Confidential info to EchoStar may cost
A U.S. judge said he might sanction a Loral Space & Communications Ltd. shareholder who shared confidential company information with competitor EchoStar Communications Corp.
EchoStar, based in Douglas County, is the second-biggest U.S. satellite-TV broadcaster.
Tony Christ, a member of a group of shareholders opposing Loral’s plan to exit bankruptcy, sent e-mail messages to EchoStar containing information on Loral’s financial condition and business plan after he signed a confidentiality agreement with the company. Christ apologized and said he made a mistake.
Loral, the third-biggest U.S. satellite maker, is seeking approval of a plan to exit bankruptcy by fully repaying suppliers and giving nothing to shareholders.
The New York-based company asked U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain to bar Christ from participating in hearings to consider approval of the plan and to hand down additional sanctions. Drain denied that request and said he may impose penalties that include monetary fines.
“I am very troubled by the release of information to a party that has only one role vis-a-vis Loral, that of a competitor,” Drain said last week at a hearing in New York. “I think that there may well be appropriate sanctions.”
First Data’s costs cut 2nd-quarter profit
First Data Corp., the world’s largest processor of credit- card payments, said second- quarter profit fell 16 percent as costs rose and the company earned less from processing checks.
Net income declined to $391.9 million, or 50 cents a share, from $466 million, or 53 cents, in the year-earlier period, the Greenwood Village- based company said Friday. Costs of services increased 9 percent to $1.4 billion, contributing to a second consecutive earnings decline.
First Data, which also owns the Western Union money- transfer business, completed its $7 billion purchase of Concord EFS Inc. last year, acquiring the largest U.S. automated teller-machine network. Costs from the integration of Concord are “almost behind us,” chairman and chief executive Charlie Fote said.
“The company had some headwinds, such as customer losses due to bank consolidation,” said Donald McArthur, an analyst at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Overland Park, Kan. “Integration costs with Concord are still a drag on earnings, but cost savings should start by the end of this year.” McArthur has a “market outperform” rating on the stock.
Shares of the company, which had dropped 3.3 percent this year before Friday, declined $1.01, or 2.5 percent, to $40.13 in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Aetna OK’d to buy HMS Healthcare
Aetna Inc. has received antitrust clearance from the Federal Trade Commission to buy HMS Healthcare, a closely held regional health-care network, for about $390 million.
The FTC said Friday it granted early termination Thursday of the waiting period required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act.
The acquisition is expected to strengthen Aetna’s presence in Michigan and Colorado, the two states in which HMS operates its business, Aetna said in a news release June 24.
HMS has about 400 employees, two-thirds based in Michigan and one-third located in Colorado.
Aetna intends to operate HMS as part of its business alliances group and intends to retain key management at HMS.
Health insurer Aetna is based in Hartford, Conn.
