Houston Business Journal articles from June 1998

Houston Business Journal archives from June 1998

Cogen files for $500 million offering. (Cogen Technologies Inc.)
June 5, 1998... Power player kicks off plan for IPO Robert McNair appears to have more on his mind these days than bringing a National Football League team to Houston. The chairman of Cogen Technologies Inc. is planning to take his huge privately owned...

Diamond deception: jeweler convicted for taking $1 million from gem investors. (Diamond Cutters International owner Fred Cuellar)
June 5, 1998... The high-profile owner of Diamond Cutters International has been convicted of first degree felony theft for taking a group of investors for more than $1 million. A jury last week sentenced jeweler Fred Cuellar to 30 days in jail, 10 years...

Pogo bounces into Canada with purchase of Fort Worth firm. (Pogo Producing Co.; Arch Petroleum Inc.)
June 5, 1998... Arch Petroleum buy valued at $115 million For the first time in its 29 year history, Pogo Producing Co. made an acquisition of another company. Pogo will merge with Arch Petroleum Inc. of Fort Worth in a stock transaction valued at about...

Oshman's megastore sales only bright spot among poor earnings. (Oshman's Sporting Goods Inc.)
June 5, 1998... Selling sports apparel and equipment to sports-obsessed Americans - and making money at it - isn't as easy as it looks. Houston-based Oshman's Sporting Goods Inc. has been doing it for 67 years but last week posted another quarterly loss - its...

Lessons in loyalty. (Tom Hamilton's principles prompted him to leave former company to head EEX Corp.)
June 5, 1998... Tom Hamilton left a major corporation to head a small company as a matter of principle Tom Hamilton has a strong sense of loyalty to his colleagues. In 1996, he resigned from a high-profile position as president of Pennzoil Exploration and...

Staying cool in a hot market: forum: Houston home building industry challenges.(Focus: Residential Real Estate)(Panel Discussion)
June 5, 1998... Houston has chalked up record figures for new home sales, but the picture is not entirely rosy for builders. While celebrating their successes, they face challenges of shortages and rising costs on all fronts - lots, labor and building...

Lyondell Petrochemical Co. (Proxy Reports Excerpt)(Company Profile)
June 5, 1998... NYSE LYO 1221 McKinney St., Suite 1600, Houston 77010 (713) 652-7200 Lyondell a major chemical and refining company. Total shares of common stock outstanding as of March 18, 1998 78,491,488 Stock price as of...

Maritime group moves global HQ to Houston. (American Bureau of Shipping)
June 12, 1998... ABS building new space in Greenspoint A major maritime organization is moving its global headquarters from New York to Houston. In conjunction with the relocation, the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) will construct a 68,000-square-foot...

Star Tex-Mex: the next generation. (Domenic Laurenzo's opening of the El Tiempo Cantina in Houston, texas)
June 12, 1998... Ninfa's grandson follows tradition with own cantina Houston's first family of Mexican food is experiencing the El Nino effect. Domenic Laurenzo, the oldest grandchild of Tex-Mex matriarch Ninfa Laurenzo, has opened his first full-service...

BFI cool to buyout rumors. (Browning-Ferris Industries Inc.)
June 12, 1998... CEO says waste giant will work to stay independent Media rumors that Allied Waste Industries Inc. has submitted an offer to buy out Browning-Ferris Industries Inc. have met with a less than enthusiastic response from within BFI. Bruce Ranck,...

Crescent making bid to buy Houston, Dallas Gallerias. (Crescent Real Estate Equities L.P.)
June 12, 1998... Fort Worth-based Crescent Real Estate Equities reportedly plans to buy The Galleria developments in Houston and Dallas in a deal estimated to be worth about $1 billion. According to local real estate sources, Crescent, which has acquired a...

Pacemaker firm up for sale as antitrust battle beats on. (Sulzer Intermedics)
June 12, 1998... Sulzer Intermedics loses ground, Swiss parent seeks buyer The proposed sale announced last week of Sulzer Intermedics may have more to do with an antitrust war than anything else. For years, the Angleton-based pacemaker manufacturer has been...

Sign of the times: Sparkles shines in designation creation. (Sparkle Sign Co.)(Growth Strategies)
June 12, 1998... When he was just nine years old, Joe Minavi started making and selling kites in his native Iran. Although he grew up in a rich family, he says he always had a desire to make his own way. But his pre-teen business endeavors didn't prepare him...

