In a brief statement, Canmine...

Budget seeks $1.2B financing package.
July 31, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Budget Group Inc. is seeking approval for a financing package that would give it nearly $1.2 billion in funds to use while in bankruptcy, including a $443 million debtor-in-possession loan, according to a motion...

Mpower exits quickly.
July 31, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Broadband provider Mpower Holding Corp. emerged from bankruptcy Tuesday, July 30, less than four months after it filed for Chapter 11 protection. Under Mpower's reorganization plan, about 90% of the company's...

Network Access to keep key personnel.
July 31, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke A Delaware judge approved retention and severance measures Monday, July 29, that will let bankrupt Network Access Solutions Inc.retain critical personnel while it tries to reorganize. Judge Mary Walrath in the...

Sunterra rises from Ch. 11.
July 31, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Sunterra Corp., the world's largest owner and manager of time-share resorts, turned to $300 million in exit financing from a unit of Merrill Lynch & Co. to help it emerge from its 26-month battle with Chapter 11...

Vanguard Air stalls out.
July 31, 2002... Byline: Lou Whiteman ATLANTA -- Vanguard Airlines Inc. on Tuesday, July 30, became the third airline to shutter operations since Sept. 11. Yet industry experts were divided over whether the terrorist attacks were ultimately responsible...

Broadband Wireless gets prepack OK.
July 31, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas Broadband Wireless International Corp., which filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 on May 7, had its reorganization plan confirmed Tuesday, July 30, according to courthouse sources in Oklahoma City. Lawyers and...

Global Crossing ready for auction.
July 31, 2002... Byline: Cheryl Meyer LOS ANGELES -- Global Crossing Ltd. heads to auction Wednesday, July 31, to weigh what is likely to be no more than a handful of bids. "I wouldn't be surprised if Global Crossing ultimately tries to come back on...

Pinnacle reorg plan OK'd; Pinnacle reorg plan approved.
July 31, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Pinnacle Holdings Inc.'s reorganization plan was confirmed Tuesday, July 30. The ruling by Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan means New York...

Chinese battery maker set to trade.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen HONG KONG -- China's largest battery manufacturer set the per share price Tuesday, July 30, for its HK$1.4 billion ( $180 million) initial public offering. BYD Co. officially announced Tuesday that it set...

Two major media IPOs uncertain.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Padraic Cassidy A shakeup at the top at German media group Bertelsmann AG and the suspension of talks to carve out a piece of AT&T Corp.'s stake in Time Warner Entertainment have combined to stall temporarily discussions of two...

Japan Telecom denies TEPCO talk.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Charles Smith TOKYO -- Vodafone Group plc's Japanese affiliate, Japan Telecom Co., denied Tuesday, July 30, it plans to sell its fixed-line business to Tokyo Electric Power Co., Japan's largest power-generating company. The...

Royal KPN buys KPNQwest's Dutch assets.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Renee Cordes Dutch telecom company Royal KPN NV agreed Tuesday, July 30, to buy the Dutch assets of bankrupt KPNQwest NV for an undisclosed amount, with its eye on additional assets in Belgium, Germany and the U.K. Royal KPN...

Italy strikes up tobacco auction.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Heather O'Brian MILAN -- The Italian government has thrown open the bidding for the country's state-owned tobacco company, which is expected to raise about [Euro]1.4 billion ($1.38 billion) and kick off a string of...

SCA buys German packager.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Patricia Koza and Padraic Cassidy Stockholm paper and packaging giant Svenska Cellulosa AB, or SCA, said Tuesday, July 30, it has purchased its German privately owned packaging rival Verpackung + Display Stabernack Jr Partner GmbH...

DQE gets $205M for water unit.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Claire Poole Pittsburgh electric utility DQE Inc. said Tuesday, July 30, it agreed to sell 85% of its water and wastewater unit, AquaSource Inc., to Bryn Mawr, Pa., water utility Philadelphia Suburban Corp. for an estimated $205...

Hershey bets hinge on Kit-Kat clause.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Scott Stuart See today's Arbitrage situations chart. The probable sale of Hershey Foods Corp. has piqued the interest of risk arbitrageurs. "It's a great name -- you keep coming back to that," one arb said. But, he...

