Friday's Company Report: NWAC, TWX, LUNR, TRRA, IWOV, CHINA

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M&A Earnings/revenue Analyst actions Offerings/stock actions Miscellany

Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures

Crestline Capital(CLJ Quote) added 5/16 to 18 3/4 after its said it will form a joint venture with Bedrock Partners II. The companies plan to spend $250 million to acquire and renovate 15 to 20 hotels over the next two to three years. Crestline will provide about 10% of the equity for the joint venture, while the Citadel Group will raise an additional $75 million of third party equity for the fund.

Crestline said in a release the joint venture plans to acquire about mid-priced properties with "significant turnaround potential," renovate the properties and then reposition the hotels as upscale properties.

Crestline Capital's management division, Crestline Hotels & Resorts, will manage most or all of the hotels.

CarrAmerica Realty(CRE Quote) announced it signed a non-binding letter of intent for a development joint venture valued at about $422 million. CarrAmerica is expected to have a 35% stake in the joint venture.

The proposed venture would encompass five premium-quality suburban office parks in four high-growth markets. The closing of the proposed venture, which is anticipated to be occur early in the third quarter 2000, is subject to the negotiation of a definitive agreement between the parties as well as CarrAmerica's board of directors' approval and other conditions. CarrAmerica bounced 11/16 to 25 5/8.

Unilever(UL Quote) declined 1/8 to 26 5/8 after it refuted a report by The Wall Street Journal that says the company quietly upped its bid for Bestfoods(BFO Quote) to $70 a share from $66.

A Unilever spokesman told Reuters the companies haven't engaged in formal talks since the original bid was placed in early May, but he said that didn't rule out informal "conversations."

Bestfoods rejected Unilever's first offer as inadequate. Bestfoods slid 15/16 to 64 15/16.

AMR's(AMR Quote) American Airlines is said to be in talks about making a possible bid for Northwest Airlines(NWAC Quote), according to St. Paul, Minn.-based television station KSTP-TV, citing "well-placed sources."

The station, which listed its report on its Web site www.kstp.com, said that American Airlines chief executive Don Carty and Northwest president and chief executive John Dasburg have discussed a possible merger and that one or more merger announcements could be made public in the coming days.

American Airlines, the world's second-largest airline, is a unit of Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR Corp. Northwest is based in St. Paul. AMR tumbled 1 1/8 to 28 5/16 and Northwest Airlines jumped 6 3/8, or 21.9%, to 35 7/16.

The Federal Communications Commission is set to approve AT&T's(T Quote) proposed acquisition of MediaOne (UMG Quote), reported in The Wall Street Journal.

According to the Journal, AT&T will have to sell either its stake in Liberty Media(LMGA Quote), MediaOne's 25% interest in Time Warner Entertainment(TWX Quote) or individual cable systems. AT&T tacked on 1/8 to 35 1/16 and MediaOne stumbled 3/8 to 67, while Liberty Media was up slightly at 45. Time Warner jumped 5 15/16, or 7.6%, to 83 15/16.

iVillage(IVIL Quote) is negotiating the sale of its e-commerce division, iBaby, to compete with Web retailer BabyGear.com. For more, take a look at the coverage out of TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com's joint newsroom. iVillage edged up 7/32 to 8 1/8.

GE Medical Systems, a unit of General Electric(GE Quote), agreed to buy Lunar(LUNR Quote) in a stock swap worth about $150 million. GE will determine the actual number of shares it will swap based on trading prices prior to closing the transaction, which the companies expect to occur by the third quarter.

GE Medical Systems agreed to pay $17 a share in stock. Madison, Wis.-based Lunar, which makes technology for assessing osteoporosis and metabolic bone diseases, had 8.6 million shares outstanding as of April 26, so the total value of the transaction amounts to $146.2 million.

The transaction is subject to Lunar shareholder and government approval. Lunar chairman and CEO Richard Mazess agreed to vote his shares, representing about 30% of Lunar's outstanding shares, in favor of the transaction. The boards of both GE and Lunar approved the merger. General Electric popped 5/16 to 52 11/16 and Lunar jumped 5 1/4, or 47.1%, to 16 3/8.

