Tuesday, July 15, 2008
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS
Garbage Hauler Makes Rival Offer
Waste Management made an unsolicited offer to buy disposal company Republic Services for $6.19 billion in cash, aiming to block its biggest rivals from teaming up against the nation's largest garbage hauler. The deal represented a counter offer to Republic's planned acquisition of Allied Waste Industries announced in late June. The stock deal between No. 2 Republic Services and No. 3 Allied Waste Industries was worth $6.07 billion at the time.
Republic said its board of directors will review the $34 per share offer from Waste Management and respond "in due course." The offer represents a 22 percent premium to Republic Services' Friday closing stock price of $27.90.
AUTOMOTIVEGM to Discuss Market Conditions
General Motors, battling a 16 percent decline in U.S. sales this year, said chief executive Rick Wagoner will hold a news conference today to discuss plans to adjust to "current market conditions."
The automaker didn't provide further details in a statement. The news conference will be held at 9 a.m., GM said.
GM has announced job cuts, plant closings and a shift in production to smaller cars and crossovers earlier this year as rising gas prices and a declining housing market erode consumer confidence. GM's U.S. sales decline through June exceeded the industry's 10 percent fall. Sales of pickups, sport-utility vehicles and minivans are down 21 percent.
Julie Gibson, a spokeswoman for GM, declined to comment beyond the statement.
AIRLINESMidwest to Cut 1,200 Jobs
Midwest Airlines said it will reduce its workforce by 1,200 people as it grounds its 12 MD-80s. The cuts represent about 40 percent of current staffing at Midwest and its Skyway subsidiary. Besides the MD-80s -- which it is flying until this fall -- Midwest also flies 25 Boeing 717s.
The company said it would begin notifying affected employees yesterday, with most jobs ended by mid-September. The job cuts will include unionized pilots and flight attendants, said Michael Brophy, a spokesman for Midwest Air Group.
Brophy also said Midwest is continuing talks with unions for pilots and flight attendants to reach deals on concessions to reduce the airline's costs.
TELECOM1 Million 3G iPhones Sold
Apple said it sold 1 million of the 3G iPhone in its first three days on the market. By comparison, about 6 million copies of the company's first version of the phone were sold over the past year.
On Friday, Apple's servers buckled as buyers tried to activate new iPhones in stores while owners of older iPhones and the iPod Touch were updating and reactivating their devices. Apple's systems apparently recovered over the weekend and buyers were able to activate their phones through their home computers.
MANUFACTURINGBoeing Lands Big Plane Order
Etihad Airways announced an order for 45 Boeing aircraft, banking on increased investment and an aggressive tourism push in the United Arab Emirates to justify its hefty purchase. The planes are worth $9 billion at list prices.
The deal, signed at the Farnborough International Airshow near London, is for 35 Boeing 787 aircraft and 10 777-300ERs.
Etihad, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, is also placing options for another 25 787s and 10 777s and has purchase rights for 10 more 787s and five 777s.
LEGALEx-Milberg Lawyer Pleads Guilty
A lawyer pleaded guilty to a tax charge stemming from an investigation into class-action lawsuits filed against some of the country's biggest corporations. Under an agreement with prosecutors, Paul T. Selzer pleaded guilty to a charge that he tried to obstruct Internal Revenue Service code. Selzer was the final defendant in the long-running kickback case that led to guilty pleas by three former partners at the law firm of Milberg Weiss.
EARNINGSGenentech, the biggest U.S. maker of cancer medicines, said second-quarter profit climbed 4.7 percent, to $782 million from $747 million in the comparable period a year earlier, the company said. Revenue rose 8 percent to $3.2 billion, led by U.S. sales of Avastin, which gained from a new use in breast cancer.
TREASURY BILLST-bill rates fell. The discount rate on three-month Treasury bills auctioned yesterday fell to 1.61 percent from 1.865 percent last week. Rates on six-month bills fell to 1.955 percent from 2.060 percent. The annualized return to investors is 1.639 percent for three-month bills, with a $10,000 bill selling for $9,959.30, and 2.002 percent for a six-month bill selling for $9,901.16. Separately, the Federal Reserve said the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, fell to 2.25 percent last week from 2.35 percent two weeks ago.
Compiled from reports by Washington Post staff writers, the Associated Press and Bloomberg News.
View all comments that have been posted about this article.