The Daily Deal articles from May 2003, page 5

The Daily Deal archives from May 2003

Brazil auctioning AES' main electricity asset.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Michael Kepp in Rio de Janeiro AES Corp. came closer to losing its biggest Brazilian asset Monday, May 12, after the government declared it will take over Eletropaulo, Brazil's No. 2 electricity distributor, and auction AES'...

Williams sells Colorado gas reserves.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Claire Poole Bridgeport, W.Va., natural gas explorer Petroleum Development Corp. said Monday, May 12, it agreed to purchase natural gas properties in the Denver-Julesburg Basin of northeastern Colorado from Williams Production...

Newbridge's China deal imperiled.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong China's Shenzhen Development Bank on Monday, May 12, abruptly disbanded an eight-member management control committee formed by Newbridge Capital Group, casting doubt on the buyout firm's landmark...

Permira bids $2.5B for Debenhams.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London Six months after exiting its last U.K. retail investment, private equity house Permira Advisers Ltd. wants to get back into the sector with a [pounds sterling]1.54 billion ($2.48 billion) bid for...

Colaninno talks with Vespa maker.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan The holding company of deal-minded Roberto Colaninno is in exclusive negotiations to buy a stake in Italian scooter group Piaggio, the producer of the legendary Vespa. Colaninno's quoted holding...

Warburg Pincus software firms merge.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Neal Sandler in Tel Aviv Two Warburg Pincus-backed private software companies agreed Monday, May 12, to merge in a $78 million deal. Tel Aviv-based Ness Technologies Ltd. will buy Pittsburgh-based APAR Infotech Corp.,...

Winterthur sells Dallas insurer.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin As part of an effort to sell unprofitable units, Swiss financial group Credit Suisse Group's insurance wing, Winterthur, agreed to sell U.S. regional insurer Republic Group to financial investors for...

AIG drops out of pipeline buy.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Claire Poole Wilkes-Barre, Pa., natural gas distributor Southern Union Co. said Monday, May 12, that AIG Highstar Capital LP, a private equity fund backed by New York insurance giant American International Group Inc., is pulling...

Tech mover of the day: Silver Lake adds Ed Zander.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Paul Bonanos Former president of Sun Microsystems Inc. Ed Zander is passing up a chance to become a CEO of a technology company to become a managing director at buyout firm Silver Lake Partners. Zander is familiar with Silver...

Forstmann expected to pack it in.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Josh Kosman and David Carey Is Theodore Forstmann preparing to call it quits? Two days in advance of Forstmann Little & Co.'s annual meeting at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, some of the legendary buyout artist's financial...

SoundBite convinces VCs to return.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Tyson Freeman Will interactive computer-generated telephone calls save the public from the daily indignity of persistent direct marketing pitches? No. But the new technology might make the calls more productive for the marketeer,...

CogniTens' third round almost all local.
May 13, 2003... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Tel Aviv-based CogniTens Ltd. continued to mine its own backyard -- after a fashion -- for investment capital, landing $7.25 million in a third venture round from the Israeli units of San Francisco-based Walden...

Banca Intesa is shedding Chile assets.
May 13, 2003... As it continues to reduce exposure to Latin America, Italian lender Banca Intesa SpA said Tuesday that it has agreed to sell the Chilean activities of its Banque Sudameris SA unit to Chile's Banco del Desarrollo. According to the terms,...

CVC buy of Danske Traelast cleared.
May 13, 2003... The European Commission on Tuesday gave London's CVC Capital Partners the go-ahead to acquire Denmark's Danske Traelast AS in a deal estimated to be worth about $902 million. The purchase price for Danske, Scandinavia's largest building...

Englefield Capital closes first fund.
May 13, 2003... U.K. private equity firm Englefield Capital LLP said Tuesday it closed its first fund with commitments of [Euro]700 million ($807 million). The firm, established in 2002 to target [Euro]20 million to [Euro]75 million equity investments with...

Kodak buying Applied Science Fiction.
May 13, 2003... Eastman Kodak Co. has agreed to acquire Applied Science Fiction Inc., an Austin,Texas, supplier of digital imaging technology. Terms were not disclosed. ASF raised a round of financing in September 2001 after killing plans for a hoped-for...

