The Daily Deal articles from March 2004

The Daily Deal archives from March 2004

IT Group reorg wins approval.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas A judge has conditionally approved the reorganization plan of IT Group Inc., setting the stage for the end of its long-running bankruptcy case. At a Monday, March 29, hearing, Judge Mary Walrath in the U.S....

Spiegel can sell Ohio warehouse.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas Spiegel Inc. on Tuesday, March 30, won approval to sell a distribution center in Columbus, Ohio, to Industrial Realty Group LLC. Industrial Realty's $22 million bid was the highest at a Tuesday auction, according...

IRS closes Pa. business school.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Churchman Business School Ltd. has filed for Chapter 11 protection after the Internal Revenue Service closed the school because its owner owed $88,734 in federal taxes. Meanwhile, Churchman's president and...

Parmalat USA wins DIP.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Parmalat USA Corp. now has until April 22 to find a stalking-horse bidder after debtor-in-possession lender GE Capital Corp. agreed Tuesday, March 30, to extend an olive branch. This news was disclosed as the...

Belgium's Solvay in revamp.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Renee Cordes in Brussels Belgian chemicals and pharmaceuticals company Solvay SA said Tuesday. March 20, it plans to establish a new, autonomous company to manage all the group's pharmaceutical activities while insisting it has...

Hutchison plans $3B telecom IPO.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong and Charles Smith in Tokyo Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., one of the twin holding companies underpinning Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's corporate empire, plans to sell most of its fastest-growing...

Grupo Media Capital launches IPO.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Danny Fortson in Barcelona Portuguese media company Grupo Media Capital SGPS SA expects to raise [Euro]250 million ($303.6 million) March 31 when its shares begin trading in the nation's first significant new listing in more than...

IPO Outlook: March 31, 2004.
March 31, 2004... Byline: compiled by Peter Moreira Yara Energy and metals conglomerate Norsk Hydro ASA said Tuesday, March 30, that it sold an overallocation of 31.9 million shares in its spun-off fertilizer company, Yara International ASA, to the...

Germany blocks Synthes' buy.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin German competition authorities on Tuesday, March 30, rejected Swiss orthopedic group Synthes-Stratec Inc.'s Sfr 1.5 billion ($1.2 billion) purchase of domestic rival Mathys Medizinaltechnik AG, saying it...

FASB options rule due this week.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Donna Block in Washington The Financial Accounting Standards Board is expected as early as Tuesday, March 30, to propose a rule requiring companies to treat stock options as an expense on their balance sheet. The rule, if...

FTC tightens watch on partnerships.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Jaret Seiberg in Washington The Federal Trade Commission wants to close a loophole used by hundreds of companies to avoid antitrust scrutiny for their deals. The agency proposed Tuesday, March 30, to require businesses that...

Bill targets media regs.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Ron Orol in Washington Rep. Maurice Hinchey is wheeling out the heavy artillery in his campaign to void federal rules easing media company mergers. The Democratic lawmaker, from the 22nd District in upstate New York, on...

Bridgepoint taps Baird as adviser.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal U.K. midmarket private equity house Bridgepoint Capital Ltd. has hired investment bank Robert W. Baird Ltd. to review options for Shearings Ltd., Europe's largest holiday coach company. Bridgepoint acquired the...

Nedlloyd deal for P&O clears.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Rotterdam shipping company Royal Nedlloyd NV said Tuesday it has gotten the green light from EU regulators and shareholders of U.K. maritime company Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. to buy P&O's half...

Nikko Cordial, Citigroup in JV.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Japanese securities group Nikko Cordial Corp. said its affiliate, Nikko Principal Investments Japan Ltd., is establishing a joint buyout firm with Citigroup Inc. that aims to manage up to up to [yen]100 billion...

Norway sells Telenor stake.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Norway said Tuesday it has sold a 9.4% stake in Telenor ASA, valued at about 8.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($1.2 billion), as part of a privatization program. The off-exchange block sale of 170 million shares was...

