The Daily Deal articles from September 2004

The Daily Deal archives from September 2004

Uniflex reorg plan includes stock sale.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton Hicksville, N.Y., bagmaker Uniflex Inc. will sell stock to raise cash under a reorganization plan filed Monday, Aug. 30, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in Wilmington. Under the plan, which...

No bidders for Factory 2-U.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Erik Moser No auction was held for Factory 2-U Store Inc.'s assets as no competing bids were placed against F2U Acquisition Group LLC's about $28 million stalking-horse bid. Composed of Alamo Group, Garcel Inc., Ozer Group and...

Shreveport casino eyes Ch. 11.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke The owners of the Hollywood Casino Shreveport in Shreveport, La., agreed to file for bankruptcy later this year to restructure. The move means the property would be sold to the privately-held Eldorado Resorts...

Breeden report on Hollinger arrives.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Richard Morgan Business' best summer read arrived with a thud Tuesday, Aug. 31, in the form of the long-awaited report from Hollinger International Inc.'s special-committee investigation into alleged wrongdoing by ousted CEO Conrad...

Moscow may float major shipper.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Nick Watson Russia's largest shipping company, OAO Sovcomflot, said Tuesday, Aug. 31, it has given the government a series of options to reform the state-owned entity, including an initial public offering on international markets...

Swissport to list shares.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin British private equity shop Candover Investments plc appears to be preparing an exit from Swiss ground handling services company Swissport International Ltd. after engineering a management buyout in 2002...

IPO Outlook: Sept. 1, 2004.
September 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson China halts all IPO offerings China's Securities Regulatory Commission on Tuesday, Aug. 31, ordered a halt to all IPOs. China's securities regulator is trying to flesh out the details of the country's...

IPO outlook: September 01, 2004.
September 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson China halts all IPO offerings China's Securities Regulatory Commission on Tuesday, Aug. 31, ordered a halt to all IPOs. China's securities regulator is trying to flesh out the...

FTC to get commissioner.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Jaret Seiberg in Washington Jon Leibowitz is scheduled to be sworn in Friday, Sept. 3, as a member of the Federal Trade Commission, replacing Mozelle Thompson, who formally resigned from the agency on Aug. 31. President Bush...

Feds clear $385M Bumble Bee deal.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Jaret Seiberg in Washington The Department of Justice dropped antitrust objections Tuesday, Aug. 31, to Connors Brothers Income Fund's $385 million acquisition of Bumble Bee Holdings LP after the company agreed to divest a sardines...

In play: September 01, 2004.
September 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Bank Permata finalists named Indonesian government on Tuesday short listed Standard Chartered Bank and four other final bidders for a 51% stake in the country's seventh...

New & noteworthy: September 01, 2004.
September 1, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson Travelocity.com buys All State Tours In a move designed to boost its offerings in Las Vegas, Travelocity.com Inc. has acquired All State Tours Inc., a distributor of show tickets and tours in Las Vegas, for $25...

Conoco won't boost CeRa stake.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Nick Watson ConocoPhillips Inc. said Tuesday, Aug. 31, it does not intend to exercise an option to increase its 16.33% stake in Czech refiner Ceska Rafinerska following a similar decision a day earlier by Royal Dutch/Shell Group....

Consortium buys Australian pipeline.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Josey Puliyenthuruthel A local consortium has bought Western Australia's largest gas pipeline from Epic Energy Pty. Ltd., a company controlled by El Paso Corp. of Houston and Dominion Resources Inc. of Richmond, Va., for A$1.86...

National Grid sells $10.4B in assets.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Laura Board in London London-based National Grid Transco plc on Tuesday, Aug. 31, wrapped up a protracted U.K. gas pipelines auction with [pounds sterling]5.8 billion-worth ($10.5 billion) of agreements with three different buying...

UBS bulks up with Schwab deal.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Vipal Monga in New York and Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin The purchase of Charles Schwab Corp.'s institutional trading division will make Swiss UBS AG, already the world's biggest secondary equities trader, a heavyweight in Nasdaq...

Bally shareholder blasts CEO's pay.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Ron Orol An investor in Bally Total Fitness Holding Corp. is renewing pressure on the company to find a buyer. Emanuel Pearlman, managing director of Liberation Investment Group LLC, a Los Angeles-based hedge fund, said he may...

