The Daily Deal articles from October 2003

The Daily Deal archives from October 2003

Halliburton settlement may be near.
October 1, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson After a series of fitful starts and stops, Halliburton Co. could be closer to settling its asbestos claims for good. On Tuesday, Sept. 30, the world's largest oil-field and engineering services company didn't...

Pegasus moves on Farmland assets.
October 1, 2003... Byline: Tara Croft Bankrupt Farmland Industries Inc. said late Monday, Sept. 29, that it had signed an agreement to sell two of its last remaining large assets to an investment firm in a deal worth $281 million. Pegasus Capital...

Crowd swarms around Pillowtex.
October 1, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Private investor David E. Shaw is in one of 11 groups interested in purchasing all or part of Pillowtex Corp. at what could be a heated auction scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 2. Kannapolis, N.C.-based Pillowtex...

Plassein sale approved.
October 1, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Banks were due to be paid about 80 cents on the dollar at closing Tuesday, Sept. 30, under a $47.7 million asset sale at Plassein International Corp. Judge Lloyd King in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District...

Another Japanese construction company fails.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Charles Smith in Tokyo Morimoto Corp., a midsize Japanese construction company, filed for court-supervised rehabilitation Wednesday, Oct. 1, with debts of [yen]215 billion ($1.93 billion). The failure is the latest in a series...

Armstrong plan faces heavy resistance.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray With Armstrong World Industries Inc.'s confirmation hearing a little more than a month away, everyone's lining up to oppose the flooring maker's reorganization plan. The tax division of the U.S. Trustee, the...

Malden Mills CEO plots comeback.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson Sell land. Get cash. Don't blow a second chance to buy back the company your grandfather founded. That's the game plan for Aaron M. Feuerstein, chairman and CEO of Malden Mills Industries Inc., the Lawrence,...

GE Capital gets fee to delay Mirant DIP.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke GE Capital Corp. pocketed $1 million for allowing bankrupt Mirant Corp. to postpone a hearing to get final approval on its $500 million debtor-in-possession financing. The Atlanta-based energy company postponed...

Judge ends Federal-Mogul's exclusivity.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Carl Icahn might be able to gain control of Federal-Mogul Corp. once an order is issued within the next few days in which the auto parts maker's exclusivity period will be terminated. Visiting Judge Randall...

Court approves Wherehouse sale.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Peter Moreira Albany, N.Y.-based Trans World Entertainment Corp., which owns music and video retail chains Coconuts and F.Y.E., said Tuesday, Sept. 30, a bankruptcy court has approved its purchase of Wherehouse Entertainment Inc....

Adelphia continues legal battle with founders.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp. wants to block the Rigas family from reaching beyond the $300,000 in insurance money that a Manhattan judge said it was entitled to. The cable company filed a suit as part of...

Letter from Delaware.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray, with staff reports KPMG LLP has been on the hot seat lately as court-appointed independent examiners have suggested that the accounting firm played a role in questionable accounting in two separate bankruptcies....

DIP Dimensions: WCI Steel Inc.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke Maybe the situation is looking up for steelmakers, even as they continue their steady march into bankruptcy. Consider WCI Steel Inc., which recently filed for bankruptcy (as did Canada's Ivaco Inc.). WCI has suffered...

W.R. Grace unit buys Tricosal Beton assets.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson W.R. Grace & Co. announced Wednesday, Oct. 1, that its German subsidiary, Grace Bauprodukte GmbH, has acquired some assets of Tricosal Beton Chemie GmbH & Co. KG. No purchase price was disclosed, but Tricosal Beton...

New Bedford Capacitor to liquidate.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Sarah Cohen The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston on Tuesday, Sept. 30, confirmed a plan by New Bedford Capacitor Inc. to liquidate its remaining assets. The company, a New Bedford, Mass.-based...

Kaiser Aluminum to sell assets.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Lisa Gewirtz In an attempt to pull itself out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy by the end of 2004, Kaiser Aluminum Corp. has put four of its businesses on the auction block, sources said. The businesses, which it is selling separately,...

British Energy averts meltdown.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Lisa Clifford in London British Energy plc stepped back from the brink Wednesday, signing a restructuring agreement with creditors that saves it from bankruptcy but leaves shareholders out in the cold. Under the terms of the...