Jacobs Engineering(JEC Quote) signed a definitive sale agreement with Stone & Webster in which Jacobs will acquire substantially all of Stone & Webster's assets in exchange for $150 million in cash and stock and the assumption of nearly all Stone & Webster's liabilities shown on its March balance sheet, standby letters of credit, and its liabilities under a new credit facility from Jacobs entered into on May 9, pursuant to which up to $50 million of credit is being made available to enable Stone & Webster to operate its businesses until the asset sale is completed.

As a condition of the proposed transaction, Stone & Webster, which expects to continue operating its businesses in the normal course during the reorganization process, will be seeking bankruptcy court approval of the asset sale and credit agreement. Jacobs hopped 1 5/16 to 34 13/16.

Lycos(LCOS Quote) CEO Robert Davis said during the Silicon Alley Reporter International Network 2000 Conference that he sees combined revenues from its merger with Terra Networks (TRRA Quote)to surpass Yahoo's revenues by 2001 or early 2002. Lycos advanced 6 15/16, or 10.8%, to 71 3/16 and Terra climbed 5 5/8, or 12.7%, to 49 5/8.

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Offerings and stock actions

Interwoven(IWOV Quote) shot up 8 3/16, or 12%, to 76 3/16 after it set a 2-for-1 stock split.

King Pharmaceuticals(KG Quote) hopped 2 1/16 to 57 after it announced a three-for-two stock split for shareholders of record as of June 12, to be distributed June 21.

The company makes generic and brand-name drugs and sells its branded products through subsidiary Monarch Pharmaceuticals.

SkyStream Networks(SSNW Quote), which sells networking products that connect the Internet to cable, satellite and digital television networks, withdrew its proposed $93.15 million IPO, citing market conditions. The offering was supposed to be managed by Goldman Sachs, Robertson Stephens and Dain Rauscher Wessels.

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Analyst actions

Upgrades

GPU(GPU Quote): UP to outperform from hold at ABN Amro. GPU lost 1/16 to 29 3/16.

Micron Technology(MU Quote): UP to a buy from outperform at Salomon Smith Barney; price target UP to 100 from 75; price target also raised at Merrill Lynch to 100 from 75. Micron Technology bounced 4 5/16, or 5.8%, to 77 13/16.

Samina (SANM Quote): fiscal 2000 EPS UP to $1.36 from $1.38 a share at Merrill Lynch. Samina lifted 3 9/16, or 5.1%, to 72 1/2.

Downgrades

Dana(DCN Quote): second-quarter EPS DOWN to $1.04 a share from $1.14 at Lehman Brothers. Dana skidded 1/4 to 25 1/4.

Gadzooks(GADZ Quote): DOWN to market performer from buy at Banc of America. Gadzooks stumbled 1/2 to 9 13/16.

Kmart (KM Quote): second-quarter earnings estimates DOWN to 23 cents from 26 cents at Merrill Lynch; fiscal 2000 earnings estimates DOWN to $1.19 a share from $1.20; fiscal 2001 earnings estimates DOWN to $1.40 from $1.43. Kmart declined 1/8 to 8 1/2.

Progressive (PGR Quote): DOWN to buy from strong buy at Credit Suisse First Boston. Progressive lost 4 9/16 to 93 1/8.

Initiations

chinadot.com (CHINA Quote): NEW intermediates accumulate, long-term buy rating. chinadot.com climbed 4 1/16, or 17%, to 27 7/8.

Dianon(DIAN Quote): NEW buy at UBS Warburg; price target of 32. Dianon bounced 4 1/2, or 19.1%, to 28 1/16.

Homestore.com (HOMS Quote): NEW strong buy at Thomas Weisel by analyst Jim Fowler. Homestore.com hopped 1 13/16, or 6.5%, to 29 9/16.

Group Moves

ABN Amro analyst Eugene Nowak raised 2000 and 2001 EPS estimates for leading energy firms to reflect strong commodity prices. Companies mentioned in the report include:

• ExxonMobil (XOM Quote) : 2000 EPS UP to $4.00 from $3.85 and 2001 EPS up to $4.10 from $3.95. ExxonMobil lost 3 3/4 to 79 3/16.

