The Daily Deal articles from March 2002

The Daily Deal archives from March 2002

Matlack likely to file liquidation plan.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray For the fourth time in 12 months, a Delaware judge has approved a request by bankrupt Matlack Systems Inc. to extend the exclusive period for what will likely be the filing of a liquidation plan. In a motion,...

Sempra unit feeds off Enron's carcass.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Claire Poole HOUSTON ? Sempra Energy Trading, a unit of San Diego utility Sempra Energy, said March 18 it agreed to acquire the metals concentrate business of Enron Metals & Commodity Corp., a unit of Houston-based Enron Corp.,...

Bankrupt AremisSoft eyes plan confirmation.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas Bankrupt AremisSoft Corp., a Minneapolis-based software company under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for accounting irregularities, said it will ask a Newark, N.J., court to hold a hearing on...

Metromedia is sinking again.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Leon Lazaroff The fortunes of the telecommunications industry have fallen so far that Metromedia Fiber Network Inc. is warning that it may file for bankruptcy even though it received a hefty funding package in October. The...

Conseco asks bondholders for more time.
March 18, 2002... Byline: David Weidner Under pressure to make up a $300 million shortfall, Conseco Inc. on March 18 unveiled a sweeping program to extend its debt repayment deadlines. Meanwhile, the company said it would continue to buy back debt at a...

IPO Pick of the Week: Alcon Inc.
March 18, 2002... Byline: David Menlow This week brings the 210 million share offering of Travelers Property and Casualty from Salomon Smith Barney. Travelers went public in April 1996 as Travelers Aetna, was bought out and is to the public market as a...

Travelers, Alcon have much to prove.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Heidi Moore Initial public offerings will be heavy with symbolism this week, when two multibillion-dollar carveouts may reveal hidden value in their parent companies as well as the extent of Wall Street's appetite for equities. ...

Drug-induced delusions.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Lloyd M. Krieger The tribulations of biotechnology high-flyer ImClone are a useful warning to investors. Biotech companies have many of the same valuation problems that Internet companies did. And current investor enthusiasm...

Reputation risk.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Hollis Rafkin-Sax It's easy to view the fall of Enron as a mystery novel or a thriller, with shocking new revelations emerging daily. But the saga is better seen as a textbook with urgent lessons, and surely one chapter is on the...

U.S. went by the rules in safeguarding steel.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Byline Here In light of the president's decision [March 5] to impose steel safeguards, many are understandably interested in the signals for U.S. policy. The reality is that the United States has long been the market of first and...

Santos offers $80M for Esenjay Exploration.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Giles Parkinson and Claire Poole SYDNEY ? Australian oil and gas producer Santos Ltd. said March 18 it would purchase Esenjay Exploration Inc. of the U.S. for $80 million. Adelaide-based Santos, advised by Merrill Lynch, said...

Tibco, Talarian deal faces new scrutiny.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Eric Young in San Francisco U.S. antitrust investigators requested additional information about Tibco Software Inc.'s pending $115 million acquisition of Talarian Corp., the two software companies said March 18. Officials at...

In U.K., Andersen may be splintering.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday LONDON ? As Andersen continues to implode, individual departments within its U.K. operations are considering going it alone or merging with other firms. The discussions taking place in Andersen's U.K. offices are...

Sappi buys Potlatch unit.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Padraic Cassidy South African paper giant Sappi Ltd. said March 18 it would acquire Potlatch Corp.'s coated paper business for $480 million cash, closing one Minnesota mill and shifting production to the newest paper-making...

Molson buys Kaiser for $757M.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Laura King TORONTO ? Canada's Molson Inc. has moved to expand its market share in Brazil with the acquisition of Cervejarias Kaiser SA, the country's second-largest brewer, in a deal valued at C$1.2 billion ($757 million). ...

Network Associates wants rest of McAfee.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Tyson Freeman Computer security company Network Associates Inc. said March 18 that it made an offer to buy the shares it doesn't already own in its publicly traded subsidiary, McAfee.com Corp., in a stock transaction valued around...

Biocompatibles dumps stent dreams.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Peter Moreira in London and Kevin DeGeeter in New York Britain's Biocompatibles International plc sold the rights for an experimental drug-coated stent to its marketing partner Abbott Laboratories for a minimum of $234.5 million,...