Harrah's, Colony in talks.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke If there's any truth to Harrah's Entertainment Inc. asking Colony Capital LLC to surrender $1.26 billion for four Harrah's casinos, then there are probably no other bidders. Harrah's confirmed Tuesday, Aug. 31,...

Veritas buys Kvault for $225M.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Cheryl Meyer Storage technology company Veritas Software Corp. said Tuesday, Aug. 31, it is acquiring Kvault Software Ltd., a developer of e-mail archiving products, for about $225 million in cash. Jeremy Burton, senior vice...

Gates raises heat on Six Flags.
September 1, 2004... Byline: David Shabelman Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates is raising the pressure on Six Flags Inc. to find a solution to the amusement park company's mounting financial woes. In a regulatory filing Tuesday, Aug. 31, Cascade...

Ailing Copper Mountain for sale.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman Telecommunications equipment maker Copper Mountain Networks Inc. put itself on the block Tuesday, Aug. 31, after admitting it had lost a major order for its broadband gear. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company said...

Movers & shakers: Sept. 1, 2004.
September 1, 2004... Byline: compiled by Baz Hiralal Fox-Pitt, Kelton, an investment bank specializing in financial institutions, has appointed David Trone senior vice president and senior analyst heading coverage of the U.S. investment banking sector. ...

McKenzie music venues go for a song.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London Royal London Private Equity Ltd. sang a merry tune Tuesday, Aug. 31, after completing a [pounds sterling]33.5 million ($60.3 million) buyout of live music venue and club operator McKenzie Group, or MKG. ...

Private Capital People: August 31, 2004.
September 1, 2004... Byline: compiled by Baz Hiralal Joseph Herz has joined Greenberg Traurig LLP as a shareholder in the corporate and securities department in the New York office. Prior to Greenberg Traurig, he was a partner at Morrison & Foerster LLP....

Wind Point finds a breeze.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman Wind Point Partners has bought Breeze Industrial Products Corp. in a secondary buyout from San Francisco's Industrial Growth Partners for roughly $137 million. Southfield, Mich.- and Chicago-based Wind Point...

Search startup Tableau gets $5M.
September 1, 2004... Byline: George White Stanford University's computer science department, which produced the founders of both Yahoo! Inc. and Google Inc., has churned out yet another startup with an innovative way to search and organize information. ...

Dealflow: Sept. 1, 2004.
September 1, 2004... Byline: compiled by George White Computer hardware and software Pelion Systems Lafayette, Colo.-based Pelion Systems Inc., a maker of manufacturing process optimization software, has completed a $5 million round and hired Dave...

Enanta Pharma closes $20M round.
September 1, 2004... Byline: Alex Lash Enanta Pharmaceuticals Inc. has closed its third institutional venture round with a $20 million equity investment split between a major Japanese pharmaceuticals company and other investors. The round, which opened...

DealFlow: September 01, 2004.
September 1, 2004... Byline: compiled by George White compiled by George White Computer hardware and software Pelion Systems Lafayette, Colo.-based Pelion Systems Inc., a maker of manufacturing process optimization software, has completed a $5...

ASX probing miner collapse.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Giles Parkinson in Sydney The Australian Stock Exchange is investigating the collapse of Sons of Gwalia Ltd., an Australian gold and mineral producer with debt of around A$800 million ($562 million) that has been placed in the hands...

Choice One plans Ch. 11 filing.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter Rochester, N.Y., phone company Choice One Communications Inc. has lined up broad creditor support for a Chapter 11 filing later this month in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, the company...

Horizon sale approved.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray A judge on Tuesday, Aug. 31, confirmed the $786 million sale of Horizon Natural Resources Co. to an investor group led by New York buyout veteran Wilbur L. Ross Jr. The winning bid consists of $304 million in...

Investors rush to fix Hawaiian Air.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman An investor group seeking control of Hawaiian Airlines Inc. is requesting an extension to file a reorganization plan on grounds that the bankrupt airline's trustee withdrew support for its proposal just days before...

