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HAWAII

Bankruptcies jump ahead of new laws

Statewide bankruptcies soared 34.8 percent in May, with Hawaii residents appearing to be racing to beat new federal laws to take effect in October that will make it harder to walk away from debt.

The increase to 360 filings from 267 in the year-earlier period marked the second month in a row that there was a gain. In April, bankruptcy filings rose -- 318 vs. 317 a year earlier -- for the first time since July 2002.

In the first five months of this year, total bankruptcy filings were up 2.3 percent to 1,456 from 1,424 a year earlier.

Chapter 7 filings, which involve liquidation, jumped 42.4 percent to 326 from 229 last year. Chapter 13 filings, which allow a wage earner to pay creditors over three years, slipped 5.6 percent to 34 from 36.

Aston Waikiki bought and sold

The Tennessee-based owner of the local Aston hotel chain has bought the 716-room Aston Waikiki Beach Hotel for $107 million and sold an 80.1 percent interest in it to a private real estate fund.

The two deals, completed yesterday, leave Gaylord Entertainment Co. with a $5 million to $7 million gross investment in the hotel, the company said. Gaylord sold the Aston Waikiki interest to a fund managed by DB Real Estate Opportunities Group, a unit of Germany's Deutsche Bank AG.

Gaylord, owner of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tenn., and the ResortQuest hotel brand, will continue to manage the hotel under a new 20-year agreement.

Affordable housing gets tax credits

Two affordable housing projects are getting federal and state low-income-housing tax credits totaling $1.7 million, the state Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii announced yesterday.

"The awards show our commitment to public-private partnerships in an effort to meet the state's housing demands," agency Director Stephanie Aveiro said.

The nonprofit Pacific Housing Assistance Corp. will develop the Courtyards at Mililani Mauka on Oahu and the Courts on Lanai, the agency said.

Each will have 48 rental apartments featuring one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Both projects will be affordable for families making up to 60 percent of the area median income.

"We cannot achieve our common goal of providing more affordable housing opportunities for our residents on all islands without the collaboration of private-sector partnerships," Gov. Linda Lingle said. "These tax credits will help reduce the costs to the developers, and in turn bring down the rental rates for the families who will be moving into the apartments."

The combined development cost for the two projects is $18.4 million.

NATION

EBay is buying Shopping.com

SAN FRANCISCO >> EBay, the online marketplace, said yesterday it had agreed to buy Shopping.com, an online comparison shopping site, for $620 million.

The move comes amid a slowdown in eBay's revenue growth, especially in the United States, and is seen as a way for the company to increase traffic and sales on its site.

EBay said it would pay $21 a share for Shopping.com, or a 20 percent premium to its closing price of $17.44.

"We approached Shopping.com a few weeks ago, and the more we saw, the more we liked," said Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America.

Icahn revives bid for generic drug maker

NEW YORK >> Financier Carl Icahn and his High River LP affiliate said yesterday they are again proposing to acquire generic drug maker Mylan Laboratories Inc. for $20 a share, or more than $5 billion.

Icahn originally proposed to acquire Mylan in November, when he said that Mylan's proposed offer to buy King Pharmaceuticals Inc. was an "egregious mistake."

His offer was seen at the time as an effort to trigger an auction of the Pittsburgh-based company, in which he had taken a sizable stake.

In February, Mylan terminated its $4 billion agreement to buy King Pharmaceuticals, saying the companies couldn't agree on a revised deal.

The deal was put into jeopardy after King said it would restate earnings. The pact also faced increasing opposition from some of Mylan's shareholders, including Icahn, who believed the company was paying too much for King.

Delta renegotiates financing lifeline

ATLANTA >> Delta Air Lines has renegotiated terms of key financing deals that helped it avoid a Chapter 11 filing last fall but could have triggered a new financial crisis if the ailing airline failed to meet the original conditions.

Delta, struggling with continued huge losses and high fuel costs, said yesterday it signed deals with General Electric and American Express to lower earnings targets that were a condition of last fall's $1.1 billion in financing.

At the same time, the airline agreed to maintain cash reserves of $1 billion, up from $750 million under the original agreements. The new terms were disclosed in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.