The Daily Deal articles from May 2002

The Daily Deal archives from May 2002

Amara Group confirms Vicom bid.
May 2, 2002... Irvine, Calif.-based merchant bank Amara Group Inc. on Wednesday confirmed its $65 million bid to acquire Vicom Inc., a Minneapolis provider of high-speed communications equipment. The $3.75 a share offer from Amara includes $1.25 per share in...

Andersen UK unit spurns Deloitte & Touche.
May 2, 2002... The U.K. corporate recovery practice of Andersen will merge with Ernst & Young, breaking away from the deal with Deloitte & Touche that the U.K. affiliate agreed to in April. Andersen said the deal with E&Y has been struck with the full...

Andersen gets half of ComCor.
May 2, 2002... New York investment firm Andersen Group Inc. said Wednesday it has agreed to acquire the half of ComCor-TV now owned by Russia's OAO Moskovskaya Telecommunikationaya Corp. for about $28 million in stock. CCTV, a Russian company that is wiring...

Comcast and AT&T see deal close by year's end.
May 2, 2002... Comcast Corp. and AT&T Corp.'s broadband unit may be able to close their $72 billion merger before the end of the year, Comcast chairman Brian Roberts told investors Wednesday in an earnings conference call. "We are hoping it happens a little...

Compass: We can keep SAir Group catering unit.
May 2, 2002... U.K. contract caterer Compass Group plc is confident it can hold onto the catering businesses it acquired earlier this month from Switzerland's SAir Group after British antitrust regulators said they may ask for disposals. The SFr96.8 million...

Koonras Tech buys Xeikon France.
May 2, 2002... Israel's Koonras Technologies Ltd. announced Wednesday that it is acquiring bankrupt digital printing machine maker Xeikon France SA for $32 million. Tel Aviv-based Koonras gets an 80% stake in Xeikon France with the rest going to Israel Orgad,...

Legend buys reserves from Anadarko for $56.1M.
May 2, 2002... Houston oil and gas explorer Legend Natural Gas LP said Wednesday it closed its purchase of natural gas properties in South Texas and the Texas Gulf Coast areas from crosstown rival Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and its unit, RME Petroleum Co., for...

Motia.
May 2, 2002... Wireless chipmaker Motia Inc. announced its latest round of funding, a $5 million investment led by Kodiak Venture Partners. Axiom Venture Partners and Carrot Capital also participated in the round. Pasadena, Calif.-based Motia develops...

One Liberty JV buys theater.
May 2, 2002... One Liberty Properties Inc., a Great Neck, N.Y., real estate investment trust, said Wednesday that its OLP Holdings llc joint venture has acquired a 22-screen stadium-seating movie theater in Austell, Ga., for about $11.8 million. Austell is a...

Paratek Microwave.
May 2, 2002... Columbia, Md.-based Paratek Microwave Inc., a developer of microwave antennas and related components for wireless communications systems, announced the closing of a $17 million fourth round of venture funding Wednesday. Prior investors...

Simmons & Simmons joins Nolst.
May 2, 2002... U.K. law firm Simmons & Simmons said Wednesday it has merged with Rotterdam-based law firm Nolst Trenite. The two firms announced in October that merger talks were at an advanced stage. Nolst Trenite has 27 partners and another 91 fee earners....

Spirent sheds SSII subsidiary.
May 2, 2002... West Sussex, U.K.-based network technology company Spirent plc announced Wednesday that it has sold its ailing Switching Systems International Inc. subsidiary for $9.1 million. Spirent declined to disclose the buyer. SSII posted a 2001 loss of...

Star Private Capital closes $523M first fund.
May 2, 2002... London private equity firm Star Private Capital said Monday it has closed a [Euro]581 million ($523 million) first fund, exceeding its target of [Euro]500 million. The core investors in the fund are the private equity arms of Royal Bank of...

Touchpak.
May 2, 2002... New York-based Touchpak Inc., a distributor of wireless content targeting customers waiting in line, has raised $3.5 million in its second round. Two new investors, WatchPoint Ventures and Meerkat Management, joined first-round investor Beehive...

Angstrom Power.
May 2, 2002... Vancouver, British Columbia-based Angstrom Power Inc., a developer of micro-structured fuel cells, has secured $2.85 million in a first round led by Vancouver-based Chrysalix Energy LP and Ventures West. OPG Ventures, GrowthWorks Capital and...