Robert Earl finishes Aladdin rescue.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Berke An investment consortium fronted by Planet Hollywood co-founder Robert Earl completed its $653 million rescue of the Aladdin Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Sept. 1. The investors, which also include...

EC limits BE aid to nuclear.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Renee Cordes in Brussels The European Commission said Wednesday, Sept. 1, that British Energy plc must guarantee that any U.K. restructuring aid it receives will go only to its nuclear division if it is to win European Union...

In play: September 02, 2004.
September 2, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Citizens finishes Charter deal Providence, R.I.-based Citizens Financial Group Inc. has completed its $10.5 billion acquisition of Cleveland's Charter One Financial Inc., it...

New & noteworthy: September 02, 2004.
September 2, 2004... Byline: edited by Greg Johnson edited by Greg Johnson Cargill takes Brazil's Seara Cargill Inc. announced Wednesday it would buy control of Seara Alimentos SA, Brazil's No. 3 meat company, for $130 million. The Minneapolis-based...

Centennial Bank to buy Guaranty.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira Privately owned Centennial Bank Holdings Inc. of Northern Colorado agreed Wednesday, Sept. 1, to buy cross-state rival Guaranty Corp. for $365 million in cash, continuing its ambition to build up a leading bank in the...

Kinder Morgan picks up pipeline.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Claire Poole in Houston Houston energy transporter Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP said Tuesday, Aug. 31, it bought Kaston Pipeline Co. LP from Western Refining Co. LP for $100 million in cash. > KMP agreed in January to...

Carrefour to sell assets.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Ross Tieman in Toulouse, France Retail colossus Carrefour SA announced plans Wednesday, Sept. 1, to dispose of [Euro]1 billion ($1.2 billion) in assets, some of which Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is expected to bid for, as part of a broader...

France cedes telecom control.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Ross Tieman in Toulouse, France The French government on Wednesday, Sept. 1, revealed a surprise yield of control of one of its prized assets, national telephone company France Telecom SA, through an equity placement worth up to...

MGI pulls off triple play.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Alex Lash in San Francisco Anti-cancer drug maker MGI Pharma Inc. just ended its summer with a shopping spree, spending a total of $122 million. The Bloomington, Minn.-based biopharmaceutical company announced Wednesday, Sept....

eBay closes in on Internet Auction.
September 2, 2004... Byline: David Shabelman in San Francisco Persistence is key to winning an auction hosted by eBay Inc. That also appears to be the company's approach in trying to take control of Internet Auction Co. Ltd. eBay, which was rebuffed in its...

Movers & Shakers: Sept. 2, 2004.
September 2, 2004... Byline: compiled by Baz Hiralal Investment bank Robert W. Baird & Co. has added Jerry Keen to its corporate brokering team. Keen will be based in London, working closely with Penny Freer and Liz Page. Keen joins Baird from Numis Securities...

Tokyo taxi firm hails Synergy.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Charles Smith in Tokyo Tokyo taxi operator Kokusai Motorcars Co. said Wednesday, Sept. 1, it plans to issue new shares to buyout firm Synergy Capital Japan Inc. in a bid to reduce debt of about [yen]200 billion ($1.8 billion) owed...

Norwest gets Becker Underwood.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Kelly Holman Minneapolis buyout shop Norwest Equity Partners said Wednesday, Sept. 1, it has acquired Ames, Iowa-based specialty agricultural chemicals company Becker Underwood Inc. in a secondary buyout worth close to $200...

Carlyle funds Chinese advertiser.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong Carlyle Group has invested $15 million in IPO-bound outdoor advertiser Targetmedia Network of Shanghai, as the Washington-based investor continues to pour venture capital into China. ...

Austrian antibiotic startup gets $14.6M.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Valerie Thompson in Zurich Vienna-based Biovertis AG, a startup developing novel antibiotics, has raised [Euro]12 million ($14.6 million) in a Series A round as investor interest in anti-infectives targeting bacterial disease warms...

NFR Security adds $6M.
September 2, 2004... Byline: Paul Bonanos Network intrusion detection specialist NFR Security Inc. of Rockville, Md., will support its latest product line with a $6 million fourth round of funding that includes one new investor. First-time backer Edison...

