The Daily Deal articles from May 2003, page 3

The Daily Deal archives from May 2003

PG&E wins legal victory.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Cheryl Meyer in Los Angeles Bankrupt energy provider Pacific Gas & Electric Co. received welcome news when a federal judge threw out a state-sponsored challenge to its corporate reorganization, according to a May filing in the...

Little Bear eats up Divine assets.
May 19, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman Little Bear Investments LLC said Friday, May 16, it completed purchase of substantially all of Divine Inc.'s portfolio of venture investments out of bankruptcy for $410,000. The purchased assets include equity...

Peregrine files 3rd amended reorg plan.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Cheryl Meyer Preparing for a July confirmation hearing, application software provider Peregrine Systems Inc. of San Diego said Friday, May 16, it has filed its third amended reorganization plan and disclosure statement with the...

AES tries to save Brazilian utility stake.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Michael Kepp in Rio de Janerio U.S. power generation company AES Corp. Friday, May 16, made a last-ditch effort to dissuade Brazil's National Development Bank from seizing AES' majority stake in Latin America's second-largest...

First Financial plans offshore listing.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong First Financial Holdings plans to issue shares offshore to replenish its depleted capital base after an aggressive write-off of bad debt in the past year. Shareholders on Friday, May 16,...

IPO Outlook: May 19, 2003.
May 19, 2003... BEC-Tero BANGKOK -- Thailand's BEC-Tero plc is expected to launch its initial public offering in the fourth quarter after delays due to market conditions and the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a source close to the...

Alcatel returns to M&A.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Samer Iskandar in Paris and Sarah Cohen French telecom equipment maker Alcatel SA came out of its 3-year-long corporate retrenchment Friday, May 16, with the $150 million acquisition of TiMetra Networks, a Mountain View,...

Arvest grabs local banking rival.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Donna Block Owned by the family of supermarket magnate Sam Walton, Arvest Holdings Inc. said Friday, May 16, that it had agreed to acquire publicly traded Superior Financial Corp. in a deal valued at $211 million. Arvest,...

Brooks Automation's deal drought continues.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Olaf de Senerpont Domis in San Francisco Chip equipment maker Brooks Automation Inc. said it has ended a bid to acquire privately held Berkeley Process Control Inc., a maker of robotic components. Chelmsford, Mass.-based...

Rival miners eye Ashanti.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Lisa Clifford in London and Laura King in Toronto Gold is apparently back in fashion among some of its most fervent supporters, the dealmakers at mining companies themselves. South African mining giant AngloGold Ltd. is in...

Icahn shifts energy stake.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Claire Poole American Real Estate Partners LP, the Mount Kisco, N.Y.-based real estate vehicle of billionaire corporate raider Carl Icahn, said Friday its American Real Estate Holdings LP unit agreed to acquire an entity that...

Deals of the Week: May 16, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Matthew Wurtzel The largest deal of the week was Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust Inc.'s $1.12 billion acquisition announced Wednesday of mall manager Crown American Realty Trust. Besides assuming $619 million in...

Publishers defy music-sector blues.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Peter Lauria Which album title most closely describes the fiscal state of the music industry? Nine Inch Nails' "The Downward Spiral" or 50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Tryin"? While the conventional assessment of the industry is...

Investors question Register retention plan.
May 19, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman in San Francisco Shareholders in Register.com Inc. are criticizing an employee retention plan adopted by the domain name registry company. Tim Leehealey, analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities, said specifics...

Ruling favors CB Bancshares in takeover fight.
May 19, 2003... Byline: David Ehrlich A day after Honolulu-based Central Pacific Financial Corp. filed suit to block island neighbor CB Bancshares Inc. from calling a May 28 special meeting, a Hawaii court on Friday denied Central Pacific's motion for a...

Capital Calls: Public targets.
May 19, 2003... Byline: edited by John E. Morris Analysts have gotten a bad name. But sometimes their research is on the money. A case in point: a recent Morgan Stanley report devoted to U.K. companies that private equity firms might want to take...

