Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Friday, September 24, 1999
A&B acquires mall in Phoenix suburb
Alexander & Baldwin Inc. acquired a shopping center in a suburb of Phoenix, Ariz., in a transaction that closed today for an undisclosed price. The 133,600-square-foot Mesa South Center is on an 18-acre parcel in east Phoenix. Built in 1981, it is 94 percent occupied, A&B said. The seller was Prudential Savings Bank, F.S.B.
It was A&B's second deal in the Phoenix area, after acquiring an office building there in October. A&B said it now owns a total of 3.9 million square feet of leasable retail, office and industrial space in Hawaii and on the mainland.
NetZero stock debut soars on Wall Street
WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- NetZero Inc., which gives people free Internet access in exchange for agreeing to see online advertising, rose as much as 82 percent in its first day of trading.The Westlake Village, Calif.-based company rose $13.12 to close at $26.25 as 19.46 million shares were exchanged in Nasdaq trading. Th closing price gives the company a market value of $3.04 billion. The shares reached $29.50 earlier in the day. NetZero's free service is seen by some as a challenge to the revenue model of giants such as America Online Inc., the top U.S. online service, whose subscribers pay a $21.95 monthly charge.
London-based bank rejects hostile bid
LONDON -- Bank of Scotland Plc today launched a hostile $34.3 billion takeover bid for the larger National Westminster Bank Plc, which NatWest quickly rejected as inadequate.The proposed takeover would be the largest in British banking history.
Bank of Scotland said it intended to preserve London-based NatWest's separate identity, but that it would sell noncore businesses and return cash to shareholders.
Bank of Scotland said it expected the combined banks to be profitable from the start.
The Bank of Scotland's offer values NatWest at about $20.55 a share, representing a 20 percent premium over the closing price yesterday.