Guidant deal a potential powerhouse.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Andrew Morse Cardiovascular device maker Guidant Corp. said Tuesday, July 30, it agreed to buy Cook Group Inc. for up to $3 billion in stock, creating a Midwestern powerhouse in the potentially huge drug-coated stent market. ...

IBM snares PwC Consulting.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Eric Young and Olaf de Senerpont Domis Striking a deal that would significantly expand its consulting business, International Business Machines Corp. has agreed to acquire PricewaterhouseCoopers' global consulting unit for $3.5...

Netro rejects takeover bid.
July 30, 2002... Byline: David Shabelman Wireless equipment maker Netro Corp. said late Tuesday, July 30, it has rejected an unsolicited acquisition offer worth $244 million from Wyndcrest Holdings LLC. San Jose-based Netro said its board of...

Wellspring buys food distribution biz.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Kelly Holman Minneapolis-based International Multifoods Corp. announced Tuesday, July 30, that it has agreed to sell its Denver food service distribution business to an affiliate of New York private equity firm Wellspring...

Private Capital People - July 31, 2002.
July 30, 2002... Byline: George White July 30, 2002 Early-stage venture capital firm Trinity Ventures has promoted Tom Cole to general partner. Cole joined Trinity Ventures in 1998 to manage investments in enterprise software and systems. Cole has...

Idealab lawsuit heats up.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Rob Walzer and Cheryl Meyer A group of investors in Pasadena, Calif.-based Idealab Inc. who are trying to liquidate the business incubator have filed an amended lawsuit alleging additional fraud, and, in one instance, an...

Inoveon reaps $16M.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Tyson Freeman Fewer than half of all diabetics seek an ophthalmologist to be tested for retinal diabetes, yet the asymptomatic condition leads to blindness if untreated. Inoveon Corp. is hoping to reach that market by making...

Connexn brings in $11.4M.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Katherine Goncharoff Boosting telecommunications companies' revenues is what Connexn Technologies Inc. claims to do best. So, given the industry's troubled status, a group of venture capitalists led by Advent International...

Biotech Zyomyx raises $27M.
July 30, 2002... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Zyomyx Inc. of Hayward, Calif. said Tuesday, July 30, it has raised $27 million in a fifth round of funding to help it commercialize biotech industrial tools that will help pharmaceutical developers...

AEP completes $2.18B sale of Seeboard.
July 30, 2002... Columbus, Ohio, utility American Electric Power Co. said Monday it completed the sale of Seeboard, its retail electricity and gas supplier and distributor in southeast England, to London Electricity Group plc, a unit of electricite de France,...

Abbott closes equity fund.
July 30, 2002... A little more than a year after Abbott Capital Management LLC launched its offering for its fourth private equity fund-of-funds, the 16-year-old New York-based investment management firm has closed Abbott Capital Private Equity Fund IV at...

Alliance & Leicester sells unit.
July 30, 2002... British mortgage lender Alliance & Leicester plc said it is selling its credit card business so it can focus on its core businesses of retail loans, deposits and mortgages. The Financial Times reported the business will be sold to Wilmington,...

Attenda.
July 30, 2002... Software developer Attenda Ltd. of Staines, U.K., said Monday it has raised pound sterling9 million ($14 million), bringing its total fund raising to pound sterling29 million since the company's founding in 1997. M/C Venture Partners of...

Deutsche Telekom negotiating sale of cable units.
July 30, 2002... Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG said Monday it is in talks with five international consortia interested in buying its six remaining regional cable operators. The Bonn-based company said it selected the five from nine nonbinding offers that were...

Duke Street invests debt fund.
July 30, 2002... LONDON -- British private equity firm Duke Street Capital Debt Management said Monday its [Euro]1 billion ($978 million) collateralized debt obligation fund was fully invested as of July 10. The fund, Duchess I, is invested in euro and...

Fontik Data.
July 30, 2002... Tel Aviv-based Fontik Data has raised $1 million from private individuals in a first round that came at a $5 million valuation. One of the backers, which was organized by former Visa ICC managing director Yaakov Dior, was former Israeli...