MSC takes on Mechanical Dynamics.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Tyson Freeman Amid a five-month long U.S. antitrust investigation, computer simulation software developer MSC.Software Corp. announced March 18 it would acquire rival Mechanical Dynamics Inc. for $120 million in cash to expand its...

Sabre pays arb's premium for Travelocity.
March 18, 2002... Byline: David Shabelman In the end, Sabre Holdings Corp. simply had to succumb to the arbs. About the only way the Southlake, Texas-based travel service vendor was ever going to acquire the 30% stake in Travelocity.com Inc. it didn't...

PE firms, telecoms prep bids for Cesky Telecom.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Brian Cattell LONDON ? Several of Europe's biggest private equity firms and their telecom partners are finishing preparations for offers for Czech phone operator Cesky Telecom asa in an effort to meet an end-of-the-month deadline....

Hawaiian Airlines won't extend Aloha's deadline.
March 18, 2002... Byline: David Marcus Hawaiian Airlines Inc. announced late March 16 that it wouldn't extend an April 18 deadline to complete its $200 million merger with Aloha Airgroup Inc. Aloha has not yet responded to Hawaiian's refusal to extend...

eBay buys into EachNet.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen HONG KONG ? After watching from the sidelines, U.S. online auction company eBay Inc. took the plunge into China on March 18, announcing the acquisition of a 33% stake in Chinese auction site EachNet for $30...

China Mobile taps Goldman, CICC for deal.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong The next phase in the consolidation of China's welter of mobile telephone companies began in earnest March 18 with the appointment of Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley affiliate China...

SCH boosts stake in Fenosa.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Mike Elkin MADRID ? Spain's largest bank, Santander Central Hispano SA, has increased its stake in domestic power company Uni?n El?ctrica Fenosa SA while cutting back its exposure to a generator in Italy. The Madrid-based bank...

GM talks with Daewoo advance.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon SEOUL ? The Korea Development Bank, Daewoo Motor Co.'s lead creditor, said March 18 that negotiations to sell assets of South Korea's third-largest automaker to General Motors Corp. have made considerable progress. A...

Libbey victory may open door to fix-it solutions.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Jaret Seiberg in Washington A victory for Libbey Inc. in its fight with the Federal Trade Commission would not just permit it to acquire Newell Rubbermaid Inc.'s Anchor-Hocking unit. It could also alter how companies resolve...

Hynix, Micron talks proceed, new hurdles loom.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon SEOUL ? The lengthy talks between ailing South Korean memory chipmaker Hynix Semiconductor Inc. and rival Micron Technology Inc. of the U.S. are destined to continue for a few more weeks despite the progress in the...

Industri Kapital hooks Labeyrie.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Alan Tillier PARIS ? Sweden's Industri Kapital just can't get enough fish. The Stockholm-based private equity shop said March 18 it had acquired 67% of Labeyrie, France's No. 1 producer of smoked salmon and foie gras, from...

PE Auction Block - March 19, 2002.
March 18, 2002... Byline: George White ? Full Auction Block listings NEW ON THE BLOCK Sprint Corp.'s directory publishing unit Bankers: Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown and Salomon Smith Barney Inc. Stage: Sprint announced sales plans in...

Reckson haunted by ill-fated diversification.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke The bankruptcy last week of HQ Global Holdings Inc., a temporary-space company, may have been a high-profile embarrassment for the Rechler family, but it's only one of several matters that the clan's Reckson...

Harvest to pay $436M for Associate Materials.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Ron Orol After a three-month auction, vinyl siding maker Associated Materials Inc. has agreed to be acquired by an affiliate of private equity house Harvest Partners Inc. in a transaction worth $436 million. The $50-per-share...

Polaris Networks raises $52M in VC.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio By zeroing in on the major telecom carriers' critical need for cost savings, startup Polaris Networks Inc. found an anchor for its next-generation optical transport switching systems and beat its own financing...

Morgan Stanley powering up SynQor.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Lou Whiteman A Massachusetts-based company making power converters for energy-hungry telecom gear has secured another $18 million in venture capital funding from Morgan Stanley Capital Partners. SynQor Inc. of Hudson, Mass.,...

New laundering rules draw VCs' interest.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Katherine Goncharoff New U.S. anti-money laundering regulations coming into force this year may well result in a raft of new venture capital investments in financial compliance software and analytic systems startups, according to...