RailAmerica sheds Australia unit.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal RailAmerica Inc. said Tuesday it's selling its Freight Australia Ltd. division to Pacific National Ltd. for A$285 million ($215 million) in cash. RailAmerica bought the unit from Australia's Victorian state...

UBS, Daewoo Securities tapped.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal The South Korean government has selected UBS and Daewoo Securities Co. Ltd. as lead managers for the sale of its 21.6% stake in Hana Bank. Korea Deposit Insurance Corp. is selling its entire stake in Hana over the...

Vernalis re-acquires drug rights.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal British biotech Vernalis plc said Tuesday it was paying $55 million to Ireland's Elan Corp. plc to re-acquire North American rights to a migraine medicine it originally developed. The deal covers pain reliever...

Credit Agricole continues rollups.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Credit Agricole SA is continuing its consumer credit card rollups with a [Euro]372 million ($453 million) buy of a 14.5% stake in Roubaix, France-based private card issuer Finaref SA. The purchase is the third and...

Eni parts with more of Snam.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Italian energy giant Eni SpA said Tuesday that it had sold a 9.05% stake, or 177 million shares, of its Snam Rete Gas division to investment bank Mediobanca SpA for [Euro]660 million ($805 million). The price is...

Eural gets two new investors.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Netherlands-based JKX Gas BV and Austria's DEG Handels AG have joined London's Atlantic Caspian Resources plc as investors in Eural Transit Gas. ETG is a Hungarian company that ships natural gas from Central Asia....

Genencor selling vaccine program.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Palo Alto, Calif., drugmaker Genencor International Inc. agreed Tuesday to sell its therapeutic vaccine program to Belgian biotech company Innogenetics NV for as much as $97 million. Genencor said it would receive...

Glazer undecided on Manchester.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Malcolm Glazer said Tuesday that he would not bid for Britain's Manchester United plc. In recent months, Glazer has built his stake in Manchester to 16.7%, fueling speculation he was...

Starwood, MGM play for Wembley.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Brian Cattell in London A bid battle has broken out for Wembley plc after a consortium led by Starwood Capital Group LLC, part-owner of the U.K. gaming company, unveiled an unsolicited [pounds sterling]287 million ($521 million)...

Florist network considers PE sale.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Lisa Clifford in London Mutually owned florist network Interflora British Unit Ltd. said Tuesday, March 30, it will ask its members to vote on a plan to sell the 75-year-old business to raise cash for investment. The group...

Two Canadian REITs to merge.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Canadian Apartment Properties REIT said Tuesday it will buy Residential Equities Real Estate Investment Trust in a deal valued at up to C$1 billion ($764 million). The price includes up to C$511 million...

Slim boosts Global Crossing holding.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter Carlos Slim Helu has boosted his stake in reorganized telecom Global Crossing Ltd. to 11.25%, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission late Monday, March 29. It is the second time...

Hollinger sale on track.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Richard Morgan It may not last, but the auction for Hollinger International Inc. looked normal this week after quickly entering a second round. Those still in the contest for such newspaper properties as the Chicago...

Movers & shakers: Mar. 31, 2004.
March 31, 2004... Byline: compiled by Lisa Camerlengo Stephen Roti has joined the equity-linked origination group at Credit Suisse First Boston as a managing director and head of U.S. corporate equity derivatives marketing. Roti moves over from J.P....

Private capital people: March 30, 2004.
March 31, 2004... Byline: compiled by Matthew Wurtzel March 30 Prism Venture Partners Prism Venture Partners, a Westwood, Mass.-based early stage venture capital firm, adds Woody Benson as general partner. Benson, a veteran entrepreneur and executive,...

Jafra sale nets CD&R big profit.
March 31, 2004... Byline: David Carey Clayton Dubilier & Rice Inc. struck a deal to sell Jafra Cosmetics International Inc. to Germany's Vorwerk & Co. KG that will earn the New York buyout firm a rich profit. Terms were not disclosed, but sources said...

