(
Updated from 3:36 p.m.
)
FPL Group
(FPL) - Get Report
said it agreed to a merger of equals with
Entergy
(ETR) - Get Report
, creating the United States biggest electric company. According to the terms, the deal is valued at roughly $7 billion, based on the companies' closing prices on Friday. FPL closed out at 52 13/16, while Entergy finished at 30 5/16. The merger carries a total enterprise value of $27 billion, which includes $16.4 billion in equity market capitalization and $10.7 in debt and preferred stock.
The transaction calls for FPL shareholders to receive one share of a new holding company for each share of FPL they hold, while Entergy holders would get 0.585 of a share of the newly formed company for each of their Entergy shares.
For additional coverage of the
FPL/Entergy link up, check out
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com
joint newsroom story.
Ford
(F) - Get Report
is expected to announce a joint venture with
Qualcomm
(QCOM) - Get Report
, bringing wireless technology into its vehicles. The joint venture, which is known as
Wingcast
, will put services such as mobile phone, Web access and entertainment into Ford autos.
According to
The Wall Street Journal
, Wingcast would be based in San Diego, the hub for Qualcomm's business, with Ford taking the largest shareholder stake in the project. The services could be launched in 1 million Ford 2002 models.
Former Microsoft exec
Harel Kodesh
is expected to be tapped as the venture's CEO.
For additional coverage of
Ford's deal with Qualcomm link up, check out
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com
joint newsroom story.
Broadcom
(BRCM)
has agreed to buy
Altima Communications
in a stock deal valued at $533 million. Broadcom, a telecom circuit maker, said it would issue 2.5 million shares for all outstanding shares of the privately held firm. The deal will have Broadcom taking on a one-time third-quarter charge.
Glaxo Wellcome's
(GLX)
proposed merger with
SmithKline Beecham
(SBH) - Get Report
received the thumbs up from shareholders.
North Fork Bank
(NFB)
has extended its tender offer for
Dime
(DME)
until Sept. 29. The bid, which Dime has repeatedly rejected, had been scheduled to expire today.
Pearson
, publisher of the
Financial Times
, has agreed to purchase
National Computer Systems
(NCLS)
in a cash deal valued at $2.5 billion. According to the terms, Pearson would pay $73 a share for the education services company.
Redback Networks
(RBAK)
said it entered a $636 million stock deal to acquire Canada-based
Abatis Systems
. The terms call for Redback to issue roughly 5.2 million shares for all shares and warrants of Abatis, a networking technology supplier. The deal, which is based on Redback's closing price on Friday of 121 1/2, will make Abatis a subsidiary of the computer-networking firm.
Time Warner
(TWX)
is expected to announce today that it has opened up its cable lines to
Juno Online Services
, to provide high-speed Web access over Time Warner's broadband network. Juno would be the first third-party ISP to get the OK to use Time Warner's cable lines. The deal comes only days after
Federal Communications Commission
Chairman William Kennard said broadband access was a big concern in the merger of Time Warner and
America Online
(AOL)
.
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com
joint newsroom wrote about the agreement in a
story this morning.
Laser eye-surgery company
Visx
(VISX)
adopted a plan to ward off a potential bid from famed corporate raider
Carl Icahn
.
Icahn told the company July 20 that he intended to buy more than $15 million worth of Visx shares through his
Icahn Associates
The move by Icahn may put the company in play as a potential acquisition target by other bidders.
In turn, at a special meeting, Visx's board of directors adopted a shareholder rights plan -- often called a poison pill -- to make its stock less attractive to a potential acquirer. Such a plan can result in the issuance of new preferred shares or allow current shareholders, apart from the suitor, to buy common stock at a bargain price, raising the cost of a takeover for the acquirer.
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Briggs & Stratton
(BGG) - Get Report
posted fourth-quarter $1.24 a share, topping the three-analyst estimate of 95 cents but down from the year-ago $1.51 profit. The company warned that its first-quarter 2001 earnings would be greatly below last year's 66-cent profit.
Tyson Foods
(TSN) - Get Report
posted third-quarter earnings of 18 cents a share, in line with the 17-analyst estimate but down from the year-ago 30 cents. Tyson warned that its fourth-quarter earnings could be half that of the third quarter, and that first-quarter 2001 earnings could be even worse than the fourth quarter.