IPO Outlook: Oct. 2, 2003.
October 2, 2003... PricewaterhouseCoopers LONDON -- The number of initial public offerings in Europe almost doubled in the third quarter from the previous three months, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers IPO Watch Europe survey. In third quarter...

J.P. Morgan to pay $25M fine for IPOs.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray in Washington A unit of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. agreed Wednesday, Oct.1, to pay a $25 million civil penalty to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle complaints over its initial public offerings. The...

Remember the goal.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Irwin A. Kishner, Daniel A. Etna, Laura Pedro and Gerald D. Pulvermacher The popularity of combining businesses through mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures should not be confused with the strategy's success. Recent studies...

France again under EC scrutiny.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Renee Cordes in Brussels The European Commission will take France to court over its failure to recover [Euro]450 million ($525 million) in state aid to French computer company Bull, Competition Commissioner Mario Monti said...

FCC delays action on cable merger rules.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Ron Orol in Washington Already facing withering criticism for loosening restraints on media company mergers, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell apparently does not want to add more fuel to the fire. ...

Cardinal Health buys rest of Gala Biotech.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Dublin, Ohio, healthcare products supplier Cardinal Health Inc. announced Wednesday that it is buying the 42% of Middleton, Wis., drug discovery company Gala Biotech Inc. it does not already own for $15.5 million in cash....

Edge Petroleum closes Texas property buy.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Houston oil explorer and producer Edge Petroleum Corp. said Wednesday it closed its acquisition of oil and gas properties in south Texas from a private oil company for $9.1 million. Edge announced the deal Aug. 1. The...

Fidelity National closes FNIS purchase.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Jacksonville, Fla.-based Fidelity National Financial Inc. has completed the $324 million purchase of the Fidelity National Information Solutions Inc. shares it didn't already own. Fidelity National had owned 63% of the...

Fortis buys Bank Austria Creditanstalt unit.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Belgian financial services company Fortis Bank SA said Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire the U.K. leasing business of Bank Austria Creditanstalt AG in a cash deal valued at [Euro]37.7 million ($44 million). Fortis...

GE Corporate buys unit from joint venture.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal GE Corporate Financial Services said Wednesday it has bought NMB Heller Ltd. U.K. for an undisclosed sum from a joint venture it set up with a unit of Dutch insurer ING Group NV. The seller is Netherlands-based NMB Heller...

Google buys rival search company Kaltix.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Internet search engine company Google Inc. said it has bought Palo Alto, Calif.-based search technology startup Kaltix Corp. for an undisclosed sum. Kaltix, which opened for business in June, builds personalized and...

MyTravel Group sheds two divisions.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal British holiday company MyTravel Group plc said Wednesday it had sold businesses in Germany and Poland, resulting in a one-time loss of [pounds sterling]86 million ($143 million). In Germany, the group sold the...

NexPrise jettisons Ingenuity Systems unit.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Carlsbad, Calif., automation software maker NexPrise Inc. has sold its interest in biotech Ingenuity Systems to a group of biologists for $1 million in cash. The deal gives NexPrise a gain of about $400,000 for the third...

Pepco closes sale of Edison Building.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Potomac Capital Investment Corp., a unit of Washington utility parent Pepco Holdings Inc., has sold its Washington headquarters for $151 million to Charlotte, N.C.-based bank Wachovia Corp. Pepco, a utility holding...

Iberdrola takes gas pipeline stake.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Danny Fortson in Barcelona Spanish electric utility Iberdrola SA on Wednesday, Oct. 1, bought into a [Euro]600 million ($700 million) pipeline project that will transport natural gas from Algeria to Spain. The venture, Medgaz,...

Deals Deferred: Oct. 1, 2003.
October 2, 2003... Byline: compiled by TheDeal.com news staff Morrison approved to acquire Safeway A new bonanza for bankers, lawyers and appraisers beckoned Sept. 26, after the U.K. government said Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc should shed 53 stores --...

Telecom giants look to Poland.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Brian Cattell in London and Patricia Koza in Warsaw The Polish mobile-phone market, Central Europe's most lucrative by far, could soon be completely carved up by the great powers of European telecom in a series of deals likely to be...

