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STOCKS
NewMarket Falls 18% After Reporting Loss
Shares of NewMarket of Richmond fell in the first trading session since it reported that fourth-quarter profit fell 59 percent, mostly because of debt-reduction efforts. The stock closed at $45.90, down $10.30, or 18 percent. NewMarket reported a quarterly loss of $7 million.
Sallie Mae Chairman Sells Shares
Albert L. Lord, chairman of Reston-based SLM, known as Sallie Mae, sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock last week. Lord sold the shares for cash to commit to business projects, Sallie Mae said, adding that the amount was less than 5 percent of his holdings. He now owns about 1 million shares and holds options to buy about 7.3 million more.
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Smithfield Gives Justice Dept. Data on Buyout
Smithfield Foods of Smithfield, Va., said it had complied with a Justice Department antitrust division request for information related to its acquisition of rival Premium Standard Farms. Smithfield plans to acquire the pork producer for $674 million and assume $117 million in debt. The deal is to close by March. Premium Standard Farms shareholders are to vote on the deal Feb. 23.
EXECUTIVES
Web-Certification Firm Names 3 to Board
Truste, a San Francisco nonprofit group that certifies the online practices of Web sites, appointed Ralph Terkowitz, general partner at ABS Capital Partners and a former Washington Post Co. executive, as board chairman. Also joining the board were Jonathon Hart of the District law firm Dow Lohnes, and Jules Polonetsky, chief privacy officer and a senior vice president at Dulles-based AOL.
ENERGY
Power Grid Use Reaches Record
PJM Interconnection of Valley Forge, Pa., which operates the power grid in 13 states and the District, said demand hit an all-time high, topping 112,500 megawatts yesterday morning as frigid weather gripped the East Coast and Midwest.
REAL ESTATE
Equity Office Sells Fairfax, Atlanta Buildings
Equity Office Properties Trust, the target of a takeover contest between Blackstone Group and Vornado Realty Trust, sold buildings in Fairfax and Atlanta as part of a $3.5 billion disposition program. The Fairfax buildings, Centerpointe I and II and Fair Oaks Plaza, were bought by Thomas Properties Group and the California State Teachers' Retirement System for $166.5 million. A unit of Rubenstein Properties Fund and Barry Real Estate bought office properties in Atlanta in a deal valued at about $550 million.
Equity Office, the largest U.S. office landlord, announced plans in August to sell as much as $3.5 billion of real estate to reduce debt and exit poorer-performing cities such as Atlanta, which has one of the highest office vacancy rates in the country.
Compiled from reports by Washington Post staff writers, the Associated Press and Bloomberg News.
