Houston Business Journal articles from February 1998

Houston Business Journal archives from February 1998

Dallas firm buying Greenspoint Mall: after acquiring apartment projects, Archon near deal on shopping center.
February 6, 1998... After revealing plans to purchase most of the apartment complexes in the Greenspoint area, Dallas-based Archon Group now is negotiating to buy the languishing Greenspoint Mall. While the deal has not been finalized, Archon Group officials...

La Marque makes pitch for Canadian steel mill project; highly selective 'Project Davis' could bring 300 new jobs to area. (Galveston County, Texas)
February 6, 1998... La Marque is bidding to attract a $400 million Canadian steel mill to Galveston County. Dubbed "Project Davis" by area economic development officials, the steel mill venture includes a laundry list of criteria, including 2,000 acres of...

Land play: Perot to purchase 1,000 acres from Lanier. (Ross Perot, Jr.; former mayor Bob Lanier)
February 6, 1998... The Fort Worth-based development firm owned by Ross Perot Jr. has contracted to purchase as many as 1,000 acres belonging to former Mayor Bob Lanier, according to sources close to the deal. When Lanier took office in 1991, he established a...

Underwriter's eleventh-hour concerns put Nationwide IPO in limbo. (Nationwide Staffing's initial public offering)
February 6, 1998... Nationwide Staffing, a Houston-based roll-up of staff leasing firms, has hit a snag in its plan to fund its start-up acquisitions with an initial public offering. The company, formed a year ago by a group of Houston investors, was scheduled to...

Corporate cultures may clash in merger of computer titans.
February 6, 1998... High-tech industry analysts are predicting a clash of corporate cultures as Compaq Computer Corp. absorbs Digital Equipment Corp. in months to come. Last week, Houston-based Compaq announced plans to acquire Digital, based in Maynard, Mass.,...

Lone Wolff: David Wolff gambled on growth in west Houston, and won. (land broker)
February 6, 1998... David Wolff is, among other things, a baseball fan. That's evident not only by the collection of signed baseballs arranged on the glass-top table in his office, but by the way he manages to incorporate the sport in even the most casual of...

Checking in to growth: Case & Associates seeks controlled growth for an extended stay on top. (Allen Case)(Growth Strategies)
February 6, 1998... For five years, Allen Case's general contracting company was a success. Referrals trickled in for various hotel renovation projects, and his four-person firm was finding enough work to keep Case & Associates solvent. But the nature of their...

Insurance archeologists find billions in old policy limits. (Risk International Services Inc.)(Focus: Insurance Report)
February 6, 1998... Environmental cleanups financed with forgotten insurance policy coverage Companies facing environmental cleanup may have an unexplored option to help finance the gargantuan task - old insurance policies. Houston-based Risk International...

War of independents: booksellers hunker down to battle with chain superstores.(Small Business Monthly)
February 6, 1998... Booksellers hunker down to battle with chain superstores In a city riddled with chain bookstores selling everything from the latest hardbacks off the New York Times best seller list to compact discs and gourmet coffee, the independent bookstore...

24 Hour gyms take on World. (24 Hour Fitness; World Gym & Fitness Center)
February 13, 1998... Fitness chain adds seven local clubs Two years after entering the local market, a fast-growing California chain is bulking up its Houston presence with the purchase of seven World Gym & Fitness Centers. 24 Hour Fitness, the nation's largest...

Payoffs from peace: Bell Geospace using Navy technology to guide oil and gas exploration efforts. (Bell Geospace Inc.)
February 13, 1998... Bell Geospace using Navy technology to guide oil and gas exploration efforts A fledgling Houston firm's hoping that a navigation system used to guide nuclear submarines through enemy waters will be equally effective in finding oil and gas....

Sugar Land abatement lures firm from city. (Sugar Land, Texas)
February 13, 1998... Tax break approved for Tramontina The city of Sugar Land approved a tax abatement this week to lure the national headquarters of Tramontina USA from Houston to Sugar Land. The Brazil-based company manufactures and distributes cookware,...

