COMPANY NEWS;TRANSCRIPT SERVICES SETTLE CHARGES WITH F.T.C.
Date: 28 December 1995
AP
The nation's two largest producers of verbatim news transcripts have reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission on charges that they had an anti-competition agreement. The F.T.C. said yesterday it was approving a consent agreement with the Reuters America unit of Reuters Holdings P.L.C. and with Federal News Service Group Inc. and its president, Cortes W. Randell. The F.T.C. said the agreement did not constitute an admission of guilt. Washington-based Federal News Service denied that there were any anti-competitive results from its agreement with Reuters. A spokesman at Reuters headquarters in New York did not return a telephone call.
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COMPANY NEWS
Date: 27 December 1995
LESCO INC., Rocky River, Ohio, a lawn product company, has agreed to acquire Pro-Lawn, the lawn-care products division of Agway Inc., Syracuse, N.Y., a farm products company. The terms were not disclosed.
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COMPANY NEWS;DELUXE TO TAKE CHARGE FOR REORGANIZATION
Date: 27 December 1995
Bloomberg Business News
Bloomberg News
The Deluxe Corporation said yesterday that it might sell some businesses and product lines and close some plants under a revamping program that would result in a fourth-quarter charge of $60 million to $70 million. Deluxe, based in Shoreview, Minn., makes bank checks and software for the electronic transfer of funds. The company said the charge would reduce its 1995 earnings by 42 cents to 50 cents a share. Deluxe earned $40 million, or 49 cents a share, on revenue of $478.9 million in the fourth quarter of 1994. For the year, it earned $140.9 million, or $1.71 a share, on revenue of $1.75 billion. Deluxe said the changes would enable the company to cut about $100 million to $125 million a year in operating costs by the end of 1997.
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COMPANY NEWS;ARRIS PHARMACEUTICAL COMPLETES PURCHASE OF KHEPRI
Date: 27 December 1995
Bloomberg Business News
Bloomberg News
The Arris Pharmaceutical Corporation said yesterday that it had completed its acquisition of closely held Khepri Pharmaceutical Inc. in a stock transaction valued at about $30.2 million. Arris, a drug maker based in South San Francisco, said it would pay 1.4 million common shares now and make a second payment of 530,000 shares, subject to adjustment, on Dec. 30, 1996. Another 350,000 Arris shares are reserved for options, warrants and exchange rights. Shares of Arris rose $1.375, to $14.625, in Nasdaq trading. Arris said it would take a fourth-quarter charge of $20.5 million to complete the previously announced deal.
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COMPANY NEWS;CIRRUS LOGIC LOWERS EXPECTATIONS AGAIN
Date: 28 December 1995
Bloomberg Business News
Bloomberg News
For the second time in two months, Cirrus Logic Inc. yesterday sharply lowered its earnings estimate for the current quarter. The computer equipment company, based in Fremont, Calif., predicted earnings of 13 cents to 19 cents a share for its third quarter, which ends on Saturday. Analysts had expected earnings of 46 cents a share. In November, Cirrus said operating profits would be as much as 15 percent below those in the second quarter, because a customer cut its order. Yesterday, the company cited reduced demand in Taiwan and in the home PC market for specialty graphics and audio chips. The announcement was made after the markets closed. Earlier, Cirrus shares fell 75 cents, to $26.875, in Nasdaq trading. Yesterday's forecast was for revenue of $290 million to $300 million, a decline from $318 million in the second quarter. In November, the company said revenue would grow 3 to 5 percent in this quarter.
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COMPANY NEWS;CONSOLIDATED TECHNOLOGY TO MERGE WITH LEHIGH GROUP
Date: 27 December 1995
Dow Jones
Dow Jones
Consolidated Technology Group Ltd. said yesterday that it had agreed in principle to merge with Lehigh Group Inc. in a stock swap. Lehigh, a distributor of electrical supplies based in New York, said Consolidated shareholders would own about 75 percent of the combined company after the merger. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. A spokesman for Lehigh said the company had about 10.3 million shares outstanding, and that Consolidated Technology had about 24 million shares outstanding. Each company also has warrants that will be exercised before the merger and will affect the mix of outstanding shares. Consolidated Technology, based in Toronto, provides engineering, medical diagnostics and other services.
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FILM REVIEW;A Time Traveler With Bad News
Date: 27 December 1995
By Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
Psychiatric patient claims to be time traveler. Evocative Gilliam nightmare.
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World News Briefs;Pakistan Accuses Afghan in Bombing
Date: 27 December 1995
AP
The police accused an Afghan today of planting the car bomb that killed 31 people in a busy marketplace in Peshawar last week. The police said the suspect, Abdul Matin, was working for the Afghan Government.
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