Orient Group sells China Mensheng stake.
May 13, 2003... Orient Group Inc. said Tuesday it has reached agreement to sell a 1.22% stake, or 41 million shares, in the only privately held bank in China for $23.5 million to International Finance Corp., the Washington investment arm of The World Bank....

Radyne offers to raise Wegener bid price.
May 13, 2003... Phoenix satellite equipment maker Radyne ComStream Inc. on Tuesday said it would raise its bid by $1.05 million for Duluth, Ga., broadcasting equipment maker Wegener Corp. But that's only if Wegener's management recalls its newly adopted...

Royal KPN getting Mobilcom assets.
May 13, 2003... Dutch telecom Royal KPN NV said Tuesday it has agreed to buy some third-generation mobile network assets from German operator Mobilcom AG for [Euro]20 million ($23.1 million). KPN's German unit, E-Plus GmbH, will acquire the 3,723 network...

TIM's Turkish unit merging with Aycell.
May 13, 2003... Italian mobile phone company Telecom Italia Mobile SpA said Tuesday that Turkish unit IS Tim will be merged with Aycell, the mobile-phone unit of fixed-line operator Turk Telecom. Both TIM, a unit of Telecom Italia, and Turk Telecom will own...

Enron to keep overseas assets.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Claire Poole in Houston Enron Corp. said Friday, May 9, it will take overseas assets the company once valued at about $4 billion off the block and instead put them into a new entity, distributing the shares to its creditors as...

Metromedia files revised plan.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter Metromedia Fiber Network, Inc., filed a revised plan of reorganization and disclosure statement with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on Friday, May 9. The White Plains, N.Y....

Ottawa Senators sale approved.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Laura King A Canadian bankruptcy court has approved the sale of the insolvent Ottawa Senators hockey club to Toronto billionaire and pharmaceutical magnate Eugene Melnyk for C$100 million ($72 million). The deal, however,...

Laidlaw to issue notes.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Laura King Transportation giant Laidlaw Inc., which expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection by month's end, said Friday, May 9, it plans to issue $400 million in senior notes to fund part of a distribution to creditors. ...

Bankrupt Kleinert's to sell Buster Brown.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Kleinert's Inc. has signed a stalking-horse agreement to sell its Buster Brown baby sleepwear division for about $6.2 million to Celebrity International Inc. The bankrupt children's apparel maker and three...

Fleming to close some warehouses.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Fleming Cos. said Friday, May 9, it will close five of its 41 wholesale distribution centers. The Lewisville, Texas, grocery wholesaler is shutting money-losing warehouses in Salt Lake City; Warsaw, N.C.;...

Key3Media statement is approved.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray A Delaware bankruptcy judge has approved Key3Media Group Inc.'s disclosure statement, paving the way for the company to begin soliciting acceptances for its proposed reorganization plan. The plan of the Los...

Air Canada, unions get intermediary.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Laura King in Toronto In an unusual move, a Canadian judge has ordered insolvent Air Canada and its five unions to begin talks with a facilitator to work out millions of dollars in labor cost reductions. Justice James Farley...

Babcock: More time for reorg.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas A bankruptcy court agreed to give Babcock & Wilcox Co. and its official committee of asbestos claimants more time to finalize a disclosure statement for the company's reorganization plan. At a hearing on Thursday,...

Judge blocks Magellan shareholders.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Magellan Health Services Inc. and its unsecured creditors joined forces Friday, May 9, to block a move by shareholders to form an equity committee. Judge Prudence Carter Beatty in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the...

Ping An drops planned U.S. offering.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong China's second largest life insurer, Ping An Insurance Co., intends to move forward with its initial public offering in Hong Kong for as much as $1.5 billion, but won't have a listing in the United...

Yukos lowballs minority holders.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Patricia Koza Russia's second-largest oil company, OAO Yukos, has revealed how it plans to treat minority shareholders in its $12 billion takeover of crosstown rival OAO Sibneft -- and generous, it's not. Yukos has declared...

Primedia hits pause before eject.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Richard Morgan Although Primedia Inc. interim chairman Dean Nelson tried convincing staffers in a company-wide teleconference last week that there was "no imperative here to sell assets," sources inside and outside the company...

