Friday, January 08, 1999
TRISTATE BUSINESS SUMMARY
United Shields Corp. changes leadership
Cincinnati-based United Shields Corp. has completed a restructuring that includes a change in ownership, a debt reduction and additional working capital.
With the restructuring, William A. Frey III, chief manager of Trinity Capital Group in Cleveland, Tenn., has been elected chairman and chief executive, succeeding T.J. Tully.
Mr. Tully, who founded United Shields, remains a director and vice chairman. Tim Zimmerman has been promoted to president and chief operating officer.
Mr. Frey is the founder of Trinity Healthcare Corp. and a former manager for Price Waterhouse & Co.
Trinity Capital has acquired 5.27 million shares of United Shields from Mr. Tully and his family for $527,889. Also, Trinity Capital received a warrant to purchase 6 million United Shield shares at 14 cents a share which runs through 2003.
In addition, Navicap Corp., the Cincinnati-based merchant bank that financed United Shields' start-up and first two acquisitions, has acquired an additional 4 million shares of the company in exchange for a $1 million reduction in United Shield's debt.
Delta adding flight to Frankfurt in June
Delta Air Lines will add a second daily round-trip flight between Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and Frankfurt beginning June 1.
The seasonal passenger service, which also expands the company's growing international cargo business, will operate until Oct. 2, Delta officials said Thursday.
Delta's Flight 86 will depart Cincinnati at 10:30 p.m. daily, arriving in Frankfurt at 12:45 p.m. the following day. Return Flight 87 leaves Frankfurt at 3:50 p.m. and arrives in Cincinnati at 7 p.m.
GNC to put stores in Rite Aid outlets
Rite Aid Corp. has entered into a strategic alliance with General Nutrition Cos. Inc. that will put full-line GNC stores inside 1,500 Rite Aids and lead to a combined online store and Web site.
The chief executives of the two companies said Thursday that the deal makes GNC the exclusive manufacturer of Rite Aid's private-label vitamins. The retailers also are collaborating on a new line of vitamins, to be called PharmAssure.
William Watts, CEO of GNC, described the deal as a marriage between a mass retailer and specialty retailer that allows each to keep its independence.
The first GNC within a Rite Aid will open in the first quarter of this year, probably on the East Coast. The others will open over a period of three years, and some are expected to open in Ohio.
Rite Aid and GNC each operate about 3,900 stores, including more than a dozen each in Greater Cincinnati.
LSI completes buy of lighting companies
LSI Industries Inc., the Blue Ash-based manufacturer of lighting and graphics, has completed its previously announced purchase of two related Kansas City fluorescent lighting-fixture companies.
LSI paid $16 million for Mid-West Chandelier Co. and Fairfax Lighting Co., including $8 million in cash and 357,143 shares of LSI stock. The agreement has additional “earn-out” provisions of up to $1 million in cash and $1 million in stock, if certain profit targets are surpassed. The companies, renamed LSI MidWest Lighting Inc., had 1997 sales of $19 million.
Holiday sales make comeback
Provident Bank expands ATM group
Surfing on sofa becomes science
Toyota VP predicts more record sales for Camry
Bankers sue to derail new credit union rule
TRISTATE BUSINESS SUMMARY
INDUSTRY NOTES: MANUFACTURING
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
TRISTATE MARKET SPOTLIGHT
