The Daily Deal articles from May 2003

The Daily Deal archives from May 2003

CPT adds New Jersey prison to lineup.
May 30, 2003... Correctional Properties Trust has added another prison to its growing portfolio. The Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., real estate investment trust on Friday said it snapped up the minimum security Delaney Hall in Newark, N.J., for about $21 million....

Deutsche Bank sheds MG Tech stake.
May 30, 2003... Forging ahead with a sale of non-banking assets, Deutsche Bank AG has sold its 4.9% stake in German industrial equipment maker MG Technologies AG. The stake was worth [Euro]83.3 million ($99.2 million) at Friday's close, although Deutsche...

Entercom picks up two Fisher stations.
May 30, 2003... Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based radio broadcaster Entercom Communications Corp. said last week that it acquired stations KWJJ-FM and KOTK-AM in Portland, Ore., from Seattle rival Fisher Communications Inc. for $44 million. The deal, brokered by radio...

General Growth Properties buys 2 malls.
May 30, 2003... General Growth Properties Inc. said Friday it acquired regional malls in St. Louis and Albuquerque, N.M., and a 49% stake in a joint venture for a combined $869 million. The malls are the Saint Louis Galleria and the Coronado Center in...

Letter from Delaware.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray with staff reports While the House and the Senate can't agree on a bankruptcy reform bill, they do share an interest in more bankruptcy judges. Lawmakers in both chambers have introduced bills to boost the...

Teleglobe takes $30M hit on telecom sale.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Cerberus Capital Management LP-led group is getting Teleglobe Communications Corp.'s telecom assets, and it's saving a cool $30 million. A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Wednesday, May 28, approved an...

HQ Global files reorg plan.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke HQ Global Workplaces Inc. on Wednesday, May 28, filed a reorganization plan that will put most of the post-Chapter 11 entity in the hands of its secured lenders. The Dallas-based provider of temporary office...

DIP Dimensions: Orion Refining Corp.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Bankrupt Orion Refining Corp. owns a single 1,000-acre refinery in Norco, La., but for the lenders providing it with , it could prove to be a gusher. GE Capital Corp. is providing Orion with a $55 million DIP...

Digging deeper.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Rancorous bankruptcies stretch from Hawaii to San Francisco to Manhattan. In Honolulu, Boeing Co.'s leasing arm is charging bankrupt Hawaiian Airlines Inc. management with fraudulent conveyance and...

NRG seeks to zap contract.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas A judge overseeing NRG Energy Inc.'s Chapter 11 case will hold a hearing Friday, May 30, on the company's attempt to scrap a contract with Connecticut Light & Power NRG's Power Marketing subsidiary, formerly its...

Air Canada, unions agree to layoffs.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Ailing Air Canada has reached agreements with four of its five unions and will lay off thousands of workers as it restructures under bankruptcy protection. The Air Canada Pilots Union was still...

Thermadyne again emerges from Chapter 11.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson Thermadyne Holdings Corp. is hoping this exit sign is the last one it has to see. The St. Louis-based maker of cutting and welding products has emerged from bankruptcy -- the second time Thermadyne has come out...

Onex to up stake in Magellan.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Canadian conglomerate Onex Corp. has agreed to invest as much as $150 million for a nearly 45% stake in bankrupt Magellan Health Services Inc. once it emerges from Chapter 11. Toronto-based Onex would pump $100...

JLL to buy Mosaic unit.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Insolvent marketing services company Mosaic Group Inc. said Wednesday, May 28, it is selling its sales solutions business to New York private equity house JLL Partners in a C$105 million ($76 million) deal....

SK Global pushed to liquidate.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Roger du Mars Creditors of the trading arm of South Korea's third-largest conglomerate, SK Group, have threatened to push the unit into court receivership and possibly liquidation, which could lead to the unraveling of its...

Grupo TMM hires adviser for debt talks.
May 29, 2003... Byline: John Nagel in Mexico City After being denied a petition for protection from its creditors by a Mexican court, Latin America's largest multimodal transport company, Grupo TMM SA, said Wednesday, May 28, it hired a New York...

GUS plans South African IPO.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London British retailer GUS plc is charging ahead with its radical makeover as it announced plans Wednesday, May 28, to float its South African business on the Johannesburg stock exchange some time next year. ...

