Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Friday, March 21, 1997
The Kapalua Bay Hotel on Maui is schedule to close April 1 for an extensive restoration and to reopen in the fall. Kapalua Bay Hotel
closing for renovationsWork on the 194-room hotel will include the guest rooms, public areas, and hotel surroundings, said Robert C. Oda, senior vice president of the Halekulani Corp. which manages the hotel for the owners, New York-based Yarmouth Group Inc.
"The focus will be on the guest rooms and making them contemporary," Oda said. The company also plans to improve the arrival area and reduce some landscaping to open up ocean views. Oda said the restoration will have a multimillion-dollar cost but he did not have an exact figure.
ORANGE, Calif. -- Bergen Brunswig Corp. has terminated its agreement to buy drug-maker Ivax Corp. and said it would file a lawsuit accusing Ivax of breaching the terms of the deal, according to Bloomberg News. Bergen Brunswig kills deal
to buy drugmakerIvax said Bergen Brunswig had terminated the agreement "without good cause."
Orange, Calif.-based Bergen Brunswig, the No. 2 U.S. supplier to drugstores, hospitals and managed-care networks, said in November that it planned to buy Miami-based Ivax for $1.6 billion in stock, adding a vast line of generic drugs to sell through its distribution network. Shares of both companies fell that day as some Bergen Brunswig holders questioned the wisdom of acquiring the money-losing drugmaker.
NEWARK, N.J. -- Lawyers for policyholders who won a possible $2 billion fraud settlement against Prudential Insurance Co. of America were awarded legal fees of at least $45 million, and possibly up to $90 million. Judge OKs lawyers' fees
for Prudential plaintiffsU.S. District Judge Alfred M. Wolin said the award structure is "unique." But he said it is fair because it is based on how many policyholders participate in the remediation program. The more policyholders who file claims, the more their lawyers get paid.
Lawyers at 25 firms had requested $90 million in fees. Newark-based Prudential, which admitted that its agents committed fraudulent sales practices, had not opposed that figure.
Plaintiffs' attorney Melvin Weiss yesterday said he was "somewhat disappointed" that the entire request was not immediately awarded, noting the attorneys will get no additional fees for defending the settlement against expected appeals and overseeing the claims process.
NEW YORK -- Barbie-maker Mattel Inc. today won Federal Trade Commission approval for its $755 million acquisition of Tickle Me Elmo manufacturer Tyco Toys Inc., bolstering Mattel's domination in the industry. Mattel to lay off 2,700
after Tyco Toys mergerAbout 2,700 jobs will be lost as a result of the merger, Mattel said in announcing yesterday it had received FTC clearance. That's almost 10 percent of the combined work force of 28,000. The restructuring associated with the acquisition will reduce Mattel's earnings by about $275 million in the first quarter. The FTC action was the final hurdle for completing the deal, which is expected to close by March 31.
WASHINGTON -- The federal budget deficit swelled to $44 billion in February, putting red ink for the first five months of the fiscal year 12 percent ahead of the same period in 1996. Federal deficit grew
to $44 billion in Feb.February's imbalance followed two monthly surpluses and brought the deficit since the Oct. 1 start of fiscal 1997 to $90 billion, the Treasury Department said today. The deficit hit a record high of $290.4 billion in fiscal 1992 and then dropped in each of the succeeding years, hitting $107 billion, a 17-year low, in 1996.
Even though the annual deficit has declined, it still adds each year to the national debt, now $5.28 trillion.