The Daily Deal articles from October 2004

The Daily Deal archives from October 2004

TransCanada buys up PG&E assets.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Canadian natural gas transporter TransCanada Corp. said late Wednesday, Sept. 30, it is buying two New England hydropower systems for $505 million from a unit of bankrupt utility giant PG&E Corp. The deal...

Icahn in WestPoint lead.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke Carl Icahn has positioned himself to take over WestPoint Stevens Inc. once it emerges from bankruptcy, a seemingly counterintuitive bet considering the unrelentingly bleak outlook for the textile industry. Then...

Avado can hire Barbrick as CEO.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Phineas Lambert Dallas restaurant chain Avado Brands Inc. has won approval to hire Raymond P. Barbrick as its CEO. Following approval Tuesday, Sept. 28, from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in...

ARG files its Ch. 11 pre-pack.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas American Restaurant Group filed for Chapter 11 on Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles. The Los Altos, Calif., operator of the Black Angus and Cattle Co....

Hawaiian Air beats the tax man.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman in Atlanta The judge overseeing the bankruptcy of Hawaiian Airlines Inc. handed a preliminary victory to the airline in a dispute with the Internal Revenue Service over $125 million in taxes and penalties that the...

Cornerstone wins extension.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Claire Poole in Houston Watsonville, Calif., propane marketer Cornerstone Propane Partners LP on Thursday won an extension of time to file its own Chapter 11 reorganization plan. No objections were filed by the Sept. 28...

Parmalat aims for damages in trial.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan A criminal trial that gets under way in Milan next week will also result in "significant" monetary damages for Parmalat Finanziaria SpA if the bankrupt company's administrator has his way, an attorney said...

Intermet in Ch. 11.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Intermet Corp. continued negotiating for up to $50 million in debtor-in-possession financing after a rise in raw-material costs, especially for scrap steel, pushed the auto parts maker into bankruptcy on Thursday,...

BMC's Buckbee sale confirmed.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Erik Moser A Minneapolis judge Thursday, Sept. 30, confirmed the sale of BMC Industries Inc.'s sale of its Buckbee-Mears group to New Delhi-based International Electron Devices (USA) Inc. Judge Robert J. Kressel of the U.S....

Ross wins round in Horizon deal.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke A Kentucky judge on Thursday, Sept. 30, lifted a stay he imposed less than 48 hours earlier, clearing a major hurdle for a Wilbur Ross-led consortium that wants to complete a $786 million buyout of bankrupt Horizon...

NBACC auction set for Nov. 19.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas A judge on Thursday, Sept. 30, approved bidding procedures for 11 nursing homes owned by the National Benevolent Association of the Christian Church, setting the stage for an auction. Judge Ronald King in the U.S....

Commerce One shedding unit.
October 1, 2004... Byline: David Shabelman Beleaguered San Francisco business software maker Commerce One Inc. will sell its supplier management division to West Palm Beach, Fla.-based ComVest Investment Partners LLC and Minneapolis-based DCC Ventures LLC....

Hi-Rise sale to Wastequip OK'd.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Greg Johnson Bankrupt Hi-Rise Recycling Cos. has won approval for its sale to Wastequip Manufacturing Inc. for just under $3 million in cash. Judge Russ Kendig of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Ohio in...

Layoff roundup: Sept. 30, 2004.
October 1, 2004... Byline: David Ehrlich Initial jobless claims in the U.S. jumped by 18,000 last week, due to the effects of a series of hurricanes that hit the southern United States, according to the Labor Department. First-time claims for...

BE settles with rebel fund.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Renee Cordes in Brussels British Energy plc, which supplies a fifth of the U.K.'s electricity, said Thursday, Sept. 30, it has ended a legal dispute with a rebel shareholder that had opposed its restructuring plan. The...

CNAH to form holding company for IPO.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong China National Aviation Holding Co., the largest airline group in China, said Thursday, Sept. 30, it has formed a holding company as the vehicle for a Hong Kong initial public offering estimated to...

Japan to privatize Inpex in IPO.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Martin Foster in Tokyo Japan has for the second time this week announced privatization plans through an initial public offering, this time for gas and oil producer Inpex Corp., a deal analysts say is worth as much as $1.8 billion....