The cable (and tower and fiber) guy.
May 19, 2003... Byline: David Carey Call Jerry Kent a media manager. He's best known as a cable industry magnate who led two companies, Cencom Cable Associates and Charter Communications Inc., from the mid '80s to the late '90s. Those two ventures...

Apax profits from Greenbacks exit.
May 19, 2003... Byline: David Carey Apax Partners, which oversaw a slow-paced, conservatively funded buildup of a discount retail chain, Greenbacks Inc., will earn a rich payback from the chain's pending $100 million cash sale, an Apax partner said...

Saban, other buyers covet Cinar.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Ron Orol in Washington In a bitter 2001 proxy fight, investors in Cinar Corp. expelled the management and board of directors at the ailing animation company with the goal of arranging a sale. Now a deal may be close at hand....

Bidders vie for Italian phone books.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Josh Kosman With four bidding groups still in the running for its coveted yellow pages business, Telecom Italia has set a final offer deadline of June 6 in what could lead to one of the biggest European leveraged buyouts of all...

Hayward pool deal delayed.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Josh Kosman Hayward Industries Inc. is expected to announce late Friday, May 16, it is postponing the sale of its pool business to Bain Capital Inc., sources said. After reaching an agreement in March to sell Hayward Pool...

Private Equity briefs.
May 19, 2003... Byline: compiled by George White Mega Bloks Inc. New York private equity firm The Blackstone Group said it is selling its remaining 26.7% stake in Canadian toymaker Mega Bloks Inc. through a secondary rights offering. If successful,...

Irish retailer Arnotts agrees to MBO.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Josh Karlen Arnotts plc, Ireland's oldest department store, has agreed to be taken private by two of its non-executive directors, as the spate of retail-sector acquisitions in the U.K. spreads across the Irish Sea. In a...

What's Hot: May 16, 2003.
May 19, 2003... Byline: George White Although total dealflow was down this week, venture capitalists are doing more with less. Startups raised a total of $237.9 million off of only 18 financings, after getting $245.06 million from 26 deals the week...

Evergreen Solar raises $29M.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Tyson Freeman Evergreen Solar Inc. believes it can manufacture solar panels more cheaply than the rest of the market, but the publicly traded company has found no luck in raising growth capital in the public market. An...

Disney, CIA join Rosum backers.
May 19, 2003... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Rosum Corp. had no trouble finding its way in its first foray in the institutional capital markets, landing $16 million from investors as diverse as Mickey Mouse and the world's largest spy network to support a...

Cisco to take $500M charge on Andiamo.
May 19, 2003... Cisco Systems Inc. will take a non-cash charge of up to $500 million related to its investment in storage switch maker Andiamo Systems Inc. The San Jose, Calif., networking equipment giant said in a Monday filing to the Securities and...

EU clears Sonera sale of Com hem.
May 19, 2003... The European Commission on Monday approved Telia Sonera AB's plans to sell its Swedish cable television business Com hem AB to EQT Partners AB and Telia Mobile Finland to Suomen 2G/DNA, owned by Finland's Finnet alliance of regional telecom...

Hays compiles buyers list for logistics unit.
May 19, 2003... U.K. outsourcing company Hays plc said Monday it has compiled a short list of buyers for the rest of its logistics and information management division. Hays said in March it would sell its logistics and information management operations to...

Kemira buys Vulcan's paper chemicals unit.
May 19, 2003... Finnish pulp and paper chemicals producer Kemira Oy said Monday that it has acquired the pulp and paper chemicals division of Vulcan Materials Co. for $44 million. Kemira Oy said its Kemira Chemicals Inc. division made the purchase from...

Kumagai Gumi, Tobishima postpone merger.
May 19, 2003... Japanese construction companies Kumagai Gumi Co. and Tobishima Corp. said Monday they would merge in April 2005, a year later than originally planned. The two companies, both engaged in drastic restructuring programs with support from their...

Nochi Dankner finally wins IDB Holdings.
May 19, 2003... After months of delay, Israel's biggest deal of the year has finally been completed. An investor group headed by Israeli businessman Nochi Dankner has officially taken over IDB Holdings, paying $434 million for a 51.7% stake in IDB, which...

