The Daily Deal articles from October 2002

The Daily Deal archives from October 2002

DFT MicroSystems.
October 31, 2002... Yardley, Pa.- and Montreal-based DFT MicroSystems Inc. has received C$420,000 ($268,190) in new financing from MSBI Capital, also of Montreal, a provider of seed- and early-stage venture capital to life sciences, information technology and...

Federation.
October 31, 2002... Englewood, Colo.-based Federation Inc. closed a $6.75 million round from lead investor Wolf Ventures. Also participating were prior investors Stichting Noaber Beheer Foundation and Ovation Capital Partners, as well as new investors Zon...

Health Language.
October 31, 2002... Medical terminology software maker Health Language Inc. of Aurora, Colo., has completed a $7.8 million round of venture financing. Two New York-based firms, Lehman Brothers Venture Capital and East River Ventures, led the round, with Radius...

Leegur.
October 31, 2002... Helsinki, Finland-based software startup Leegur Oy has closed a [Euro]1.5 million ($1.47 million) first round from Helsinki-based Nokia Early Stage Technology Fund and San Francisco-based Alafi Capital. The company will use the to refine its...

Littlefeet.
October 31, 2002... San Diego-based Littlefeet Inc. has added an additional $3 million to its third round, bringing the total to $25 million. Return investor ComVentures participated in the follow-on. Sevin Rosen Funds led the initial $22 million in the third...

Metaserver.
October 31, 2002... New Haven, Conn.-based Metaserver Inc. has raised $10 million from strategic backers to boost its business process software business with expanded sales and marketing. After three rounds totaling $31 million from financial investors, the...

Optillion.
October 31, 2002... Swedish fiber-optics transceiver maker Optillion AB has closed a $15 million third round from previous investors Crescendo Ventures, Cisco Systems Inc., ITACT and Investor Growth Capital. The down round brings its fund-raising total since its...

Opto Speed.
October 31, 2002... Swiss optical components developer Opto Speed has added [Euro]10 million ($9.83 million) from ABN AMRO Capital to complete its second round at [Euro]30 million. The Carlyle Group led the [Euro]20 million second round in March. Founded in...

Farmland's fertilizer unit is target.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Andrew Morse Farmland Industries Inc., reorganizing under bankruptcy protection, has received a $180 million "offer of interest" in its fertilizer business ahead of the November auction of the operations, a press officer for the...

Gilat seeks US court protection.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. on Wednesday asked a Delaware court to grant a temporary restraining order that would block creditors from moving against its U.S. assets while it reorganizes in its native Israel. ...

Anker Coal files for Ch. 11.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas After nearly three years of struggling, Anker Coal Group Inc. is bankrupt. Anker and 18 of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the...

Kmart cleared for bluelight.com sale.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas Kmart Corp. is parting ways with bluelight.com. The bankrupt discount retailer received court approval Wednesday, Oct. 30, to sell its bluelight.com Internet service provider subsidiary to United Online Inc. for...

FTC clears XO deal for Icahn.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke The Federal Trade Commission Wednesday, Oct. 30, cleared Carl Icahn's path to acquire bankrupt XO Communications Inc. The Reston, Va.-based broadband provider is pursuing a reorganization plan in which Icahn...

Bankruptcy Bites: Oct. 31, 2002.
October 31, 2002... Byline: compiled by Greg Johnson BellSouth and Supra continue legal war Can you hear me now? When it comes to the legal slugfest between BellSouth Corp. and Supra Telecommunications Inc., the answer is a resounding yes. BellSouth has...

Bankruptcy Calendar: Nov. 2002.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Scheduled hearings, meetings and deadlines in active Chapter 11 cases. www.TheDeal.com

China Telecom details IPO risks.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong The largest initial public offering of the year in Asia appears to have quite a bumpy ride on its way to its trading debut. China Telecom Corp., which seeks to raise up to $3.68 billion by...

Stocks mixed over consumer confidence.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Donna Block Stocks were mixed in early trading Wednesday, Oct. 30, in the United States as investors awaited the release of fresh economic reports on the labor market and the factory sector due out later in the week. Wall...

AMR ponders investment group sale.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Lou Whiteman in Atlanta A move by American Airlines parent AMR Corp. to sell its affiliated investment company is more a matter of corporate housekeeping than an attempt to shore up the bottom line, according to analysts who...