Dealflow: Sept. 2, 2004.
September 2, 2004... Byline: compiled by George White Computer hardware and software Searchspace London-based Searchspace Ltd. has topped up its second round of funding with a new investor, Scottish Equity Partners of Glasgow and London, adding $5.5...

DealFlow: September 02, 2004.
September 2, 2004... Byline: compiled by George White compiled by George White Computer hardware and software Searchspace London-based Searchspace Ltd. has topped up its second round of funding with a new investor, Scottish Equity Partners of...

Yukos says it has been "paralyzed".
September 3, 2004... Byline: Nick Watson Russian oil company OAO NK Yukos said Thursday, Sept. 2 a new court ruling has put a complete freeze on all the bank accounts of the oil firm and its subsidiaries, leaving the firm "paralyzed" and facing a complete halt...

HouseValues files for IPO.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira Bellevue, Wa.-based real estate marketing and technology services company HouseValues Inc. is going public and Chicago-based buyout shop William Blair Capital Partners may be selling shares in the offering. The...

MGM denies $5B bid report.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira Movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., which put itself up for sale months ago, dismissed press reports on Wednesday, Sept. 1, that it may fetch a price as high as $5 billion. Calling the reports "inaccurate,"...

Southern Union, GE win Enron pipeline.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira A joint venture between Southern Union Co. and a General Electric Co. unit has won the auction for Enron Corp.'s domestic pipeline with a bid worth $2.45 billion cash and assumed debt. CCE Holdings, LLC, a...

Siemens eyes Austrian group.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin German industrial and electronics heavyweight Siemens AG and Austrian investor Mirko Kovats are mulling a [Euro]900 million ($1.1 billion) joint bid for Linz, Austria-based industrial group VA Technologie...

Wells Fargo to buy Texas bank.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co. agreed Thursday, Sept. 2 to buy First Community Capital Corp. of Houston for about $123.7 million in stock to deepen its penetration in the Texas market. Wells Fargo is now...

Norway's PGS rejects bid.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Patricia Koza Norway's Petroleum Geo-Services ASA said late Wednesday, Sept. 1, that it has rejected a cash-and-stock offer of $900 million from French rival Compagnie Generale de Geophysique for its geophysical unit. The...

Kirkham sweetens bid for DFS.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Patricia Koza The chairman of Britain's DFS Furniture Co. has once again sweetened his offer for the company he founded, offering another 10 pence per share or a total of &pounds;507 million ($909.5 million) to take the company...

Merrill Lynch buys energy trading unit.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Claire Poole Merrill Lynch & Co. agreed Thursday, Sept. 2, to buy the energy trading businesses of Entergy-Koch LP, a joint venture between New Orleans utility Entergy Corp. and Wichita, Kan., conglomerate Koch Industries Inc.,...

Blackstone scraps German auction.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Andrew Bulkeley in Berlin New York buyout fund Blackstone Group on Thursday, Sept. 2, abandoned the auction of its German Nutrinova Nutrition Specialties & Food Ingredients GmbH food additives division after suitors fretted over...

Star buys into German power group.
September 3, 2004... Byline: Jonathan Braude in London London private equity firm Star Capital Partners said Thursday, Sept. 2, it is buying a 72% stake in Freiburg, Germany-based energy business GWE Gesellschaft fur wirtschaftliche Energieversorgung mbH from...

Femme financial.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Richard Morgan Cherchez la femme. It seems unlikely France's universal insight into man's motivation would resurface in a story that ties together such exclusive boys' clubs as Fleet Street, Chicago journalism and the House of...

All eyes on NextWave's exit.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Chris Nolter Over the next several weeks, NextWave Telecom Inc. will craft the blueprint for its exit from Chapter 11 after a six-year stay. Barring extensions, the Greenwich, Conn., company has until mid-October to file its...

Cablevision unit falls into Ch. 11.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Ben Fidler The Argentine subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp. hopes to protect its assets from creditors after sliding into bankruptcy. On Sept. 1, Cablevision SA filed a petition under Section 304 of the U.S. Bankruptcy...

Dresser files for IPO.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Lou Whiteman Dallas-based energy equipment manufacturer Dresser Inc. Friday, Sept. 3, filed for an initial public offering and hopes to raise up to $575 million. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company, which...