Benfield to list in London.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London Reinsurance broker Benfield Group Ltd. said Wednesday, May 28, that it will raise up to [pounds sterling]145 million ($238 million) in an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange next month, in...

Three funds make trading debut.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Frances A. McMorris While there is little in the way of regular companies conducting initial public offerings, three closed-end funds did price their shares Tuesday, with two making their debuts trading Wednesday, May 28. ...

McKinsey to advise on Czech oil sale.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Brian Cattell in London The Czech Republic said Wednesday, May 28, it has chosen a consortium of McKinsey & Co., German bank WestLB Panmure and Czech consulting firm EEIP to advise it on the privatization of oil company Unipetrol...

Setback for foes of P&G deal.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin Two New York hedge fund opponents to Procter & Gamble Co.'s bid to buy Wella AG failed Wednesday, May 28, in their court effort to halt the acquisition but said the battle is not over. In any case,...

Spectrum sale won't trigger M&A.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter While Cingular Wireless may be on the verge of a major spectrum acquisition, industry players that have longed for consolidation to reduce competition in the mobile market will have to keep waiting. The joint...

Conseco wins battle over GM Building.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke An arbitration panel ruled in favor of Conseco Inc. on Wednesday, May 28, in its quest to buy Donald Trump's 50% interest in the General Motors Building in New York for less than $16 million, though details at...

Computer Horizons fights proxy vote.
May 29, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman in Chicago After winning two seats on Computer Horizons Corp.'s board of directors in a proxy vote, Aquent LLC is pressing the technology consulting firm to accept its $146 million hostile bid. "We stand...

Ask Jeeves sells division.
May 29, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman Internet search firm Ask Jeeves Inc. said Wednesday, May 28, it will sell its business software division to Kanisa Inc., a developer of customer-service software, for $4.25 million. Emeryville, Calif.-based...

Darling International hires adviser.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Tara Croft Darling International Inc., the U.S.'s largest publicly traded collector and processor of animal by-products and used restaurant cooking oil, said late Wednesday, May 28, it is exploring strategic alternatives to...

Australia's AMP advances real estate sales.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Josey Puliyenthuruthel Deal activity in the Australian real estate market gained pace Wednesday, May 28, as Stockland Trust Group and Westfield Trust advanced deals committing more than A$3 billion ($2 billion) for key assets...

Builder wins Spanish toll road auction.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Danny Fortson in Seville, Spain Spanish construction firm Grupo Sacyr SA and a cadre of financial backers beat out three other bidding groups with a [Euro]1.58 billion ($1.86 billion) offer to win the auction for toll-road...

Telefonica offers $2B for Terra.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Danny Fortson in Seville, Spain Spanish telecommunications giant Telef?nica SA on Wednesday, May 28, offered to pay [Euro]1.72 billion ($2.03 billion) to buy the rest of beleaguered but cash-rich Internet company Terra Networks SA...

Northrop sells unit for $73M.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Lou Whiteman in Atlanta and Nicola Hobday in London British aerospace firm Cobham plc has turned again to a larger company's castoff for growth, agreeing Wednesday, May 28, to buy the Litton Life Support unit of Northrop Grumman...

World Nordic succeeds in Bergessen buy.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Brian Cattell in London World Nordic Shipping on Wednesday finally secured enough acceptances for its NKr10.3 billion ($1.5 billion) friendly offer for Norwegian shipper Bergessen ASA to allow it to take full control of the...

Buyout firms take Akzo unit.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Kelly Holman Private equity firms Harvest Partners Inc. and Deutsche Beteiligungs AG announced Wednesday, May 28, they had agreed to acquire the Dusseldorf, Germany-based Casco Impregnated Papers division of Dutch chemical giant...

Carlyle/Riverstone backs gas compressor.
May 29, 2003... Byline: David Carey and Claire Poole An energy investment fund co-managed by The Carlyle Group and Riverstone Holdings LLC pledged to invest $50 million in CDM Resource Management Ltd., a Houston-based provider of gas compression services...

Buyout shops in fraternal face-off.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio and Cheryl Meyer They're as close and competitive as only siblings can be. But as buyout fund-raising stories go, the tale of the Gores brothers promises to be one for the books. Maverick turnaround specialists...