Amusement complex slated near dog track.
June 19, 1998... Group will construct water park on part of 183-acre tract Conroe-based Elektra Enterprises is buying 183 acres of land in La Marque near Gulf Greyhound Park with plans to develop an entertainment complex. Brothers Jim McIver, a League City...

Shareholders airs beef with Ford Bend thrift. (Fort Bend Holding Corp)
June 19, 1998... Millers Mutual's withdrawn merger bid may lead to proxy battle for board seat A major shareholder in Fort Bend Holding Corp. has challenged the local banking company's rejection of a generous buy-out offer and may seek a seat on the board of...

Oil descends to lowest level in 12 years: offshore drillers feeling pinch of declining prices.
June 19, 1998... As lower prices continue to grip the oil industry, dayrates for offshore drilling contractors are starting to slide. "We're now at $13 oil and have endured $16 oil for several months," says Norman Rosenberg, analyst with Standard & Poor's of...

But specter of bust fails to haunt industry analysts.(Oil Descends to Lowest Level in 12 Years)
June 19, 1998... The price of oil tumbled to around $12 a barrel this week - reminiscent of prices that kicked off Houston's decade-long depression that began in the mid-1980s. While it's likely not deja vu for the oil industry or for Houston's economy, the...

Real estate renaissance man. (TCP Holdings principal David Thomas)
June 19, 1998... David Thomas leads a new breed of young professionals in Houston's market revival Houston has become the breeding ground for a new pack of real estate movers, and David Thomas has emerged as leader of the pack. Thomas, 36, stands out among a...

Dailey International Inc. (proxy rreport excerpts)(Company Profile)
June 19, 1998... Nasdaq DALY 2507 North Frazier, Conroe 77305 (281) 350-3399 Dailey International Inc. is a worldwide leader in providing premium drilling tools and technologies to the domestic and international oil and gas industry Total shares of...

Towering offer: transmission company wires into Wall Street with $282 million IPO. (Crown Castle International Corp. files initial public offering)
June 26, 1998... A local owner and operator of broadcast transmission towers has high hopes for an industry consolidation with some help from Wall Street. Crown Castle International Corp. has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission with plans to...

General Homes files Chapter 11, prepares for sale. (Houston, TX-based builder General Homes Corp.)
June 26, 1998... California builder will gain control in 'pre-packaged' bankruptcy plan For the second time in less than a decade, Houston. builder General Homes Corp. has filed for Chapter II bankruptcy protection. The move last week by General Homes comes...

City planner quits as Sugar Land approves project. (Edward F. McMahon resigns from Sugar Land Planning and Zoning Commission; Sugarland Properties Inc.)
June 26, 1998... Plans to develop an elaborate "town center" complex in Sugar Land have created a rift between city officials. Last week, the Sugar Land Planning and Zoning commission approved the proposed project, dubbed Town square, which calls for...

Retail specialists take second look at unanchored centers. (Houston, Texas)(Focus: Commercial Real Estate)
June 26, 1998... After three solid years of a hot retail real estate market, some industry watchers say the sector is beginning to lose a little steam. If the economy holds, retail should still see steady, while not skyrocketing growth, says Brad Sondock,...

Changing market conditions force Kent to shift strategy. (Kent Electronics Inc.)
June 26, 1998... Asian economic crisis, computer price wars take toll on earnings Kent Electronics Inc. is once again scrambling to adjust to shifting market conditions. The Sugar Land-based electronics distributor and manufacturer has established a...

Continental's Bethune takes on American Airlines, D/FW board. (Continental Airlines Inc. CEO Gordon Bethune; Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Board)
June 26, 1998... If the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Board doesn't like the fact Continental Express will fly long-haul interstate commercial service out of Dallas Love Field - that's just too bad. So says Gordon Bethune, CEO of Houston-based...

Minding the store: with Weiner's bankruptcy a memory, CEO Herbert Douglas still faces big challenges. (Weiner's Stores Inc.)(Company Profile)
June 26, 1998... Herbert Douglas' office is filled with the usual trappings of a CEO. He displays family photos, European vacation shots and the obligatory posters of company credos and motivational cliches. But among the vestiges of a serious executive is a...

A test of Entelligence: IT staffing firm tackles task of finding financing. (computer staffing firm Entelligence Inc.)(Growth Strategies)
June 26, 1998... IT staffing firm tackles task of finding financing Steve Satterwhite did something this year that he would have never dreamed of doing. The president and CEO of Houston-based Entelligence Inc. went on national television hoping to raise...