Korea First Bank angles for Chohung bid.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul South Korea's eighth-largest bank, Korea First Bank, attempted Wednesday, Oct. 30, to join the group of bidders for Chohung Bank, but government officials have rejected its bid as unqualified. KFB Chief...

Borland snags TogetherSoft.
October 31, 2002... Byline: David Shabelman in San Francisco Borland Software Corp. on Wednesday dipped into its cash and stock reserves to buy TogetherSoft Corp., a software development tools maker, for $185 million. Scotts Valley, Calif.-based Borland...

Italy telecoms put real estate into Morgan fund.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan A group of Italian companies has agreed to place [Euro]1.6 billion ($1.56 billion) of real estate assets into new funds controlled by Morgan Stanley Real Estate Funds and Italy's Pirelli & C Real Estate...

Omnicare suffers setback in NCS struggle.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Andrew Morse NCS Healthcare Inc., a provider of pharmaceutical services to geriatric care facilities, said Wednesday, Oct. 30, the agreement by two of its officers to pledge their supervoting-class shares in the company for a...

Comcast expects early close on AT&T deal.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Jaret Seiberg in Washington Comcast Corp. said Wednesday, Oct. 30, it expects to close its acquisition of AT&T Broadband by the end of November, almost one year after the deal was announced with an initial value of $72 billion....

Talisman to sell Sudan stake.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Independent oil producer Talisman Energy Inc. is selling its stake in a controversial Sudanese energy project to a subsidiary of India's national oil company for C$1.2 billion ($758 million). Calgary,...

PCCW nixes phone book sale.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Hong Kong telecom carrier PCCW Ltd. has called off the auction of its local Yellow Pages business amid a global slump in the valuation of telecom assets. "After careful consideration, PCCW...

Berlusconi and Gnutti team up.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan Two companies controlled by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have acquired a 5.4% stake in the holding company of the financier Emilio Gnutti in an attempt to join forces in exerting more control...

Vivendi banks hold key to Cegetel.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Brian Cattell in London The next chapter in the epic battle for control of the French telecom company Cegetel will likely be written by its largest shareholders -- its bankers. The French conglomerate Vivendi Universal SA on...

Ratings Review -- Oct. 31, 2002.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Gerald C. Magpily German chemical giant BASF AG's [Euro]1.33 billion ($1.28 billion) deal to purchase a package of agricultural insecticide and fungicide products from domestic rival Bayer AG is the company's second-largest...

Credit Agricole in PPR unit talks.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Renee Cordes in Brussels The No. 2 French bank, Credit Agricole SA, is in exclusive talks with the retailer Pinault-Printemps-Redoute SA to buy part of its consumer finance business for [Euro]2.5 billion ($2.46 billion) in a...

Tesco offers to acquire T&S.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Laura Board in London In a rare domestic deal for Britain's largest food retailer, Tesco plc announced Wednesday, Oct. 30, a pound sterling530.3 million ($825.9 million) friendly bid for the convenience store operator T&S Stores...

Zignago holders nix Marzotto buy.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan Investors in Italian wine, glass and linen group Zignago Santa Margherita SpA on Wednesday, Oct. 30, rejected a proposal to take over Marzotto SpA, the fashion and textile group that controls the Hugo Boss...

Lincoln and Swiss Re settle.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin Swiss re-insurer Swiss Re said Wednesday, Oct. 30, it accepted a $295 million cash settlement from Philadelphia-based Lincoln National Corp., ending a dispute over Swiss Re's $2 billion purchase of...

NTT data unit to launch fund.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Charles Smith in Tokyo The information technology subsidiary of the Japanese telecom giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Group said Wednesday, Oct. 30, it will establish a private equity company to invest in "healthy" Japanese...

Morgan to buy Fingerhut units.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Josh Kosman J.P. Morgan Partners in the next several days will announce a management buyout of Fingerhut apparel subsidiary Arizona Mail Order and its food and gift catalog unit, Figi's, for roughly $150 million, according to...

Coller closes $2.5B fund.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Vyvyan Tenorio Secondary-market specialist Coller Capital of London has announced a final close Wednesday, Oct. 30, on its fourth fund at a record $2.5 billion, considered the largest in the sector. CEO Jeremy Coller said...