Alcatel to auction battery unit.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Samer Iskandar in Paris French telecommunications equipment maker Alcatel SA has mandated Credit Suisse First Boston and Soci?t? G?n?rale to find buyers for its battery unit Saft, according to a banker familiar with the company....

Metallic Power, backers see zinc in future.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Tyson Freeman Venture Capital Metallic Power Inc., a company developing recyclable, zinc-based fuel cell technology, announced Wednesday, May 28, that it closed a $13.5 million fourth round of venture capital funding from two new...

Ziptronix funded for long-term goal.
May 29, 2003... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Ziptronix Inc. of Research Triangle Park, N.C., landed a second round of funding to advance its long-term development of three-dimensional semiconductors, while meeting investors' demands for immediate revenues...

BioMimetic Pharmaceuticals.
May 28, 2003... Longmont, Colo.-based storage device maker Cornice Inc. announced Wednesday that it completed $22 million in venture funding last year. The 3-year-old company, which has operated in stealth mode since its establishment, said CIBC Capital...

Compound Therapeutics.
May 28, 2003... Waltham, Mass.-based Compound Therapeutics Inc., a developer of a new class of protein therapeutic drugs termed adzymes, announced a $12 million first round of financing. The round was co-led by Atlas Venture, Flagship Ventures and Polaris...

Egencia.
May 28, 2003... Paris-based online corporate-travel agency Egencia SARL raised [Euro]6.9 million ($8.15 million) through a third round from its existing investors, led by Carlyle Europe Venture Partners and Cr?dit Lyonnais Private Equity, the company said....

Greka Energy Corp. accepts buyout offer.
May 28, 2003... New York oil and asphalt producer Greka Energy Corp. said Wednesday it agreed to accept a bid from CEO Randeep Grewal to buy out the company for $6.25 per share in cash, or about $38.3 million. The price is a 69% premium over Greka's $3.70...

Metallic Power.
May 28, 2003... Carlsbad, Calif.-based zinc fuel cell developer Metallic Power Inc. announced Wednesday that it closed a $13.5 million fourth round of venture capital funding from two new investors: CDP Capital-Technology Ventures of Montreal and Norsk Hydro...

Nutra-Park.
May 28, 2003... Madison, Wis.-based biotechnology company Nutra-Park Inc. said it completed a $7 million, fifth round of funding from two Korean investors. Doosan Corp. and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction Co. Ltd. of Seoul contributed the funds, which...

Questor buys U.S. Steel coal mines.
May 28, 2003... Southfield, Mich., private equity firm Questor Management Co. LLC said Wednesday it agreed to buy two underground coal mines and related assets from United States Steel Co. for an undisclosed amount. Questor will purchase the Pinnacle No. 50...

Riverlake Partners closes first round.
May 28, 2003... Portland, Ore.-based private equity firm Riverlake Partners LLC said Wednesday it has completed a $15 million first-round close on its fund. The company, which focuses on the lower middle market, said it hopes to reach its $25 million target...

Sterling Centercorp makes a N.C. buy.
May 28, 2003... Canadian shopping center owner Sterling Centercorp Inc. said Monday it entered a binding agreement to acquire a shopping center in Charlotte, N.C., for $38.4 million. The 658,000-square-foot shopping center, called Windsor Square, is anchored...

Teranex.
May 28, 2003... Orlando, Fla.-based Teranex Inc., a developer of technology that provides format conversion and advanced noise-reduction capabilities for the broadcast, video and film industries, raised nearly $6 million in a new round. Lead investors...

Vornado, Cadim ready for a Prime payout.
May 28, 2003... Vornado Realty Trust and its investment partner Cadim Inc. delivered notice to Chicago REIT Prime Group Realty Trust that will either result in Vornado and Cadim getting a 34% stake in Prime Group or a $53.4 million cash payout. Vornado and...

Yadkin Valley Bank gets High Country Bank.
May 28, 2003... Elkin, N.C.-based Yadkin Valley Bank and Trust Co. said Wednesday that it would acquire its Boone, N.C., rival High Country Financial Corp., in a transaction valued at $34.5 million. Shareholders of High Country Financial, the holding company...

