Author: Ken Chan

Categories
corporate buzz

Second to Best and Final Offer

eWeek: Oracle to Buy PeopleSoft for $10.3 Billion. It’s an early Christmas for Oracle Corp.–and PeopleSoft Inc. shareholders. The two companies announced early Monday morning a definitive merger agreement whereby Oracle will acquire PeopleSoft for $26.50 per share, or $10.3 billion. The final buying price is $2.50 per share, or about $1.2 billion, over Oracle’s “best and final offer” from last month.

So, the “best and final offer” ended up being just the “second to best and final offer.” Luckily, for PeopleSoft shareholders, they didn’t accept the second to best offer. I’ve posted the Agreement and Plan of Merger between PeopleSoft Inc. and Oracle Corp. on the web site for those interested in the full details..

Categories
corporate buzz

Hope is on the Way

Reuters: Army Rushes to Harden Iraq-Bound Vehicles. The army is seeking more production of the most fully armor-protected “Humvee” military vehicles, defense officials said on Friday, after a soldier’s complaint to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that troops had to use scrap metal to protect vehicles in Iraq. U.S. Army Secretary Francis Harvey “has been on the telephone personally today” with Armor Holdings Inc., a Jacksonville, Florida, company that is the Army’s sole supplier of the most heavily armored Humvee models, one official said.

Armor Holdings contracts are on the web site. Mostly employment agreements though.

Categories
corporate buzz

Free Trade? It’s Gr-r-reat!

Financial Times: Gutierrez Success Story from Cuba to Cabinet. A weeping mother stood up among thousands of concerned shareholders to face Carlos Gutierrez in the spring of 2000. Less than a year after taking over as chief executive at Kellogg, Mr Gutierrez had decided to close the cereal maker’s Corn Flakes plant in Battle Creek, Michigan, throwing more than 500 people out of work in the town that Kellogg built.

I’ve added Kellogg contracts to the site, including Carlos M. Gutierrez’s employment agreement.

Categories
corporate buzz

1 + 1 = 1???

Detroit Free Press: Stewart Gets Millions on Kmart-Sears Deal. Martha Stewart might be making pennies an hour while serving time in federal prison, but she made a cool $32.7 million on paper Wednesday in the wake of the Kmart-Sears deal.

What do you get when you merge one struggling retailer with another struggling retailer? A very, large struggling retailer. At least you can pick up a Martha Stewart Medallion Matelasse Coverlet the next time you’re shopping for a Kenmore appliance. I wonder whether that range comes in hazelnut or sea kelp? I’ve added Kmart contracts to the web site. You can also find Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia contracts online.

Categories
litigation

Abercrombie Adding Color to Spring Collection

San Francisco Chronicle: Abercrombie to Pay $50 Million in Bias Suits. Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch said Tuesday it will pay $50 million to settle charges that it discriminates against women and minorities in hiring, saying it hopes to avoid a prolonged conflict over the matter.

I’ll be updating the Abercrombie & Fitch contracts page soon.

Categories
corporate buzz

Waiting for 2008

SmartMoney.com: White House Blues. John Kerry wasn’t the only loser in this year’s presidential race. Shares of stem-cell researchers tumbled Wednesday on concerns that the re-election of George Bush, an opponent of the use of embryonic stem cells, would put a damper on this controversial corner of the biotechnology sector for another four years.

I’ve just added StemCells Inc. contracts to the web site. Features employment agreements, consulting agreements, license agreements and more.

Categories
litigation

On the Marshy Road to Recovery

USA Today: Cherkasky Begins New Era for Marsh. The executive suite of ousted Marsh & McLennan CEO Jeffrey Greenberg is being retrofitted as a conference room. The company’s $25 million Falcon 900 jet is for sale. And last week Marsh held its first conference call with the media in memory. For a besieged insurance giant with almost $12 billion in annual sales, the moves could be dismissed as token stabs at corporate resuscitation. But for Michael Cherkasky, the rumpled former prosecutor newly tapped to lead the revival of the world’s largest insurance brokerage, the changes represent a crucial distancing from the old guard that led the firm to the brink of ruin after allegations of bid-rigging and collusion.

So, which stage does the removal of a CEO represent in the loss process? Clearly not denial. I’m split between bargaining and acceptance. Marsh & McLennan released Michael G. Cherkasky’s employment agreement last week. The employment agreement for his predecessor – Jeffrey Greenberg – is also available.

Categories
ipo

Build-A-Bear Stuffs Coffers with IPO Gains

The Enquirer: Walnut Group Scores Big for Backing Build-A-Bear. An initial public offering has turned the small bears at Build-A-Bear Workshop into big business for the retailer’s long-time backer, Cincinnati-based Walnut Group. While the Thursday IPO on the New York Stock Exchange reduced the equity group’s position from 18 percent of outstanding shares to 8.8 percent of the St. Louis-based retailer, nobody at Walnut Group was complaining very much.

Build-A-Bear Workshop contracts are now online. Includes many employment agreements, leases, and services agreements. Recently, Shopping.com also had a successful IPO. I’ve also posted Shopping.com contracts online as well.

Categories
ipo

Finding Oscar

Reuters: DreamWorks Animation Set for IPO. DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. will find out this week if box office success can be turned into Wall Street cash in a widely anticipated initial public offering that could raise up to $725 million. The sale would separate the animation group that has made films like “Shark Tale” and “Shrek 2” from the live-action unit of DreamWorks, formed by moguls Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg and home to movies like “The Terminal.”

Bug’s Life. Antz. Finding Nemo. Shark Tale. The Incredibles. Will DreamWorks follow with a superhero movie too? DreamWorks Animation contracts have finally be released, including Jeffrey Katzenberg’s employment agreement, Steven Spielberg’s consulting agreement and David Geffen’s consulting agreement.

Categories
litigation

Puttering Around

Motley Fool: Is Marsh Ringing the Value Bell? Marsh & McLennan has the highest yield this company’s share price has offered since 1988. The dividend has risen every year for the past 10 years at a 12% clip. The company is sporting its lowest P/E in its lifetime. So, why not buy?

After last year’s Putnam fiasco, you would think that parent Marsh & McLennan would clean up their act or stop doing business in New York. Well, neither of those two happened, so New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer sued Marsh – this time for bid-rigging. Damages? So far, over $10 billion in market cap. Ouch! BusinessWeek also has an interesting article about this: The Secret World of Marsh Mac.

You can find the employment agreement for Jeffrey Greenberg of Marsh & McLennan on the web site. I’ve also posted the employment agreement for Evan Greenberg of ACE Ltd., which was also named in the suit. AIG contracts are also available, but no employment agreement from dad Maurice Greenberg.