LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“When they put an ATM in a mall or gas station, they have to rent that space in the same way that Sunglass Hut has to pay for their space. They did the math and probably concluded that these guys aren’t profitable.”
Bart Narter, a senior banking analyst at consulting firm Celent on Bank of America trimming its automated teller machine network by almost 9 percent Article, 1D
Network invests in 2 venture firms
The Arkansas Seed & Angel Capital Network decided Thursday to approve $750,000 worth of investment into two angel investment firms.
The two investment funds, Gravity Ventures Arkansas and TriStar Technology Ventures II, have not yet accepted the funds, said Gene Eagle, the Arkansas Development Finance Authority’s vice president for development finance.
The authority is the parent program of the Arkansas Seed & Angel Capital Network.
Gravity Ventures, a Little Rock-based angel capital fund that invests in early-stage companies in the state, would receive $250,000. Nashville, Tenn.-based TriStar Technology, which sponsors an investment fund called TriStar/ Arkansas that gives to early-stage health-care companies, would receive $500,000.
Representatives from the funds could not immediately be reached Monday.
Eagle said the network is designed to invest in angel capital funds, which in turn invests in entrepreneurs and small businesses. The authority was awarded a $13.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of the Treasury in late November to promote the network.
“We’re able to put it where it’s really needed to build and grow companies and foster a lot of good entrepreneurs and build the investment talent that we have here in the state,” Eagle said. “We’ve kicked around this idea for quite some time, and it was deemed a little too risky by our board of directors, but now we have a good source of money, and they’re approving some good targeted investments.”Largest short-line operators to merge
Genesee & Wyoming said Monday that it will buy Jacksonville, Fla.-based RailAmerica for about $1.39 billion in a deal that combines the two largest short-line and regional rail operators in North America.
The combined company will operate 108 railroads in the U.S. and abroad. The deal will diversify what the railroads carry and will also allow the two companies to streamline their operations to save money.
Among the railroads owned by RailAmerica is the Bauxite & Northern Railway, which has six miles of track in Saline County, according to RailAmerica’s website. A call to the railroad’s office in Bryant wasn’t immediately returned.
Besides the U.S. and Canada, Greenwich, Conn.-based Genesee & Wyoming also operates railroads in Australia, the Netherlands and Belgium.
RailAmerica has been shopping around for a possible buyer since May. The deal price announced Monday represented a premium of more than 27 percent from RailAmerica’s closing price of $21.55 before it made that announcement.
The Surface Transportation Board, the agency that regulates U.S. railroads, still must approve the deal. The companies say that could happen by the fourth quarter.
RailAmerica shares rose $2.44, or 9.8 percent, to close Monday at $27.25. Genesee & Wyoming shares gained 35 cents to finish at $56.33.
DreamWorks to buy Classic Media
GLENDALE, Calif. - DreamWorks Animation SKG on Monday said it has agreed to buy Classic Media, custodian of a library of movies and TV series that includes Casper the Friendly Ghost, Lassie, Rocky & Bullwinkle, and The Lone Ranger.
DreamWorks Animation is paying $155 million in cash to Classic Media’s owner, Boomerang Media Holdings.
Boomerang was formed by private-equity firm GTCR and Eric Ellenbogen and John Engelman, who founded Classic Media in 2000.
Classic Media has about 80 employees and is based in New York. It had an operating profit of $19.2 million on $82.2 million in revenue in the year that ended Feb. 29.
Classic Media owns 450 movies and 6,100 episodes of TV shows including Christmas classics Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town.
DreamWorks Animation is based in Glendale, Calif.
It’s the home of franchises like Shrek and Madagascar. Its shares slipped 8 cents to close at $19.08.
United Technologies sells off unit
HARTFORD, Conn. - United Technologies is selling its engine division unit to aerospace manufacturer GenCorp Inc. for $550 million as the conglomerate raises money for its largest acquisition and solidifies its core aerospace business.
UTC’s Rocketdyne division, based in Canoga Park, Calif., will nearly double GenCorp’s size.
United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., said in March that it would sell the company that it has owned for seven years.
United Technologies is selling off some of its businesses to raise $3 billion to finance the acquisition of aerospace parts maker Goodrich Corp. in Charlotte, N.C.
Greg Hayes, chief financial officer at United Technologies, told investor analysts in March that growth will be limited at Rocketdyne because U.S. space policy has changed with the end of the space shuttle program last year.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea to go private
EMERYVILLE, Calif. - Peet’s Coffee & Tea is being taken private for approximately $977.6 million.
German conglomerate Joh. Benckiser will pay $73.50 per share, which is a 29 percent premium to Peet’s Friday closing stock price of $57.16. The companies put the deal’s total value at about $1 billion Monday.
Founded in 1966 in Berkeley, Calif., by Alfred Peet, the company gets more than half its revenue from its coffee shops and the rest from grocery sales, home delivery and sales to food services.
Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc. has about 13.3 million outstanding shares, according to FactSet. The current management and employees will remain with the company and its headquarters will stay in Emeryville, Calif.
The acquisition, which was unanimously approved by Peet’s board, is expected to close in about three months.
A majority of Peet’s outstanding stock must approve the deal at a coming special shareholders meeting.
Shares of Peet’s rose $15.89 to close at $73.05.
Business, Pages 22 on 07/24/2012