Heidelberg wants RMC's concrete unit.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London Germany's largest cement company, HeidelbergCement AG, has approached Britain's RMC Group plc about buying its German subsidiary, Readymix AG, putting pressure on the U.K. concrete maker to reverse an...

TXU's telecom sale advances.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter Another round of bids for TXU Corp.'s telephone business should be submitted later this month, according to sources familiar with the energy provider's auction. With a price tag that could reach the mid-$600...

Captaris sees future in faxes.
October 2, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman Some software companies are banking on a host of glamorously innovative technologies to drive growth in coming years, including nanotechnology, wireless telecommunication and autonomic computing. Captaris Inc....

Abbott sells tests to Inverness.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Andrew Morse Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., a Waltham, Mass.-based provider of consumer healthcare diagnostics, said Wednesday, Oct. 1, it had bought a range of pregnancy, strep throat and drug abuse tests from an Abbott...

BC Rail bidders down to 3.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Greg Johnson RailAmerica Inc. said it dropped out of the bidding for ailing British Columbia Railway Co., believing its giant Canadian rivals have a better chance. British Columbia wants to privatize BC Rail, Canada's...

Movers & Shakers: Oct. 2, 2003.
October 2, 2003... Byline: compiled by Lisa Camerlengo You heard it here first, folks. U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray Inc. has hired Paul Inouye as a managing director for its technology investment banking practice. Inouye, who has more than 13 years of...

PE firms look to South Korea.
October 2, 2003... Byline: George White Investment opportunities in South Korea have kept buyout shops busy, as they have invested over a billion dollars in the Asian nation this year. But with another large deal entering its final stages, the country may...

Macquarie wins South East Water.
October 2, 2003... Byline: David Carey After a lengthy auction, French industrial conglomerate Bouygues SA said Wednesday, Oct. 1, that it will sell South East Water, an English utility, to Australia's Macquarie Bank Group for [pounds sterling]426 million...

Dover reels in winchmaker Warn.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Kelly Holman Dover Resources has acquired Warn Industries Inc., which makes winches and other accessories for sport-utility and off-road vehicles, for $325 million in cash from private equity firms Norwest Equity Partners and...

PE Briefs: Oct. 1, 2003.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal staff American Capital Strategies gets ICN American Capital Strategies Ltd., a Bethesda, Md.-based publicly traded buyout and mezzanine fund said Wednesday, Oct. 1 it has agreed to acquire ICN Worldwide Dosimetry...

Carlyle, Finmeccanica complete Avio buy.
October 2, 2003... Byline: David Carey Carlyle Group and Finmeccanica SpA said Wednesday, Oct. 1, they completed their [Euro]1.5 billion ($1.75 billion) purchase of Fiat SpA's Avio aerospace unit. Carlyle, a Washington-based private equity firm, and...

GenPath raises second round.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Clifford Carlsen GenPath Pharmaceuticals Inc. has raised $42.7 million in one of the largest venture deals for drug discovery this year, thanks in large part to some very special mice. The 18-month-old company landed Flagship...

Biotech Arrow hits a bull's eye.
October 2, 2003... Byline: Laura King A day after Reliant Pharmaceuticals LLC landed the biggest biotech funding in the U.S. this year, Arrow Therapeutics accomplished the same feat in the U.K. London-based Arrow said Wednesday, Oct. 1, it has raised...

Arrow Therapeutics.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal London-based Arrow Therapeutics has raised [pounds sterling]21 million ($35 million) in its Series B round of funding, led by new investor Atlas Venture, and expects to bring in another [pounds sterling]4 million by year's...

Burrill.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal San Francisco-based life sciences merchant bank Burrill & Co. has reported that U.S. biotechnology companies have enjoyed their strongest quarter for fundraising in three years. According to the firm, biotechnology...

GenPath Pharmaceuticals.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Cambridge, Mass.-based GenPath Pharmaceuticals Inc. has raised $42.7 million in a second round of venture capital, to advance cancer drug discovery efforts using its own proprietary stable of genetically enhanced mice....

Gomez.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Gomez Inc. of Waltham, Mass., has received $6.1 million in a funding led by new investor AdAstra, a Munich-based venture capital firm. Marc Breitfeld, AdAstra's investment director, will join Gomez's board. The company...

