The Daily Deal articles from March 2003

The Daily Deal archives from March 2003

BP-Shell joint venture files Ch. 11.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Claire Poole Olympic Pipe Line Co., a Renton, Wash., fuel transporter owned jointly by BP plc and Royal Dutch/Shell Group, said Friday, March 28, it filed for Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Seattle. Assets were listed...

Farmland auction reaps $295M.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Bankrupt Farmland Industries Inc. said it has reaped about $295 million from an auction of its fertilizer manufacturing and distribution assets. Koch Nitrogen Company of Wichita, Kan., was the top bidder for...

NRG settlement hearing set.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray A $752 million settlement announced Wednesday, March 26, between NRG Energy Inc. and its creditors will have to wait until April 10 to be considered by a bankruptcy judge. At the same time, Judge Gregory...

HealthSouth to miss bond payment.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Medical services company HealthSouth Corp. looks like it needs some critical care. The healthcare giant's bank group, led by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., has turned off the faucet on a $1.25 billion credit facility,...

Kmart ruling illuminates Ch. 11.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Matt Miller When Judge Susan Sonderby denied a request by Kmart Corp. to extend the time the bankrupt retailer could shop some of its leases, she clarified the limits of Chapter 11. The Chicago judge affirmed that certain...

Touch America hints at bankruptcy.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson Troubled Montana telecom Touch America Holdings Inc. on Friday, March 28, lost its association with the New York Stock Exchange after its stock was delisted. That could only be a taste of what lies ahead. ...

US Airways ready for take-off.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Lou Whiteman US Airways Group Inc. has been cleared to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but it still faces a difficult environment that threatens to drive its rivals in the opposite direction. Only seven months after...

Alterra could get new owners.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Alterra Healthcare Inc. could emerge from its rancorous bankruptcy with new owners this summer, according to the reorganization plan filed by the operator of assisted living homes last week. Milwaukee-based...

Kepco unit opts for IPO.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul South Korea has canceled the auction for Korea South-East Power Co. after the four bidders withdrew on economic fears, opting instead to sell part of its stake on the stock market. The decision comes...

Arcelor, CVRD team up on Brazilian steel buy.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Samer Iskandar in Paris Arcelor, the world's largest steelmaker, and Brazilian mining group Cia. Vale do Rio Doce agreed Friday, March 28, to jointly buy nearly 15% of the steelmaking unit of South America's leading producer of...

Murdoch, Malone bury DirecTV rivalry.
March 29, 2003... Byline: Richard Morgan The alignment of John Malone's Liberty Media Corp. with Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. arrived just in time to meet Friday's deadline for DirecTV bids -- had, in fact, a deadline existed. That one didn't became...

Korea Thrunet enters receivership.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul South Korea's No. 3 high-speed Internet access provider, Korea Thrunet Co. Ltd., began operations under court receivership Thursday, March 27 -- three weeks after rejecting an $838 million takeover offer...

Synthonics to seek exit financing.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Synthonics Technologies Inc. plans to file an exit financing motion by mid-April so it can begin planning to emerge from its 29-month stay in Chapter 11. The stereo-3D imaging company has locked in a commitment...

Asbestos grows as due-diligence issue.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas When companies look at mergers and acquisition targets, they need to put a new risk factor on their list: asbestos. That's because the industries best known for asbestos use, such as insulation makers, have...

Key3Media wins DIP.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Trade show owner Key3Media Group Inc. has won final approval for its $30 million debtor-in-possession financing. The order, which Judge Jerry Venters of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in...

Judge rejects Kmart's lease extension request.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas A Chicago judge rejected a request from Kmart Corp. to allow it 270 days after it gets out of bankruptcy, or until Nov. 25, to decide what to do with the leases on 316 stores that the second-largest discount retailer...

Bankrupt Wheeling-Pitt still kicking.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson Bankrupt Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. in the past two days has shown just how much of a political animal it can be, winning a $250 million government loan on Wednesday, March 26, with some help from its friends in...

AMR on the brink of Ch. 11.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Lou Whiteman in Atlanta The dramatic drop in travel bookings since the beginning of hostilities in Iraq has pushed American Airlines parent AMR Corp. to the brink of bankruptcy, according to sources close to the company. ...