CSFB leads Nycomed buyout.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Braude A consortium of CSFB Private Equity, Blackstone Capital Partners and NIB Private Capital NV agreed to a secondary buyout of Danish pharmaceutical company Nycomed Holding A/S from Nordic Capital for an undisclosed...

Dex prices $975M of junk.
October 31, 2002... Byline: David Carey Although it had to fine-tune the financing to ensure a successful sale, Dex Media East LLC priced nearly $1 billion worth of junk bonds Wednesday, Oct. 30, as part of the backing for the $7.05 billion buyout of...

Northrop gets final TRW Auto offer.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Josh Kosman Northrop Grumman Corp. is reviewing The Blackstone Group and The Carlyle Group's final $4.5 billion bid for TRW Inc.'s auto components business as it prepares to send proxy material to shareholders for its takeover of...

Cisco backs optical startup.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Joshua Jaffe in London Amid an industry blackout, optical componentry startups continue to light the high-tech sector with capital. In the latest such deal, Swedish fiber optics transceiver maker Optillion AB said Wednesday,...

Metaserver shuns VCs for customer funds.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Business process software maker Metaserver Inc. managed to earn a rare increase in valuation Wednesday, Oct. 30, in a $10 million fourth round of venture funding that bypassed traditional financial investors. ...

Collaborative software company nets $6.75M.
October 31, 2002... Byline: Tyson Freeman Expectations for efficiency gains in manufacturing processes have risen since the late 1990s with the onset of new collaborative software. But the power of that software is limited if the participants don't all have...

Anacor Pharmaceuticals.
October 30, 2002... Palo Alto, Calif.-based Anacor Pharmaceuticals, a developer of compounds for the treatment of bacterial and fungal infections, has raised $7 million in venture financing. The $7 million is the sum of two rounds, both led by Rho Ventures with...

China Environment Fund.
October 30, 2002... Manila-based Asian Development Bank has established a $10 million venture fund targeting new environmental services businesses in the People's Republic of China. Environmental investor Leading Environmental Services & Solutions Ltd. was the...

ExpertPlan.
October 30, 2002... Online financial services firm ExpertPlan Inc. of East Windsor, N.J., has completed a $4.35 million second round of venture financing, led by Liberty Venture Partners of Philadelphia. Also participating were prior investors Meridian Venture...

Neurogenetics.
October 30, 2002... La Jolla, Calif.-based Neurogenetics Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical startup, has increased its second-round funding by $10 million to $19 million. Participants included existing investors Alta Partners, Advent International, GIMV,...

Persimmon Research Partners.
October 30, 2002... Investment consulting software maker Persimmon Research Partners Inc. has received a $5 million private equity investment. Newhouse Special Situations Fund I, an investment unit of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. of Columbus, Ohio, supplied...

AT&T lowers Velocita bid.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Chris Nolter AT&T Corp. late Monday, Oct. 28, scaled back its bid for assets of bankrupt long-haul carrier Velocita, and received bid protections from a New Jersey bankruptcy judge. Basking Ridge, N.J.-based AT&T is...

Senator's absence may aid reform.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Shanon D. Murray in Washington As colleagues and loved ones gathered Tuesday, Oct. 29, to honor the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., opponents of controversial bankruptcy reform legislation are also mourning the loss of a...

WorldCom gets OK for $25M retention plan.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Chris Nolter After its chief restructuring officer was grilled during cross examination, WorldCom Inc. received approval for a $25 million key employee retention plan, or KERP, that the bankrupt telecom hopes will help to raise...

Microsoft objects to bluelight.com sale.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Greg Johnson Microsoft Corp. has no problem with Kmart Corp. selling most of its bluelight.com Internet unit. But Microsoft has said that any license agreements between the software maker and bankrupt retailer shouldn't be part...

Platinum IPO soars in debut.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Donna Block In a sign that the initial public offering market is starting to perk up, Platinum Underwriters Holdings Ltd. made a stunning debut on the New York Stock Exchange, jumping 11% from its offering price. The...

