December 24, 2016 at 5:15 a.m.
Walgreen merger gets closer
Business Roundup
The huge merger between Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. is a step closer this week.
To satisfy the Federal Trade Commission, the companies agreed to sell 865 Rite Aid stores to a regional drugstore chain known as Fred’s Inc.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that after the sale the merged Walgreens will have just under 12,000 stores.
“Fred’s has secured $1.65 billion in borrowings to fund the all-cash, $950 million purchase plus ongoing operating costs. It has pledged nearly all its assets as collateral for the loans, including prescription files, real estate and furnishings, according to a regulatory filing. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which advised Walgreens on the transaction, is also one of the banks leading the financing package for Fred’s,” The Journal reported.
Memphis-based Fred’s, which had been losing money and had been closing stores, will more than double as a result of the deal.
Even with the sale, the FTC has not yet made its final decision on approval of the merger.
Income up
MainSource Financial Group, parent company of MainSource Bank, reported third quarter earnings of $11.7 million, up from $9.1 million in the same period a year ago.
The company’s board approved an increase in dividends from 15 cents to 16 cents per share.
“Due to persistent and historic low interest rates, sluggish loan demand, and increased regulations, the operating environment for our industry continues to be challenging,” chairman Archie M. Brown Jr. told stockholders.
Jobs cut
Ardagh Group is temporarily cutting 150 jobs at its glass bottle plant in Wilson, N.C., Triangle Business News reported this week. The company, parent of glass container plants in Dunkirk and Winchester, issued a Workforce Adjustment and Retraining Notification that said it is shutting down one of its two furnaces in Wilson for repairs.
Originally, the shutdown was expected to extend until March, but the company now indicates the repairs to the furnace have been pushed back to 2018.
A press release from Ardagh said “softness in the mass market beer sector” was a factor in the decision. The Wilson plant normally employs 290, primarily making beer bottles.
Beer bottles are a primary product of the Dunkirk plant as well.
No to Cosmo
An anti-pornography group has announced that Marsh Supermarkets has agreed to keep Cosmopolitan magazine out of its checkout lanes.
“Cosmo has been placed behind other magazines that act as blinders so that children and adults alike will not be unintentionally exposed to this sexually toxic magazine. By doing this, Marsh Supermarkets has displayed exemplary corporate responsibility and commitment to the dignity and well-being of its customers,” said Dawn Hawkins of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
That organization was founded in 1962 as Morality in Media.
“What many people don’t realize is that Cosmopolitan is filled with explicit sexual material,” Hawkins said in a press release. “While it may not have many nude pictures, this publication has steadily declined from a somewhat inspirational women’s magazine to a verbally pornographic ‘how-to’ sex guide. It routinely encourages and instructs its young readership to engage in group, risky, and violent sex, and to actively seek out pornography. No child, or adult for that matter, should be forced to view this material while shopping for groceries. It’s time for other supermarkets to adopt Marsh's Cosmo-free checkout.”
Extra Value suit
A man in Des Plaines, Illinois, has filed suit against a company that owns more than 10 McDonalds restaurants in the Chicago area, claiming that the “Extra Value Meal” on the menu is 41 cents more expensive that the same food would be if ordered separately.
James Gertie has filed the suit against Karis Managment Company, according to Fortune.
“Each time, he was charged $5.90 for the meal. However, the suit claims that if he purchased them individually, he would have paid $2.50 for the two burgers, $1.99 for the fries and $1 for the drink — or about $0.41 less than the value deal,” Fortune reported.
Sweet bullet?
An Indianapolis woman reported to police this week that she had found a bullet in a box of chocolate cookies she purchased at a Family Dollar, Fox 59 reported.
Police found a hole in the box with a bullet that apparently had struck a hard object before being stuck in the bottom of the box.
Comcast loses
A failed merger deal in 1999 is going to cost Comcast $25 million in California taxes because of a ruling last week by a California appeals court.
The court upheld a lower-court’s ruling that when Comcast collected $1.5 billion as a “termination fee” when it was outbid by AT&T for Media One was money was taxable income.
It’s not clear whether Comcast will continue to with its legal challenge. California has been holding the $25 million in the meantime.
Shirts pulled
After a protest from the national Fraternal Order of Police, Walmart has agreed to stop selling shirts which say “Bulletproof” on them.
The FOP had also protested the sale of “Black Lives Matter” shirts. The items were being sold by Walmart online.
Walmart issued a statement saying, “Like other online retailers, we have a marketplace with millions of items offered by third parties that includes Blue Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter merchandise. After hearing concerns from customers, we are removing the specific item with the ‘bulletproof’ reference.”
Expanding
Tyson Foods Inc., parent company of Portland’s Tyson Mexican Original, this week announced plans to make major improvements at its Robards, Kentucky, poultry plant.
The $13.5 million project is expected to create 66 new jobs.
The improvements include two new production lines and new freezer equipment.
The state of Kentucky is providing tax incentives for the expansion. The state will also help with new and existing employee training programs.