UAL, pilots strike deal.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas The leadership of the union representing pilots at UAL Corp.'s United Airlines said Thursday they have reached a tentative agreement with management on a new labor contract. The Air Line Pilots Association didn't...

Auction set for BethSteel.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson If anyone wants a crack at Bethlehem Steel Corp., they need to get their bids in by April 14. Two days later, an auction sale for the bankrupt steelmaker will be held, although the location has yet to be...

Layoff Roundup: week ended March 26.
March 28, 2003... Byline: David Ehrlich Rumors of impending layoffs abound at McDonald's Corp. and Sony Music Entertainment Inc., while HVB Group, Boots Group plc and Royal Dutch/Shell Group all go on the record with their cuts. McDonald's, which in...

Indian media law forces restructuring.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Josey Puliyenthuruthel in Bangalore A new Indian media law will force foreign news broadcasters including Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., Dow Jones Inc. and General Electric Co. to pare down or restructure their local media...

Flowback imperils Publicis plans.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Samer Iskandar in Paris A year after Publicis Groupe SA's acquisition of Bcom3 made it a truly global firm, the French advertiser faces complications from the deal that threaten its next defining moment. The company is...

China Resources revamps with spinoffs.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong China Resources Enterprise Ltd., the oldest listed red-chip stock in Hong Kong, took its most significant step to date toward restructuring itself into a specialty retailer by announcing the...

HVB to float Bank Austria stake.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin Showing the depths of its desperation, unprofitable German bank HVB Group AG unveiled plans Thursday, March 27, to raise an estimated [Euro]1 billion in much-needed cash through an initial public offering...

Six Continents rejects pubs bid.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London It was only a matter of time before entrepreneur Hugh Osmond's hostile bid for the whole of Six Continents plc flushed out another bidder. The hotel and pubs company said Thursday, March 27, it has...

New terms for Brazilian airline merger.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Mike Kepp in Rio de Janeiro Brazil's two largest airlines, Viacao Aerea Rio-Grandense SA, known as Varig, and TAM Linhas Aereas SA, have finalized their merger plan ahead of the deal's expected approval by state regulators within...

Netro deal draws investor howls.
March 28, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman in San Francisco SR Telecom Inc. on Thursday, March 27, said it has agreed to buy Netro Corp. for $121 million in cash and stock, sparking complaints from shareholders who say the target could have earned more by...

Westfield, Simon push Taubman slate.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Simon Property Group Inc. and Westfield America Inc. said Thursday, March 27, they intend to name retired Merrill Lynch & Co. M&A chair Michael Koeneke as one of their four nominees to Taubman Centers Inc.'s board....

Powell presses media deregulation plan.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Ron Orol in Washington Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell reiterated his support Thursday for an agency proposal to loosen rules limiting mergers among media companies. "Many view big as always...

Metrovacesa snubs Italians again.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Danny Fortson in Seville, Spain A fattened [Euro]1.76 billion ($1.88 billion) offer from Italian investors for Spain's Metrovacesa SA isn't enough to overcome the company's opposition to the deal, a spokesman for the real estate...

Dairy merger udderly impossible to avoid.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Laura Board in London Britain's second- and fourth-biggest milk suppliers announced a merger Thursday to combat over-capacity in the market and a squeeze on margins. The agreed deal will see Swedish and Danish-owned dairy...

NBC unlikely to cut Paxson loose.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Richard Morgan NBC and Paxson Communications Corp. have been headed toward splitsville ever since the Peacock plunked down $2 billion in 2001 to take up with Telemundo Communications Group. But now that NBC has a one-week window...

Goldman, JBWere merge in Australia.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Donna Block Australia's oldest and most revered stock brokerage firm, JBWere, ended 163 years of independence Wednesday, March 26, by agreeing to merge with New York-based investment giant Goldman Sachs Group Inc. ...

India's Escorts seeks funds for mobile buildout.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Josey Puliyenthuruthel in Bangalore India's Escorts Group is raising $150 million in equity and debt from the World Bank's private development arm, institutional investors and banks to finance the construction of three cellular...

