Saturday, September 18, 1999
TRISTATE BUSINESS SUMMARY
Group acquires 19.6% stake in Elder-Beerman
Snyder Capital Management LP and an affiliate have acquired a 19.6 percent stake in Dayton, Ohio-based Elder-Beerman Stores Corp. and want to replace at least two members of the company's board.
The investment group, which is headed by Alan Snyder, bought stock in the company at prices varying from $5.25 to $7.31 a share from July 15 to Aug. 10, according to a Schedule 13D filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The San Francisco-based investment group now owns 3.15 million shares of the department store chain.
“The current board is largely composed of people with experience in restructuring companies,” read a Sept. 9 letter the investors sent to Fred Mershad, Elder-Beerman chairman and chief executive. “We think that Elder-Beerman would benefit in having a fresh perspective from directors who have more experience in guiding ongoing public enterprises.”
BICCGeneral acquires interest in German firms
BICCGeneral, formerly General Cable Corp., in Highland Heights, said this week it completed acquisition of BICC Plc's ownership in a wire and cable joint venture in Berlin, Germany.
The deal is one of the final parts of BICCGeneral's acquisition of the worldwide energy cable business of BICC Plc. BICCGeneral paid $21.9 million for a half interest in both Kaiser Kow Kabel Energie Gmbh & Co. and Kaiser Kow Kabel Telecom Gmbh & Co., which make and sell power and telecommunication cables mainly for utilities in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Poland. BICCGeneral's partner is NKF, a Dutch wire and cable maker.
Separately, BICCGeneral said it formed a new joint venture in Baoying, Jiangsu province of China, with a unit of the Baosheng Group Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of power, construction and communication cable.
BICCGeneral will invest $13 million for a two-thirds interest in the partnership which will manufacture high-voltage power cables.
Midwest unemployment rate fell in August
Unemployment fell in Midwestern states in August as companies created thousands of jobs, Labor Department figures showed.
Unemployment in the Midwest — long the lowest rate in the country — declined to 3.5 percent from 3.6 percent in July, according to the survey., which has been taken since 1978. Ohio's jobless rate was 4.4 percent for August, compared with 4.6 percent in July.
Connecticut registered the nation's lowest rate, at 2.1 percent, for the second straight month. The nation's unemployment rate in August was 4.2 percent, matching a 29-year low.
Ten of the Midwest's 12 states had jobless rates below 4 percent, more than any other region. Unemployment fell in 39 states and in the District of Columbia. Jobless rates rose in only six states.
Cinergy plans plant in Henry County, Ind.
Cinergy Corp. is planning to build a 129-megawatt, natural gas-fired generating plant in Henry County, Ind., a spokeswoman said.
Cinergy is planning to build the plant on land along Indiana 38, near the community of Cadiz, about 20 miles south of Muncie. It would operate only 10 percent to 12 percent of the year, producing wholesale electricity during periods of extreme heat or cold, spokeswoman Angeline Protogere said.
Bengals an NFL bargain
Bengals throwing scalpers for loss
Experts: Stockpiles for Y2K may harm
Internet auction newcomer a giant
GE to simplify online sales
New ownership to expand Widmer's chain
Ohio Casualty moving more offices out of Hamilton
TRISTATE BUSINESS SUMMARY
Ashland adds 3% to Superfos offer
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Strong home-building trend surprises analysts
TRISTATE MARKET SPOTLIGHT