Goldman sees light in photonics startups.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Photonics developer Alphion Corp. found new light in the dim market for telecommunications network component startups, landing $15 million in a deal led by Goldman, Sachs & Co. and semiconductor specialist Tallwood...

Millennium Partners sues meVC over fees.
March 18, 2002... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio In the latest legal tussle between a venture fund and its investors, New York investment firm Millennium Partners LP has sued the management of publicly traded meVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson, demanding repayment of...

GE Medical wins MedicaLogic assets.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan GE Medical Systems Technologies Inc. beat off a determined challenge by Misys plc of the U.K. for the remaining assets of bankrupt MedicaLogic/Medscape Inc. and ended up winning the hotly contested auction with a...

Celadon buys assets of bankrupt Burlington.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas Celadon Group Inc., an Indianapolis-based trucking company, announced March 19 that it has purchased certain assets of bankrupt Burlington Motor Carriers Inc. from Foothill Capital Corp., one of the Daleville,...

Chiquita peels out of Ch. 11.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Only 111 days after filing for bankruptcy, Chiquita Brands International Inc. emerged from Chapter 11 protection March 19. The Cincinnati-based parent of the world's second-largest banana producer said in a...

Kaiser gets spending money.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke A federal judge granted Kaiser Aluminum Corp. access to all $300 million of its debtor-in-possession financing facility that it has with Bank of America Corp. The DIP carries a 24-month term and bears an interest...

Global bankruptcy hearing rescheduled, again.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Cheryl Meyer Creditors of insolvent telecom company Global Crossing Ltd. got a second reprieve March 19 when the company's bankruptcy hearing on bidding procedures was rescheduled for March 25. It was the second time in a...

Softbank may sell Aozora Bank stake.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Anthony Rowley TOKYO - Japanese Internet investment firm Softbank is negotiating a sale of its nearly 50% stake in Aozora Bank - formerly Nippon Credit Bank - in order to reduce debt, a newspaper reported March 19. Softbank...

Blame continues over failed Australian airline.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Giles Parkinson SYDNEY ? A war of words has erupted between the administrators of Ansett Holdings Ltd. and its former parent, Air New Zealand Ltd., as the remaining assets of the collapsed airline are prepared for sale. A...

Vitro adopts 'shrink-to-grow' plan.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Daniel J. McCosh Grupo Vitro makes glass. Not for fiber-optic cables, but the more mundane kind used for drinking glasses and car windows. What's more, Mexico's largest glassmaker has decided it likes it that way and is...

Digital dilemma.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Craig R. Barrett Some in the content community have suggested that the information technology industry does not care about reducing piracy of copyrighted works, that we actually promote piracy to grow our industry. Nothing could be...

A few good frauds.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Jonny Frank and Michael Carey Is there such a thing in the M&A world as good fraud? In a word, yes. Put simply, good frauds create opportunities to buy undervalued companies and cut costs. Bad frauds, in contrast, dilute the value...

The rebound ingredients are all in place.
March 19, 2002... At last, manufacturing is back in the black. After falling 7.5% over the previous 15 months, [a March 15 Federal Reserve report] shows manufacturing output grew by 0.3% both in February and in January based on revised estimates. ...

Daewoo terms mostly unchanged.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon SEOUL ? Daewoo Motor Co. President Young Kook Lee said March 19 that a final contract to sell assets of South Korea's third-largest automaker to General Motors Corp. will largely conform to a $400 million initial...

GUS plc, Homestore sign deal.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Peter Moreira and David Shabelman SAN FRANCISCO -- Continuing to dispose of noncore properties, Homestore.com Inc. on March 19 sold its ConsumerInfo.com Inc. credit report Web site to Experian for $130 million. Experian is the...

Avanex snags Oplink.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Sarah Cohen Avanex Corp. said March 19 it has agreed to acquire Oplink Communications Inc. for $286 million in stock in a push to boost sales, cut costs and gain low-cost manufacturing space. Avanex is a Fremont, Calif., maker...

EchoStar-Hughes depends on third-party sources.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Peter Lauria With opposition growing to its proposed merger with Hughes Electronics Corp., EchoStar Communications Corp. used a proxy statement to rehearse its arguments for the deal, primarily citing intense competition from cable...

