Baldwin Piano & Organ Co. said Monday it plans to use about $9 million it received from the sale of its contract electronics business to reduce its debt. At the end of the third quarter, Baldwin's debt was $36.7 million.

        The Mason company said it has sold the business that produced $402,000 in pretax profit and $9.9 million in revenues in the third quarter to Ayrshire Electronics LLC for $9.7 million.

        Baldwin said it expects to record a loss on the sale of about $4.2 million, or $1.21 a share, which will be included in the company's fourth-quarter results. With the sale, Baldwin has sold off the last of its nonpiano operations. Ayrshire Electronics is a new company controlled by Milo D. Bryant, a Louisville businessman with interests in other contract electronics businesses.
       

Ex-Kroger director selling 2M shares

               A former Kroger director said Monday he planned to sell 2 million shares for an estimated $47.5 million around Jan. 30. Ronald Burkle resigned Jan. 8. The announcement of the planned sale was in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

        The filing represents intent to sell and does not confirm a sale actually will take place.
       

OfficeMax cutting jobs, closing stores

               OfficeMax Inc. said it will have an unexpected fiscal fourth-quarter loss as the third-largest office-supplies retailer cuts 1,200 jobs in 17 states and shrinks store expansion plans by half.

        The closing of 50 stores from New York to California will eliminate 3 percent of the company's 40,000-person work force. Two of the stores being closed are in Ohio, three are in Kentucky and one is in Indiana. A spokesman for the Shaker Heights, Ohio, company was not available Monday to say whether any of the stores are in Greater Cincinnati.

        — From staff and wire reports

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