DIP dimensions: NationsRent Inc. Headline Here.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Are some debtor-in-possession financings more defensive for some pre-petition lenders than others? When the pre-petition syndicate includes scores of participants, as in the case of NationsRent Inc., such a loan...

Letter from Delaware: Executive bargaining.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray with staff reports Blue light special on CEOs The heated debate surrounding the seemingly audacious executive compensation requests that have roiled bankruptcies in Delaware and New York has been handily doused...

Icahn's XO plan could dilute future stake.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke XO Communications Inc. revealed further details about Carl Icahn's offer to reorganize the company and some ambitious cash-flow projections May 1, but the struggling telecom provider gave no hint as to which of...

Liquidation diet.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Katie Anderson If you're a liquidator, you better have a good sense of smell. Ask Brad Snyder of Boston-based Gordon Brothers, the largest so-called asset disposition firm in the U.S. The quality of the goods to be sold off, and...

Bankrupt Sheldahl will sell assets.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray A Minnesota bankruptcy judge is set to consider a $1.5 million debtor-in-possession facility May 6 for Sheldahl Inc., which filed for Chapter 11 protection after being battered by operational missteps and the...

Canadian book empire gets help.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Companies owned by Canadian publishing icon Jack Stoddart were granted bankruptcy protection from creditors late April 30, throwing an already ailing industry into further turmoil. Stoddart's book empire...

Foster Wheeler gets extension.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas Foster Wheeler Corp. said it remained uncertain about 2002 earnings after receiving an extension to renegotiate key bank loans. The Clinton, N.J.-based construction and engineering company had faced a deadline of April...

Pillowtex reorganization plan OK'd.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Pillowtex Corp., an embattled textile maker with warring bondholder factions, May 1 won court approval for a second amended reorganization plan that will turn 97% of the equity in a new entity over to a bank group led...

Industry in Distress: Auto parts makers.
May 2, 2002... www.TheDeal.com

AIG names 7 to office of chairman.
May 2, 2002... Byline: David Weidner To many, Maurice R."Hank" Greenberg seemed to be pursuing a strategy of living, or at least running American International Group Inc. forever. So far, so good. But in recent years concerns over succession...

CIBC shutters West Coast M&A.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Heidi Moore As part of its restructuring this week, CIBC World Markets will close its West Coast mergers and acquisitions group. As a result of the move, West Coast M&A banking chief Ken Lamb will leave the bank. CIBC recruited...

WorldCom beating Qwest to bottom.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Leon Lazaroff As the largest telecommunication providers with the biggest worries, WorldCom Inc. and Qwest Communications International Inc. both must contend with heavy debt loads, weak demand and Securities and Exchange...

The CEO shuffle.
May 2, 2002... Byline: David Ehrlich WorldCom Inc.'s CEO has resigned amid a wide-ranging investigation of the company by the Securities and Exchange Commission, a depressed share price and strife with the company's board. Bernard Ebbers, who stirred...

Cabletron's ambitions dashed.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Sarah Cohen Cabletron Systems Inc.'s ambitions in February 2000 were vast. The networking equipment maker planned to split apart through four initial public offerings in a move to capitalize on the then-buoyant telecommunications...

Willis Stein to recap Ziff Davis.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Peter Lauria Willis Stein & Partners reprised its role as savior to financially dilapidated Ziff Davis Media Inc. on May 1, agreeing to infuse the technology publisher with $80 million in cash as part of a revamping of the...

Virgin ready to come out of shell.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London LONDON -- British entrepreneur Richard Branson shaved his beard and wore a wedding dress to launch Virgin Brides. He stripped naked for a photo shoot to publicize his autobiography, and he's made several...

May 1: Hynix, Seoul on collision course; Hynix set to clash with Seoul over Micron deal.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon SEOUL -- The South Korean government and the board of embattled Hynix Semiconductor Inc. set themselves on a collision course May 1 over the board's surprise decision a day earlier to reject a $3.1 billion takeover bid...

Lehman cuts complex deal with Woori Finance.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon SEOUL -- U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers has signed a letter of intent to acquire a stake in South Korean government-owned Woori Finance Holding Co., the nation's second-largest financial services group, and to set...