B&C Holding to raise Semperit stake.
May 16, 2003... Vienna-based B&C Holding GmbH, part of a Bank Austria Creditanstalt foundation, said Friday that it paid [Euro]52 million ($60 million) to increase its stake in Austrian surgical glove maker Semperit AG to 42.8% from 25.3%. Because the...

Chelsfield receives an MBO bid.
May 16, 2003... British property group Chelsfield plc said Friday a management team led by chairman Elliott Bernerdit had made a preliminary approach concerning the sale of the company. The company said in a statement that discussions were at an early stage...

Cisco Systems finishes SignalWorks deal.
May 16, 2003... San Jose networking titan Cisco Systems Inc. said Friday it completed the acquisition of SignalWorks Inc. for $13.5 million in stock. Cisco said it would acquire the Mountain View, Calif., software developer in March. SignalWorks brings Cisco...

Little Bear eats up Divine assets.
May 16, 2003... Little Bear Investments LLC said Friday it completed purchase of substantially all of Divine Inc.'s portfolio of venture investments out of bankruptcy for $410,000. The purchased assets include equity interests in more than 18 companies...

McCain rejects early FCC vote bid.
May 16, 2003... The five Federal Communications Commission members won't appear before the Senate prior to a June 2 vote on whether to revamp media ownership restrictions. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz. sent a letter Friday to Sen....

Millennium, Crossfields join merger parade.
May 16, 2003... Two more Canadian energy companies said Friday they are merging. Millennium Energy Inc. and privately held Crossfields Gas Corp., both Calgary, Alberta-based oil and gas producers, plan to form a new company called Bear Creek Energy Ltd....

Rodamco Asia gets Korea office tower.
May 16, 2003... Asian property investment company Rodamco Asia NV said Friday that it has acquired a twin-tower office complex in Seoul, South Korea, through the purchase of Korean counterpart Chilbong Industries LLC for [Euro]68.8 million ($78 million)....

UBS to buy Lloyds TSB division.
May 16, 2003... Continuing a push to expand its asset management activities, Swiss financial services group UBS AG agreed Friday to buy the French private banking and fund management business of U.K. rival Lloyds TSB. The two banks wouldn't release a price...

Wolohan Lumber gets management offer.
May 16, 2003... Saginaw, Mich., building supply store operator Wolohan Lumber Co. said Friday it's received a buyout offer that valued the company at $44.37 million. The bid is from president and CEO James L. Wolohan, COO John A. Sieggreen, senior vice...

Dice reorg rolls ahead.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Former online recruiting service Dice Inc. on Thursday, May 15, won approval for its disclosure statement at a hearing in bankruptcy court. Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S Bankruptcy Court for the Southern...

CIBC wins Air Canada court approval.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Laura King The Ontario Superior Court has approved a monitor's recommendation that the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce continue as Air Canada's frequent-flier credit card partner. But Justice James Farley, who is overseeing...

Jinro appeals insolvency ruling.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Roger du Mars South Korean troubled liquor producer Jinro Ltd. on Thursday, May 15, appealed a decision by the Seoul District Court to place the company under court receivership. Creditor Goldman Sachs Group, via its...

Judge OK's sale of Kleinert unit.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan A New York judge Thursday, May 15, approved the sale of the sleepwear unit of bankrupt Kleinert's Inc. for $4 million, rendering a creditors' motion to delay the transaction moot. Judge Burton Lifland of the...

AMR cuts deals with suppliers.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Lou Whiteman American Airlines parent AMR Corp. cleared another hurdle towards completing its out-of-court restructuring Thursday, May 15, reaching agreements with suppliers that will save the airline more than $175 million...

Global Crossing wants more time to file reorg plan.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter Global Crossing Inc. has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York to extend its exclusive period to file a reorganization plan until October 28. While the court has already approved the...

Hawaiian Air fails to appease creditors.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson Creditors said Thursday that an offer by Hawaiian Airlines Inc.'s CEO to resign isn't enough and they still want a trustee to run the bankrupt airline. In a statement Thursday, May 15, John W. Adams offered to...

WorldCom's creditor face-off begins.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter Round one of the biggest creditor fight in the biggest Chapter 11 case in history got underway Thursday, May 15, as U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzalez opened a hearing to consider whether a Chapter 11 trustee...