IPO outlook: Oct. 1, 2004.
October 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson Hutchinson Telecom prices IPO Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. on Thursday, Sept. 30, announced an IPO price range of HK$6.52 and HK$7.55 a share. Hutchison Telecom' owner, Li Ka-Shing's...

IPO outlook: October 01, 2004.
October 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Hutchinson Telecom prices IPO Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. on Thursday, Sept. 30, announced an IPO price range of HK$6.52 and HK$7.55 a share. Hutchison...

Room to move.
October 1, 2004... The Internal Revenue Service, just months after it issued proposed regulations expanding the circumstances in which assets or stock could be moved within the confines of a "qualified group" without disturbing the legitimacy of a reorganization,...

FTC waves through oil deals.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Jaret Seiberg in Washington The Federal Trade Commission cleared two more oil industry mergers Thursday, Sept. 30, bringing to four the number of energy deals that have won antitrust approval this week. Enterprise Products...

Feds aim to squish Scrushy.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Jaret Seiberg The Department of Justice wants to ensure former HealthSouth Corp. chairman Richard Scrushy is punished for the massive accounting fraud that forced him to resign from the company he created. That explains why the...

FCC nears Cingular, AT&T decision.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Ron Orol in Washington Federal Communications Commission member Kathleen Abernathy said Thursday, Sept. 30, that the agency will rule on Cingular Wireless LLC's $41 billion acquisition of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. in the next few...

New & noteworthy: October 01, 2004.
October 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Red Hat buys Netscape unit Linux software provider Red Hat Inc. on Thursday said it would acquire the Netscape Security Solutions division of America Online Inc. in a...

In play: October 01, 2004.
October 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson CDR finishes Culligan purchase New York private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc. has completed its $610 million purchase of Culligan International Co., a Northbrook,...

Westfield casts eye to Britain.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Josey Puliyenthuruthel Aiming to double its presence in the U.K., Australia's Westfield Group, the world's biggest owner of shopping centers, offered Thursday, Sept. 30, to pay [pounds sterling]2.2 billion ($4 billion) including...

Verizon halts upstate N.Y. auction.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter In the latest indication that the market is cooling for rural phone operations, Verizon Communications Inc. said in an internal memo Thursday, Sept. 30, that it is suspending talks with potential buyers of its upstate...

Armor Holdings bulks up.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Tara Croft Fortifying its status as a leading supplier of protective equipment to the U.S. military, defensive products maker Armor Holdings Inc. said Thursday, Sept. 30, it planned to purchase Specialty Group Inc. for $92 million...

Wind Point angles for United.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman Wind Point Partners isn't talking about it yet, but the Chicago-based private equity firm has apparently agreed to acquire United Subcontractors Inc. for $287 million. Wind Point is investing $72 million in the...

Movers & shakers: Oct. 1, 2004.
October 1, 2004... Byline: compiled by Baz Hiralal Banc of America Securities LLC brought in Jeffrey Liu, Stephan Month, Georg Schloendorff and Sean Rogers as managing directors in the firm's technology investment banking division. Month, Schloendorff and...

Woolworths raises ante for ALH.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Josey Puliyenthuruthel Australia's biggest grocer, Woolworths Ltd., upped a bid Thursday, Sept. 30, it is leading for Australian Leisure & Hospitality Group Ltd. to A$1.1 billion ($788 million), trumping an offer by U.S. buyout...

CVC links ink printers.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin London buyout shop CVC Capital Partners Ltd. is moving to create a pan-European printing inks specialist with [Euro]830 million ($1.03 billion) in annual sales by acquiring and joining former units of...

PE firms crack Irish pharma books.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London Just 10 days after announcing it had received a [pounds sterling]1.48 billion ($2.68 billion) indicative offer from a private equity consortium, Northern Irish pharmaceuticals company Warner Chilcott plc...

Buyout firms snap up agencies.
October 1, 2004... Byline: David Carey A clutch of private equity houses clinched investments in two high-profile talent agencies -- in deals differing vastly in size. Forstmann Little & Co. agreed to buy IMG, the powerful sports talent agency and...