Prudential to buy Hyundai units.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Roger du Mars Prudential Financial Inc. agreed Thursday, March 27, to pay W500 billion ($402 million) to take a controlling stake in a troubled Hyundai Group financial company as part of its Asian expansion plans. Newark,...

Canada House cautious on bank M&A.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Laura King in Toronto A parliamentary committee examining how the Canadian government vets proposed mergers among big domestic banks said Thursday that consolidation is a "legitimate business strategy" but did not recommend...

FedEx, UPS attack Airborne deal.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Jaret Seiberg in Washington FedEx Corp. and United Parcel Service Inc. have lobbed their opening salvo at Deutsche Post World Wide AG's acquisition of Airborne Inc., asking the federal government to derail the $1 billion deal....

Fox Paine cancels buyout plan.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Kelly Holman San Francisco private equity firm Fox Paine & Co. said Thursday, March 27, it withdrew its proposal to take San Jose, Calif.-based telecommunications components supplier WJ Communications Inc. private in a $21.2...

Alarm companies clamor for deals.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Josh Kosman Honeywell International Inc. is preparing to sell its home security alarm business, making it the third of the top five U.S. alarm companies to look for a buyer, sources said. Based in Minneapolis, Honeywell...

Welsh Carson completes AmeriPath LBO.
March 28, 2003... Byline: David Carey New York private equity firm Welsh Carson Anderson & Stowe completed an LBO of AmeriPath, Inc., valued at about $840 million. The Riviera Beach, Fla.-based manager of physicians' practices said Thursday that...

Koor backs off from Israeli VC funds.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Neal Sandler in Tel Aviv Israeli investment holding company Koor Industries Ltd. has agreed to sell part of its holdings in six local venture capital funds in a move to cut debt. The company, whose largest shareholder is...

Elder Health draws $16M.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Andrew Morse Elder Health, a Baltimore-based health maintenance organization that serves low-income seniors, raised $16 million in a Series F financing round, investors in the company said Thursday, March 27. Returning...

I4 Commerce rings up third round.
March 28, 2003... Byline: Tyson Freeman Investors in I4 Commerce Inc. are betting that consumers wouldn't pull out their credit cards if they didn't have to when shopping online. The Baltimore company, which provides alternatives to payment by...

Letter from Delaware: Los Angeles fakers.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson with staff reports California bankruptcy watchers have to be shaking their heads. First a U.S. Trustee and now a noted lawyer have been nabbed for bankruptcy fraud. Last week, Kelly Walecki, 32, of Carlsbad,...

Foster Wheeler's future in doubt.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson The auditor for Foster Wheeler Ltd. has raised doubts about its ability to continue as a going concern in the company's latest annual report, released on Tuesday, March 25. The Clinton, N.J., construction...

Kmart gets OK for Fleming settlement.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Kmart Corp. on Tuesday, March 25, won approval from bankruptcy court for a $385 million settlement with Fleming Cos., which had supplied all of the retailer's grocery products. After Kmart scrapped its $10 billion...

DIP Dimensions: Alterra Healthcare Inc.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke The unsecured creditors of bankrupt Alterra Healthcare Inc. may have a tough time stopping the owner of assisted-living homes from obtaining a $15 million debtor-in-possession loan, but they've raised some...

Fool's gold.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Bankrupt Magellan Health Services Inc. recently filed a reorganization plan that would give holders of $625 million of the Columbia, Md.-based company's 9% senior subordinated notes most of the stock in the entity...

Judge confirms trustee for Park South liquidation.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan A Manhattan judge on Wednesday, March 26, confirmed the appointment of a trustee to oversee the liquidation of Park South Securities LLC after its majority owner and television investment guru, Todd Eberhard, was...

NRG Energy may seek prepack.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Fresh off getting a $752 million settlement for its creditors, NRG Energy Inc. now may make a prenegotiated bankruptcy filing, lawyers involved in the case said. By virtue of an involuntary Chapter 11 petition...

Adelphia Business, creditors reach deal.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Adelphia Business Solutions Inc. prepared for its post-bankruptcy life Wednesday, March 26, agreeing with its creditors on a possible reorganization plan. The bankrupt broadband services provider also shredded...

