DIA hopes to lure retail to serve Pena Blvd. traffic
They call it “The Pena Project,” but it’s not one of those spy novels destined to be a blockbuster movie.
Instead, it is Denver International Airport’s plan to generate more retail business on Pena Boulevard for consumers traveling to and from the nation’s fifth-busiest airport.
So far, there’s only the Conoco gas station and convenience store on Pena just west of the airport’s rental car area.
On Monday, DIA officials said they want to gauge the interest of retail developers who might build a shopping complex with “food, beverage, merchandise, banking and other services” on 10 acres on the north side of Pena Boulevard just southeast of the Conoco site.
Airport officials have scheduled a meeting on Oct. 4 for developers and prospective retail tenants “to solicit feedback about how best to make this a highly successful and distinctive project.”
DENVER
Molson Coors to sell notes to repay debt
Molson Coors Brewing Co. said Monday that it plans to sell senior notes due in 2010 and 2015 in a private placement transaction this month. The company, which has U.S. headquarters in Denver, will use the proceeds to repay about $1 billion of debt.
The company said its Molson Coors Capital Finance ULC subsidiary will sell most of the notes in Canada to accredited investors and sell some in the United States to qualified institutional buyers.
Molson Coors Brewing will use the proceeds to repay debt under a credit line in which Molson Coors Brewing, Coors Brewing and Molson Coors Capital Finance are borrowers.
ENGLEWOOD
HealthTrio sues its ex-CEO over spending
An Englewood health-care company backed by Colorado businessman Malik Hasan has sued its former chief executive, claiming he took more than $1 million from the company “to support his lavish lifestyle.”
HealthTrio Inc. alleges that Ralph A. Korpman of Nashville, Tenn., expensed charges from his personal credit card to the company from 2000 to 2005. Those charges included flights, hotels, rental cars and restaurants during “dozens” of trips to visit his girlfriend in Iowa, according to a civil complaint filed Monday by HealthTrio in U.S. District Court in Denver.
The company also said Korpman failed to pay payroll and employment taxes, costing the company an additional $325,000. Korp man could not be reached for comment Monday evening.
REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.
Oracle chief to settle suit with charity gifts
Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison has agreed to donate $100 million to charities to settle a lawsuit revolving around a $900 million gain that he made by selling some of his company stock after the dot-com bust.
The settlement, confirmed Monday by the company and an attorney who filed the suit, still requires the approval of San Mateo County Superior Court Judge John Schwartz. A hearing was scheduled for Sept. 26.
DENVER
MarkWest may regain stock exchange’s favor
MarkWest Hydrocarbon Inc. announced Monday that the American Stock Exchange has accepted the company’s plan to regain compliance with the exchange. MarkWest, which gathers, transmits and stores crude oil and natural gas, had failed “to timely file certain” documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Denver-based MarkWest will continue to be listed on the exchange but has until Oct. 15 to meet the listing requirements, according to the filing.
CINCINNATI
Scripps’ revenue falls for its newspapers
E.W. Scripps Co. said revenue in its cable networks division, including the Food Network and Home & Garden Television, rose 31 percent to $69.3 million in August while newspaper revenue fell 3.8 percent to $56.6 million.
Advertising on the cable channels jumped 32 percent last month, while carriage fees paid by cable-system operators rose 27 percent, the company said. Local advertising at its newspapers, including the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, slumped 5.2 percent to $12 million, while sales from classifieds declined 2.1 percent to $18.5 million.
CHICAGO
Northwest strike called strong despite hirings
The leader of striking mechanics at Northwest Airlines said Monday he isn’t worried that the hiring of permanent replacement employees will scare his members into going back to work.
The carrier said it would begin hiring replacements today, but that has only strengthened the mechanics’ resolve, said O.V. Delle-Femine, president of the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Organization.
AURORA
Renovated mall will have new name, too
The Aurora Mall will change its name to Town Center at Aurora. The mall, undergoing a $100 million renovation, will host a grand reopening Nov. 11 through 13. New exterior signs will go up later this month, according to mall owner Simon Property Group.
PARIS
Hewlett-Packard to shed 5,900 jobs
Hewlett-Packard Co. is cutting 5,900 jobs in Europe as part of its global restructuring plan announced in July, the maker of computers and printers announced Monday.
HP did not say how many of the cuts would be voluntary or give a breakdown of the number of jobs to be shed in each country. HP’s European spokeswoman, Anette Nachbar, said the company was under a legal obligation in many countries to inform workers’ representatives before announcing the cuts.
LAS VEGAS
Appeals court lets loss of patents stand
A federal appeals court has upheld a ruling that invalidated key patents – for the bar code scanner and industrial robotic vision – of the late Jerome Lemelson, one of America’s most prolific and controversial inventors.
The court affirmed that 14 of Lemelson’s critical patents were unenforceable in a case brought by companies including Cognex Corp., the world’s largest maker of machine vision, and Symbol Technologies Inc., which makes bar code scanners.
WASHINGTON
T-bills auctioned at higher discount rates
The Treasury Department auctioned $17 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 3.450 percent, up from 3.435 percent last week. Another $15 billion in six-month bills was auctioned at a discount rate of 3.670 percent, up from 3.570 percent last week.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the price for a three-month bill was $9,912.79 while a six-month bill sold for $9,814.46.