Bear completes $140M recap of ACA.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman Bear Stearns Merchant Banking, the New York private equity investment unit of Bear, Stearns & Co., said Thursday, Sept. 30, it has completed a $140 million recapitalization of New York specialty finance company ACA...

Behrman Capital buys WIL Research Labs.
October 1, 2004... Byline: David Carey Private equity boutique Behrman Capital agreed to acquire Great Lakes Chemical Corp.'s WIL Research Laboratories unit, which provides toxicological testing services, for $105 million, Great Lakes said late Thursday. ...

Red Hat to buy Netscape assets.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira Raleigh, N.C.-based open-source solution provider Red Hat Inc. agreed Thursday, Sept. 30, to buy some assets of Netscape Security Solutions from America Online Inc. for an undisclosed price. Red Hat said in a...

Tech movers: Oct. 1, 2004.
October 1, 2004... Byline: compiled by The Deal staff Transaction Systems chief executive to retire Transaction Systems Architects Inc., which makes enterprise e-payments and e-commerce software, said on Tuesday its president and chief executive Gregory...

Ember gets $25M.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Clifford Carlsen Ember Corp. has caught fire as a full-fledged chip developer, parlaying a recent acquisition and lead role in establishing industry standards for low-cost, low-power wireless networks for industrial use into a $25...

NxStage gets $20M fifth round.
October 1, 2004... Byline: Paul Bonanos Renal therapies developer NxStage Medical Inc. has added three new investors to its syndicate after completing a $20 million fifth round of funding to commercialize its novel kidney dialysis equipment. Japan's...

Air Canada takes off again.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Laura King in Toronto Air Canada emerged late Thursday, Sept. 30, from bankruptcy protection with C$1.9 billion ($1.5 billion) in cash on hand and just C$5 billion in debt. The country's biggest airline reduced its debt from...

Sydran to sell Burger King outlets.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira San Ramon, Calif.-based fast-food company Sydran Services LLC said Friday, Oct. 1, it would sell 226 Burger King restaurants to a unit of Cerberus California Inc. as part of its attempts to reorganize after declaring...

US Air, pilots inch toward deal.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman US Airways Group Inc. on Friday, Oct. 1, reached a tentative agreement with negotiators for its pilots union on a deal the bankrupt carrier says would save it $300 million annually. The Arlington, Va.-based company...

Ex-CEO, competitor bid for Maxim.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Maxim Crane Works LLC's former CEO has joined with one of its competitors to ask a Pittsburgh judge to allow them to become the crane rental company's stalking-horse bidder with an initial offer of $273 million....

New World Pasta loses extension bid.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke New World Pasta Co. continued to be undermined by its creditors Friday, Oct. 1, as a judge denied the company another extension on its exclusivity. Now the Harrisburg, Pa.-based maker of Ronzoni, Creamette, San...

Cerberus has it its way.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas While it's not the way Sydran Group LLC would have wanted it, the 226 restaurants of the second-largest Burger King Corp. franchisee in the U.S. will be sold out of bankruptcy to an affiliate of Cerberus Capital...

Footstar to fight for Kmart pact.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas Footstar Inc. said Friday it would fight to assume the contract of its Meldisco unit with Kmart Holding Corp. The Troy, Mich., retailer objects to Footstar taking over the pact that allows Meldisco to sell footwear...

Davenport diocese warns of Ch. 11.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton Davenport, Iowa, could be the next Roman Catholic diocese to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the face of sexual-abuse lawsuits. Hit with similar suits, dioceses in Portland, Ore., and Tucson, Ariz.,...

Seafood chain files for Ch. 11.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton Gold Coast Restaurants Inc. of Tampa, Fla., has received bankruptcy court approval for a $300,000 interim loan from its parent, Flat Rock Grille Holdings Inc. Gold Coast, which operates six Johnny Leverock's Seafood...

Comeback.
October 4, 2004... Byline: edited by John E. Morris Since The Deal cast a harsh light on Clayton, Dubilier & Rice Inc.'s woes in a June 30, 2003, cover story, "CD&R Cleans House," the New York private equity firm has staged something of a dramatic recovery....

