|
|
| |
| Fri, Nov. 21, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
Verizon to buy Alltel for $28.1 billion Sunday, Jun 8, 2008 By Roby Brock In a surprise move, Verizon Wireless and Alltel Corp. announced a $28.1 billion deal that will create the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. Little Rock-based Alltel's 13.2 million subscribers will vault Verizon Wireless past AT&T as the nation's largest mobile phone company with more than 80 million customers and revenues of nearly $33 billion annually. In May 2007, Alltel announced a $27.5 billion private equity buyout by TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs Partners. The go-private transaction preserved Alltel's corporate headquarters in Little Rock and most of its 3,200 Arkansas jobs. The Verizon sale will jeopardize some jobs, admitted Alltel CEO Scott Ford, but employees' fate will not be known until a transition process is completed later this year. Federal regulators must approve the sale. Alltel serves 57 primarily rural markets where Verizon Wireless does not currently operate. The companies have agreed on a break-up fee of about $500 million if the deal falls apart. Wal-Mart sales rise in May On the eve of its annual shareholders' meeting, Wal-Mart reported that its May same-store sales rose 3.9 percent. Officials say that demand for items such as groceries, medicines, flat-panel televisions and computers drove the increase. Net sales for Wal-Mart climbed 9.8 percent in May to $31.04 billion. The world's largest retailer said that for June, it expects U.S. same-store sales to rise 2 percent to 4 percent. Bentonville-based Wal-Mart said its home products unit showed the first same-store sales increase in more than two years. It also said it was seeing some benefits from economic stimulus checks. Dillard's monthly sales drop Little Rock-based Dillard's reported a 7 percent drop in same-store sales in May, while overall sales tumbled 5 percent. The mall retailer's May sales topped $499.6 million compared to sales of $527.9 million one year ago. During the four weeks ended May 31, Dillard's said sales of cosmetics and shoes were significantly above trend while sales in the home and furniture category were significantly below trend. Peterson Farms selling operations to Simmons Foods Peterson Farms is in negotiations to sell its broiler operations to Simmons Foods by July. Officials of Peterson's, based in Decatur, said "rising poultry business costs led to the decision. Peterson's broiler operation includes egg hatcheries, a feed mill, a poultry processing facility and independent contracts with a large number of local independent farmers. Peterson and Simmons are both family-owned businesses. The combination of the two firms would move Siloam Springs-based Simmons into the top 10 largest chicken processors in the country. Hallmark to cut 80 jobs in Siloam Springs Hallmark Cards plans to consolidate its greeting card manufacturing operations and will eliminate 335 jobs in the U.S. and Canada over the next nine months, including 80 jobs in Siloam Springs. The company will begin phasing out greeting card manufacturing at its DaySpring Cards plant in Siloam Springs in September, and at its Sunrise Greetings plant in Bloomington, Ind. A plant in Toronto will shut down completely. Hallmark acquired DaySpring Cards in 1999. Fort Smith nursing home chain to sell Arkansas properties Golden Living, formerly Beverly Enterprises, may soon sell 13 skilled nursing homes and one assisted-living facility in Arkansas if a pending deal closes. If the purchase does go through, it will not affect the Golden Living headquarters office in Fort Smith. The potential buyer's name was not disclosed. Golden Living owns and operates 329 nursing homes in 22 states. It employs nearly 600 workers in Arkansas and over 36,000 nationwide. Swedish company coming to Fayetteville Demolition & Asbestos Removal and Recycling, a Swedish company, announced that it is establishing operations in Northwest Arkansas and will hire 25 people. According to company leaders, the firm will hire about six people in year one, another eight in year two and 10-12 in year three. The 15-year old environmental group says the U.S. market is huge. Landing the company was a collaboration between Fayetteville economic leaders and Swedish commerce officials. First Arkansas Bank buys four branches from M&P Jacksonville-based First Arkansas Bancshares has purchased the Heber Springs-based subsidiary of M&P Community Bancshares of Newport known as Greers Ferry Lake State Bank. The sale involves two locations in Heber Springs, one in Greers Ferry and one in Clinton. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The purchase is subject to the approval of bank regulatory authorities and should close in 90 days. Russelleville lands call center N.E.W. Customer Service Companies, based in Sterling, Va., will open a 30,000 sq. ft. facility in Russellville employing 250 workers. The facility will be N.E.W.'s ninth contact center. It is set to open in early August and will field in-bound consumer calls for two of the company's largest clients, Wal-Mart and Sam's Club. ------- Roby Brock, a freelance journalist based in Little Rock, writes weekly for the Arkansas News Bureau. His weekly television program airs at 10 p.m. Sundays in Central and Northwest Arkansas. His e-mail address is roby@talkbusiness.net; his Web site address is www.talkbusiness.net. |