Tate completes Western Sugar sale.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Laura Board LONDON -- More than 18 months after it first signed a memorandum of understanding, British sugar producer Tate & Lyle plc said May 1 it has finally completed the disposal of the Western Sugar Co. to a grower'...

Brack Capital to close on Haslemere.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Neal Sandler TEL AVIV -- Israeli property company Brack Capital Group said May 1 it will honor its offer to acquire Haslemere NV, after a majority of the Anglo-Dutch real estate group's shares were tendered in response to its bid....

Cisco back on acquisition trail.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Sarah Cohen U.S. networking giant Cisco Systems Inc. ended its nine-month purchasing hiatus May 1, acquiring two private companies in which it already holds minority stakes for a combined $258 million in stock. Returning as...

Lehman eyes Woori stake.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon in Seoul and David Weidner in New York SEOUL -- U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Inc. has signed a letter of intent to acquire a stake in South Korean government-owned Woori Finance Holding Co., the nation's...

HP announces final Compaq tally.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Eric Young SAN FRANCISCO -- Hewlett-Packard Co. on May 1 said officials had certified the company's May 19 shareholder vote to acquire Compaq Computer Corp., clearing a last hurdle to the closing of the $18 billion acquisition. ...

DealEstate - May 2, 2002.
May 2, 2002... Byline: compiled by Gerald Magpily April 25 Intel to restart construction of $2B manufacturing facility Intel Corp. said it will resume construction on Fab 24 in Leixlip, Ireland. The $2 billion manufacturing facility will...

Viridian sells finance unit.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Peter Moreira LONDON -- Northern Ireland power company Viridian Group plc said May 1 it has sold its Open + Direct Consumer Financial Services business in a management buyout worth an expected [pound]111.4 million ($163 million)....

Texas Pacific, Flowers join forces.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Braude BERLIN -- Private equity firm Texas Pacific Group and former investment banker J. Christopher Flowers have joined to launch a bid for Germany's ailing Bankgesellschaft Berlin AG. The two turnaround specialists,...

Kohlberg & Co. to acquire IP unit.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Kelly Holman and Padraic Cassidy International Paper, the Stamford, Conn. forest products giant, said May 1 that New York private equity firm Kohlberg & Co. has agreed to acquire its decorative products division for an undisclosed...

Bidders advance in Burger King auction.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Josh Kosman At least three bidders have made it to the second round of bidding for Burger King Corp., as the auction for the hamburger chain lives up to its billing as one of the more appetizing buyout opportunities of the year....

Qwest directories draw big names.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Josh Kosman and David Carey In a deal that promises to be the largest leveraged buyout in years, a group of leading private equity houses is readying a joint multibillion bid for Qwest Communications International Inc.'s...

Westminster ready to split, be sold.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London In a double deal that will provide an exit for Goldman, Sachs & Co.'s Whitehall fund and U.S. private equity firm Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, Westminster Healthcare will sell its residential care homes...

Relicore scores $11M round.
May 2, 2002... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio Software startup Relicore Inc. began with the premise that there's a crying corporate need to conquer the overwhelming complexities of enterprise applications. Touting that message, the Burlington, Mass. company...

3i Group backs Westminster MBO.
May 3, 2002... U.K. private equity firm 3i Group plc said Thursday it will back the management buyout of Westminster Health Care, worth [pound]267 million ($391 million). 3i said it will invest [pound]70 million in the MBO of the residential care homes...

Acesa completes purchase of 10% stake in Brisa.
May 3, 2002... Spanish construction firm Autopistas Concesionaria Espanola SA, or Acesa, has paid [Euro]151.2 million ($137 million) for another 5% stake in Brisa Auto-Estradas de Portugal SA from Banco Portugues de Investimento SA, the company said in a...

CBCA.
May 3, 2002... Oakland, Calif.-based CBCA Inc., an administrator of employer-sponsored self-insured health insurance, said Thursday it has closed a $30 million Series E round led by San Francisco's meVC Draper Fisher Jurvetson Fund I, which put in $10...

ChemCodes.
May 3, 2002... Chemistry and drug-discovery technology company ChemCodes Inc. of Durham, N.C., said Thursday it had raised $1 million in new second-round funding. The new investment from Emerging Technology Partners of Rockville, Md., follows ChemCodes's...

Circuit Semantics.
May 3, 2002... San Jose, Calif.-based Circuit Semantics Inc. said it has received an undisclosed amount of funding from Crescent Venture Investors, a private fund run by venture capitalist Kevin Hall. Circuit Semantics provides tools that aid in the design of...