To satisfy the Federal Trade Commission, the companies agreed to sell 865 Rite Aid stores to a regional drugstore chain known as Fred’s Inc.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that after the sale the merged Walgreens will have just under 12,000 stores.
“Fred’s has secured $1.65 billion in borrowings to fund the all-cash, $950 million purchase plus ongoing operating costs. It has pledged nearly all its assets as collateral for the loans, including prescription files, real estate and furnishings, according to a regulatory filing. Bank of America Merrill Lynch, which advised Walgreens on the transaction, is also one of the banks leading the financing package for Fred’s,” The Journal reported.
Memphis-based Fred’s, which had been losing money and had been closing stores, will more than double as a result of the deal.
Even with the sale, the FTC has not yet made its final decision on approval of the merger.
Income up
MainSource Financial Group, parent company of MainSource Bank, reported third quarter earnings of $11.7 million, up from $9.1 million in the same period a year ago.
The company’s board approved an increase in dividends from 15 cents to 16 cents per share.
“Due to persistent and historic low interest rates, sluggish loan demand, and increased regulations, the operating environment for our industry continues to be challenging,” chairman Archie M. Brown Jr. told stockholders.
Jobs cut
Ardagh Group is temporarily cutting 150 jobs at its glass bottle plant in Wilson, N.C., Triangle Business News reported this week. The company, parent of glass container plants in Dunkirk and Winchester, issued a Workforce Adjustment and Retraining Notification that said it is shutting down one of its two furnaces in Wilson for repairs.
Originally, the shutdown was expected to extend until March, but the company now indicates the repairs to the furnace have been pushed back to 2018.
A press release from Ardagh said “softness in the mass market beer sector” was a factor in the decision. The Wilson plant normally employs 290, primarily making beer bottles.
Beer bottles are a primary product of the Dunkirk plant as well.
No to Cosmo
An anti-pornography group has announced that Marsh Supermarkets has agreed to keep Cosmopolitan magazine out of its checkout lanes.
“Cosmo has been placed behind other magazines that act as blinders so that children and adults alike will not be unintentionally exposed to this sexually toxic magazine. By doing this, Marsh Supermarkets has displayed exemplary corporate responsibility and commitment to the dignity and well-being of its customers,” said Dawn Hawkins of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation.
That organization was founded in 1962 as Morality in Media.
“What many people don’t realize is that Cosmopolitan is filled with explicit sexual material,” Hawkins said in a press release. “While it may not have many nude pictures, this publication has steadily declined from a somewhat inspirational women’s magazine to a verbally pornographic ‘how-to’ sex guide. It routinely encourages and instructs its young readership to engage in group, risky, and violent sex, and to actively seek out pornography. No child, or adult for that matter, should be forced to view this material while shopping for groceries. It’s time for other supermarkets to adopt Marsh's Cosmo-free checkout.”
Extra Value suit
A man in Des Plaines, Illinois, has filed suit against a company that owns more than 10 McDonalds restaurants in the Chicago area, claiming that the “Extra Value Meal” on the menu is 41 cents more expensive that the same food would be if ordered separately.
James Gertie has filed the suit against Karis Managment Company, according to Fortune.
“Each time, he was charged $5.90 for the meal. However, the suit claims that if he purchased them individually, he would have paid $2.50 for the two burgers, $1.99 for the fries and $1 for the drink — or about $0.41 less than the value deal,” Fortune reported.
Sweet bullet?
An Indianapolis woman reported to police this week that she had found a bullet in a box of chocolate cookies she purchased at a Family Dollar, Fox 59 reported.
Police found a hole in the box with a bullet that apparently had struck a hard object before being stuck in the bottom of the box.
Comcast loses
A failed merger deal in 1999 is going to cost Comcast $25 million in California taxes because of a ruling last week by a California appeals court.
The court upheld a lower-court’s ruling that when Comcast collected $1.5 billion as a “termination fee” when it was outbid by AT&T for Media One was money was taxable income.
It’s not clear whether Comcast will continue to with its legal challenge. California has been holding the $25 million in the meantime.
Shirts pulled
After a protest from the national Fraternal Order of Police, Walmart has agreed to stop selling shirts which say “Bulletproof” on them.
The FOP had also protested the sale of “Black Lives Matter” shirts. The items were being sold by Walmart online.
Walmart issued a statement saying, “Like other online retailers, we have a marketplace with millions of items offered by third parties that includes Blue Lives Matter, Black Lives Matter and All Lives Matter merchandise. After hearing concerns from customers, we are removing the specific item with the ‘bulletproof’ reference.”
Expanding
Tyson Foods Inc., parent company of Portland’s Tyson Mexican Original, this week announced plans to make major improvements at its Robards, Kentucky, poultry plant.
The $13.5 million project is expected to create 66 new jobs.
The improvements include two new production lines and new freezer equipment.
The state of Kentucky is providing tax incentives for the expansion. The state will also help with new and existing employee training programs.
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