Tuesday, December 18, 2012
LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“If someone is responsible for such a huge number of deaths, that’s him. He has failed to ensure safety.” Mainuddin Khandaker, leader of a committee that is investigating the Nov.
24 garment-factory fire in Bangladesh where 112 people died, about factory owner Delwar Hossain Article, 1D
Rates fall at Treasury bill auction
Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills fell in Monday’s auction to their lowest levels since January.
The Treasury Department auctioned $32 billion in three month bills at a discount rate of 0.04 percent, down from 0.09 percent last week. Another $28 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 0.09 percent, down from 0.135 percent last week.
The three-month rate was the lowest since those bills averaged 0.025 percent on Jan. 17. The six-month rate was the lowest since those bills averaged 0.075 percent on Jan. 30.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,998.99, while a six-month bill sold for $9,995.45. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.041 percent for the three-month bills and 0.91 percent for the six-month bills.
Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index for making changes in adjustable-rate mortgages, was 0.15 percent last week, down from 0.18 the previous week.
Poultry Federation selects laboratory
The Poultry Federation said Monday that its board of directors has selected Whitbeck Laboratories Inc. of Springdale as its provider of laboratory work services.
Marvin Childers, president of the federation, said in a news release that the decision to transfer the organization’s lab work was a result of the departure of James Barton, Poultry Federation lab director, for another position in the industry. The federation has been operating its own laboratory.
Poultry Federation members and lab customers “should expect a seamless transition without any interruption in services or changes in price as they move from the federation lab to Whitbeck Lab,” Childers said.
The federation represents the business interests of poultry producers and processors in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.
Buyer to take Caribou Coffee private
MINNEAPOLIS - Caribou Coffee is being taken private by a German holding company in a deal valued at about $340 million.
The coffee chain, which has 610 locations in the U.S. and overseas, but none in Arkansas, said Monday that it will continue to operate as an independent company with its own brand and management team once the buyout by Joh. A Benckiser Group GmbH closes. The German investment firm also purchased a majority stake in Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc. earlier this year.
Joh. A. Benckiser Group GmbH will pay $16 per share, a 30 percent premium to Caribou’s Friday closing price of $12.32.
Caribou Coffee, which was founded in 1992, will keep its headquarters in Minneapolis.
Caribou’s board unanimously approved the buyout. The company currently has 20.3 million outstanding shares, according to FactSet.
2 acquisitions cost Laclede $1 billion
ST. LOUIS - The St. Louis-based Laclede Group says it will pay just over $1 billion to buy utility companies in Missouri and New England.
Laclede announced Monday that it will buy Missouri’s second-largest gas utility, Missouri Gas Energy, which has 500,000 customers in the Kansas City area.
It will also buy New England Gas Co., which serves 50,000 customers in southeast Massachusetts. Both utilities are owned by Southern Union Co.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the purchase will almost double Laclede’s size.
Suzanne Sitherwood, Laclede’s chief executive officer, says the deal will expand the company’s presence in Missouri and give it a foothold in a new market.
$2.35 billion bid made for Compuware
NEW YORK - Compuware shares jumped 12.9 percent Monday, after Elliott Management offered to buy the software development company for about $2.35 billion.
The New York-based investment firm wants to acquire Compuware Corp. for $11 per share. The offer represents a 15 percent premium over its Friday closing stock price.
Elliott holds an 8 percent stake in Compuware. It said that while the Detroit-based company has strong assets, its profitability and growth have significantly lagged in recent years.
Compuware shares on Monday rose $1.23 to $10.76, passing their previous 52-week high of $10.25 and marking their highest price since May 2011.
Business, Pages 24 on 12/18/2012