Redline IPO set for today.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Donna Block A designer of high-end snowmobiles that has only sold a few prototypes, Redline Performance Products Inc. is poised to raise up to $9.9 million when its initial public offering hits the American Stock Exchange today....

Virgin Blue hopes for 2003 offering.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London Richard Branson reiterated plans to float a stake in his low-cost Australian airline Virgin Blue before the end of the year and indicated that about 30% of the company could be sold to the public. Will...

Banks in Carolinas come to terms.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Donna Block The South Financial Group Inc. said late Wednesday, May 14, that it had agreed to buy MountainBank Financial Corp. for $137 million in stock to extend its footprint into western North Carolina. Under terms of the...

Eisner's Angels fly to new owner.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Peter Lauria Major League Baseball team owners officially sent the Walt Disney Co. to the showers Thursday, May 15, approving Phoenix businessman Arturo Moreno's purchase of the defending World Series champion Anaheim Angels for...

Immigration law firm buys PwC unit.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Frances A. McMorris In an unusual move, the largest immigration law firm in the U.S. has acquired the Australian business unit of accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers. Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy bought PwC's Global...

Hawaiian bank feud heats up.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Josh Karlen What began as a quiet takeover approach by Hawaii's Central Pacific Financial Corp. toward a smaller local rival has become an increasingly public skirmish that has drawn in the state financial regulator and has...

U.K. logistics firm becomes takeover target.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London U.K. logistics company Christian Salvesen plc said Thursday, May 15, it has received an "unsolicited preliminary expression of interest" from a financial buyer regarding a possible offer. The news...

Lockheed Martin lands Orincon.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Lou Whiteman Defense giant Lockheed Martin Corp. on Thursday, May 15, struck a deal to boost its intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance offerings, agreeing to acquire Orincon Corp. International of San Diego for an...

Dollar Tree to buy Greenbacks chain.
May 16, 2003... Byline: David Carey Apax Partners, a private equity firm based in London and New York, agreed to sell Greenbacks Inc. to Dollar Tree Stores Inc. for about $100 million in cash, Dollar Tree said late Thursday, May 15. The deal will...

CNOOC joins Aussie venture.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Days after being shut out of another foreign energy deal, China oil and gas giant CNOOC Ltd. on Thursday agreed to pay $348 million for a stake in a major Australian gas project. The Chinese...

Deutsche Telekom plans real estate divestitures.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin Celebrating the success of its debt reduction program, Deutsche Telekom AG announced Thursday that it would be more finicky about future asset sales. Even though the German telcommunications giant...

HSR Early Terms: May 15.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Jaret Seiberg The Federal Trade Commission said Thursday, May 15 that the antitrust agencies do not have objections to a deal involving CRH plc and SE Johnson Companies Inc. Also receiving an early termination notice under the...

Hallwood Realty rejects Icahn bid.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Hallwood Realty Partners LP rejected Carl Icahn's $100 per unit, or $136 million, all-cash offer for the Dallas real estate company on Thursday, May 15. When Icahn made the offer three weeks ago, it represented...

Fleet, Hancock end talks.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Donna Block Boston's largest bank and its largest life insurance company failed to agree on a merger despite spending two months in negotiations, according to a report published Thursday, May 15. The Boston Globe reported...

Private Equity Briefcase: Wind Point Partners.
May 16, 2003... Byline: George White www.TheDeal.com

Mitchells bidder walks away.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Lisa Clifford in London BC Partners Ltd. said Thursday it had abandoned plans to bid for Mitchells & Butlers plc, the British pubs group recently demerged from Six Continents plc, saying it was denied access to the books. The...

CSFB to take Swiss PE portfolio.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin In the latest bid to stabilize itself, Switzerland's loss-ridden Private Equity Holding AG agreed Thursday, May 15, to sell most of its portfolio to a Credit Suisse First Boston private equity fund. ...

Sentinel invests in Castle Dental recap.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Kelly Holman Sentinel Capital Partners, a New York private equity firm, said Thursday, May 15, that it has carried out a $66.2 million recapitalization of Castle Dental Centers Inc. Under terms of the deal, a Sentinel...