Drillship demand unaffected by market jitters. (Transocean Offshore Inc.)
February 13, 1998... Transocean orders another offshore rig Oil prices may have dipped recently as oil service company stocks have been battered on Wall Street. But that hasn't stopped a collection of drilling contractors from going forward with construction of...

Investors in Texas companies have watershed year in 1997.
February 13, 1998... The Texas Stock Index saw a slight downturn in December, after a 1997 growth spurt that left the Index 81.3 percent higher than it was at the close of 1996, according to State Comptroller John Sharp. "The TSI dipped 0.5 points, or 0.1 percent...

Southwest Bank expands into factoring with two acquisitions. (Southwest Bank of Texas)
February 13, 1998... Asset-based lending operations create new kind of customer base Southwest Bank of Texas has acquired the assets and business operations of First Republic Capital Corp. and City Financial Services Inc., both Houston companies that offer...

Vanishing Venture: retail chain will close last three local stores. (Venture Stores Inc.)
February 13, 1998... Repositioning plan fails against discount competitors Walloped by discount rivals, Venture Stores will shut down the chain's three remaining outlets in the Houston area. Announcement of the closings comes less than a month after the...

Another record-breaking year for Houston's IPO market. (initial public offering)
February 13, 1998... Last year proved to be another record-breaking year for Houston initial public stock offerings, as 29 IPOs raised more than $1.5 billion - the second-highest total this decade. "My measurement of success is probably different from investors,...

Frank fanatic. (James Coney Island's vice president Darrin Straughan)
February 13, 1998... Darrin Straughan's passion for hot dogs is pumping new life into the once-troubled James Coney Island chain Occasionally, Darrin Straughan has to remind himself not to take the hot dog business so seriously. If life gets a little staid...

Leap of faith. (Faith Walk Designs Inc.)(Company Profile)
February 13, 1998... Mike and Kitty Sandel have turned a passion for art into a business masterpiece As an artist, Mike Sandel never thought he could support a family. And though Sandel had studied art in high school and more earnestly at the University of...

The first skyscraper since the bust. (Century Development Co.'s builds building in Houston, Texas)
February 20, 1998... Century to construct downtown office tower Century Development Co. has firmed up plans to construct the city's first downtown skyscraper since the economic depression of the mid-1980s. The 36-story, 1.3 million-square-foot office tower is...

Marble heads. (Posh International Inc.'s marbles with indelible images of professional teams and players)
February 20, 1998... Posh promoters pitch glass orbs as hot new hardball collectible They don't fit between bicycle spokes and they're probably difficult to autograph. But Posh International Inc. is hoping collectors of sports memorabilia will go for all the...

Public GNI goes private. (GNI Group Inc.)
February 20, 1998... GNI Group Inc. is going private. The publicly traded hazardous waste disposal and chemical company has been on the sales block for more than a year. Last week, GNI agreed to be bought out by a private financial institution at $7 a share. The...

Urban revival takes root in Third Ward, East End. (Houston, Texas)
February 20, 1998... Redevelopers launch public-private projects New signs of redevelopment are stirring in the Third Ward and the East End, two long-neglected urban neighborhoods. Both areas have launched major restoration efforts based on public-private...

RV retailer agrees to merger with top mobile home maker. (California Fleetwoord acquires HomeUSA)
February 20, 1998... California Fleetwood will acquire Home USA for $162 million The country's largest manufacturer of mobile homes has entered into an agreement to acquire Houston-based HomeUSA, a retailer of manufactured housing and recreation vehicles. The...

BFI sells global operations to focus on domestic growth. (Browning-Ferris Industries Inc.)
February 20, 1998... French company buys international assets for $1.4 billion Browning-Ferris Industries Inc. has finalized the sale of all remaining international operations to SITA, a French company, in a cash and stock deal valued at about $1.4 billion. The...