Gazit-Globe cuts $723M Florida real estate deal.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Neal Sandler in Tel Aviv Israeli real estate investor Gazit-Globe Ltd. has agreed to buy Florida shopping center owner IRT Property Co. in a deal worth $723 million, making it among the largest Southeastern U.S. property owners....

Goodrich 'days' from asset auction.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Lou Whiteman in Atlanta Faced with burgeoning debt and weakening customer demand, Goodrich Corp. is auctioning several small business units. Officials at the Charlotte, N.C.-based aerospace contractor did not return calls...

Telia may stretch Sonera deadline.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Brian Cattell in London Swedish telecom Telia AB is willing to wait for shareholders of its Finnish counterpart Sonera Oyj to accept its groundbreaking [Euro]7.3 billion ($7.2 billion) friendly takeover bid. The companies...

Vivendi rejects Vodafone offer.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Peter Lauria The outcome of Vivendi Universal SA's board meeting Tuesday, Oct.29, shed little light on the Paris-based conglomerate's plans for telecommunications operator Cegetel and kept investors in the dark about the auction...

Equity One acquires IRT.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Jonathan Berke Shopping center operator IRT Property Co. was purchased by Equity One Inc. in a transaction valued at $730 million. The deal follows Developers Diversified Realty Corp.'s $1.02 billion all-stock deal to acquire...

Canadian banks may have held talks.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Canada's finance minister would not comment Tuesday, Oct. 29, on reports that two of the country's big banks were in secret talks to merge until Prime Minister Jean Chretien's office indicated it would block...

Confidence data pressure U.S. stock markets.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Donna Block Economic worries sent stocks tumbling in mid-morning trading Tuesday October 29 as a drop in the consumer confidence index for October fuelled fears of a deepening recession. The Dow is losing 157.51 to 8,210.53...

Bidders line up for Chohung Bank.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul A Shinhan Financial Group-led consortium and other bidders began due diligence on Chohung Bank Tuesday, Oct. 29, as the South Korean government moves to secure a preferred bidder by the end of the year. ...

Diaper deal in the offing.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Renee Cordes in Brussels Belgium-based Ontex, Europe's leading maker of diapers and feminine hygiene products, said Tuesday, Oct. 29, that its majority shareholder is in discussions with U.K. private equity firm Candover...

CVC may add partner in Iberdrola bid.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Laura Board in London and Robert Walzer in New York CVC Capital Partners may bring on board a partner to pre-empt possible Spanish government opposition to its [Euro]577 million ($568 million) acquisition of electrical grid assets...

What's next for Pru?
October 30, 2002... Byline: Lisa Gewirtz and David Weidner With negotiations for a joint venture indefinitely stalled, Prudential Financial Inc. again must deal with its struggling brokerage operation. Sources confirmed Tuesday, Oct. 29, that talks over...

O'Charley's, Ninety Nine to merge.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Tara Croft and Josh Karlen O'Charley's Inc., a casual restaurant chain in the Southeast and Midwest, said Tuesday it agreed to acquire Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub of New England for about $160 million. Family-owned and...

Powergen free to bid on Midlands.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Peter Moreira in London and Claire Poole in Houston The British government on Tuesday, Oct. 29, freed electric company Powergen plc from a 5-year-old commitment not to buy Midlands Electricity plc, which Aquila Inc. is now...

Platinum Equity bulks up in healthcare tech.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Cheryl Meyer in Los Angeles Less than two months after it acquired the U.S. healthcare products subsidiary of Royal Philips Electronics NV, buyout firm Platinum Equity LLC announced Monday, Oct. 28, that it would buy Diagnostic...

Private Capital People -- Oct. 29, 2002.
October 30, 2002... Byline: compiled by Matthew Wurtzel Oct. 29, 2002 Three more partners at Morgan Grenfell Private Equity, Thomas Leader, Jon Macintosh and Jonathan Derry-Evans, are leaving the firm, according to a source at Deutsche Bank, which owns...

TotalFina sells paints unit.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Nicola Hobday in London French oil giant TotalFina Elf SA agreed Tuesday, Oct. 29, to sell SigmaKalon, Europe's second-biggest decorative paint maker, to Boston private equity firm Bain Capital as TotalFina's chemicals unit...

PE firms feast on health tech.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Cheryl Meyer in Los Angeles In recent years, private equity firms have taken a bath on their investments in high technology, especially in telecommunications. By contrast, buyout shops have generally fared better with their...