Pfizer settles on asbestos.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Soma Biswas Pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer Inc. announced Friday, Sept. 3, a $965 million settlement to end all current and future asbestos litigation against the company and its Quigley Co. subsidiary. The agreement, which would...

Enron adviser seeks $25M fee.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Shanon D. Murray Claiming to have achieved "extraordinary results" in "the most complex bankruptcy in history," Stephen F. Cooper, interim chief executive officer of Enron Corp., sought to persuade a bankruptcy judge to award him...

WCI Steel hearings may drag on.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Greg Johnson It could be another week before it's learned just who will control WCI Steel Inc. Thus far, testimony in the weeklong confirmation hearing has focused on what the company is worth. WCI and its owner, New York...

Acclaim goes under.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Cheryl Meyer Video game publisher Acclaim Entertainment Inc., has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection and has been unable to obtain new financing, the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission....

Penn Traffic out of stadium contract.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton The parent company of P&C Foods has gained court permission to break a contract for naming rights at a minor-league stadium in Syracuse, N.Y. The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York has...

Jail sentence for Nesco ex-chief.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Paul Burton Eddy Lynn Patterson, 62, the former chief executive of National Environmental Services Co. of Tulsa, Okla., was sentenced to nine years and two months in prison for a fraud and tax-evasion scheme that bankrupted the...

R.I.P. BDC?
September 6, 2004... Byline: edited by John E. Morris New York's Evercore Partners LLC was one of 13 private equity firms that planned this spring to sponsor business development corporations -- publicly traded funds that would offer senior debt, mezzanine...

Versace stake sale on hold.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Heather O'Brian in Milan Fresh from the appointment of a new chief executive, fashion house Gianni Versace SpA has decided to make its restructuring a priority and is putting plans to seek a minority investor on the back burner, a...

Satellite block.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Dennis Fitzgerald Life isn't always fair in the dealmaking realm. Just ask Thomas Janson, the Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP partner who represented Apax Partners Ltd. and Permira Advisers Ltd. in the auction of the...

BlueLinx files for $150M IPO.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Peter Moreira Atlanta-based BlueLinx Holdings Inc. has signaled its intention to raise about $150 million in an initial public offering just four months after New York-based private equity house Cerberus Capital Management LP took...

IPO Outlook: Sept. 3, 2004.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Compiled by Peter Moreira CoTherix lowers IPO price range South San Francisco, Calif.-based biopharmaceutical company CoTherix Inc. has resurrected the initial public offering it postponed in June, but as a lower price range....

China Power advances IPO plans.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong China Power International Holding Ltd., the Hong Kong-based arm of one of China's five major state-owned power generation groups, on Friday, Sept. 3, secured regulatory permission to launch an IPO...

Hutchison Whampoa plans IPO.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Shu-Ching Jean Chen in Hong Kong A Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. unit filed a preliminary prospectus with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Sept. 3, in connection with a spinoff and initial public offering intended to...

Building blocks.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Nancy Farese When you, as a general partner, are forming a new private equity or alternative investment fund, the admin- istration of the fund is likely the furthest thing from your mind. As a result, you can end up creating a...

Faulty assumptions.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Andrew L. Bab, William D. Regner and Jeffrey J. Rosen As the regulatory pendulum continues to swing in the direction of increased rulemaking, it appears investment bankers' fairness opinions may be the next target of regulatory...

Brazilian regulator bares teeth.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Michael Kepp in Rio de Janeiro Since its formation in 1962, Brazil's antitrust regulator has seldom challenged a deal on competition grounds. So, when it did just that not just once, but twice, earlier this year, observers began to...

Rank: Time to sell film business.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Brian Cattell in London British entertainment and gaming company Rank Group plc said Friday it may sell its film and video businesses to enable it to focus on its gambling operations ahead of a liberalization of the U.K. market. ...

MOL, gas divisions' suitors talk.
September 6, 2004... Byline: Patricia Koza Hungarian oil company MOL Rt. is starting parallel negotiations with several suitors -- including Russia's OAO Gazprom, Gaz de France and Germany's Ruhrgas -- for three of its gas divisions collectively worth up to...