Spiegel creditors tap Chadbourne & Parke.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson Chadbourne & Parke LLP has been hired to represent the official committee of unsecured creditors in Spiegel Inc.'s bankruptcy case. The New York firm won the work, which a group of law firms including Simpson Thacher...

EU approves Tokheim unit sale to AXA.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan The European Commission on Wednesday, March 26, approved plans by Tokheim Corp. to sell its international operations to a subsidiary of France's AXA SA for [Euro]144 million ($153 million). Tokheim, the world's...

Heartland Securities files for bankruptcy.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Donna Block Day-trading company Heartland Securities Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday as the company buckled under its debt load and its constant battle with regulators. In January, the U.S....

Amerco lands $866M secured credit line.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Cheryl Meyer in Los Angeles Shares of Amerco, the parent of ailing U-Haul International Inc., surged almost 58% in afternoon trading Wednesday, March 26, after the company announced it had received a four-year, senior secured...

MitoKor pulls Nasdaq listing.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Frances A. McMorris Showing no signs of recovery, the initial public offerings market only got worse this week as a California biotechnology company became the latest new-issues candidate to pull its share sale. San...

Shanghai Electric unveils divestiture plans.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong China's largest maker of industrial equipment, Shanghai Electric (Group) Corp., will sell $1 billion of assets in the biggest Shanghai state privatization ever. The sprawling Shanghai...

Novartis takes $255M stake in Idenix.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London Seeking rapid entry into antiviral medicines, Swiss drug company Novartis AG said it agreed to acquire 51% of Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc., a U.S biotech company focused on developing hepatitis and AIDS...

Poland sells sugar operation to St. Louis.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Patricia Koza in Warsaw Poland on Wednesday, March 26, sold sugar company Slaska Spolka Cukrowa to France's Saint Louis Sucre in a $177.4 million deal delayed for more than two years by legal wrangling. France's...

Quintiles auction narrows to two.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Scott Stuart See today's Arbitrage situations chart. Bidders in the auction of Quintiles Transnational Inc. may have been whittled down to two now that Apax Partners has stepped back from the process. Even worse for...

Italians hike offer for Spanish property group.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Danny Fortson in Seville, Spain In yet another turn in a race to take over Spanish property group Metrovacesa SA, Italian suitors Quarta Iberica SpA and Astrim SpA sweetened their joint bid for the company for the second time in...

Fresh suitors eye U.K. biotech.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Joshua Jaffe in London Urging its shareholders to reject Celltech Group plc's hostile pound sterling101.4 million ($159.5 million) bid, British biotechnology company Oxford GlycoSciences plc said Wednesday, March 26, it was in...

Tokyu Construction to spin off realty unit.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Charles Smith in Tokyo Tokyu Construction Co. has become the latest Japanese company in its sector to split off from real estate in a move that makes use of a new corporate spinoff provision for indebted groups. After similar...

South Korean insurer finds buyer.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul Troubled South Korean insurer Daishin Life Insurance Co. secured a buyer in pharmaceutical group Korea Green Cross on Wednesday, March 26. State agency Korea Deposit Insurance Corp., which is disposing...

Czechs consider new Eurotel bid.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Brian Cattell in London The Czech Republic's incumbent phone operator, Cesky Telecom a.s., is considering whether to spend as much as $1.4 billion to buy AT&T Wireless Corp. and Verizon Communications Corp. out of its mobile...

Getronics must delay refinance vote.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Renee Cordes in Brussels Getronics NV's efforts to pull itself out of financial trouble have suffered a setback after the Dutch computer services provider was ordered to postpone a shareholders' vote on its new refinancing plan....

Wheaton River boosts stake in gold mine.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London and Laura King in Toronto Canadian mining company Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. has increased its stake in a major copper and gold mine in Argentina as part of an expansion drive in Latin America. The...

Sears may sell credit card unit.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Donna Block and Dennis Fitzgerald The nation's largest department store chain, Sears, Roebuck and Co., said Wednesday, March 26, it was weighing strategic alternatives for its credit card operation including a possible sale or...