Taubman stays defiant after ruling.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke A vast majority of its shareholders want it to sell out to Simon Property Group Inc. and Westfield America Inc., and a Michigan judge ruled against it twice within a week, yet a now-testy management of Taubman...

Deals of the Week: May 12, 2003.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily Home is where the deal is -- or at least it was this week, as real estate companies dominated the top spots of the latest chart. Manufactured Home Communities Inc.'s $1.8 billion cash tender offer for...

Manufactured Home offers $1.8B for rival.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Manufactured Home Communities Inc. offered to acquire Chateau Communities Inc. in a $1.82 billion deal that would unite two of the leading manufactured homebuilders in the U.S. Chicago-based Manufactured Home,...

HBOS to buy rest of BankWest.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London British bank HBOS plc said Friday it plans to buy the 43% of Bank of Western Australia Ltd. it doesn't already own for A$1.05 billion ($677 million), which analysts say could be a precursor to the disposal...

Singapore confirms telecom privatization plan.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong and Jaret Seiberg in Washington Singapore has confirmed that it will continue to privatize the state-owned telecom bidding for Global Crossing Ltd. in accordance with a free-trade agreement signed...

Wella gives halfhearted nod to P&G.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin The executive and supervisory boards of German hair-care group Wella AG on Friday, May 9, gave a halfhearted endorsement to Procter & Gamble's contentious bid for Wella's outstanding shares. The two...

Martinair Holland seeks merger.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Renee Cordes in Brussels KLM Royal Dutch Airlines NV and Dutch shipping company Royal Nedlloyd NV said Friday, May 9, they were searching for a merger partner for their Martinair Holland NV joint airline venture but are still far...

Radyne gets rough with Wegener.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Sarah Cohen Radyne ComStream Inc. turned up the heat Friday, May 9, in its effort to buy Wegener Corp., accusing the broadcast equipment maker of arranging a lucrative severance package for senior executives if shareholders...

Celeritek blasts dissident investors.
May 12, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman in San Francisco Claiming it is "a different company" than it was, Celeritek Inc. fired back Friday, May 9, at a shareholder group waging a bitter proxy fight for control of the wireless technology vendor. "In...

Private Equity Briefcase: Forstmann Little.
May 12, 2003... Byline: George White www.TheDeal.com

CAPITAL CALLS: Brand new bag.
May 12, 2003... Byline: edited by John E. Morris SARS may have briefly shut down Toronto as a tourist and business destination, but it hasn't slowed Teachers' Merchant Bank. The private equity arm of the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, which has made a...

Private equity on the Potomac.
May 12, 2003... Byline: David Carey In March 1978 former Italian premier Aldo Moro was kidnapped on a Roman street. Two months later he was murdered. If you're among the naive masses who recall that the Red Brigades terrorist band carried out the deed,...

Confronting SOX.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio When New York midmarket buyout firm Castle Harlan Inc. acquired auto-parts maker Advanced Accessory Systems LLC last month for $260 million, the management paid cash for stock in the company. Private equity firms...

Auto parts drive PE deals.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Kelly Holman and Josh Kosman Auctions of automotive product companies continue to command strong interest from financial sponsor groups. On Thursday, May 8, Prestolite Electric Holding Inc, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based maker of...

What's Hot: May 9, 2003.
May 12, 2003... Byline: George White Venture capital dealflow slipped 27% the week ending May 9, even though more startups were able to raise funds. The number of venture financings increased to 27 from 24 as total capital fell to $245.06 million from...

Symyx spinoff draws $8M in VC funds.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Clifford Carlsen High-tech materials specialist Symyx Technologies Inc. landed the Sprout Group as lead investor along with 5AM Ventures to seed its Symyx Therapeutics Inc. drug development spinoff with an $8 million initial...

Acorda lands $55M.
May 12, 2003... Byline: Andrew Morse in San Francisco and Clifford Carlsen In one of the largest biotech financings so far this year, Acorda Therapeutics Inc., a central-nervous-system therapy developer, announced on Friday, May 9, it had secured $55...

Arcadis acquires Homola.
May 9, 2003... Netherlands consulting and engineering firm Arcadis said Friday that it has acquired 75% of the shares of German project management company Homola Projektmanagement AG for an undisclosed sum. Homola, which employs 125 people, posts annual...