VhaYu Tech raises $6.5 million.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Financial services software maker VhaYu Technologies has landed $6.5 million in new funding, more than three years since its last funding, and two years into a shift from operating a Web site for day traders. ...

Intel Capital bets on ru-Net.
May 16, 2003... Byline: Katherine Goncharoff While the U.S. venture capital industry is retrenching, investing domestically and cutting back, Intel Capital, the VC arm of chip giant Intel Corp., is branching out, announcing its first VC investment in a...

Valero reels in Louisiana refinery.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Claire Poole in Houston The Deal's first take. Update by 4 p.m. EDT. San Antonio-based refining giant Valero Energy Corp. said Wednesday, May 14, that it had agreed to buy a Louisiana refinery from bankrupt Orion Refining...

DIP Dimensions: Eagle Food Centers.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke For the second time in three years, Congress Financial Corp. is hoping Eagle Food Centers Inc. will eventually soar. But labor woes could keep the supermarket chain grounded. "[Eagle Food] will need to have...

Art of the deal.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Renee Cordes For the past three decades, only visitors to Sabena headquarters on the grounds of Brussels' airport in the suburb of Zaventem have been able to view "Sky Bird," a painting by Belgian surrealist Ren? Magritte...

Goldman wins feud with South Korea's Jinro.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul South Korea's largest spirits producer Jinro Ltd. was put under court receivership Tuesday, May 13, in a victory for foreign creditors led by Goldman, Sachs & Co. The move by the Seoul District Court...

CIBC recommended as Air Canada partner.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Laura King in Toronto The monitor for Air Canada recommended Wednesday that the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce continue as the carrier's loyalty card partner. But Ernst & Young Inc., in its report to the Ontario Superior...

Asia Global judge refuses to end exclusivity.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter When bankruptcy lawyers cite Shakespeare in pleadings, you might expect drama in court. Counsel for Asia Global Crossing Ltd. and the telecom's unsecured creditors committee were mostly reserved, however, as they...

NationsRent plans late May exit.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray A Delaware bankruptcy judge has confirmed NationsRent Inc.'s reorganization plan, allowing the company to tap commitments for a $150 million exit facility, as well as $80 million in new capital. The Fort...

NRG Energy files for Chapter 11.
May 15, 2003... Two days after a Minnesota judge threw out an involuntary bankruptcy filing lodged by former executives against NRG Energy Inc., the Minneapolis power generator threw itself and some of its affiliates into bankruptcy by filing a voluntary...

NaviSite gobbles up Interliant.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson Managed hosting provider NaviSite Inc., a subsidiary of Andover, Mass., technology incubator CMGI Inc., said Wednesday, May 14, it has prevailed as the winning bidder at a court supervised auction to buy the assets...

Court grants Kasper extension.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray A federal judge has thwarted shareholders' attempts to end Kasper ASL Ltd.'s exclusivity period for filing its own reorganization plan. Instead, Judge Allan L. Gropper in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the...

Orion refinery goes to Valero.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Just days after filing bankruptcy, Orion Refining Corp. was set to file a stalking-horse agreement May 15 to sell its sole oil refinery to Valero Energy Corp. for about $500 million. May 15 will be a busy day...

OSI filing dings Madison Dearborn.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson Chicago private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners LLC stands to lose a bundle on Outsourcing Solutions Inc., the bill collection firm that filed for bankruptcy Tuesday, May 13. Madison Dearborn invested $170...

Little awaits Museum Co. unsecureds.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Even though The Museum Co. sold its assets and ceased operations nearly a year ago, its unsecured creditors still must wait until autumn to see if they recover 2.5% at most on their claims. Chief Judge Stuart...

Bankrupt Marconi clears 304 hurdle.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter One of the largest "304" proceedings ever cleared its final hurdle Wednesday, May 14, when Judge Stuart Bernstein of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York approved Marconi PLC's request for...

Allegiance Telecom succumbs to debt.
May 15, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter Dallas-based competitive local exchange carrier Allegiance Telecom Inc. filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, May 14, ending months of...