Riverside buys 4 Dana units.
October 30, 2002... Byline: David Carey The Riverside Co., a Cleveland-based LBO, said Tuesday, Oct. 29, that it agreed to acquire four businesses from Dana Corp., a Toledo, Ohio-based maker and distributor of automobile components that has been unloading...

Bioterrorism gives Anacor twin boosts.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Tyson Freeman The U.S. government's rush to deliver drugs to counter bioterrorist attacks helped one biotech startup secure a new round of financing and a key government research contract Tuesday, Oct. 29. Anacor...

Kemia eyes new money.
October 30, 2002... Byline: Clifford Carlsen San Diego-based Kemia is launching a fund-raising effort on a second round of venture capital, hoping that less than a year's progress in developing small molecule drugs will obviate the need to draw the final...

Deal Flow -- Oct. 30, 2002; Dealflow -- Oct. 30, 2002.
October 30, 2002... Wireless and Telecom SkyWave Mobile Communications Ottawa-based SkyWave Mobile Communications Inc., a developer of satellite-based tracking technology, has received a $12.4 million second round of financing. Two investors, McLean...

SkyWave - Mobile Communications.
October 29, 2002... Ottawa-based SkyWave Mobile Communications Inc., a developer of satellite-based tracking technology, has received a $12.4 million second round of financing. Two investors, McLean Watson Capital and Investissement Desjardins, provided the...

U.K. retailer to purchase Alldays.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Peter Moreira in London The British retailer Co-operative Group Ltd. agreed Monday, Oct. 28, to buy the bankrupt convenience store chain Alldays plc from its receivers for about pound sterling131 million ($203 million), paying...

Court approves Mobile Tool DIP.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Soma Biswas Mobile Tool International Inc. has received court approval for a $23 million debtor-in-possession loan from Fleet Capital Corp. In addition, Steven Kortanek of Klehr, Harrison, Harvey, Branzburg & Ellers LLP in...

Court clears NII's emergence.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Terry Brennan A week after startling the bankruptcy bar by challenging a common practice in lock-ups, a judge has approved NII Holdings Inc.'s reorganization plan, clearing the way to emerge from bankruptcy. Judge Mary...

Terms set for Peregrine unit auction.
October 29, 2002... Byline: David Shabelman The sale of bankrupt software company Peregrine Inc.'s Remedy Inc. subsidiary is progressing, with an auction date set for Nov. 1. Meanwhile, the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Friday, Oct....

Overseas aid unlikely to save UAL.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Lou Whiteman UAL Corp. shareholders got a glimmer of hope late last week when reports surfaced that one of the airline's alliance partners could invest in the company. Yet industry experts say a foreign investment is unlikely to...

The CEO Shuffle.
October 29, 2002... Byline: David Ehrlich Houston-based Dynegy Inc., whose decision last year to abandon an $8.4 billion buyout of former rival Enron Corp. hastened that company's descent into bankruptcy, has seen its stock price drop sharply amid...

StanChart prices Hong Kong offering.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen The London-based bank Standard Chartered plc set the final offer price for its dual listing in Hong Kong at the maximum discount allowed under U.K. laws. Known for doing most of its business in emerging...

China Telecom among IPOs this week.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Donna Block All eyes will be on initial public offerings this week as two of the year's heftier deals brave the markets. Due to price Monday for trading Tuesday, Oct. 29, is re-insurer Platinum Underwriters Holdings Ltd.,...

Korea Life contract finalized.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Roger du Mars in Seoul The Hanwha Group-led consortium finalized a contract Monday, Oct. 28, to acquire a controlling stake in state-owned Korea Life Insurance Co. for W823.6 billion ($673 million). South Korea's...

Canadian gold miners join forces.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Canadian resource companies Iamgold Corp. and Repadre Capital Corp. are combining to form a mid-size gold producer that they hope will be better able to compete in the consolidating sector. Iamgold, of...

Mediobanca buys back Ferrari stake.
October 29, 2002... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan Milan investment bank Mediobanca SpA said Monday, Oct. 28, it has bought back a 6.5% stake in sports car maker Ferrari SpA that it had sold to investment bank Lehman Brothers Inc. last month for...