Elevon buying SSA Global Technologies.
May 9, 2003... Elevon Inc., a San Francisco business software supplier, said Friday it is acquiring rival SSA Global Technologies Inc. in a transaction valued at $1.30 per share in Elevon stock. Elevon said that holders of about 10% of Elevon's shares have...

H&R Real Estate adds more properties.
May 9, 2003... Toronto-based H&R Real Estate Investment Trust said Friday it is buying seven industrial and retail properties in Canada and the U.S. for about C$92 million ($66 million). The company said the acquisitions would broaden the trust's sources of...

Idenix takeover completed.
May 9, 2003... Novartis Pharma AG, an affiliate of life-sciences group Novartis AG, announced it completed the $850 million purchase of 51% of Cambridge, Mass., biotech firm Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc. Under the terms of the deal, which was initially...

Laidlaw issuing notes to raise cash.
May 9, 2003... Transportation giant Laidlaw Inc., which expects to emerge from bankruptcy protection by month's end, said Friday it plans to issue $400 million in senior notes to fund part of a distribution to creditors. In a statement before markets...

Lumenis closes sale of GSI unit.
May 9, 2003... Israeli laser system maker Lumenis Ltd. announced Friday it had closed the sale of its industrial laser business to GSI Lumonics Inc. for $6.3 million. The unit, Spectron Laser Systems Ltd., posted about $11 million in sales during 2002....

New North hires Emerging Equities.
May 9, 2003... Calgary, Alberta-based New North Resources Ltd. said Friday it has hired Emerging Equities Inc. as its financial adviser to help the junior oil and gas explorer review its options after receiving an unsolicited expression of interest from an...

Pengrowth to get Sable Offshore assets.
May 9, 2003... Calgary, Alberta-based Pengrowth Corp., which administers the Pengrowth Energy Trust, said Friday it is paying C$57 million ($41 million) to acquire an 8.4% working interest in a pipeline and other assets at the Sable Offshore Energy Project...

Royal Numico: No decision on GNC sale.
May 9, 2003... Netherlands baby formula and nutrition company Royal Numico NV announced during its Friday annual shareholder meeting that board member Bill Watts has resigned from his post. Watts had expressed an interest in buying Numico's nutrition chain...

Thomson finishes Elite Information buy.
May 9, 2003... Thomson Corp. said Friday it has completed its $122 million acquisition of Elite Information Group. Under the $14-a-share deal, which was announced on April 3, Thomson will merge its Gulf Acquisition Corp., which was formed to acquire Elite,...

Zurich Financial to sell Taiwan units.
May 9, 2003... Swiss insurer Zurich Financial Services said Friday it would sell its Taiwan fund activities to Taiwan Life Insurance Co. as it focuses on its core insurance business. The companies refused to release a price or the names of advisers involved...

Trustees considered for Hawaiian Air.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson Two former Hawaiian Airlines Inc. executives are being considered to run the bankrupt carrier if a trustee is appointed to replace its management. According a source close to the situation, Michael McQuay, who...

DOJ dismisses SGL Carbon lawsuit.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Jaret Seiberg The Department of Justice said Thursday, May 8, that it has dismissed its antitrust suit against SGL Carbon AG because the German company lost its bid in bankruptcy court to acquire Carbide/Graphite Group. The...

Loews, Kieft & Kieft team up in deal.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Peter Lauria New York movie exhibitor Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corp. and German counterpart Kieft & Kieft Filmtheater GmbH said Thursday, May 8, they have formed a partnership to acquire out of bankruptcy 28 theaters from UFA...

Bankers lose big in IHS restructuring.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan A Delaware judge approved a reorganization plan for Integrated Health Services Inc. that gives bankers 6 to 8 cents on the dollar. Judge Mary Walrath in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in...

Court OK's offer for Aladdin Casino.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke A Nevada bankruptcy court has approved as a stalking horse bid a $600 million offer for Las Vegas' Aladdin Casino from an investment group led by Robert Earl. The bidding procedures for the auction sale of the...

Onex weighs larger stake in Air Canada plan.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Laura King Onex Corp. head Gerry Schwartz said Thursday, May 8, his private equity house is considering buying a larger stake in Air Canada's frequent flier program than originally planned. Onex agreed Jan. 27 to acquire 35%...