ThyssenKrupp sells HiServ unit.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin German steel and elevator maker ThyssenKrupp AG on Friday continued an aggressive divestment program, selling its HiServ GmbH facilities management division to larger rival Wisag Service Holding GmbH & Co....

Mesa Air cutting salaries.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman in Atlanta Mesa Air Group Inc. on Friday said that its senior management would slash their salaries by 23% to reduce costs. Mesa said it will ask its employees to voluntarily defer as much as 23% of their salaries...

High-carb deals.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Dennis Fitzgerald A funny thing happened on the way to the Monday, Sept. 27, deal between J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Highbridge Capital Management. On Aug. 12, just over a month before J.P. Morgan Fleming Asset & Wealth Management...

MediciNova plans Japanese IPO.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira A month after raising $44 million in venture capital funding, San Diego-based pharmaceutical company MediciNova Inc. said on Friday, Oct. 1, it plans to raise as much as $100 million in an initial public offering on...

Britvic considers IPO.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Brian Cattell in London British soft-drinks maker Britvic, which PepsiCo Inc. partially owns, could list early in 2005 now that its shareholders have appointed Citigroup Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG to look into a possible initial...

EMJ to test its metal on the market.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Phineas Lambert In an era when the IPO market usually boasts biotech and technology startups, it's rare to see companies offering commodity products looking to go public. But with the price of steel having surged over the past...

Telecoms take assets off the block.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter Though Verizon Communications Inc. has called off talks with potential buyers of its rural phone operations in upstate New York, industry watchers believe the telecom could divest these profitable operations through...

PeopleSupport stumbles in debut.
October 4, 2004... Byline: David Shabelman On a day when equity markets were popping, PeopleSupport Inc.'s initial public offering was losing air, with the company's stock on Friday failing to top its $7 per share offer price. Shares in the Los...

IPO outlook: Oct. 4, 2004.
October 4, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson Eagle Hospitality sets IPO price Covington, Ky.-based real estate investment trust Eagle Hospitality Properties Trust Inc. priced its 14.6 million-share initial public offering on Friday at $9.75 a share,...

Air tight.
October 4, 2004... Byline: Greg Storey One question burns in your mind as you finish a trip on Ryanair, Europe's sprawlingly successful cut-rate airline: Why on earth do people keep flying with this company? Its staffers seldom smile and often snarl. Its...

Cancer Center diagnoses a bankruptcy.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Ben Fidler With hints of scandal surrounding the Institute for Cancer Prevention, the reaction from parties close to the case on Monday, Oct.4, was typical of any New York mess -- no comment. The IFCP, well-known for its...

Intermet has DIP commitment.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Intermet Corp. said Monday, Oct. 4, it has won a promise of a 12-month debtor-in-possession loan of up to $60 million from a prepetition lender. The Troy, Mich.-based metal caster did not identify the DIP...

Touch America creditors to be paid.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter With virtually all its assets long since liquidated, Touch America Holdings Inc. won approval for its plan of reorganization in a Philadelphia bankruptcy court on Monday, Oct. 4, attorneys involved in the case said....

Court OK's Ha-Lo deal with insurer.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Terry Brennan A Chicago judge on Monday, Oct. 4, approved a $17 million settlement between liquidating Ha-Lo Industries Inc. and Zurich American Insurance Co. Judge Carol Doyle in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern...

Buck or Two finds a buyer.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Laura King in Toronto The operator of the Toronto's Buck or Two chain of dollar stores said Monday, Oct. 4, its court-appointed monitor has found a buyer. Denninghouse Inc. said that its monitor, RSM Richter Inc., has...

Court OK's Hawaiian Air deal.
October 5, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman in Atlanta A settlement between Hawaiian Airlines Inc. and Boeing Co. has been approved by the bankruptcy court, the airline said in a filing Monday, Oct. 4. The settlement allows Boeing's $66.5 million claim against...

IPO outlook: October 05, 2004.
October 5, 2004... Byline: edited by Jon Asmundsson edited by Jon Asmundsson Bois d'Arc files for $150M IPO Bois d'Arc Energy LLC hopes to reap $150 million in an initial public offering. The Houston company did not disclose how many shares or what...