Gannett adds to U.K. stable.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Peter Lauria McLean, Va.-based Gannett Co. announced Wednesday, March 26, a pound sterling60 million ($94 million) deal to acquire the Greater London regional publishing business from Independent News and Media Ltd. The deal,...

Riverwood seals $3B packaging deal.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Donna Block and Vyvyan Tenorio Riverwood Holding Inc., parent of paperboard packaging and equipment company Riverwood International Corp., said Wednesday, March 26, it would buy Graphic Packaging International Corp. in a deal...

Bond roundup: middle-market active.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Kelly Holman Bond investors are claiming they're short on supply. "Money surging in and no offers," is how Margaret Patel, portfolio manager of the Boston-based Pioneer High Yield Bond Fund, described the junk market. She...

McDonald's to clear its table.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Josh Kosman McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant company, is exploring a sale of the restaurant chains it owns that do not operate under the golden arches, according to sources familiar with the process. The...

Packet Design draws second round.
March 27, 2003... Byline: Tyson Freeman Yet another spinoff from the networking infrastructure company Packet Design LLC has raised financing from outside investors. Packet Design Inc., which makes Internet protocol network appliances, announced...

Austin Reed mulls accepting takeover bid.
March 27, 2003... U.K. clothing retailer Austin Reed Group plc said Thursday it's considering a takeover offer from an unnamed suitor. The move sent shares in the group up more than 17% to 135.50 pence by mid-afternoon in London, giving the company a market...

EU approves Abbey loan sale to GE.
March 27, 2003... The European Commission on Thursday cleared plans by General Electric Co. to acquire the consumer loan business of Abbey National plc, an pound sterling848 million ($1.3 billion) cash deal that will allow GE to expand its U.K. operations. The...

Edinburgh Fund considers selling units.
March 27, 2003... Edinburgh Fund Managers Group plc said Thursday it's in talks to sell two units after posting a loss and scrapping a dividend. The company didn't identify the units or potential buyers. Hawkpoint Partners is advising Edinburgh. The company...

Endesa sheds Repsol stake for $541M.
March 27, 2003... Spain's biggest utility, Endesa SA, announced Thursday that it sold its 3% stake in oil major Repsol YPF SA for [Euro]506 million ($541 million). Endesa tapped Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Bolsa SV and Morgan Stanley to hawk the 36.8...

Life Medical gets Phairson assets.
March 27, 2003... Little Silver, N.J., biomedical products company Life Medical Sciences Inc. said Thursday that it has bought the polymer technology assets of privately held U.K. rival Phairson Ltd., acquiring about 6.9 million shares in its...

Rialto Capital bids $5.5M for Coast Dental.
March 27, 2003... Atlanta merchant bank Rialto Capital Partners LLC announced Thursday that it has made an offer to acquire Tampa, Fla.-based Coast Dental Services Inc. for about $5.5 million. Under the terms, Coast stockholders would receive $6.25 a share in...

Santander boosts San paolo - IMI stake.
March 27, 2003... Spain's biggest bank, Banco Santander Central Hispano SA, paid [Euro]124.9 million ($133.5 million) to increase by nearly 1% its stake in Italian bank Sanpaolo IMI SpA. The transaction, announced Thursday, raises Santander's holding from...

Sunoco buying Equistar Chemicals plant.
March 27, 2003... Philadelphia petroleum and petrochemical giant Sunoco Inc. said Thursday it agreed to acquire the Bayport polypropylene plant in Pasadena, Texas, from Equistar Chemicals LP for $190 million. Equistar is a joint venture between Houston's...

Conexant Systems writes down Web unit.
March 26, 2003... Two days after announcing the spinoff of its Internet infrastructure unit, chipmaker Conexant Systems Inc. said Wednesday it would write down the value of the business by $573.2 million. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the...

K2 sets Rawlings Sporting exchange rate.
March 26, 2003... K2 Inc. said Wednesday it set a final ratio for its planned $74 million merger with Rawlings Sporting Goods Co. that was expected to close that day. Under the terms, each Rawlings share would be exchanged for 1.08 K2 shares. Earlier in the...