The Daily Deal articles from May 2002

The Daily Deal archives from May 2002

...As does Stellent.
May 31, 2002... Content management software company Stellent Inc. said Thursday it has adopted a shareholder rights plan to protect it from a hostile takeover. The Eden Prairie, Minn.-based company said the plan was not adopted in response to any attempt to...

Avasta merges with SiteRock.
May 31, 2002... San Francisco-based Avasta Inc., which provides a technology platform for monitoring networks, said Wednesday it is merging with SiteRock Corp., an Emeryville, Calif.-based company which provides remote monitoring service for identifying...

Bankers jockey for roles in Mexican airline sale.
May 31, 2002... The Mexican government on Thursday reviewed presentations from five investment banks as potential advisers in the privatization of Cintra SA de CV, the holding company that includes Mexico's two principal airlines. The deal, expected to raise...

Belgian fund backs Gealan buyout.
May 31, 2002... GIMV, Belgium's largest venture capital fund, Thursday announced that it was investing [Euro]30 million ($28 million) in a management buyout of Gealan, a Bavaria, Germany-based company that makes PVC window systems for more than 600 customers...

Broadcom completes Mobilink Telecom acquisition.
May 31, 2002... Communications chipmaker Broadcom Corp. said late Wednesday it has completed its acquisition, worth up to $171.5 million, of wireless semiconductor designer Mobilink Telecom Inc. The Irvine, Calif. chipmaker said it would swap 5.61 million...

CP ships acquires Italian shipper.
May 31, 2002... CP Ships, spun off in October by Canadian Pacific Ltd., said Thursday it is acquiring Italian container shipping company Italia di Navigazione for $40 million in cash from d'Amico societa di Navigazione SpA. The deal hinges on regulatory...

Cree adopts poison pill...
May 31, 2002... Durham, N.C.-based Cree Inc., a maker of semiconductor materials and components, said Thursday it has adopted a shareholder rights plan. The poison pill, effective for 10 years, would take effect should an unsolicited party acquire at least...

EchoStar pegs DirecTV integration cost at $2.5B.
May 31, 2002... Direct satellite TV broadcaster EchoStar Communications Corp. said in a regulatory filing that it would spend up to $2.5 billion over the next two to four years integrating its proposed merger with Hughes Electronics Corp.'s DirecTV Inc....

El Paso confirms talks on $800M pipeline deal.
May 31, 2002... Houston energy transporter El Paso Energy Partners LP confirmed Thursday it was negotiating to acquire the natural gas gathering, compression and treating assets in New Mexico's San Juan Basin from 30% owner El Paso Corp., also of Houston. El...

Enerflex getting EnSource Energy.
May 31, 2002... Oilfield equipment supplier Enerflex Systems Ltd. said late Wednesday it is buying oil and gas equipment maker EnSource Energy Services Inc. in a stock-and-debt deal valued at C$180 million ($117 million). EnerFlex will buy all 27.6 million...

Filanet.
May 31, 2002... Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Filanet Corp. has secured more than $15 million in a private financing round led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Canaan Partners to boost its product line. The company has developed a security/network access...

Goldman buys out Bayer stake in Agfa-Gevaert.
May 31, 2002... German pharmaceuticals and chemicals group Bayer AG on Thursday said it had sold its remaining 30% stake in Belgian photographic film maker Agfa-Gevaert NV to Goldman, Sachs & Co., which plans to sell the 42 million shares to institutional...

Hub International.
May 31, 2002... Insurance brokerage holding giant Hub International Ltd. set the price terms and increased the number of shares in its estimated $80 million initial public offering. Chicago-based Hub, which operates in both the United States and Canada, set...

Lockheed accelerates withdrawal from telecom.
May 31, 2002... Continuing its move to exit the telecommunications business, Lockheed Martin Corp. said Thursday it would sell its stake in Comsat International's Latin American operations to a Washington-based investment firm. The firm, World Data...

Vivendi sells French properties.
May 31, 2002... International media conglomerate Vivendi Universal signed a deal Thursday to sell real estate assets to French real estate concern Nexity, a former unit of the company, in a deal worth [Euro]120 million ($112 million). The portfolio comprises...

divine.
May 31, 2002... Chicago-based divine Inc. landed $65 million from Oak Investment Partners, and the publicly traded Internet software and services company will issue stock and warrants amounting to about one-third of its total shares. Oak will put $23 million...