HyPerformix.
July 30, 2002... Austin, Texas-based HyPerformix Inc., an enterprise software developer, said Monday it has completed a $12 million second round. Morgan Stanley Venture Partners and M/C Venture Partners invested. HyPerformix's software aims to boost the...

InnerWireless.
July 30, 2002... Wireless systems and services company InnerWireless Inc., of Richardson, Texas, has received $7 million in new equity capital from New York firm Rho Ventures. InnerWireless will use the funds to expand sales efforts and speed deployment of...

Macerich closes $1.475B Westcor purchase.
July 30, 2002... Macerich Co. said Monday it closed its $1.475 billion purchase of shopping center owner Westcor Realty LP. The purchase price includes the assumption of $733 million in debt and the issuance of $72 million in convertible preferred stock. At...

Metavante gets online bill payer.
July 30, 2002... Metavante Corp., the financial technology subsidiary of Marshall & Ilsley Corp., said Monday it had acquired the assets of Spectrum EBP LLC, a system for exchanging online bills and payments. Terms were not disclosed. Atlanta-based Spectrum...

Metrobility Optical Systems.
July 30, 2002... Merrimack, N.H.-based Metrobility Optical Sytems Inc. said Monday it has raised $3.5 million. North Atlantic Capital led the round, which also featured Sierra Ventures and CEI Ventures. The maker of networking products for fiber-optic systems...

New life for assets of Big V stores.
July 30, 2002... Wakefern Food Corp. said late July 26 it closed its $185 million purchase of bankrupt supermarket owner Big V Holdings Inc. The purchase includes substantially all of Big V's assets, including 27 stores in New York and New Jersey. The move...

Panacya.
July 30, 2002... Columbia, Md.-based Panacya Inc., which develops intelligent application performance management software, completed an $11 million round led by Lazard Technology Partners. Current investor The European Technology Fund Group retuned. Panacya's...

Qlusters.
July 30, 2002... Tel Aviv-based Qlusters Inc. has raised $6.15 million in a first round led by Benchmark Capital. Israel Seed Partners also took part. Qlusters makes a collection of standard-off-the-shelf servers look like one single machine, using a...

RFWaves.
July 30, 2002... Yehuda, Israel-based RFWaves Ltd. has completed an $8 million second round led by Sequoia Capital, which accounted for most of the investment, according to a source close to the deal. Four other undisclosed investors joined in. Founded in...

Schroder exits Market Place.
July 30, 2002... The New York affiliate of the London-based private equity group Schroder Ventures Ltd. said Monday that it had sold Market Place Media. The result is that Schroder Ventures US earned an annualized internal rate of return of more than 80% on...

Softricity.
July 30, 2002... Management software developer Softricity Inc. of Boston said it has completed an oversubscribed $14.6 million third round, bringing its funding to $40 million total. New investors TD Capital Technology Ventures and FA Technology Ventures led...

Systech Retail Systems plans restructuring.
July 30, 2002... A Toronto-based developer of software for the retail industry, Systech Retail Systems Inc., said it plans to begin a restructuring to convert $95 million of debt and preferred stock into common stock. The software company's stakeholders...

Laidlaw settles bondholders suit.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Laura King Insolvent Canadian transportation giant Laidlaw Inc., which is restructuring under bankruptcy protection in Canada and the U.S, said Monday, July 29, that it has reached a definitive agreement to settle a securities...

Wakefern closes on Big V.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Wakefern Food Corp. said late Friday, July 26, it closed its $185 million purchase of bankrupt supermarket owner Big V Holdings Inc. The purchase includes substantially all of Big V's assets, including 27 stores in...

American Tissue plant fetches $11.3M.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Bankrupt American Tissue Corp. won court approval Monday, July 29, on the $11.25 million, all-cash auction-sale of its Wisconsin paper mill as it marches toward Chapter 11 liquidation by year's end. Visiting...

KKR-backed telecom goes bust.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Kelly Holman On Monday, July 29, Birch Telecom Inc., a portfolio company of New York private equity house Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., said that it had filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 reorganization in Wilmington, Del. The...