WF Holdings increases Workflow bid.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman Printing services company Workflow Management Inc. said Tuesday, March 30, that private investment firms Perseus LLC and Renaissance Group LLC had increased their previously announced offer to acquire the struggling...

Vendex gets bid.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Renee Cordes Troubled Dutch retail group Royal Vendex KBB said Tuesday, March 31, that it has received a cash offer worth [Euro]16 per ordinary share from a consortium of private equity firms including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts &...

CloudShield gathers $20M.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Paul Bonanos Content processing equipment developer CloudShield Technologies Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., has targeted strictly government customers since the rollout of its product last year. Now, with $20 million in third-round...

Serveron pulls in $9M.
March 31, 2004... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Investors led by El Dorado Investment Co. of Phoenix gave electrical power management technology maker Serveron Corp. a powerful jolt of $9 million in new capital -- on the premise that long moribund capital...

Aepona.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Belfast-based Aepona Ltd., a telecommunications software maker, has raised an internal round of financing of [Euro]4.3million ($5.2 million) from investors Trinity Venture Capital Ltd. of Dublin and Amadeus Venture...

Mendocino Software.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Fremont, Calif.-based Mendocino Software has raised $15 million in a Series A funding led by Mayfield and Accel Partners, with additional participation from Advent International and Foundation Capital. The company...

Princeton eCom.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Electronic bill payment systems developer Princeton eCom Corp. of Princeton, N.J., has raised a $10.3 million fifth round of venture funding that featured a new lead investor, Conning Capital Partners. Also...

Serveron.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Hillsboro, Ore.-based Serveron Corp. has raised $9 million in a second round of venture capital to support sales and marketing of monitoring devices and software to analyze and prevent transformer failures in large...

SigmaQuest.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Data analysis software developer SigmaQuest Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., has completed its first round of venture funding but did not disclose the round's size. Investors included seed-stage venture firm Amidzad...

Agendia.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Cancer diagnostic systems developer Agendia BV has completed its first round of venture funding, the size of which was not disclosed. Gilde Investment Management of Utrecht, the Netherlands, led the round, which...

Arkex.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Cambridge, England-based Arkex Ltd., an energy exploration technology provider, has raised [pounds sterling]4 million ($7.3 million) in venture capital in a first institutional round co-led by Scottish Equity...

CloudShield.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Packet-processing systems developer CloudShield Technologies Inc. of Sunnyvale, Calif., has completed a $20 million third round of venture funding. Joining were new investors Foundation Capital of Menlo Park,...

Conformia Software.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Product management software maker Conformia Software Inc. of Redwood City, Calif., has completed a $7 million second round of venture funding that tripled its post-money valuation compared to its first round. New...

DeepNines.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Network security systems developer DeepNines Inc. of Dallas has completed a $16 million first round of venture funding. New York-based venture firms Dawntreader Ventures and Insight Venture Partners joined...

Labcal.
March 31, 2004... Byline: The Daily Deal Security and authentication systems developer Labcal Technologies Inc. of Quebec City, Canada, has completed its first round of venture funding, worth C$2.5 million ($1.9 million). Desjardins Venture Capital was...

DIP Dimensions: Oglebay Norton Co.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan Oglebay Norton Co. has a $75 million debtor-in-possession financing commitment from GE Capital Corp. at pretty reasonable pricing of LIBOR plus 400 basis points. The fees are fairly standard. And the term doesn't...

Air Canada gets more time.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Laura King The judge overseeing the restructuring of insolvent Air Canada has extended the airline's protection from creditors to April 15. On Monday, March 29, the judge also urged all parties to work together to finalize...

Slater Steel cleared to sell plant.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Laura King A Canadian bankruptcy court has approved the sale of insolvent Slater Steel Inc.'s specialty bar operation in Hamilton, Ontario, to New York-based Delaware Street Capital for C$15.4 million ($11.8 million) in cash. The...

