San Francisco Business Times articles from August 1999

San Francisco Business Times archives from August 1999

S.F. ad agency acquired by Marc USA.(Zuckerman Fernandes and Partners)
August 27, 1999... In yet another case of big feasting on small, Pittsburgh-based ad agency Marc USA is acquiring San Francisco's Zuckerman Fernandes & Partners. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the combined agency will have more than...

Computown shuts doors, owes $7.7 million.
August 27, 1999... Computer retailer Computown Inc. has gone out of business after defaulting on business loans totaling $7.7 million. The money is owed to NationsCredit Distribution Finance, according to a lawsuit filed Aug. 18 in United States District...

On the verge.(Scott Rozic, CEO of Verge Software Corp.)
August 27, 1999... Verge Software CEO gets it together with web data organization service Scott Rozic's company got its start as a class project. The founder and CEO of San Francisco-based Verge Software Corp., who had always dreamed of owning his own...

Berkeley lab heads to Oakland.(Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories)
August 20, 1999... Supercomputer unit plugs into downtown, giving city a boost Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is close to a deal to house its next-generation computer science facility in downtown Oakland - a major coup for the city's rebounding...

S.F. law's new order.(alliances entered into by San Francisco-based law firms with other firms in other industries)
August 20, 1999... Legal eagles fly into uncharted territory: Alliances with birds of a different feather San Francisco-based law firm Morrison Foerster's ground-breaking alliance with accounting giant KPMG LLP - an idea still considered heresy in parts of...

Fast-growing Siebel blasts ahead.(Siebel Systems Inc.)
August 20, 1999... Software maker creates East Bay stronghold in Emeryville Siebel Systems Inc., named the country's fastest-growing company, is establishing a major East Bay presence as anchor of a new office tower in Emeryville. Siebel will expand at...

Investment, Islam meet in East Bay.(Global Alliance Value Investors; Securities House)
August 20, 1999... Lafayette-based Global Alliance Value Investors and a Kuwaiti money management firm are teaming up with a mission: to use Islamic principles to attract Arab money into U.S. investments. Nancy Tengler, CEO of Lafayette-based Global...

Rob Burgess.(Executive Profile)(Macromedia Inc. Chairman and CEO)
August 20, 1999... Name: Rob Burgess. Trio: Chairman and CEO. Company: Macromedia Inc., the San Francisco-based multimedia company. Macromedia's mission is to add life to the web. Background: Executive posts include positions at Silicon Graphics...

Reaching for the sky: squeezed by a lack of land and high prices, San Francisco developers are building vertical.(Executive Profile)
August 20, 1999... Since its master plan was put in place in the early 1970s, San Francisco has almost universally given a chilly reception to high-rise development. The dual forces of "Not in My Backyard" public opposition and concern for the protection...

Answering the call.(InTelegy Corp.)(Company Profile)
August 20, 1999... Execs dial for dollars, say hello to growth with call center management It's about being in the right place at the right time. That plus the need for primo customer service in a crowded marketplace is driving InTelegy Corp.'s growth -...

Monte Zweben.(founder, president and CEO of Blue Martini Software)
August 20, 1999... Title: Founder, president and CEO. Company: Blue Martini Software, a San Mateo-based company specializing in merchandising and management applications. Founded: 1998. Source of startup capital: Personal savings. Background:...

Wells creeps up on BofA; Southwest market is new battleground for duelling banks.(Wells Fargo & Co.; Bank of America Corp.)
August 13, 1999... Wells Fargo & Co. is quietly picking off small banks in the Southwest as it narrows the gap separating it from rival Bank of America Corp., the market leader in that region. Using a strategy perfected by predecessor Norwest Corp., Wells...

Salsa maker lands in the chips; Casa Sanchez spices up business strategy for aggressive expansion.
August 13, 1999... San Francisco's Casa Sanchez is riding its Bay Area-leading salsa sales to a massive expansion campaign - and it's looking to boost its wholesale business with a new production facility. The family-owned Mexican snack food company had...

Cal Pacific cuts staff to stay healthy.(California Pacific Medical Center)
August 13, 1999... California Pacific Medical Center has cut nearly 100 jobs over the past three months, including 10 managers, as the hospital's financial turnaround loses steam. While no figures are available for this year, hospital officials said that...

Williams-Sonoma boosts e-tailing power; home retailer inks deal to turn customers into e-mail pen pals.(contract with Connectify Direct)
August 13, 1999... Williams-Sonoma Inc. has taken another step toward solidifying a foothold in the e-tail world by finding a company to harness the information from its 18-million-name database. The home retailer has signed a contract with Connectify...

Wells hangs onto SoMa site - but it costs them.(contract between Wells Fargo & Co. and Continental Development Corp.)
August 13, 1999... Wells Fargo & Co. has inked a 320,000-square-foot lease to house its considerable back-office operation in San Francisco, one of the largest renewals in the city this year. Size of the deal: approximately $80 million. Wells' 25-year...

Crowley unloads big cargo: its S. American business.(Crowley Maritime Co.'s sale of shipping unit to Hamburg-Sud)
August 13, 1999... Closely held Crowley Maritime Co. of Oakland has unloaded its South American shipping arm to concentrate more tightly on the domestic and regional market. Crowley's Florida-based Crowley American Transport sold its South American...

