VideoThe suit further alleges that "the tender offer materials failed to disclose that the defendants used their controlling stake to depress Curtis' stock price by selectively disclosing negative information regarding the company, improperly reporting bad debt expense and otherwise failing to disclose material information about the company."
The suit also contends that the company concealed from the public the fact that a third party had expressed interest in making a tender offer for the common stock of Curtis on terms more favorable than offered by the defendants.
North Carolina Gets Involved in Wachovia Deal
North Carolina legislators are apparently rooting for First Union Corp. to trump SunTrust Banks Inc. in the battle to take over Wachovia Corp.
On Thursday, the North Carolina state senate approved an amendment that eliminates the ability of shareholders with at least 10 percent of a company's stock to call for a special shareholder meeting within 30 days, if a company's bylaws permit such a meeting. The bill now moves to North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley's office for final approval.
Wachovia and First Union were lobbying for a change in the state law in a bid to prevent SunTrust from succeeding with its hostile bid.
SunTrust's $14.1 billion unsolicited offer was rejected by Wachovia's board last month.
As a result, SunTrust proposed an amendment to Wachovia's bylaws June 4 based on the state law. The amendment would have permitted the holders of 10 percent or more of Wachovia's outstanding shares to require Wachovia to call a special meeting of shareholders.
SunTrust wants to convene a special meeting to install representatives on Wachovia's board who would favor its offer.
Financings
- Internet infrastructure developer InfoLibria Inc. said it received $41 million in private funding from Mitsubishi and a number of private equity companies, including Mellon Ventures. The money will be used to market and further develop its streaming-media product, which delivers packages of text, graphics, video and audio content over the Internet. Its customers include AT&T Corp., EMC Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Mitsubishi .
- Kmart Corp. sold $430 million of seven-year notes in a private placement, led by Credit Suisse First Boston and J.P. Morgan. The retailer had initially hoped to raise $400 million. The notes, rated Baa3 by Moody's and BB-plus by S&P, has a 9.875 percent coupon and was priced to yield 10 percent.
Big Day for IPO News
- FMC Technologies, the energy exploration equipment maker carved out from FMC Corp., closed at $22 on its first day of trading, up 10 percent from its issue price of $20. Merrill Lynch was the lead underwriter of the 11.05 million shares.
- Reinsurer Odyssey Re Holdings, on the other hand, closed down 4.4 percent to $17.20 on its first day of trading. Banc of America Securities and CIBC World Markets Corp. led the offering of 17.1 million shares.
- Wright Medical Group Inc., a global orthopaedic device company specializing in reconstructive joint devices and bio-orthopaedic materials, said it will sell 7.5 million shares for between $11.50 and $13.50 a pop.
- Two companies withdrew their planned offerings—Webridge Inc., which provides Web-based software for E-commerce initiatives, and Snap Alliances Inc., a provider of network attached storage services. .
- Silicon Energy Corp., provider of Internet-based enterprise energy management software, refiled for ts IPO. It had withdrawn plans to go public back in March.
Today's Layoff News
- Xerox Corp. said it will close down its consumer inkjet printer and copier-making unit, which would result in the loss of about 700 jobs in the Rochester, N.Y. area.
From the CFO.com "Brief" Case
- Cidco, Inc. said that Nasdaq has deemed the company to be in compliance with requirements for continued listing of its common stock on The Nasdaq National Market, following Cidco's filing of Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2001. Cidco delayed its filing while completing an investigation of an accounting issue. The investigation was completed, resulting in Cidco restating financial results for discontinued operations for 1998, 1999 and 2000.
- Charles Schwab Corp. Chief Financial Officer Chris Dodds warned that it will be "very difficult" for the brokerage firm to meet second- quarter earnings forecasts, according to Bloomberg. "Our clients' trading activity is mirroring the slowdown in market volumes," Dodds told the wire service.
- The House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to cut fees paid to the Securities and Exchange Commission on corporate registrations, transactions and mergers by an estimated $14 billion over the next 10 years.
- Comair reached a tentative contract agreement with its 1,350 striking pilots after three days of negotiations with federal mediators, company and union officials said. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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