Party Warehouse ruling delayed.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas A bankruptcy court judge has delayed approval of the disclosure statement for Paper Warehouse Inc., the St. Louis Park, Minn., party supply chain until after Monday, March 29. Michael Meyer of Ravich, Meyer,...

Letter from Delaware.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas Judge E. Stephen Derby of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland in Baltimore doesn't tolerate sore losers. Derby last year approved the sale of substantially all of PhyAmerica Physician Group...

New plan filed for Hawaiian Air.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Greg Johnson It's beginning to look like everyone wants a piece of Hawaiian Airlines Inc. A fourth reorganization plan for the carrier was filed on Monday, March 29. A group calling itself the Hawaiian Reorganization...

Haynes International files Ch. 11.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Haynes International Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection Monday, March 29, and is seeking court approval for up to $100 million in debtor-in-possession financing from a lending group led by Congress Financial...

Solutia equity committee faces fight.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas The U.S. trustee overseeing Solutia Inc.'s bankruptcy case has appointed an equity committee even though the chemical maker's massive liabilities could wipe out the new members. But the Friday, March 26, move by...

Oglebay Norton investors seek panel.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Investors holding about 16% of Oglebay Norton Co.'s stock have asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge to force the U.S. Trustee to appoint an equity committee. In their motion, the shareholders said they asked the...

WestPoint Stevens seeks extension.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Blaming a continued decline in the textile industry, WestPoint Stevens Inc. is asking a court to extend its exclusive right to file its own reorganization plan. After the West Point, Ga., towel maker filed for...

Trump bondholders face test.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Trump Hotels & Resorts will have to appease its newest bondholder class if it's going to succeed in DLJ Merchant Banking Partners' $400 million recapitalization of the company. Holders of $425 million worth of...

Hong Kong telecom prices shares low.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Hong Kong's fourth-largest mobile telecom operator, China Resources Peoples Telephone Co. Ltd., priced its shares Monday, March 29 for an initial public offering at the bottom of its marketing...

IPO outlook: March 30, 2004.
March 30, 2004... Catch Communications Shares in Norwegian broadband data services company Catch Communications ASA hovered below their offer price Monday in an initial public offering that valued the company at 634 million Norwegian kroner ($91 million)....

Takeover threat eases for Hyundai.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul A Seoul court on Monday weakened Kumgang Korea Chemical Co. Ltd.'s chances of succeeding in its hostile takeover bid for Hyundai Elevator Co. Ltd. when it slashed the bidder's voting rights in the de facto...

UFJ to absorb securities firm.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Charles Smith in Tokyo UFJ Holdings Inc., the owner of Japan's fourth-largest bank, said Monday, March 29, it had decided buy out minority shareholders in UFJ Tsubasa Securities Co. Ltd. and turn the listed securities affiliate...

Norilsk strikes African gold.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Nick Watson Russian mining concern MMC Norilsk Nickel moved Monday, March 28, to diversify its resource base by buying Anglo American plc's 20% stake in the world's fourth-largest gold mining company, Gold Fields Ltd., of South...

Yukos-Sibneft split headed to court.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Nick Watson The management of OAO NK Yukos says it intends to sue OAO Sibneft after being prevented from replacing Sibneft's board at an extraordinary general shareholder meeting Sunday, March 28, because of an apparent lack of a...

DealEstate: March 29, 2004.
March 30, 2004... Byline: compiled by TheDeal.com news staff MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS March 26 Berkshire corrals Oakwood The manufactured housing unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Co. will soon be expanded after a bankruptcy judge...

Petrofund to buy Ultima for $336M.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Calgary, Alberta's Petrofund Energy Trust said Monday, March 29, it is offering about C$440 million ($336 million) in cash and stock for Ultima Energy Trust, also based in Calgary. The companies said the...

Tularik takes Amgen to the max.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Andrew Morse In a move partly designed to mute criticism of its dependence on a few key products, Amgen Inc. said on Monday it was buying the roughly 80% of gene specialist Tularik Inc. it didn't own for $1.3 billion in equity....