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Bell Microproducts
(BELM)
set a 3-for-2 stock split.
Speech recognition software company
SpeechWorks
(SPWX)
raised the price of its initial public offering of 4.75 million shares to $17-$19 a share from $13-$15. The company is expected to debut this week.
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Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette
dropped
WorldCom
(WCOM)
from its focus list, replacing it with
Siebel
(SEBL)
.
Upgrades
Cooper Cameron
(CAM)
: UP to buy from outperform at
Salomon Smith Barney
; price target of 100.
Benchmark Electronics
(BHE) - Get Report
: UP to buy from market perform at Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette.
BF Goodrich
(GR)
: UP to strong buy from buy at
SG Cowen
.
Interpool
(IPX)
: UP to buy from hold at
ING Barings
.
LaFarge
(LAF)
: UP to outperform from neutral at
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter
.
Lan Chile
(LFL)
: ADDED to Latin America recommended list from purchase list at
Goldman Sachs
.
Nationwide Financial
(NFS)
: UP to strong buy from buy at
UBS Warburg
; price target UP to 49 from 38.
Ocean Energy
(OEI)
: UP to strong buy from buy at
Banc of America
.
Veeco Instrument
(VECO) - Get Report
: UP to intermediate-term buy from accumulate; fiscal 2000 estimates UP to $1.40 from $1.35; fiscal 2001 EPS estimates UP to $2.85 from $2.65.
Williams
(WMB) - Get Report
: fiscal 2000 EPS estimates UP to 90 cents from 60 cents at Goldman Sachs.
Downgrades
Crompton
(CK)
: DOWN to market outperformer at Goldman Sachs.
Jack In The Box
(JBX)
: DOWN to outperform from strong buy at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter.
Initiations
Adolph Coors
(RKY)
: NEW outperform; price target of 75 at Morgan Stanley.
Coherent
(COHR) - Get Report
: NEW buy at
UBS Warburg
; price target of 80.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(MGM) - Get Report
: NEW outperform at Salomon Smith Barney.
SBA Communications
(SBAC) - Get Report
: NEW strong buy at
Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown
; UP to hold from reduce at
UBS Warburg
.
UTI Energy
(UTI) - Get Report
: NEW buy at
Lehman Brothers
.
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Clothing retailer
Tommy Hilfiger
(TOM)
said its licensing subsidiary is suing
Goody's Family Clothing
(GDYS)
for allegedly selling counterfeit Tommy Hilfiger clothing and putting fake Hilfiger logos on their own apparel.
Base-metal miner
Cominco
(CLT)
refused
Teck's
$100 million offer for 4 million shares and refused to make any recommendations on the offer to shareholders.
Cephalon
(CEPH)
shares plummeted after its narcolepsy drug proved ineffective in treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults. The drug-maker said it does not expect the news to impact analysts' earnings and revenue forecasts.
Financial services giant
Citigroup
(C) - Get Report
stated that
e-Citi
head, Ed Horowitz, has resigned. The announcement comes on the heels of e-Citi losses and criticisms from Wall Street of Citigroup's Internet strategy.
Gaylord Entertainment
(GET)
said Terry London resigned as president and CEO.
A federal appeals court granted a last-minute reprieve to online song-swapping service
Napster
, temporarily staying a district court judge's order that the Internet service shut down by midnight Friday,
Reuters
reported. Last Wednesday, a San Francisco district court judge told Napster to
cease online trading of songs covered by copyrights.
TheStreet.com/NYTimes.com
covered the decision in a
story Friday evening.
Philip Morris
(MO) - Get Report
will announce today that it is raising its U.S. cigarette prices by 6 cents a pack, according to wire service reports.
Other tobacco companies are expected to follow Philip Morris, the world's largest tobacco company, in hiking the price of their products. Philip Morris makes the popular Marlboro, Benson & Hedges and Virginia Slims cigarette brands.
The tobacco industry is reeling from a series of lawsuits claiming compensation for smoking-related illnesses. In early July, a Florida jury awarded $145 billion in punitive damages to plaintiffs in a tobacco-related class action against the nation's major cigarette manufacturers.
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