Insurance broker sees benefits to its acquisition.(ABD Insurance and Financial Services)
August 13, 1999... A Belmont-based insurance broker is swelling its benefits consulting business, both internally and through acquisitions. ABD Insurance and Financial Services expects to close this month on a deal that will add about $10 million in...

H-P team suits up to take on IBM in Superdome.
August 13, 1999... Hewlett-Packard Co. is pumping up its Unix-based servers to compete on the same playing field as mainframes. The $40 billion Palo Alto giant intends to begin distributing its next-generation server systems early next year at prices...

Lincoln logs into East Bay with last big Hacienda site.(Lincoln Property Co.'s purchase of the largest remaining piece of Hacienda Business Park)
August 13, 1999... Dallas-based Lincoln Property Co. has purchased the largest remaining piece of the Hacienda Business Park, a 15-acre parcel, for a 330,000-square-foot office development. John Herr, an executive vice president with Dallas-based Lincoln...

Donald Sundgren.(Executive Profile)(chairman of Dillingham Construction Corp.)
August 13, 1999... Name: Donald Sundgren. Title: Chairman, president and CEO. Company: Dillingham Construction Corp., the Pleasanton-based construction and engineering company. Education: Bachelor of science and master of science degrees in civil...

Changing course: a strong economy allows Bay Area workers to finally seek their dream jobs.(Work Force 2000)
August 13, 1999... Jonathan White worked his way up the ranks of the computer industry, as he says, by answering simple yes-no questions. His boss would ask him if he wanted a promotion. His answer was a rote 'yes." "Too many times, if you're good...

NBC Internet Xooms into city.(Xoom.com Inc and NBC seek to close an office deal in San Francisco, California)
August 6, 1999... Joint venture to pack up to 500 employees into Chevron building San Francisco's Xoom.com Inc., the Internet direct marketer that is merging with NBC and Snap.com to form a new, consumer-focused web portal, is close to finalizing a major...

Scoop du jour: Dreyer's takes on Ben & Jerry's.(Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream will introduce a new product aimed at increasing market share)
August 6, 1999... Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream is preparing to launch an ultra-premium ice cream to compete nationally with market leaders Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry's. The Oakland manufacturer will introduce a new brand called Dreamery under the Dreyer's...

Creditors chase Rincon Center.(Rincon Center faces foreclosure proceedings)
August 6, 1999... Citigroup dogs developer Perini in bid to snatch landmark Foreclosure proceedings have begun against San Francisco's red-ink-stained Rincon Center, a move that may force the developer to give up the property. Perini Corp., a publicly...

Embarcadero buyers strikes again in South S.F.(Boston Properties Inc seeks to acquire Gateway complex in San Francisco, California)
August 6, 1999... Boston Properties Inc., which made a splashy entrance to the downtown market last year with its acquisition of San Francisco's Embarcadero Center, is about to wrap up a second major deal in the Bay Area. The Boston-based real estate...

Clampdown on wine bears fruit for S.F. startup.(Wineshopper.com)
August 6, 1999... Liquor wholesalers have managed to put a cork in the Internet wine market, but have left one San Francisco startup in a prime position to benefit. Lobbied by wholesalers, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Aug. 3 which...

Venture shoots home sellers into cyberspace.(online listing service company HomeGain.com)
August 6, 1999... While hundreds of web sites cater to home buyers, a new Emeryville Net startup is focusing exclusively on the needs of home sellers. HomeGain.com is an online listing service that lets sellers choose a qualified real estate agent by...

New project and new cash animate Wild Brain.(animation studio)
August 6, 1999... San Francisco animation studio Wild Brain Inc. has received $6.5 million in venture capital to fuel future growth, including the creation of a computer-animated film division, production of a cartoon TV series anti a still-top-secret Internet...

Odwalla's comeback bid still squeezed by tragedy.(beverage manufacturing firm Odwalla Inc attempts to increase market share following a disease outbreak in 1996)
August 6, 1999... Odwalla Inc., its stock price still ailing from an e.coli contamination outbreak three years ago, is making moves to generate growth and boost market share. The Half Moon Bay-based juice company is entering new markets and bulking up its...

Developer nabs 16 acres in San Leandro retail area.(Zelman Industrial Partners)
August 6, 1999... A Los Angeles-based developer has agreed to buy a dormant 16.6-acre industrial parcel in San Leandro's blossoming "big-box" retail cluster. Zelman Industrial Partners went into contract last week with an undisclosed offer. Zelman Vice...

Ned 'Spieks'.(interview with Spieker Properties CEO Warren Spieker)(Interview)
August 6, 1999... Spieker Properties CEO offers glimpse inside one of country's best-performing REITs For one of the most powerful players in West Coast real estate, Warren "Ned" Spieker occupies an office that is remarkably unremarkable. In fact, it...

Loopnet battles rivals for online listing supremacy.(Internet access provider)
August 6, 1999... A handful of companies are pouring millions of dollars into new Internet-based products and services, arming themselves for an increasingly testy fight to dominate the market for commercial real estate property information. Three main...