KPNQwest to sell assets.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Brian Cattell in London The embattled European alternative telecom operator KPNQwest NV said Thursday, May 30, that it will try to sell "noncritical" assets in order to keep its main business afloat long enough to sell it. ...

Adelphia DIP back up for grabs.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Bankrupt Adelphia Business Solutions Inc. was already searching for a replacement debtor-in-possession lender before the broadband provider withdrew its request Thursday, May 30, for final approval of the entire...

KPS may bolt from Republic auction.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Greg Johnson KPS Special Situations Fund is threatening to walk away from its $450 million bid to buy 60% of bankrupt Republic Technologies International LLC unless it's granted lead bidder status. Sources on Thursday, May...

Nucor casts Birmingham Steel deal.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Steelmaker Nucor Corp.'s tentative agreement to buy all the assets of cash-strapped rival Birmingham Steel Corp. for $615 million has evolved into a "definitive" deal that requires Birmingham to file for Chapter 11...

Snow gets second chance.
May 31, 2002... Byline: David Marcus Tower Snow Jr., hoped to build San Francisco law firm Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP into a global technology law power. Instead, he resigned as chairman and CEO in October. Two weeks ago, he was voted out of...

ATTC sought larger fee cuts.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Laura King Ailing AT&T Canada Corp. got some help from Canada's telecommunications regulator Thursday, May 30, but perhaps not enough. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission denied a request by the...

Paul Allen cut out of deal dance with Adelphia.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Peter Lauria While creditors of cash-poor but asset-rich Adelphia Communications Corp. worked to give the company more time to file its annual report, new board member Leonard Tow on Thursday, May 30, moved to block the cabler's...

Bid to boost German blimp maker.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Braude BERLIN -- A group of small shareholders is trying to rescue grounded German airship maker Cargolifter AG after the company announced late Tuesday, May 28, it has run out of cash to pay employees. The group...

Online liquidator rises 5% in debut.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Padraic Cassidy Online retail discounter Overstock.com hit the Nasdaq at the low end of its price range, resulting in a lukewarm reception Thursday, May 30, for its initial public offering. The Salt Lake City company offered...

$5.6B Miller Brewing deal on tap, South African Breweries confirms.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Laura Board South African Breweries plc confirmed Thursday, May 30, that it has agreed to buy Miller Brewing Co. from Philip Morris Cos. for $5.6 billion in a deal that will make it the world's second-largest brewer and...

AurionGold seeks white knight.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Laura King TORONTO -- Australian gold miner AurionGold Ltd. said Thursday, May 30, it has opened a data room in the hope of luring a white knight, following Monday's $1.1 billion unsolicited takeover bid by Canada's Placer Dome...

Murdoch will pay for Telepiu.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Richard Morgan The flip-flop reputation of Vivendi Universal chief Jean-Marie Messier has already created a reversal of another sort, one changing Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. from a would-be seller to a prospective buyer in...

FTC approves Bayer deal.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Lou Whiteman The Federal Trade Commission late Thursday, May 30, announced its approval of Bayer AG's $6.2 billion acquisition of Aventis Crop Science SA. To win approval, Bayer, a German chemical conglomerate, agreed to sell...

Daiei to sell department store.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Charles Smith TOKYO -- The troubled Japanese retailer Daiei Inc. said Thursday, May 30, that it would sell its majority stake in Ginza Printemps, an up-market department store in Tokyo's prime shopping district, to Yomiuri...

Deals Interrupted - May 31, 2002.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily A deal's announcement is just the beginning of a long process. Legal challenges, alternate bids and internal dissent are just some of the land mines that lie between a merger's inception and its completion....

Beeson, Evolution agree this time.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Laura Board British brokers Evolution Group plc and Beeson Gregory Group plc on Thursday, May 30, walked down the aisle, just eight months after the two suitors first met and split up. Evolution said it agreed to pay 1.77 new...

Bingham Dana, McCutchen merge.
May 31, 2002... Byline: David Marcus Continuing its cross-country expansion, Boston-based Bingham Dana LLP announced Thursday, May 30, that it will merge with West Coast law firm McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen LLP. As of July 1, the newly...