New & noteworthy: October 05, 2004.
October 5, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Prada buys out Helmut Lang Italian fashion house and luxury goods group Prada Holding NV said Monday that it has agreed to acquire the 49% it doesn't already own of New...

In play: October 05, 2004.
October 5, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Rouse investors set deal vote Rouse Co. will hold a special meeting on Nov. 9 for its shareholders to vote on a $12.6 billion sale to General Growth Properties Inc. Under the...

DealFlow: October 05, 2004.
October 5, 2004... Byline: compiled by George White compiled by George White Networking Aristos Logic Foothill Ranch, Calif.--based Aristos Logic Corp. has completed a $12 million dollar Series D funding, giving the storage technology company...

Bridal gown chain converts to Ch. 7.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton WeddingStores Inc. is definitely not going to live happily ever after. Unable to secure debtor-in-possession financing, the Altoona, Pa.-based company, which does business as Kaufman's Wedding World, has changed...

Federal-Mogul seeks exit loan OK.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas Federal-Mogul Corp. has lined up a $1.4 billion exit loan and $500 million in new debtor-in-possession financing from Citigroup Inc. The exit funding consists of a $500 million secured revolver and a $933 million...

KB Toys can pay creditor.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Brenon Daly KB Toys Inc. has received court permission to make a $117,978 payment to creditor Silver Oak Capital. The claim was originally owed to video game maker Atari, which assigned it to distressed debt investor Amroc...

Qwest hopes for arbitration.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc. argues that a lawsuit brought by trustees of its bankrupt joint venture KPNQwest NV should be arbitrated and not heard in a New Jersey federal court. KPNQwest is...

Kaiser sheds KJBC stake.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Greg Johnson Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corp. has completed the sale of its stake in Kaiser Jamaica Bauxite Corp. in Jamaica and its Gramercy alumina refinery in Louisiana about $23 million in cash. The two operations have...

Owens ruling stings banks.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas A key decision from a district court judge in Owens Corning Inc.'s bankruptcy case has handed a victory to the company and its asbestos creditors and dealt a setback to its bank lenders, according to lawyers involved in...

Elan establishes $55M reserve.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Alex Lash Irish drugmaker Elan Corp. plc looks as though it will soon resolve its legal problems, just in time to roll out its long-awaited multiple sclerosis drug, Antegren. The Dublin-based company is under investigation by...

Hutchison Telecom lowers IPO price.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Paul Waide in Shanghai Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. unit Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. has dropped the price of its initial public offering for a second time in two weeks as the company's underwriters seek to boost...

Stirrings in Germany's IPO market.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin Two German tech firms this week stuck their toes in the country's icy initial public offer waters hoping to find investors warming to new issues after a difficult year. Industrial sensor maker Sick AG...

IPO outlook: Oct. 6, 2004.
October 6, 2004... Byline: edited by Jon Asmundsson Texas Roadhouse prices IPO Texas Roadhouse Inc. on Monday priced its 9.1 million share initial public offering at $17.50 a share, topping the price range and raising $109 million. The Louisville,...

IPO outlook: October 06, 2004.
October 6, 2004... Byline: edited by Jon Asmundsson edited by Jon Asmundsson Texas Roadhouse prices IPO Texas Roadhouse Inc. on Monday priced its 9.1 million share initial public offering at $17.50 a share, topping the price range and raising $109...

In play: October 06, 2004.
October 6, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson FTC clears Coors-Molson merger The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that it does not have antitrust objections to Adolph Coors Co.'s acquisition of Molson Inc. The...

New & noteworthy: October 06, 2004.
October 6, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Viacom, SBS forge link Media companies Viacom Inc. and Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. said Tuesday they're forming a strategic alliance to better target Latinos in the U.S....

Toppan buys DuPont Photomasks.
October 6, 2004... Byline: Martin Foster in Tokyo Tokyo-based Toppan Printing Co. Ltd. agreed Tuesday, Oct. 5, to acquire DuPont Photomasks Inc., maker of a key component in semiconductor chip production, for [yen]71 billion ($640 million) in cash. ...