Couche-Tard wins Dairy Mart auction.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., a Quebec-based convenience store operator, emerged as the winner Monday, July 29, in the auction for bankrupt Dairy Mart Stores Inc. with an offer worth about $80 million. There were...

Budget's tires go flat.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Despite speculation for more than a year that rental car industry rival Cendant Corp. would acquire it, Budget Group Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, july 29, in Wilmington, Del. The Daytona...

WorldCom talks begin.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Chris Nolter Negotiations to resolve the largest Chapter 11 filing in history can now begin in earnest. On Monday, July 29, the U.S. Trustee for the second district unveiled the official 15-member committee that will...

France Telecom to sell STMicro stake.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Brian Cattell LONDON -- France Telecom SA took another small step on the long road back to financial health with a move to raise about [Euro]500 million ($493 million) through a sale of its remaining stake in Geneva-based...

Ziff may resort to prepack.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Peter Lauria A Ziff Davis Media Inc. press official acknowledged Monday. July 29, the possibility of seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with a prepackaged plan of reorganization. But possible, she quickly pointed out, does...

Where have all the IPOs gone?
July 29, 2002... Byline: Padraic Cassidy Domestic equity markets belong to secondary offerings this, the week of July 29, with only two initial public offerings -- worth $225 million total -- on tap the week of Aug. 12. First, there is Liposcience...

Rayovac gets jolt from Varta.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Renee Cordes Germany's Varta AG agreed Monday, July 29, to sell its global consumer battery business to Rayovac Corp. for [Euro]262 million ($259 million) in cash, paving the way for the Madison, Wis.-based manufacturer to become...

Unilab-Quest recovers.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Scott Stuart See today's Arbitrage situations chart. The spread on Unilab Corp.'s merger with Quest Diagnostics Inc. narrowed some Monday, July 29, but the antitrust issues remain hazy. The $725 million merger...

Banker: 3 bids for Freedom.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Richard Morgan Media reports last week about strife in family-controlled Freedom Communications Inc., which counts the Orange County Register as the flagship for its 65 newspapers, have already elicited three prospective bids in...

Another kind of British invasion.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Dawn Hayes in London For Rupert Murdoch, the news from London these days provides ample reason to smile. That's because a landmark bill under discussion would shatter Britain's old media-ownership barriers, allowing foreign...

Genesis, Omnicare in bidding war.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Andrew Morse Two companies specializing in pharmacy benefits for elderly patients, Genesis Health Ventures Inc. and Omnicare Inc., entered into a bidding war Monday, July 29, for a struggling drug services firm. The...

Buffett picks up Dynegy unit.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Claire Poole Struggling Houston energy firm Dynegy Inc. said Monday, July 29, it agreed to sell its Northern Natural Gas Co. pipeline to MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., part of billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire...

Poland frets about Lukoil deal.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Patricia Koza WARSAW -- Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller said Monday, July 29, that the government must still assess the "political risks" before it decides whether to permit a sale of the country's No. 2 refinery, Rafineria...

Barclays, B&B likely to merge.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday LONDON -- It may take a while, but British banking giant Barclays plc and smaller rival Bradford & Bingley plc are expected to resume talks that could lead to a takeover worth more than pound sterling2 billion...

Ratings Review - July 30, 2002.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily It's been a year and a half since the completion of the AOL Time Warner Inc. merger. And so far, the marriage appears to have been a major disappointment. There have been management shakeups, class-action...

Placer Dome adds cash to bid.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Laura King In its effort to become the world's fifth-largest gold producer, Vancouver, British Columbia, gold miner Placer Dome Inc. added a cash sweetener Monday, July 29, to its previous all-share takeover offer for Australia's...

M&F unloads Panavision assets.
July 29, 2002... Byline: Cheryl Meyer LOS ANGELES -- Holding company M&F Worldwide Corp. said Monday, July 29, it will sell all the assets of Panavision Inc. to Mafco Holdings Inc. for $90.1 million in cash and an undisclosed amount of M&F common and...