SAI, Fondiaria agree at last.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Heather O'Brian MILAN -- After almost a year of rollercoaster talks, Italy's Societa Assicuratrice Industriale S.p.A. and La Fondiaria Assicurazioni S.p.A. agreed Thursday, May 30, to merge, creating the country's second-biggest...

Reports link Qantas, Air NZ.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Lou Whiteman Struggling Air New Zealand Ltd. is considering a deal under which Qantas Airways Ltd. would acquire a minority stake in the Kiwi flag carrier, according to Australian press reports. The reports, citing unnamed...

ISPs have a Web to mend.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Bob Wolf The U.S. telecommunications industry is wading through its worst downturn. A look at the shrinking M&A activity involving targets in the Internet service provider sub-sector makes it clear how bad things in this volatile...

Miller time for SAB.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London South African Breweries plc has come a long way from supplying beer to thirsty gold prospectors in Johannesburg in the late 19th century. A deal announced Thursday, May 30, to acquire Miller Brewing Co. has...

Korea First-Hana deal scrapped.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon in Seoul The respective foreign owners of two mid-sized South Korean commercial banks, the U.S. private equity firm Newbridge Capital and Allianz AG of Germany, have scrapped the proposed merger of two banks, Korea...

Viasystems, bondholders agree.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Kelly Holman Struggling St. Louis-based circuit board manufacturer Viasystems Group Inc. said Thursday, May 30, that it had reached an understanding with its majority shareholder, Dallas buyout house Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst...

Investcorp buys Dave & Buster's.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Kelly Holman Investcorp, the New York private equity firm, said Thursday, May 30, it had agreed to lead a group acquiring restaurant chain Dave & Buster's Inc. in a $255 million deal, including the assumption of debt. Under...

Carlyle, Boto stretch deadline.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen HONG KONG -- A deadline for a proposed sale of the artificial Christmas tree and furniture businesses of Hong Kong's Boto International Holdings Ltd. to a consortium led by The Carlyle Group has been extended...

Private Capital Briefcase - GS Capital Partners.
May 31, 2002... Byline: George White www.TheDeal.com

Golden State deal boosts hedge funds.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Stephen Taub At least a half-dozen hedge funds are apparent beneficiaries of Citigroup's deal to buy Golden State Bancorp for $5.8 billion. Farallon Capital Management, which runs about $7 billion in hedge fund assets, is the...

Forecasting the fifth fund.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio In a former life, Michael Granoff, CEO of New York secondary buyer Pomona Capital, often found himself in the hot seat. As a staff member of the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee...

PE consortia still in Legrand hunt.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Alan Tillier in Paris and Renee Cordes in Brussels PARIS -- Three private equity consortia remain as potential buyers of French electrical equipment-maker Legrand SA, after a deadline passed late Wednesday, May 29, for submissions...

Capital Calls - May 30, 2002.
May 31, 2002... Byline: edited by John E. Morris Exits are hard to come by these days. With the initial public offering market virtually shut to technology companies, trade sales are a VC's best bet for returns. So, when a willing buyer is found, why...

Secondary no more.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio Jeremy Coller, CEO of London's Coller Capital Ltd., won't talk about raising his $1 billion secondary fund. Yet the founder of Europe's largest secondary market buyer will gladly tell you that his last major deal...

Middle Market Monitor -- May 31, 2002.
May 31, 2002... Byline: compiled by George White Barclays PE raises $372M-plus London-based private equity company Barclays Private Equity has raised more than [Euro]400 million ($372 million) from outside investors, exceeding the target for the...

TeleSuite taps $7.5M.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Katherine Goncharoff It's reminiscent of "Total Recall" where Arnold Schwarzenegger peers out a window and views a life-like scene only to realize he's looking at a real-time video image. That's the sort of life-like video...

divine gets heavenly $61M.
May 31, 2002... Byline: Clifford Carlsen The third time was the charm for Oak Investment Partners, as repeated overtures at incrementally declining values finally paid off in a bid for Chicago's divine Inc. The Palo Alto, Calif. venture capital firm...

CMS to sell oil exploration unit.
May 30, 2002... Dearborn, Mich., utility CMS Energy Corp. said Wednesday it plans to auction off its CMS Oil & Gas Co. unit and has hired Houston consulting firm Randall & Dewey Inc. to advise it. A sale would mark CMS' exit from the exploration and...