Apollo is shopping White Hen chain.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Eight months after putting Clark Retail Enterprises Inc. in bankruptcy, Apollo Management LP is still having trouble selling what should have been the company's most attractive unit -- its White Hen convenience store...

Court OK expected for Ottawa Senators deal.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Laura King A deal for the insolvent Ottawa Senators hockey club is expected to be approved by a bankruptcy judge Friday, May 9, according to reports. Billionaire pharmaceutical magnate Eugene Melnyk, who made an offer for the...

ISG closes $1.5B BethSteel purchase.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson International Steel Group Inc. said Thursday, May 8, that it has closed the $1.5 billion purchase of the main assets of Bethlehem Steel Corp. The closing, anticipated since April 22, when the U.S. Bankruptcy Court...

Japan's RST files for bankruptcy.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Charles Smith A Tokyo district court on Wednesday, May 7, accepted a bankruptcy filing by real estate financing company RST, according to Teikoku Data Bank. RST filed for bankrptucy on April 30 with debts of [yen]212.4 billion...

Layoff Roundup: week ended May 8.
May 9, 2003... Byline: David Ehrlich Jobless claims fall in the U.S., while United Airlines cuts back and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Bombardier Inc. and Qantas Airways Ltd. all warn of more layoffs. First-time claims for unemployment benefits fell...

HSR early terms: May 7, 2003.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Jaret Seiberg > > The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday, May 7 that the antitrust agencies do not have objections to a merger between Berkshire Hathway Inc. and Leasing USA Inc. Also receiving early termination notices...

Celeritek's fate hinges on vote.
May 9, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman in San Francisco Out with the old or in with the unknown? That's the question facing Celeritek Inc. shareholders who will vote May 19 on whether to overhaul the company's board. More broadly, however, the...

Analyst: BMC good fit for Compuware.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Cheryl Meyer in Los Angeles With Compuware Corp. acknowledging this week that rivals and computer manufacturers have expressed interest in the company, BMC Software Inc. is surfacing as the most likely buyer for the mainframe...

Democrats pound DirecTV deal.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Ron Orol in Washington News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch went to Congress Thursday, May 8, to defend the media giant's planned $6.6 billion acquisition of satellite television provider DirecTV Inc. "We will be a more formidable...

CNL scoops up RFS hotels for $685 million.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke CNL Hospitality Properties Inc. on Thursday, May 8, made a major expansion move by purchasing RFS Hotel Investors Inc. for $683 million in cash. The deal makes Orlando, Fla.-based CNL the nation's...

Taubman's stalker wins key ruling.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Scott Stuart In a ruling that could result in Taubman Centers Inc. falling to its hostile suitor, Simon Property Group Inc., a federal judge in Detroit on Thursday barred the Taubman family from voting any of its shares against...

Interpublic's NFO sale drags on.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Richard Morgan The Interpublic Group of Cos. disappointed some observers after the market's close Thursday by not pairing the announcement of its first-quarter results with confirmation of an NFO WorldGroup sale. But sources...

Japanese game deals collapse.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Charles Smith in Tokyo Japanese computer game manufacturer Namco Ltd. said Thursday, May 8, it was withdrawing an offer to start detailed merger talks with fellow game specialist Sega Corp. because of Sega's refusal to give a...

Barclays reaches for Spanish bank.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Peter Moreira in London and Danny Fortson in Seville, Spain British bank Barclays plc agreed Thursday, May 8, to pay [Euro]1.14 billion ($1.3 billion) for Banco Zaragozano SA, less than two months after the co-presidents of the...

U.K.'s Safeway probe aids Green.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Laura Board in London The U.K. antitrust regulator said Thursday, May 8 it may consider the plight of Britain's smaller grocers in its assessment of the impact of a possible takeover of fourth-ranked supermarket chain Safeway...

Somerfield suitors to attack again.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Lisa Clifford in London British businessmen John Lovering and Bob Mackenzie have hired Morgan Stanley to help with a renewed takeover bid for U.K. supermarket Somerfield plc. Somerfield management last month rebuffed Lovering...

Tommy Hilfiger seeks targets.
May 9, 2003... Byline: Tara Croft Tommy Hilfiger Corp. said Thursday, May 8, it would begin a search to acquire additional brands and has hired J.P. Morgan as its financial adviser. The announcement came as the company said quarterly operating...