Lyondell to get Millennium.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Claire Poole in Houston Houston-based Lyondell Chemical Co. said Monday, March 29, it would acquire Hunt Valley, Md., rival Millennium Chemicals Inc. for $1 billion in stock and $1.3 billion in assumed debt, creating the...

Movers & shakers: Mar. 30, 2004.
March 30, 2004... Byline: compiled by Lisa Camerlengo Credit Suisse Group announced that it will combine its private banking and corporate and retail banking businesses under a joint management structure, effective April 1. The move is designed to...

The super.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Every time a company files for Chapter 11 protection, leases are broken and landlords flock to join the ranks of claimants. This is bad news for landlords, but good news for David Pollack, who has nearly cornered...

Expedia buying Egencia from Carlyle.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London Carlyle Group and Credit Lyonnais Private Equity booked their flights out of French online business travel agent Egencia SA on Monday, announcing they had sold it to IAC/InterActiveCorp, the owner of...

Hollywood Entertainment in LBO.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman Leonard Green & Partners LP has agreed to take Hollywood Entertainment Corp. private in a leverage buyout that values the Portland, Ore.-based video and game chain at more than $1.2 billion, including debt. The...

Party-favor maker Amscan sold.
March 30, 2004... Byline: David Carey Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s private equity arm is selling Amscan Holdings Inc., which makes party favors, hats and balloons, to two Boston buyout firms in a leveraged recapitalization valued at about $540 million, Amscan...

Metaldyne delays SEC filing.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio Metaldyne Corp., an auto-parts supplier controlled by private equity firm Heartland Industrial Partners LP, said Monday it has delayed its Form 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission due to an...

Precision I/O captures $10M.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Paul Bonanos A year after its spinoff from network technology incubator Packet Design LLC, server networking systems developer Precision I/O Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif., has completed a $10 million first round of funding. ...

Kemia nets $33.5M second round.
March 30, 2004... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Biotech startup Kemia Inc. plans to carry its first drug candidate into clinical testing early next year on the back of its hard-fought $33.5 million second round of venture capital led by J.P. Morgan Partners...

Meat of the matter.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Richard Morgan A class action recently filed against Blockbuster Inc. promises to address key governance issues that a host of suits and countersuits featuring Conrad Black and Hollinger International Inc. has only managed to...

Embratel challenger goes to court.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter The cornerstone of a recent challenge to WorldCom Inc.'s $360 million sale of a controlling position in Embratel Participacoes SA to Telefonos de Mexico SA de CV rests on the rejected bidding group's complex...

Berkshire corrals Oakwood.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke The manufactured housing wing of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Co. will soon be expanded after a bankruptcy judge tentatively approved the Omaha buyout firm's $372.5 million buyout of Oakwood Homes Corp. ...

PG&E sets April exit.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Cheryl Meyer Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said Friday, March 26 that it would exit Chapter 11 protection on April 12. The San Francisco utility set a distribution date of March 29 for determining claim holders are entitled to...

U.S. Wireless is bankrupt.
March 29, 2004... New York cell service U.S. Wireless Data Inc. said Friday, March 26, that it has filed for Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan. The company plans to sell its two primary divisions,...

Penn Traffic wins DIP extension.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Penn Traffic Co. got an extension on its debtor-in-possession financing until Feb. 28, 2005. The Syracuse, N.Y.-based supermarket owner's DIP, being provided by Fleet Capital Corp.-led syndicate, had been...

Air Canada's bumpy ride continues.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Laura King in Toronto With the first anniversary of Air Canada's plunge into bankruptcy protection coming Thursday, April 1, the Montreal-based carrier remains as trapped in turbulence as it was the day it filed. In fact,...

Multicanal to defend 304 filing.
March 29, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan Bankrupt Multicanal SA will have to trek back to court to keep bondholders away from its U.S. assets after a Manhattan judge denied the Argentine cabler's motion Friday to dismiss an involuntary bankruptcy filing...