• Chevron (CHV Quote): 2000 EPS UP to $6.50 from $6.10 and 2001 EPS up to $5.75 from $5.55. Chevron stumbled 7/16 to 90 9/16.

• Kerr-McGee (KMG Quote): 2000 EPS UP to $6.50 from $5.95 and 2001 EPS up to $5.00 from $4.80. Kerr-McGee fell 2 5/16 to 57 7/16.

• Phillips Petroleum (P Quote): 2000 EPS up to $5.75 from $5.20 and 2001 EPS up to $5.10 from $4.60. Phillips Petroleum shed 2 3/8 to 54 5/8.

• Texaco (TX Quote): 2000 EPS up to $4.40 from $4.05 and 2001 EPS up to $4.10 from $3.80. Texaco skidded 1 7/8 to 54 1/8.

• Amerada Hess (AHC Quote): 2000 EPS up to $7.75 from $7.50 and 2001 EPS up to $5.70 from $5.30. Amerada Hess declined 3 1/2, or 5.2%, to 62 13/16.

• Unocal (UCL Quote): 2000 EPS up to $2.50 from $2.00 and 2001 EPS up to $2.40 from $1.95. Unocal skidded 1 9/16 to 36 3/16.

Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown initiated coverage of eight staffing companies:

• AHL Services(AHLS Quote) as a buy; price target: 15. AHL moved up 25/32, or 10.6%, to 8 1/8.

• Charles River Associates(CRAI Quote) as a buy; price target: 30. Charles River Associates advanced 2 9/16, or 14.2%, to 20 1/2.

• Corporate Executive Board(EXBD Quote) as a strong buy; price target: 70. Corporate Executive climbed 4 5/16, or 7.7%, to 60 5/16.

• Interim Services(IS Quote) as a strong buy; price target: 30. Interim Services added 3/8 to 21 3/8.

• Manpower(MAN Quote) as a strong buy; price target: 42. Manpower tacked on 11/16 to 36 3/16.

• NCO Group(NCOG Quote) as a strong buy; price target: 60. NCO Group hopped 1 1/4, or 5.4%, to 24 5/16.

• On Assignment(ASGN Quote) as a market perform; price target: 28. On Assignment stumbled 1 1/2, or 5.5%, to 25 1/2.

• Robert Half(RHI Quote) as a strong buy; price target: 75. Robert Half lifted 1 3/8 to 63.

UBS Warburg upgraded three oil and gas companies:

Louis Dreyfus(LD Quote): UP to buy from hold. Louis Dreyfus skidded 11/16 to 31 3/4.

Newfield(NFX Quote): UP to buy from hold. Newfield fell 3/16 to 40 1/16.

Forest Oil(FST Quote): UP to buy from hold. Forest Oil skidded 7/16 to 15 1/4.

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Miscellany

Virgin Group's Virgin Express(VIRGY Quote)agreed to lease eight Boeing (BA Quote) aircraft for a period of eight years from GE Capital Aviation Services, a unit of General Electric(GE Quote). The aircraft are scheduled for delivery between July 2001 and April 2003.

The airline said it placed a total of 11 lease orders for Boeing 737-700 planes valued at about $440 million. Another three 737-700s will be leased for a period of eight years from International Lease Finance, a subsidiary of American International Group(AIG Quote). Two of these aircraft are scheduled for delivery in 2002 and one in 2003. Virgin Group mounted 5/16, or 8.7%, to 3 7/8 and GE climbed 5/16 to 52 11/16, while American International Group hopped 1 3/8 to 118 5/8. Boeing slipped 3/8 to 39 7/8.

Genomics company Gene Logic(GLGC Quote) lifted 2 3/8, or 9.4%, to 27 5/8 after it said Mark Gessler, its president and COO since January 1999, will succeed Michael Brennan as its chief executive officer, effective June 8.

Brennan, a founder of the company and chief executive since it began in 1995, will continue to serve as chairman and will still play a role in the company's development.

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