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Business Briefs

Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire

Friday, November 10, 2000

Cisco acquiring Active Voice Corp.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Cisco Systems Inc., the world's largest maker of Internet networking equipment, said today it agreed to acquire Active Voice Corp. for $296 million in stock to add messaging software to its line of products.

Active Voice, based in Seattle, develops software that allows users to receive e-mail, voice and fax messages over the phone or the Internet in a single mailbox. The company had $74.4 million in sales in its fiscal year ended in March. San Jose Calif.-based Cisco, which had $18.9 billion in sales in its fiscal year ended in July, said it expects to complete the deal by the end of January. It also said it will take a charge of 2 cents a share in its fiscal second quarter for the deal.

Airlines expecting record Thanksgiving

WASHINGTON -- The trade group of U.S. airlines said it is expecting a record-setting Thanksgiving travel period.

"The Sunday after Thanksgiving will likely be the busiest day in aviation history," Diana Cronan, a spokeswoman for the Air Transport Association, said yesterday.

On Sunday, Nov. 26, more than 2.2 million people are expected to occupy more than 85 percent of seats, the association said. Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 23, is expected to be the least busy day of the period.

Recall to cost Firestone more

TOKYO -- Sales of Firestone replacement tires for cars and light trucks fell about 40 percent in the United States in September and October compared with a year earlier, the president of Bridgestone Corp. said today. The sales decline followed a massive recall of Firestone tires begun in August by its U.S. subsidiary, Bridgestone/Firestone, because of crashes in which its tires are under investigation. Bridgestone president Yoichiro Kaizaki also told reporters the company had raised the expected cost of the recall by nearly 29 percent.

"Roughly speaking, we now expect recall costs to reach about $450 million, compared with our earlier estimate of $350 million," Kaizaki said.