Pool Energy Services sails into offshore supply boat business. (Pool Energy Services Inc.)
February 20, 1998... Contractor takes different tack with purchase of Sea Mar for $92 million Pool Energy Services Inc. has decided to take its first dip into the offshore supply boat business. Last week, Pool agreed to purchase Sea Mar of New Iberia, La. in a...

A power of tower. (Crown Castle International Corp. CEO Ted Miller)
February 20, 1998... Crown Castle CEO Ted Miller is turning up the volume in transmission For a man who deals in "vertical real estate." Ted Miller seems to be pretty down to earth. Miller is vice chairman and CEO of Crown Castle International Corp.. an owner...

Morale boosters. (personnel management)
February 20, 1998... Keeping employees happy has helped Coastal Telephone stay wired to success Larry and Andy Bursten credit the success of Coastal Telephone Co. to the high morale of dedicated employees. And the owners definitely go to great lengths to keep...

Investors file lawsuit over 'clone' fund. (class-action lawsuit against Nationwide Life Insurance Co.)
February 27, 1998... A Houston law firm has filed a class-action lawsuit against an insurance company in a legal dispute over a "cloned" mutual fund. Attorneys with the firm of Franklin, Cardwell & Jones claim that Nationwide Life Insurance Co. marketed a mutual...

ABB Lummus plans to build office complex. (ABB Lummus Global Inc.)
February 27, 1998... Consolidation project to total more than 400,000 square feet ABB Lummus Global is reportedly making plans to consolidate local offices and may add as many as 200 people to the company's Houston-area workforce of 1,000 - all under a roof that...

Filling a noodle niche. (East Asia Foods)
February 27, 1998... Tri La opened Houston factory after getting fed up with imports Tri La got tired of importing noodles from California, so he started his own noodle factory in Houston. Six months ago, the former manager of the La family's Kim Son restaurant...

Hot tamales and honky-tonks: merger to take Berryhill public. (Berryhill Baja Grill Inc.)
February 27, 1998... Company started as single pushcart in River Oaks, now heads for Wall Street Berryhill Baja Grill Inc., which began as a Depression-era tamale pushcart on the streets of River Oaks, will soon be pedaled on Wail Street. The Houston-based...

Trico adopts 'poison pill' to avert possible takeover attempt. (Trico Marine Services Inc.)
February 27, 1998... Trico Marine Services Inc. adopted a shareholders rights plan, or "poison pill," this week. The move comes at a time when Trico's anemic stock price could make the company vulnerable to a takeover attempt. Officials of the Houston-based marine...

Enex finally attracts buyer as Middle Bay Oil makes offer. (Enex Resources Corp.)
February 27, 1998... After four years of seeing suitors come and go, Enex Resources Corp. of Kingwood has finally landed a serious buyer. Houston-based Middle Bay Oil Co. tendered a cash tender offer for Enex's shares outstanding for $15 a share last week. Although...

CenterAmerica on shopping spree for projects with grocery anchors. (CenterAmerica Property Trust)
February 27, 1998... While most publicly held real estate companies bulk up their holdings with increasingly diverse portfolios, CenterAmerica Property Trust is getting rid of everything that doesn't fit the company's niche market - grocery-anchored shopping centers....

Custom Web Site weaver. (ComSpace.Com Inc.)
February 27, 1998... James Domengeaux entered an incubator and came out with a flourishing Internet design firm James Domengeaux needed space for his new Internet technology business, but commercial real estate brokers weren't returning his calls. So he created a...

Quanex Corp. (Proxy Report Excerpts)(Company Profile)
February 27, 1998... NYSE NX 1900 West Loop South, Suite 1500, Houston 77027 (713) 961-4600 Quanex Corp. is a technological leader in the production of value-added engineered steel bars, aluminum flat-rolled products, and engineered, formed-metal products. ...