Andersen split faces legal pitfalls.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Charles Sisk in Boston and Nicola Hobday in London KPMG said March 19 it hopes to acquire Andersen's non-U.S. operations by October, but just how KPMG can protect itself against liability stemming from the collapse of Enron Corp....

Alcoa wraps up Ivex for $790M.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Josh Kosman Alcoa Inc. plans to pay about $790 million for most of Ivex Packaging Corp., representing about an eight times Ebitda multiple in an auction that met expectations. Comparable plastics and packaging companies are...

HP claims victory in proxy vote.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Olaf de Senerpont Domis in San Francisco Little more than an hour after Hewlett-Packard Co.'s shareholder ballots boxes were shut March 19, the Silicon Valley technology titan claimed victory in its $21 billion quest to acquire...

Jones Apparel buys pair of Vanderbilt jeans.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Katie Anderson Continuing a four-year acquisition streak, clothing maker Jones Apparel Group Inc. will buy Gloria Vanderbilt Apparel Corp. The target and its trademark -- emblematic of the 1980s -- will cost Jones $138 million,...

AK Capital near $400M Hanbo deal.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon SEOUL ? AK Capital llc is poised to sign a preliminary agreement to acquire Hanbo Iron & Steel Co., the company that kicked off the 1997 financial crisis, in a $400 million deal. A source close to the talks said...

BRE, Eastbridge in joint Elektrim bid.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Patricia Koza WARSAW ? Poland's BRE Bank said March 19 that it agreed to join with Dutch investment fund Eastbridge NV to bid for a stake in the telecom assets of failed Polish conglomerate Elektrim SA. BRE president Wojciech...

Crane maker Grove gets big lift.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Greg Johnson Half a year out of bankruptcy, Grove Worldwide llc has a new owner. The Shady Grove, Pa., supplier of mobile construction cranes is being sold to Wisconsin rival Manitowoc Co. for $270 million. Manitowoc, which...

French regulators revising takeover rules.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Alan Tillier PARIS ? With a bit of luck, France will have a new set of takeover rules by the time a new government takes office in June. Regulators are working to reform the rules before the presidential and parliamentary...

Deal Traveler ? March 19, 2002.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Erica Schlesinger North America Contrans Corp. will acquire the trucking assets of Calgary, Alberta-based Tri-Line Expressways Ltd. from KPMG llp of Canada, the interim receiver of the assets. The Globe and Mail reported the...

Delaware OKs Pepco's $2.2B Conectiv buy.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Claire Poole Wilmington, Del., utility Conectiv said March 19 the Delaware Public Service Commission voted to clear its $2.2 billion acquisition by Washington, D.C., utility Potomac Electric Power Co., or Pepco. The approval...

Acesa launches counterbid for Iberpistas.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Mike Elkin MADRID ? Autopistas Concesionaria Espa?ola SA, Spain's largest highway maintenance company, March 19 launched an unsolicited takeover bid for Iberica de Autopistas SA, or Iberpistas, in an effort to break up its target's...

Rural telecom enemies make peace.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Padraic Cassidy Alltel Corp. resolved its hostilities with CenturyTel Inc. on March 19, at least temporarily giving up on its fight for all of its rival by buying a portion of the company's wireless business for $1.65 billion. ...

Goldman holds its balance sheet close to its vest.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Josh Kosman As the auction for Tyco Plastics takes shape, it appears that only one of the company's bankers is offering "staple-on" financing, or committing money to lend to a potential buyer. Deutsche Bank AG is guaranteeing...

Berry Plastics up for sale.
March 19, 2002... Byline: David Carey and Josh Kosman Eleven years after First Atlantic Capital Ltd. orchestrated a $53.2 million leveraged buyout of container maker Berry Plastics Corp., the New York private equity firm hopes to fetch up to $800 million for...

Audax to buy pump, vacuum company.
March 19, 2002... Byline: John E. Morris The private equity wing of Boston's Audax Group has made twin purchases of a compressor company in the U.S. and an industrial vacuum pump company in Germany and will combine the businesses. Audax is buying the...

Private Equity In Play - March 19, 2002.
March 19, 2002... Byline: compiled by George White Cavalry plans selective PE deals Hawthorne, N.Y.-based Cavalry Investments llc said Tuesday it has formed a new private equity group. The new unit will focus on the specialty finance sector, according to...

