The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun articles from May 1997

The Business Journal - Serving Phoenix & the Valley of the Sun archives from May 1997

Stock market puts skids on venture funds. (venture capital activity in Arizona)
May 16, 1997... The year has started off with a whimper in the state's venture financing arena. Venture capital activity in Arizona took a dramatic nose-dive for the first quarter of 1997 in what industry watchers say probably stemmed from apprehension about...

Bashas' in Mega-rift. (legal dispute between Bashas' Supermarkets Inc. and Megafoods Stores Inc.)
May 16, 1997... Grocery chains grapple over millions in lease dispute Bashas' Supermarkets Inc. may have plunked down $22.6 million to buy most of Megafoods Stores' Arizona assets in December, but the two companies are still battling out the terms of that deal...

Wells Fargo withdrawal closes '30s era building. (Wells Fargo & Co.'s withdrawal from the Title & Trust Building in Phoenix, AZ)
May 16, 1997... One of downtown Phoenix's oldest buildings will likely be vacant next month for the first time in its 66-year history. Wells Fargo & Co., which owns the historic Title & Trust Building at 114 W. Adams St., will vacate the property by July,...

Rental firm on $114 million buying binge. (Rental Service Corp.)
May 16, 1997... Scottsdale's Rental Service Corp. is in the process of buying three construction equipment-rental businesses in deals totaling $96 million. The company, which rents construction equipment to industrial, manufacturing and construction...

Texas company primps new Phoenix HQ. (Styling Technology Corp.)
May 16, 1997... A beauty supply company on a strong acquisition path is moving its Texas corporate headquarters to Phoenix in June, bringing 10 jobs. Styling Technology Corp. is a relatively new company that raised about $30 million in an initial public...

Dial CEO cleans up millions. (Dial Corp. president and CEO Malcolm Jozoff)
May 16, 1997... After taking control of the new Dial Corp. in August and overseeing staffing and product line cuts, Dial president and chief executive Malcolm Jozoff is taking home $983,228 in annual compensation and a chunk of stock options that could be worth...

Koll/Insignia officials trade parting shots. (Koll Management Services; Insignia/ESG)
May 16, 1997... Two dozen brokers who left Koll Management Services to work for Insignia/ESG did so with the understanding that there would be a revenue-sharing agreement in which the two houses would share commissions for a specified period of time, Insignia...

Circulation on the rise at Valley dailies. (Arizona newspapers)
May 16, 1997... Things are looking up for the Valley's daily newspapers, at least in terms of circulation. For the first time in several reporting periods, both Phoenix Newspapers Inc., which publishes the Arizona Republic, and Thomson Newspapers of Arizona,...

Houseworth tapped to lead banker board. (Arizona superintendent of banks Richard C. Houseworth)
May 16, 1997... Arizona superintendent of banks Richard C. Houseworth, a 42-year veteran of the Arizona banking scene, was reelected to the board of directors of the conference of state bank supervisors. Houseworth was elected to a second one-year term as...

12 is lucky number for 22 top 100 private firms.(Arizona's Top 100)
May 16, 1997... The list of Arizona's top 100 privately held companies is designed to showcase some of the state's top performers and their contribution to a growing economy, but few represent that progress as much as those on the list of 12-year companies....

Aloe king grows herbal empire. (Forever Living Products International Inc. founder Rex Maughan)(Arizona's Top 100)
May 16, 1997... Rex Maughan is a hard guy to pin down. Nineteen years ago, he founded Forever Living Products International Inc., a multilevel marketing company whose distributors bring more than $1 billion in annual sales to its new Scottsdale headquarters,...

Firm plans high-tech glide onto 'fifth wave.' (Management Process Integrators Inc.'s electronic publishing services)
May 16, 1997... While many Internet devotees are heralding the death of newspapers and geographically established communities, David Frenkle is using that technology to help keep them alive. Frenkle's 4-year-old company, Management Process Integrators Inc.,...

Answer to urban planning lies in history.
May 16, 1997... There is an analogy that describes the current debate on growth in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area: "An environmentalist is someone who lives in the desert, and a developer is anyone who wants to live in the desert." We hear more and more about...

NetPro sets scene for initial public offering. (NetPro Computing Inc.)
May 23, 1997... NetPro Computing Inc. has taken on an outside board of directors and created three new top-level positions in moves company officials acknowledge are precursors to an initial public offering. "We decided Thanksgiving weekend 1991 that we wanted...

Bankrupt Willcare leaves elderly life savings at risk.
May 23, 1997... Sources say the Arizona attorney general's office has launched a criminal investigation of Vernon Will and his company Willcare Corp., a Phoenix long-term health-care operator that filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January. At the core of the...

Samaritan deal might crumble. (Samaritan Health System)
May 23, 1997... Samaritan Health System has received what it is calling its second "unsolicited offer" from a for-profit hospital chain, which some see as a sign Samaritan's proposed merger with Catholic Healthcare West is falling apart at the seams. "We did...

Suit may dip into Poore Bros. cash.
May 23, 1997... Goodyear-based potato chip maker Poore Brothers Inc. could be hit with a $3 million bill, a hefty total for a company operating in the red for the past two years, if a former partner is successful in what has been almost a year's effort in...

Neighbors fear an erring on the green at Biltmore. (Arizona Biltmore Country Club)
May 23, 1997... Residents surrounding the Adobe golf course at Arizona Biltmore Country Club aren't the only ones who will lose if Japan-based Kabuto International moves forward with its threat to replace the fairways and greens with housing. The city of Phoenix...

Dedication spurs funds matchmaker. (Investor Realty Capital owner Keith H. Stompro)
May 23, 1997... "... in good and bad times the man does what's right." Keith H. Stompro is serious about his off-hours recreation. The 24-year veteran of the Valley's real estate and lending scene said he enjoys "vigorous" exercise - running North Mountain...

What's fair is fair? Inequities in Phoenix school districts in the hands of the courts.
May 23, 1997... Been there, done that. At least that's what state legislators are saying about fixing Arizona's inequitable school-finance system. Educators and community leaders, however, are singing a different tune. The Arizona Legislature recently...

Firm's growth brings changes. (Training by Design Inc.)(Company Profile)
May 23, 1997... "I have to tell myself now that some... decisions are not mine to make anymore." What started as a trip back to school has turned into a growing Phoenix consulting and technical writing company that has seen its sales almost double every year...