QUOTE OF THE DAY
“We’ve had a really good run-up over the last five years or so. This is a preparation year, as we consolidate the gains of the past and prepare for even stronger growth in the future.”
Bob Shanks, Ford Motor Co. chief financial officer Article, 1D
Power companies at odds over fees
Little Rock-based Southwest Power Pool filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday, alleging that Midcontinent Independent System Operator is violating an agreement between the two companies.
Both companies are multistate operators of the electricity grid. Entergy Arkansas is a member of Midcontinent Independent.
Carl Monroe, Southwest Power’s chief operating officer, said in a statement Tuesday that the company is required to charge Midcontinent Independent for moving electricity over Southwest Power’s transmission system. But since Dec.
19, Midcontinent Independent has been using Southwest Power’s system without paying the proper charges, Monroe said.
A spokesman for Midcontinent Independent did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Health system adds 2 hospitals in state
Community Health Systems completed its $7.6 billion acquisition of Florida-based Health Management Associates earlier this week, including two hospitals operated by the Fort Smith-based Sparks Health System.
The deal, announced in July, includes the assumption of $3.7 million in debt and when complete will make Nashville based Community Health Systems one of the largest publicly traded hospital companies in the U.S, with 206 hospitals in 29 states, with about 31,000 licensed beds.
In Arkansas, the acquisition adds 492-bed Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith and Summit Medical Center, a 103-bed acute-care hospital in Van Buren. The two hospitals serve portions of Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Community Health Systems already owned Northwest Health System, which operates Northwest Arkansas Medical Center in Bentonville, Northwest Arkansas Medical Center in Springdale and the Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in Johnson.
Shares of Community Health Systems closed at $41.40 on Tuesday, up 92 cents or 2.27 percent in trading on the Nasdaq. The company’s shares have traded as low as $36.52 and as high as $51.29 during the past year. Health Management Associates stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Monday.
Conference to focus on tech education
Northwest Arkansas TechFest, a regional conference providing continuing education about content management, technology entrepreneurship and technology trends, will be Friday at the University of Arkansas Conferences Services on the Fayetteville Square.
The day-long event’s keynote speakers are John Foreman, chief data scientist for email marketing service provider MailChimp, and Jason Seats, managing director of Techstars, a leading mentor-driven accelerator.
Check-in starts at 8 a.m with sessions running through 4:30 p.m., followed by an after-party.
TechFest is free, but those registering are asked to bring two cans of food or $2, all of which will be donated to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. The event is planned and staffed by volunteers.
- John Magsam
Saline Memorial, UAMS to open clinic
Saline Memorial Hospital and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences will open a neurosurgery clinic Monday in Benton, according to a release.
Surgeons from the Department of Neurosurgery in the UAMS College of Medicine will see patients in the clinic located next to Saline Memorial, where they will perform surgery.
“This collaboration will expand services within a community that is under served in terms of practicing neurosurgeons. UAMS has a local and national reputation for excellence, and together we will be able to offer more patients access to the latest technology and services,” Bob Trautman, Saline Memorial chief executive, said in the release.
J.D. Day, chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at UAMS, will be medical director of the program at Saline Memorial. He, along with Hazem Ahmed, M.D., and Demetri Serletis, M.D., will evaluate all spine and other surgical neurological problems at the clinic.
The neurosurgeons will perform a variety of spine surgeries at Saline Memorial. More complex surgeries and complex spine procedures will be performed at UAMS.
The 2,115-square-foot building that will house the clinic was formerly a primary-care clinic, said Liz Caldwell, speaking for UAMS.
Acxiom conference call set for today
Acxiom Corp. will hold a conference call today to discuss its third-quarter financial results for the 2014 fiscal year, the Little Rock-based company said.
Acxiom, a data broker, will release its quarterly earnings report for the third quarter after the stock markets close. The conference call will be held at 4 p.m.
The call will be accessible online at www.acxiom.com, according to the news release.
Acxiom reported a profit of $9.8 million during its second quarter, down for the previous year’s $16.5 million profit.
The company generated $276.3 million in revenue for the period, down from $277.5 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Investors OK Verizon-Vodafone deal
Verizon Communications Inc. cleared a final hurdle in its push to gain full control of its wireless joint venture with Vodafone Group Plc after investors from both companies approved the $130 billion deal.
Verizon plans to issue 1.28 billion shares to shareholders of Newbury, England-based Vodafone, according to a company statement. It expects to complete the takeover Feb. 21.
The company still needs approval from the High Court of Justice of England and Wales.
The move will wind down a 14-year joint venture that grew into the biggest and most profitable wireless carrier in the U.S. In return, Vodafone investors are set to receive $1.72 a share, based on Verizon’s current share price of about $47.64, the English company said.
Shareholders approved the deal in separate meetings with the boards of Vodafone and Verizon. Vodafone investors voted 99.8 percent in favor of the transaction, while the Verizon yes votes accounted for 97 percent of its tally.
Business, Pages 26 on 01/29/2014