Field of dreams.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Kevin DeGeeter In an age of biohazard concerns, crop sciences hasn't exactly been a growth business, and a number of companies have abandoned the field. But not German giant BASF AG, which saw value in a business where others...

CEOs turn grumpy.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Robert Teitelman CEOs are grumpy these days. In just a few days last week, Qwest Communications International Inc. chairman and CEO Joseph Nacchio described the government investigation into his accounting as "corporate...

Airvana attracts $40M.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Chelmsford, Mass.-based Airvana Inc. turned to prior investors to wrap up $40 million in third-round funding expected to take it to profitability in the second half of 2003. Matrix Partners of Waltham, Mass....

?quipe aims to nibble at rivals.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Lou Whiteman After almost nine months of deliberations and some restructuring, telecom equipment maker ?quipe Communications Corp. has closed its Series C round with $40 million in new capital in the bank. New investor Sequoia...

In European biotech, drug products trump all.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Joshua Jaffe Startups developing products based on proprietary technologies are currently the most attractive investment prospects within the biotechnology sector, according to venture capitalists who gathered Tuesday in Munich for...

Accenture cuts venture investing.
March 19, 2002... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio After making a big splash in the corporate venture arena in the late '90s, Accenture Ltd. said March 19 it is halting new investments and selling its venture portfolio amid losses. The Hamilton, Bermuda-based...

Private Capital People - March 20, 2002.
March 19, 2002... Byline: George White Movers and Shakers - March 19, 2002 San Francisco-based venture capital firm Financial Technology Ventures is rolling out the welcome mat for Bob Barrett, a communications and software professional who helped...

Akceli.
March 19, 2002... Cambridge, Mass.-based Akceli Inc., a cellular systems biology company, has completed a $6.5 million Series A Financing round led by Atlas Venture. The company said the financing, to be used to develop and exploit the company's proprietary...

Allianz increases take in Spain's Banco Popular.
March 19, 2002... German insurer Allianz AG increased its stake in Spain's Banco Popular Espanol SA on Monday after paying [Euro]353.7 million ($312 million), or [Euro]39.3 per share, to Bayerische Hypo und Vereinsbank AG. With this additional 4.1% of Spain's...

Aquila sets final terms on Midlands acquisition.
March 19, 2002... Kansas City, Mo., electric giant Aquila Inc. said Monday it finalized terms on its purchase of 79.9% of Avon Energy Partners Holdings, parent of British utility Midlands Electricity plc, from FirstEnergy Corp. of Akron, Ohio, for $264 million....

Arkivio.
March 19, 2002... Mountain View, Calif.-based Arkivio, a developer of storage management software, has closed a $9.5 million second round of funding, bringing its total equity financing to $12.5 million. Voyager Capital, an e-business venture capital firm, led...

Contrado.
March 19, 2002... Irving, Texas based Contrado Inc., a supply-chain management software company, has received an additional $2.7 million for its $7.7 million Series A round of funding. Investors in the extended round include Feld Ventures, Mobius Venture Capital...

Danielson launches bid for towboat operator ACL.
March 19, 2002... New York financial and insurances company Danielson Holding Corp. said Monday it is launching a buyout of closely held, Jefferson, Ind., riverboat tow operator American Commercial Lines llc. Danielson said it is parting with $7 million in cash...

Diageo to sell its Glen Ellen wine business.
March 19, 2002... London-based spirits maker Diageo plc said it will sell its Glen Ellen wines to privately held Franzia Winery, based in Ripon, Calif. Diageo said the sale included the Glen Ellen and MG Vallejo brands and the Glen Ellen inventory, but not the...

Enuvis.
March 19, 2002... Wireless software developer Enuvis Inc. of South San Francisco, Calif., has announced its second round of funding. The company, which creates location software for mobile devices, raised $15 million from venture capital firms Greylock Capital...

Sanera Systems Inc.
March 19, 2002... Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Sanera Systems Inc. has raised $10 million in new equity from Goldman, Sachs & Co., joining earlier investors Enterprise Partners Venture Capital, Greylock, Storm Ventures, CMEA, E*Trade, Acorn Venture Partners and other...

UK seeks to review Carnival's P&O Princess bid.
March 19, 2002... The British government wants its own competition authorities to review cruise operator Carnival Corp.'s [pound]4.8 billion ($6.8 billion) bid for British rival P&O Princess Cruises plc. The Department of Trade and Industry said in a statement...