Miikana Therapeutics.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Drug discovery company Miikana Therapeutics Inc. of Fremont, Calif., and Toronto has raised $4.25 million in its first round of venture capital funding. Aravis General Partner Ltd. of Menlo Park, Calif., and Zurich 5AM...

Safelogic.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Goteborg, Sweden-based Safelogic, an electronic design automation company, has raised $4.5 million in a second round of funding from new investors InnovationsKapital and Northzone Ventures, together with its current...

SeeRun Technologies.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Ramat Gan, Israel- and San Francisco-based SeeRun Technologies Ltd. has raised $4.5 million in a second round of financing. AIG Orion Fund led the round, which included Gryphon Capital Partners LLC, Synergy Ventures and...

Sigma-C.
October 2, 2003... Byline: The Deal Sigma-C GmbH of Munich has raised $2.87 million in a first round of financing from DVC Deutsche Venture Capital. Wolfgang Krause, partner at DVC, will join the board. Sigma-C is a provider of applied simulation software...

Exclusivity loss may be Federal-Mogul's gain.
October 3, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Losing exclusivity for presenting a reorganization plan may be the best thing that could have happened to bankrupt Federal-Mogul Corp.'s management. When Visiting Judge Randall Newsome of the U.S. Bankruptcy...

NextWave eyes Las Vegas broadband network.
October 3, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter NextWave Telecom Inc. is seeking bankruptcy court permission to spend up to $39 million to set up a broadband wireless network in Las Vegas, so it can test the market for high-speed mobile services. NextWave, which...

Fleming won't hurry to sell Core-Mark.
October 3, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke It's a good thing Fleming Cos. is not set on quickly selling its Core-Mark International Inc. division. The bankrupt Lewisville, Texas, wholesale food distributor now claims it's only exploring a sale of the...

Union Financial creditors craft deal.
October 3, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Private equity firm Madison Dearborn Capital Partners would be a big loser under a reorganization plan proposed for Union Financial Services Inc. Madison Dearborn's projected 20% stake would be slashed even...

Dobson pulls offering as AT&T Wireless exits.
October 3, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter Oklahoma City-based wireless services provider Dobson Communications Corp. said Thursday, Oct. 2, that it would put off a public offering that it had hoped would raise $150 million because of market conditions, and it...

Layoff roundup: week ended Oct. 2.
October 3, 2003... Byline: David Ehrlich Ford Motor Co. announced massive layoffs this week after making a deal with the United Auto Workers, and storm-delayed filers pushed U.S. jobless claims higher. On Monday, Sept. 29, Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford...

Tricom begins restructuring talks.
October 3, 2003... Byline: Chris Nolter Dominican Republic-based telecom Tricom SA said Thursday, Oct. 2, that it has started restructuring talks with its banks and noteholders and continues discussions with "potential strategic partners." Tricom missed an...

Belgacom spells out IPO plan.
October 3, 2003... Byline: Brian Cattell in London Belgacom, one of Europe's last remaining unlisted phone incumbents, is planning to launch an initial public offering that could be valued at more than [Euro]5 billion ($5.9 billion) and make the company one...

IPO Outlook: Oct. 3, 2003.
October 3, 2003... Byline: Laura King in Toronto and Olaf de Senerpont Domis in San Francisco Dolby Laboratories The leading maker of digital audio signal processing technology, Dolby Laboratories Inc., denied a report Thursday that it had instructed...

Auto parts recycler prices IPO.
October 3, 2003... Byline: Lou Whiteman Auto parts recycling company LKQ Corp. priced its initial public offering at the high end of its expected range late Thursday, Oct. 2, selling 7 million shares at $13 apiece. The Chicago-based company's IPO is...

Dolby Laboratories.
October 3, 2003... Byline: The Deal The leading maker of digital audio signal processing technology, Dolby Laboratories Inc., denied a report Thursday that it had instructed its financial advisers to prepare a regulatory filing for an initial public...

Loews Cineplex Entertainment.
October 3, 2003... Byline: The Deal Toronto-based Onex Corp. would not comment Thursday on reports that it is restructuring its Loews Cineplex Entertainment Corp. as a tax-advantaged income trust and planning an initial public offering of trust units....

