Company Report: Bank of Scotland Ups NatWest Offer and Amazon.com Scores on an Audible
Bank of Scotland said it was raising its offer for National Westminster Bank (NW) , adding extra cash of 246 pence per share. The move comes after the Royal Bank of Scotland raised its offer for NatWest increasing the cash element of its bid and putting pressure on Bank of Scotland to respond.
NatWest responded to the revised offer by calling it a "bit of damp squib" and saying it was still risky. Apparently undeterred by the cutting remark, Royal Bank of Scotland said it expected NatWest to recommend its takeover bid if a Feb. 14 vote on its offer is split and Royal Bank has the highest proportion of votes. Shares of NatWest jumped 8 1/4, or 7.5%, to 118 1/4.
Despite delivering better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings,
UPS
(UPS) - Get United Parcel Service, Inc. Class B Report
shares declined in afternoon trading sliding 5, or 7.7%, to 59 15/16. For more on the company's earnings results, check out the
TheStreet.com's
coverage below.
Mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures
AIT Group
has agreed to provide an e-commerce infrastructure to
General Electric
(GE) - Get General Electric Company Report
that will allow GE customers to access their accounts and carry out financial transactions via the Internet. AIT and
GE Equity Investments
signed a three-year option agreement under which AIT will transfer up to 608,800 shares, or just under 3% of current shares, to GE company. Shares of GE fell 3/8 to 133 5/8.
Amazon.com
TheStreet Recommends
(AMZN) - Get Amazon.com, Inc. Report
added 2 7/8 to 64 9/16 after it said it will buy 5% of
Audible
(ADBL)
in a deal valued at $18.3 million. Audible climbed 1 1/16, or 7.4%, to 15 1/2.
America Online
(AOL)
and
AMR
(AMR)
unit
American Airlines
said they would offer AOL AAdvantage, a combined rewards program. Shares of AOL lost 1 7/8 to 57, while AMR lost 1/16 to 53 13/16.
The three-year deal combines the airline's miles program with AOL's Reward program and calls for the companies to launch a multi-million dollar, cross-marketing campaign to their members. AOL will take a stake in
Netcentives
(NCNT)
, which will create and operate the infrastructure for the new plan. Shares of Netcentives climbed 6 1/8, or 9.9%, to 68 1/4.
El Paso Energy
(EPG)
gained 1 to 32 1/4 after it said it agreed to buy the natural gas and natural gas liquids businesses owned by
PG&E
(PCG) - Get PG&E Corporation Report
for $840 million, including $561 million in debt. Shares of PG&E rose 13/16 to 21 15/16.
Enron
(ENE)
gained 7 11/16, or 12.8%, to 67 7/8 after it said it signed a three-year contract to use
Sycamore Networks'
(SCMR)
products. Sycamore jumped 9 1/8 to 319.
General Motors
(GM) - Get General Motors Company Report
is close to a deal with
Toyota
(TM) - Get Toyota Motor Corp. Report
to offer GM's Onstar in-car communications system in Toyotas sold in the U.S.,
The Wall Street Journal
reported. Shares of GM gained 1 9/16 to 80 9/16 while Toyota tacked on 1 1/4 to 87 1/4.
Separately,
Investor AB
, the investment arm of Sweden's Wallberg family, said GM is paying $125 million to exercise its option to buy the group's 50% stake of Swedish auto group
Saab Automobile
.
British palm-top computer group
Psion
said it signed an agreement with
Motorola
(MOT)
to co-develop a range of mobile Internet access devices. Motorola jumped 8 1/4, or 6.4%, to 136 1/2.
Vodafone AirTouch's
(VOD) - Get Vodafone Group Plc Report
campaign to win over the hearts of
Mannesmann
(MNNSY)
shareholders escalated another notch, as the British-U.S. phone operator announced a joint venture with France's
Vivendi
(VVDIY)
. Vodafone climbed 1 3/9 to 56.
The two plan to create a European Web portal that would rival
Yahoo!
(YHOO)
and
AOL Europe
, a joint venture between America Online and
Bertelsmann
. They will also look at joining to form a pan-European telephone network.
But the alliance is contingent upon Vodafone winning control of Mannesmann, Germany's leading wireless company, which has repeatedly spurned Vodafone's advances.
Mannesmann brass remained opposed to Vodafone's $170 billion hostile takeover bid Sunday; investors have until Feb. 7 to decide. According to
The Wall Street Journal
, the move comes as Vodafone AirTouch and Mannesman have held stepped-up talks, although the two companies remain far apart on issues such as price. The report cited people familiar with the situation.
AOL Europe is in negotiations with several mobile phone operators on cooperation in the Internet, an AOL Europe spokesman said, according to
Reuters
.