Cathedral Energy taps Acumen Capital Finance.
May 30, 2002... Calgary, Alberta-based Cathedral Energy Services Ltd. said Wednesday it has hired Acumen Capital Finance Partners Ltd. to help it find ways to maximize shareholder value, including the possible reorganization of the company into an income...

Confluence Networks.
May 30, 2002... Milpitas, Calif.-based Confluence Networks Inc., a network storage systems developer, announced Wednesday the completion of a $28.3 million Series B funding round. The deal was led by Venture Strategy Partners. Other new investors included...

Cryomedical sheds assets.
May 30, 2002... Endocare Inc., an Irvine, Calif., maker of cancer diagnostic products, said Wednesday it agreed to acquire the cryosurgical business line of Cryomedical Sciences Inc., a Kennesaw, Ga., biomedical company for $3.97 million in cash and stock....

Cumulus Media acquires 8 stations.
May 30, 2002... Atlanta-based radio broadcaster Cumulus Media Inc. has acquired an eight-station cluster in Macon, Ga., from U.S. Broadcasting LP for $35.5 million. Cumulus paid $34 million in cash and $1.5 million in Cumulus' stock. The broadcaster will...

EOPT buys Army and Navy Club.
May 30, 2002... Equity Office Properties Trust purchased the Army and Navy Club Building in Washington for $37.4 million in cash from the Dutch Metal Workers Pension Fund. The building, at 1627 Eye St., contains 170,000 square feet. The Army and Navy Club...

El Paso to sell more natural gas assets.
May 30, 2002... Houston energy company El Paso Corp. said Wednesday it plans to sell its natural gas gathering assets in New Mexico's San Juan Basin to 30%-owned El Paso Energy Partners LP for an estimated $800 million. El Paso follows Williams Cos. and...

Enigmatec.
May 30, 2002... Cambridge, U.K.-based venture capital firm Amadeus Capital Partners said it has made its first investment from its mobile seed fund, which was launched in 2001 to support early-stage companies developing mobile technologies. The fund invested...

Eutelsat hires CSFB, Lehman as IPO advisers.
May 30, 2002... European satellite operator Eutelsat SA, under a government-imposed year-end deadline to file for an initial public offering, said Wednesday it hired Lehman Brothers Inc. and Credit Suisse First Boston as its IPO advisers. Eutelsat, a former...

Exact Software snaps up Kewill.
May 30, 2002... Dutch business software supplier Exact Software NV said Wednesday it will pay $19 million in cash for Minneapolis supply-chain management software maker Kewill ERP Inc. The sale hinges on approval by shareholders of Kewill Systems plc, the...

First Pacific discusses sale of 2 Philippine units.
May 30, 2002... First Pacific Co. Ltd., a Hong Kong-listed investment holding company controlled by Indonesia's Salim family, said Wednesday that it is considering the sale of its two businesses in the Philippines. First Pacific said it's in discussions with...

General Publishing gets 60-day extension.
May 30, 2002... Insolvent General Publishing Co. of Toronto has been granted a 60-day extension to its protection from creditors, who are owed C$45.7 million ($29.8 million). GPC and several of its affiliated businesses filed for bankruptcy April 1 under the...

Hanson grabs Amatek's Choctaw.
May 30, 2002... U.K. concrete products maker Hanson plc expanded further across the southern United States Wednesday with the acquisition of Memphis-based Choctaw from Australian building materials group Amatek Holdings Ltd. for $135 million in cash. Choctaw...

HealtheTech.
May 30, 2002... Golden, Colo.-based HealtheTech Inc. set the terms of its initial public offering Wednesday. The company will sell 5 million shares within an estimated price range of $14 to $16 a share. A designer and seller of hand-held medical devices and...

Keljob.
May 30, 2002... French online recruitment search engine Keljob SA said Wednesday it has received a [Euro]2.6 million ($2.4 million) second round of funding from Credit Lyonnais Private Equity and Paris-based venture capital firm Banexi Ventures. The...

Medical Present Value.
May 30, 2002... San Antonio-based Medical Present Value, a provider of healthcare claims and payment technology and services, has completed a $14 million Series B round of financing led by Care Capital LLC of Princeton, N.J. Funding was also provided by new...