Ziptronix.
May 28, 2003... Wireless networking systems developer AirMagnet Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., said it raised $2 million in its third round. Acer Technology Ventures supplied the capital, which brings AirMagnet's total funding to $4.6 million. The 2-year-old...

Air Canada, unions sign labor accord.
May 27, 2003... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Insolvent airline Air Canada reached a deal with one of its biggest unions on Monday, May 26, under which hundreds of jobs will be lost and wages cut temporarily. The agreement with the Canadian Auto...

SK Global, creditors miss restructuring deadline.
May 27, 2003... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul The SK Group and creditors of SK Global are to continue discussions after missing a Sunday, May 25, to agree on a plan to salvage the teetering trading arm of South Korea's No. 3 conglomerate. ...

Olivetti-Telecom Italia merger approved.
May 27, 2003... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan Despite loud protests from some Telecom Italia minority investors, both shareholders of the telecom group and its parent company Olivetti SpA have given their approval to the merger of the two companies....

WorldCom, creditors brace for showdown.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter The pieces are coming together in the largest U.S. bankruptcy case ever, as WorldCom Inc. enters the final stretch of its Chapter 11 reorganization. Judge Arthur Gonzalez said late Thursday, May 22, that he would...

Troll ready to sell itself.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson After having five owners in seven years, it's no wonder bankrupt children's book distributor Troll Communications LLC has grown weary of trying to turn its ailing business around. So the Mahwah, N.J.-based...

Hatch pushes asbestos bill.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray in Washington A top-ranking Republican has introduced asbestos reform legislation despite objections from many Democrats and labor unions. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee,...

Strouds to make its last bed.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Strouds, a luxury bedding and linen chain in California, will close its doors after filing for bankruptcy for the second time in 32 months. Strouds Acquisition Corp., the successor company to Strouds Inc., filed...

Unsecureds to run Inacom.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan The committee representing Inacom Corp.'s unsecured creditors will replace the board of the bankrupt technology provider as part of its court-approved liquidation plan. The board will resign to permit the...

Divine assets fetched $57M.
May 26, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman Austin, Texas, law firm Simon, Warner and Doby LLP said Friday, May 23, that the final sale price for the assets of bankrupt Divine Inc. totaled $57 million. Purchasers included private equity firm Saratoga...

DaisyTek units win cash use extension.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson DaisyTek International Corp. said Thursday, May 22, that its four U.S. subsidiaries have received approval to use their cash collateral through June 13. The four units, Daisytek Inc., Arlington Industries Inc.,...

Detroit Medical hopes to heal itself.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Detroit Medical Center has hired Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP to review its out-of-court restructuring plans as Detroit's largest healthcare provider struggles to cut costs. The giant medical complex asked the law...

Armstrong files 4th reorg plan.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Armstrong World Industries Inc. has filed its fourth amended reorganization plan. According to the latest plan, the Lancaster, Pa.-based maker of floors and tiles has cut its projected enterprise value following...

White House files for IPO.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Donna Block Specialty apparel retailer The White House Inc. filed an initial public offering registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Glen Burnie, Md.-based company did not disclose how many...

BioProgress migrates to U.K. exchange.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Braude Medical products encapsulation specialist BioProgress plc became the first biotechnology company to go public in the U.K. this year when it transferred its listing from the U.S. over-the-counter market to London's...

Seafood supplier plans hybrid offering.
May 26, 2003... Byline: Donna Block A hybrid offering of equity and debt known as income depositary securities is the ticket that American Seafoods Corp. hopes will lead the company to a listing on the Toronto and American stock exchanges. The...

AngloGold sheds Amazon gold mine.
May 23, 2003... AngloGold, a unit of South Africa's Anglo American Corp., on May 23 said it sold an Amazon gold mine to Brazilian investment firm EBX Capital for $18 million. AngloGold, the world's No. 2 gold producer, had planned to spend $60 million to...

Nara Bancorp getting Asiana Bank.
May 23, 2003... Nara Bancorp Inc., the Los Angeles parent of Nara Bank, announced May 23 that it has agreed to acquire its smaller Sunnyvale, Calif., counterpart Asiana Bank for about $8 million in stock. Asiana shareholders owning about two-thirds of that...