Emplanet.
May 3, 2002... Westborough, Mass.-based Emplanet Inc. has raised $16.2 million in new funding from MetLife Inc., PFPC Inc. and existing shareholder Oak Hill Venture Partners. Emplanet sells systems that automate 401(k) management for financial institutions...

FTC clears Solvay's $1.3B purchase of Ausimont.
May 3, 2002... The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has dropped antitrust objections to Belgian chemical company Solvay SA's $1.3 billion acquisition of Ausimont SpA from Italenergia SpA after Solvay agreed to divest its U.S. polyvinylidene fluoride operations,...

LM Glasfiber Holding A/S.
May 3, 2002... LONDON -- Danish wind turbine blade manufacturer LM Glasfiber Holding A/S said Thursday it pulled its initial public offering, blaming market conditions. The company said in a statement that it abandoned the float rather than lower the price...

Merrill Lynch: Tesoro may not close Golden Eagle.
May 3, 2002... New York brokerage firm Merrill Lynch & Co. said it was cutting its rating on Tesoro Petroleum Corp. from neutral/buy to reduce/sell because of fears the San Antonio refiner will not be able to complete its $1 billion acquisition of the Golden...

More bidders emerge for Burger King.
May 3, 2002... The list of bidders London-based Diageo plc has accepted into the second round of its auction of Miami-based Burger King Corp. is growing. The Deal reported Thursday that Triarc Cos., a publicly traded company run by Nelson Peltz; the private...

Movaz Networks.
May 3, 2002... Metropolitan-area optical networking company Movaz Networks of Atlanta said Thursday it had received $60 million in third-round funding. Oak Investment Partners led a large group of investors, including Worldview Technology Partners, Menlo...

Naviant gets 24/7 Media asset.
May 3, 2002... 24/7 Real Media Inc., a New York provider of online publishing services, said Thursday that it would sell a majority stake in its 24/7 Mail subsidiary to Boca Raton, Fla., e-mail marketer Naviant Inc. for up to $4 million. 24/7 said the sale...

Ovation Pharmaceuticals.
May 3, 2002... Linconshire, Ill.-based Ovation Pharmaceuticals Inc., a speciality pharmaceuticals firm that aims to acquire drugs and market them, has obtained a commitment for up to $150 million in venture capital financing from Chicago-based private equity...

Passport Health Communications.
May 3, 2002... Franklin, Tenn.-based Passport Health Communications Inc., a provider of insurance eligibility and benefit information to hospitals and doctors, said Thursday it has closed its $11.2 million Series B round led by CB Health Ventures of New York....

Paul Hastings merges with Koo.
May 3, 2002... Looking to tap the Hong Kong and China financial markets, Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker llp has merged with Hong Kong law firm Koo and Partners. Koo was one of the top 20 law firms in Hong Kong alongside Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer,...

Prime sells assets to Blackstone.
May 3, 2002... Prime Group Realty Trust said it has sold nine suburban office buildings to New York private equity shop Blackstone Real Estate Advisors LP for $133.3 million. The price includes assumption of about $113 million in debt. Chicago-based Prime...

Prosperity Bank buys Paradigm.
May 3, 2002... Prosperity Bancshares Inc., the Houston parent of Prosperity Bank, said Thursday that it is acquiring privately held crosstown rival Paradigm Bancorporation Inc. in a transaction valued at $41.4 million. Under the terms, Prosperity will issue...

Siemens taking Unisphere unit.
May 3, 2002... German electronics and engineering giant Siemens AG said Thursday it would take over the voice technology business of Unisphere Networks Inc., its Westford, Mass.-based subsidiary. Terms were not disclosed. Unisphere's voice business will...

Starfire Systems.
May 3, 2002... Watervliet, N.Y.-based Starfire Systems Inc., a producer of patented silicon carbide-forming polymers for the manufacture of advanced ceramic materials applications, said it has won the $100,000 prize for the best business plan presented at the...

The Telemetry Company.
May 3, 2002... Dallas-based wireless security developer The Telemetry Company has raised $6.3 million in new funding, one of its investors said Thursday. CDP Capital-Technology Ventures said that it led the new financing with First Capital Group and E2...