Thitikorn.
October 3, 2003... Byline: The Deal BANGKOK -- Shares of Thitikorn PCL, a Thai motorcycle financing company, had a roaring debut at the Stock Exchange of Thailand on Thursday, surging 68%, as the company's growth prospects sparked heavy buying by retail...

Courts make slow progress on Enron.
October 3, 2003... Byline: Jaret Seiberg For a week in which former Credit Suisse First Boston banker Frank Quattrone and former Tyco International Ltd. executive L. Dennis Kozlowski faced trial for scandal-related crimes, the real story may have been Enron...

That's entertainment.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Richard Morgan Barry Diller no doubt has a grip on many things high tech, but cellular telephony is not yet among them. Or so it seemed during last week's Communacopia XII, the annual media-and-entertainment conference sponsored by...

GGST bumps Pillowtex bid.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Jonathan Berke A Schottenstein family-led consortium had to bid more than double what it originally did for bankrupt Pillowtex Corp., but its $128 million offer prevailed in a tightly contested and controversial auction for the...

Buffet Partners completes Furr's deal.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Shanon D. Murray An affiliate of Cardinal Investment Co.'s private equity group has completed its court-approved purchase of bankrupt Furr's Restaurant Group Inc. On Sept. 16, Judge Harlin D. Hale in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court...

Union Financial to quit bankruptcy.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Terry Brennan Union Financial Services Inc. should emerge from bankruptcy next week after a final objection to its reorganization from private equity firm Delaware Capital Investment was rejected. After a marathon hearing that...

Questor's Channel Master files Ch. 11.
October 6, 2003... Byline: David Carey Satellite dish maker Channel Master Holdings Inc., which is controlled by private equity firm Questor Management Co., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late Oct. 2 after years of plunging sales. The...

Insolvent Ivaco cuts people and operations.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Paul Burton Montreal steelmaker Ivaco Inc. is shutting down its U.S. operations. The insolvent company also named chief restructuring officer, Gordon Silverman, president and CEO. Paul Ivanier, who was CEO, becomes chairman....

(FOR COPY EDIT) Gas Natural talks deal with Enron.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Danny Fortson Spanish gas distributor Gas Natural SDG SA announced Friday, Oct. 3 that it is in exclusive talks with Enron Corp. to buy the bankrupt energy company's interests in two Brazilian gas distributors. The companies did...

Loyal backers.
October 6, 2003... Byline: edited by John E. Morris Is the glass half empty or half full? Poring over the European Venture Capital Association's report on corporate venture investing in 2002, released Oct. 1, you could view it either way. The bad news was...

Sage advice.
October 6, 2003... Byline: David Shabelman Best Software Inc., the U.S. arm of British software giant Sage Group plc, was built solely through acquisitions. There have been 14 deals since 1998, and the company has shown no sign of slowing down. A maker...

Dealmaker's resume: Scott Edmonds.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Tara Croft To , IPOs mean big opportunity. When the newly named CEO of Fort Myers, Fla.-based clothing retailer Chico's FAS Inc. saw in mid-June that competitor White House Inc. was looking to go public, he moved fast. Within three...

Movers & Shakers: Week of Oct. 6, 2003.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Dennis Fitzgerald and Heidi Moore After a highly public exit from Credit Suisse First Boston last year, Wall Streeters wondered where Russell Ray would land. They got an answer last week, when the former healthcare banker became a...

Roman holiday.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Heather O'Brian The U.K. law firm Simmons & Simmons has suffered a blow as several of its lawyers in Italy have defected to U.S.-based Dewey Ballantine LLP, which last week opened offices in Milan and Rome. Bruno Gattai, an M&A...

Team players.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Dennis Fitzgerald Though financial advisers, like coaches in professional sports, usually need to produce wins to stay with the team, Dominic D'Alessandro, chief executive of Manulife Financial Corp., has kept the core of his...

Deal sense.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Matt Miller Not exactly a Kodak moment, was it? When Eastman Kodak Co. unveiled its new reinvention strategy late last month, disgruntled shareholders gave CEO and chairman Daniel Carp the equivalent of a Bronx cheer. Kodak wants...

Editor's letter.
October 6, 2003... Byline: Robert Teitelman Everywhere you go folks are chanting the catechism of corporate governance to ward off evil. Interests must be aligned. Managers serve boards, which represent true investor owners. Any misalignment results in big...