Mentor Graphics finishes $160M Innoveda buy.
May 30, 2002... Chip design software maker Mentor Graphics Corp. announced Wednesday the completion of its $160 million cash tender offer for smaller rival Innoveda Inc. The Wilsonville, Ore.-based company said shareholders of Marlboro, Mass.-based Innoveda...

NetQoS.
May 30, 2002... Austin, Texas-based NetQoS Inc., a provider of network performance tools and services, has secured $5 million in Series B funding from Liberty Partners, a private equity firm based in New York which was the sole investor in NetQoS' Series A...

PacketFront.
May 30, 2002... Swedish broadband software maker PacketFront of Stockholm said it had raised SKr33 million ($3.4 million) in its second funding round, plus an additional SKr10 million in a convertible loan from private investors. New investor TLcom Capital...

Precision offers $81M for driller.
May 30, 2002... Precision Drilling Corp., Canada's largest oilfield services company, is offering A$144 million ($81 million) in cash for Sydney-based onshore drilling contractor Australian Oil & Gas Corp. Calgary, Alberta-based Precision said late May 28...

Securify.
May 30, 2002... Mountain View, Calif.-based Securify Inc. has raised $13 million in Series B funding to expand business development, sales and marketing. The maker of Internet security technology said Benchmark Capital of Menlo Park, Calif., led the...

Tpack.
May 30, 2002... Danish venture capital firm Olicom AS said Wednesday it has led a DKr45.2 million ($5.5 million) first round funding into Tpack AS, a fabless semiconductor company developing technology for data services using optical networking transmission...

Versatel Networks.
May 30, 2002... Canadian telecom switch maker Versatel Networks of Hull, Quebec has received a venture capital round of C$7.5 million ($4.9 million) from four strategic investors intent on developing high-tech businesses in the Gatineau region of Quebec,...

cVidya.
May 30, 2002... Tel Aviv-based cVidya Ltd. has raised $3 million in an initial round of financing from Stage One Ventures and an undisclosed U.S. venture capital fund. The company said it planned to raise an additional $2 million as part of the round. Tel...

Letter from Delaware - Scandal and buzz.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Anthony Baldo, with staff reports World Access scandal R2 Investments, a pugnacious bond investor, has turned the bankruptcy of World Access Inc. into a mini-scandal replete with a 10-day trial before confirmation, hanging...

American Classic seeks help.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Bankrupt American Classic Voyages, which sold three vessels in a marathon auction for $82 million earlier this month, is seeking another 90-day extension for the right to file an exclusive Chapter 11 plan of...

Diva files prepack for Gemstar sale.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Peter Lauria Henry Yuen's Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. expanded its emerging technology platform Wednesday, May 29, with a deal to acquire substantially all the assets of cable television video-on-demand provider Diva...

DIP Dimensions: Teleglobe Inc.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke When it comes to bankrupt Teleglobe Inc., parent BCE Inc. looks like it's covered all its bases by providing a $100 million debtor-in-possession loan commitment to the Reston, Va.-based long-distance service...

California's other power case; Power puff.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Matt Miller For California and its disastrous attempt at energy deregulation, the bankruptcy of utilities giant Pacific Gas and Electric Co. and near-collapse of Edison International hogged headlines. What's gotten a mere puff of...

Door opens for Republic bidders.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Greg Johnson The lawyers and restructuring advisers of Republic Technologies International LLC went into court this week hoping to slam dunk a $450 million bid that could save it, only to emerge late Tuesday, May 28, driving to...

York expects to enter bankruptcy.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas York Research Corp., a New York-based operator of natural gas power plants, said Wednesday, May 29, that it expects to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy shortly. The company reiterated that $150 million worth of 12%...

Arch Wireless out of Ch. 11.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke National paging service provider Arch Wireless Inc. said Wednesday, May 29, it emerged from bankruptcy. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Massachusetts in Worcester had confirmed Arch's...

Polymer gets DIP approval.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas Polymer Group Inc. got approval for $125 million debtor-in-possession financing from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of South Carolina's Columbia division, on Wednesday, May 29, with a few modifications....

Florsheim unsecureds get settlement.
May 30, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Unsecured creditors pulled their motion to convert the Chapter 11 filing for Florsheim Group Inc. to Chapter 7 liquidation after carving out a $750,000 recovery from the senior bank group, according to bank counsel....