Terra Nova
(TNA) - Get Direxion Daily Small Cap Bull 3x Shares Report
gained 1 9/16, or 7.4%, to 22 9/16 after it agreed to be bought by
Markel
(MKL) - Get Markel Corporation Report
for $680 million. Markel climbed 9, or 5.8%, to 164.
The companies said the deal was trimmed down 25% the its initial $905 million offer after concerns surfaced over Terra Nova's expected fourth-quarter earnings losses and Markel's stock price decline.
Earnings/revenue reports and previews
(
Earnings estimates from First Call; new highs and lows on a closing basis unless otherwise specified. Earnings reported on a diluted basis unless otherwise specified.
)
Century Business
(CBIZ)
slid 3 5/32, or 45.9%, to 3 23/32 after it warned its fourth-quarter results are expected to fall short of expectations as a result of a focus on strategic alternatives that it is ending. The company expects to report results between a profit of 2 cents a share and a loss of 2 cents a share, below the five-analyst estimate of earnings of 13 cents a share.
Merrill Lynch
cut its rating on Century Business to near-term neutral from buy.
Deluxe
(DLX) - Get Deluxe Corporation Report
inched up 9/16 to 26 3/4 after it reported fourth-quarter earnings of 79 cents a share, ahead of the five-analyst forecast of 74 cents and the year-ago 71 cents. Deluxe confirmed it will separate its e-commerce and technology services businesses into a new company. A minority stake in the new company, to be called
eFunds
, will be sold to the public through an IPO.
W.W. Grainger
(GWW) - Get W.W. Grainger, Inc. Report
slipped 3/16 to 47 15/16 after it posted fourth-quarter earnings of 30 cents a share, in line with the 11-analyst estimate but down from the year-ago 69 cents.
Medical Manager
(MMGR)
moved down 6 3/8, or 8.3%, to 70 3/16 after it reported second-quarter earnings of 2 cents a share, a penny better than the six-analyst forecast, but down from the year-ago earnings of 16 cents a share.
MedQuist
(MEDQ)
fell 2 7/16, or 10.9%, to 19 15/16 after it posted fourth-quarter earnings of 31 cents a share, a penny better than the 16-analyst estimate and up from the year-ago 15 cents.
Millenium Chemicals
(MCH)
slipped 1/8 to 18 1/4 after it reported fourth-quarter earnings of 39 cents a share, beating the 12-analyst estimate of 24 cents and the year-ago 13 cents.
Triad Hospitals
(TRIH)
lost 1/16 after it said it will take a fourth-quarter charge due to its decision to close its medical center in Roseburg, Oregon.
Union Carbide
(UK)
climbed 1 5/16 to 55 5/8 after it reported fourth-quarter earnings of 68 cents a share, blowing past the 11-analyst estimate of 46 cents and the year-ago 49 cents, which included a gain of 31 cents. The company attributed the increase in its earnings to continuing high volumes, improved pricing at its basic chemicals and polymers unit and strengthening performance by its
Equate
and
Polimeri Europa
ventures.
UPS
(UPS) - Get United Parcel Service, Inc. Class B Report
reported fourth-quarter earnings of 56 cents a share, a penny better than the 14-analyst estimate and up from the year-ago 43 cents.
Offerings and stock actions
Avatar
(AVTR) - Get Avantor, Inc. Report
bounced 1 1/2, or 9.6%, to 17 after it approved the repurchase of up to $20 million in common shares and notes.
Genrad
(GEN) - Get Genesis Healthcare Inc Class A Report
skidded 9/16 to 14 15/16 after it said it added 2.5 million shares to its current share-repurchasing program.
InfoSpace.com
(INSP) - Get Inspire Medical Systems, Inc. Report
sank 11 9/16, or 7.6%, to 140 1/8 after it set a 2-for-1 stock split.
Sara Lee
(SLE)
added 1/4 to 18 7/16 after it said it completed a $3 billion stock repurchase program five months ahead of schedule and authorized the repurchase of up to an additional 50 million shares.
Thermo Electron
(TMO) - Get Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. Report
gained 1 1/16, or 6.5%, to 17 5/16 after it said it has decided to split the company into three publicly traded businesses and spin off two of them to its shareholders.
Analyst actions
Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown
upped its rating on
Alltel
(AT) - Get Atlantic Power Corporation Report
to strong buy from buy. Shares of Alltel lifted 2 3/4 to 66 3/4.
Alex. Brown cut its rating on
Aviation Sales
(AVS)
to market perform from strong buy. Shares of Aviation Sales declined 1 3/16, or 12.1%, to 8 9/16.
Alex. Brown raised its rating on
Carnival
(CCL) - Get Carnival Corporation Report
to strong buy from buy. Shares of Carnival popped 9/16 to 45 1/16.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
lifted its rating on
Celestica
(CLS) - Get Celestica Inc. Report
to strong buy from outperform. Shares of Celestica climbed 19/32 to 40 3/16.