PNC drops Standard trustee request.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas The bank leading the lending group for bankrupt Standard Automotive has dropped its request to have a trustee appointed to oversee the auto-parts maker's chief executive officer. Maya Pagoda of Sitrick & Co., a...

Teresi gets bankrupt Easyriders.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke After a short, impromptu bidding war in a San Fernando, Calif., courtroom, an order was entered May 2 to award bankrupt Easyriders Inc. to its founder and former owner, Joe Teresi, for $12.3 million, or nearly $7...

Lason to bolt bankruptcy June 30.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Lason Inc. said May 2 it expects to emerge from Chapter 11 protection June 30, less than seven months after making its insolvency filing. The Troy, Mich.-based electronic records company's reorganization plan,...

Judge OKs sale of Burlington unit.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray A Delaware judge May 2 approved a $5.1 million stalking-horse bid from Richloom Fabrics Group Inc. for bankrupt Burlington Industries Inc.'s upholstery fabrics business and granted final approval of the sale of the...

Precision sold to former owner.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Precision Specialty Metals Inc. on May 2 sold its assets to former owner C. Edwin Brady and other ex-managers of the stainless steel conversion company for $16.1 million in cash. Los Angeles-based Precision was...

Quality Stores can liquidate.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Quality Stores Inc. won court approval May 2 on its final auction sales and liquidation plan -- meaning the farm equipment retailer can go out of business on the plan's May 13 effective date. Judge Thomas Gregg...

Enron Watch: Week of April 29.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Jaret Seiberg Week of April 29 The lesson of the week may be that -- surprise, surprise -- money matters more than pride. Eric Green, the mediator who gained fame by orchestrating the Justice Department-Microsoft Corp....

Banks approve NTL rescue.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Greg Johnson NTL Inc. won't be unplugged. The cable giant announced May 2 that its bankers have approved a debt-for-equity swap agreed to last month that slashes the company's $17 billion in debt. NTL, a New York-based cable...

Micron abandons Hynix offer.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon SEOUL -- U.S. memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc. said May 2 that it is no longer interested in acquiring Hynix Semiconductor Inc. even as a major creditor of the ailing chip maker said lenders still want to sell the...

AT&T Canada cuts jobs.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Laura King AT&T Canada Inc. said May 2 it will cut 1,000 jobs and slash spending and assured investors that parent AT&T Corp. supports the company despite continued losses. ATTC's debtholders, many of whom have organized a...

Layoff roundup -- week ended May 2.
May 3, 2002... Byline: David Ehrlich Layoff announcements seem to have slowed down for May Day, after rising 10% last month. U.S. companies announced plans to cut 112,649 jobs in April, up from 102,315 in March, according to outplacement firm...

Merrill vice chairman quits.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Heidi Moore Tom Davis, a vice chairman who oversees the research department of Merrill Lynch & Co., announced May 2 that he is resigning from the firm as of Nov. 1. "I remain committed to... continue participating in our...

Brobeck does more layoffs.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Eric Young SAN FRANCISCO -- A downturn in dealmaking prompted high profile business law firm Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison llp to lay off 35 associates and 24 staff members in its second round of employee cuts in the past three...

PwC unit announces $1B IPO.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Heidi Moore Working against legislative pressure, accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers llp filed for an estimated $1 billion initial public offering of its consulting arm, PwCC Ltd. For two years, PricewaterhouseCoopers has...

Micron calls it quits.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Gina Chon SEOUL -- U.S. memory chip maker Micron Technology Inc. said May 2 that it is no longer interested in acquiring Hynix Semiconductor Inc. even as a major creditor of the ailing chipamker said lenders still want to sell the...

Jefferson Smurfit becomes a target.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday LONDON -- In what would be the biggest corporate takeover in Ireland, the Dublin paper-packaging maker Jefferson Smurfit Group plc is discussing being acquired by an unidentified suitor. Smurfit, which has a...

General Dynamics scores ATP.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Padraic Cassidy Defense contractor General Dynamics Corp. said May 2 it will acquire Advanced Technical Products Inc. for $250 million cash, including debt, at a 17% premium to ATP's closing share price Wednesday. General...

MeriStar, Interstate join forces.
May 3, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke The hotel management sector got a major shakeup May 2 after its two largest independents -- Interstate Hotels Corp. and MeriStar Hotels & Resorts Inc. -- agreed to merge in a $68 million stock deal. Interstate...