P&O exiting joint venture with Farstad.
May 23, 2003... U.K. shipping company Peninsular & Orient Steam Navigation Co. said May 23 that it will sell its half of an offshore supply business joint venture with Norway's Farstad Shipping ASA. P&O wants to focus on shipping. P&O said Farstad will pay...

Rohn Industries risks default.
May 23, 2003... Rohn Industries Inc. said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing last week that a failure to file its quarterly report for the period ended March 31 on time constituted a covenant violation under its credit line. Rohn, a Peoria,...

Taiwan sells stake in China Steel.
May 23, 2003... Taiwan's government has raised $132.42 million by selling down its offshore-listed shares in state-run China Steel Corp. to a group of mostly new international investors. The government, through its Stabilization Fund, which often acts as a...

Telecom Italia, Olivetti deal now cleared.
May 23, 2003... What was seen as the last major obstacle to a merger of Telecom Italia and parent company Olivetti was cleared Friday when a Milan court rejected a request to block the deal. On the eve of a Telecom Italia shareholders' meeting to approve the...

Trustmark buys 7 Florida bank branches.
May 23, 2003... Trustmark Corp., the Jackson, Miss., parent of Trustmark National Bank, said last week that it was buying seven Florida branches of Banc Corp., the Birmingham, Ala., holding company for The Bank, for a $46.8 million deposit premium. The...

Wells Fargo to buy Two Rivers Corp.
May 23, 2003... Wells Fargo & Co. said last week it's purchasing bank holding company Two Rivers Corp., the privately held Grand Junction, Colo., parent of Bank of Grand Junction, for an undisclosed sum. It's the second deal in a week for the San Francisco...

Panel clamors for judgeship bill.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray in Washington A panel of judges on Thursday, May 22, implored a House Judiciary subcommittee to swiftly approve proposed legislation authorizing 36 additional bankruptcy judgeships. Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.)...

PVI to sell itself as part of pre-pack bankruptcy.
May 23, 2003... Know that yellow line that designates the first-down marker during National Football League telecasts? Well, you're likely to see it again. That's because the company responsible for the technology behind it, Princeton Video Image Inc., will...

Petals Inc. files for Chapter 11.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Soma Biswas Artificial flower seller Petals Inc. has gone bankrupt after its sales wilted. The Tarrytown, N.Y., company on Wednesday, May 21, filed for Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New...

WorldCom disclosure statement OK'd.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter The largest Chapter 11 restructuring in history reached an important milestone late Thursday, May 22, as a bankruptcy judge gave a conditional nod to WorldCom Inc.'s disclosure statmement. Following two days of...

Layoff Roundup: week ended May 22.
May 23, 2003... Byline: David Ehrlich Hewlett-Packard Co. beats expectations but announces additional layoffs anyway, while Air Canada tells its unions that it may have to make more cuts. Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP, which acquired Compaq Computer...

Cirio OK's debt restructuring.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan The board of distressed canned food conglomerate Cirio Finanziaria SpA on Thursday unanimously approved a debt restructuring plan designed to save the company from bankruptcy. The meeting was held a...

IPO Outlook: May 23, 2003.
May 23, 2003... Byline: compiled by Donna Block Northbridge Financial Corp TORONTO -- Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. said Wednesday, May 21, its insurance unit, Northbridge Financial Corp., had set a price for its initial public offering to raise...

Jakarta's IBRA preps two more banks for sale.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen The Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency plans at the end of the month to ask the nation's legislature for approval to sell two more commercial banks, PT Lippo Bank and PT Bank Internasional Indonesia. The...

Post claims victory in proxy fight.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke John A. Williams' attempt to regain control of the company he founded ended Thursday, May 22, when Post Properties Inc. said his dissident slate of directors failed to win enough votes. Post said more than 65%...

Disney to consider selling stores.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Peter Lauria Walt Disney Co. said late Thursday that it is exploring strategic options for its Disney Store division, "including the possible sale of stores in North America and Europe." Disney's announcement, which confirms...

Hutchison slashes European telecom stakes.
May 23, 2003... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., the Hong Kong-based flagship investment holding company of Asia's richest man, seized on a recent rally of telecom stocks in Europe to sell half its stakes in Vodafone Group...