Brown Brothers Harriman
added
Cooper Industries
(CBE)
to its focus list. Shares of Cooper Industries advanced 9/16 to 38 3/8.
Salomon Smith Barney
upped its rating on
Credence Systems
(CMOS)
to buy from outperform. Shares of Credence stumbled 5/8 to 84 7/8.
J.P. Morgan
sliced its rating on
Dana
(DCN)
to long-term buy from a buy rating. Dana declined 1 1/16 to 23 1/2.
Warburg Dillon Read
raised its rating on
Ericsson
(ERICY)
to buy from hold .
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
lifted its rating on the stock to outperform from neutral, while
Credit Suisse First Boston
upped its price target and reiterated a strong buy rating.
Lehman Brothers
increased its earnings estimates for 2000. Shares of Ericsson mounted 4 7/16, or 6.3%, to 74 9/16.
First Boston added
Intel
(INTC) - Get Intel Corporation Report
to its focus list and reiterated a strong buy rating. Shares of Intel climbed 4 7/8, or 5.1%, to 98 15./16.
Goldman Sachs
added
McDonald's
(MCD) - Get McDonald's Corporation Report
to its recommended list from market perform. Shares of McDonald's edged up 7/16 to 37 3/16.
Merrill Lynch
upped its rating on
Mead
(MEA)
to near-term accumulate from near-term neutral. Shares of Mead lost 1/8 to 37 1/4.
Lehman Brothers upgraded
Praxair
(PX)
to buy from outperform. Shares of Praxair skidded 1/16 to 40 3/4.
Banc of America Securities
raised its price target on
Sawtek
(SAWS)
to 85 from 50, while reiterating its strong buy rating, Shares of Sawtek lifted 1 9/16 to 63 1/4.
Deutsche Banc started coverage of
SBA Communications
(SBAC) - Get SBA Communications Corp. Class A Report
with a buy rating. Shares of SBA Communications were unchanged at 30 5/16.
Banc of America upped
Starbucks
(SBUX) - Get Starbucks Corporation Report
to buy from market performer. Shares of Starbucks hopped 2 1/8, or 7.1%, to 32.
Merrill upgraded
StarMedia Network
(STRM) - Get Streamline Health Solutions, Inc. Report
to near-term buy from accumulate. StarMedia Networks shot up 1 3/4, or 5.7%, to 32 1/8.
SG Cowen
increased its rating on
3Com
(COMS)
to buy from neutral and set a 12-month price target of 60. Shares of 3Com tacked on 4 1/8, or 8.8%, to 50 3/4.
Deutsche Banc lowered its rating on
Xeikon
(XEIK)
to buy from strong buy. Shares of Xeikon stumbled 1 5/16, or 7.8%, to 15 7/16.
Miscellany
Baker Hughes
(BHI)
said CEO, chairman and president Max Lukens has resigned. The company named Joe Foster, chairman of
Newfield Exploration
(NFX)
, as an interim CEO, chairman and president.
Goldman Sachs
upped Baker Hughes to market outperform from market perform.
Meanwhile Newfield announced that Foster resigned to take the post at Baker Hughes and said it named David Trice as CEO effective Feb. 1. Shares of Baker Hughes mounted 3 7/8, or 18.6%, to 24 11/16.
DoubleClick
(DCLK)
said it has launched an Internet advertising service -- Solar Network -- that targets lower volume Web sites. Solar Network focuses on Web sites that have a minimum of 100,000 advertising impressions a month, unlike its current service which concentrates on sites with 1 million impressions per month. The company said 87 sites have linked up with the network, including
Air & Space Smithsonian Magazine
and
3D Stock Charts
. Shares of DoubleClick slipped 1 13/16 to 98 13/16.
The Heard on the Street column in
The Wall Street Journal
said shares of
Honeywell International
(HON) - Get Honeywell International Inc. Report
may be poised for a rebound later this year. The stock has fallen about 25% since Dec. 2, the first day shares of the newly merged Honeywell and
AlliedSignal
began trading. But if Honeywell can get past some weak numbers in its fourth-quarter earnings report, among other things, say some observers, the stocks could climb as high as 92 in 2001. Shares of Honeywell bounced 2 13/16, or 6.2%, to 48.
Micro Warehouse
(MWHS)
said it named Jerome York as president, CEO and chairman.
Bridgeport Holdings
has taken control of Micro, the companies said. In December, Micro Warehouse said it would be acquired for $725 million by an investor group led by York, a former
IBM
(IBM) - Get International Business Machines Corporation Report
executive. Shares of Micro Warehouse lifted 13/16 to 19.
Waste Management
(WMI)
said it will sell its Finland operations for $100 million. Waste Management shares slid 3/16 to 17 1/2.
