Anschutz eyed as possible Hallmark Channel suitor
Crown Media said in August it was looking into strategic alternatives for the Hallmark Channel, and on Monday the name of Denver financier Philip Anschutz surfaced as a possible suitor.
Trade magazine MultiChannel News listed Anschutz along with Time Warner Inc., Viacom Inc., News Corp. and Comcast Corp. as possible interested parties. Hallmark’s distribution is at 71 million homes, and the network ranked in the top 10 in terms of total-day ratings in the third quarter.
Anschutz’s name has been bandied about because of his interest in family entertainment. But spokesman Jim Monaghan said an Anschutz acquisition is unlikely: “I would not put much stock on those speculations. It’s not something the company has been actively pursuing.”
Anschutz’s film-production company, Walden Media, co-produced “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” with Disney, a $150 million project opening in December.
DENVER
KRG completes sale of Tensar to Arcapita
Denver’s KRG Capital Partners, one of the state’s largest leveraged-buyout firms, has completed the previously announced sale of the Tensar Corp. to Arcapita Inc., an Atlanta-based private-equity firm, for about $385 million.
Tensar, also based in Atlanta, provides “geogrid” site-development products that help builders and contractors make grade changes in earth works.
DENVER
Colorado part of case against drugmakers
Colorado, 20 other states and the District of Columbia have filed a civil law-enforcement action against drug companies Warner Chilcott Corp. and Barr Pharmaceuticals, Colorado Attorney General John Suthers said Monday.
The suit charges the companies with antitrust violations that have prevented generic versions of Ovcon, a prescription oral contraceptive, from reaching the marketplace. The civil complaint was filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and was filed in conjunction with a similar lawsuit filed Monday by the Federal Trade Commission.
DENVER
DIA says September was its busiest ever
Denver International Airport had its busiest September ever, with more than 3.4 million passengers using the airport in the month.
That’s up 4.4 percent over the same month last year. For the year through September, nearly 33 million passengers passed through DIA, up 2.5 percent from the same period in 2004.
LONGMONT
DigitalGlobe appoints Smith to helm
Longmont-based satellite-imaging company DigitalGlobe said Monday it has appointed technology veteran Jill Smith president and chief executive.
Smith was previously president and CEO of software firm eDial. Prior to that, Smith served as chief operating officer for Micron Electronics, a computer manufacturer. Former DigitalGlobe CEO Herb Satterlee will continue as chairman.
DENVER
Frontier’s planes flew less full in October
Frontier Airlines said its planes were 71.9 percent full on average in October, down from 73.2 percent in the same month last year. It’s the carrier’s first year-over- year decline since 2004.
Capacity, or available seat miles, was up 9.3 percent, while traffic, or revenue passenger miles, was up 7.4 percent. Passenger yield, a measure of financial performance, was up 6.4 percent.
NEW YORK
Flying leaves travelers feeling let down
Travelers are disappointed with their air-travel experiences, according to Zagat Survey. The company surveyed 5,277 travelers and travel professionals and said the findings are the worst for the sector since Zagat began surveying it in 1990.
Denver-based Frontier was ranked No. 4 in the overall domestic rankings of U.S.-based airlines. United came in No. 15. No. 1 was Midwest Airlines.
COLORADO SPRINGS
FrontRange Solutions says all shares sold
FrontRange Solutions Inc., a global leader in service management and voice-application solutions, announced Friday that Francisco Partners, a private-equity fund, has agreed to acquire all of its outstanding shares in a transaction valued at approximately $200 million.
WASHINGTON
$10.5 million allocated for Golden energy lab
The National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden will receive $10.5 million for a new science and technology facility, Sen. Wayne Allard’s office announced Monday.
The allocation was part of the final version of the 2006 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, which was approved by a House-Senate conference committee Monday.
WASHINGTON
Grokster to close, pay millions to end claims
Grokster Ltd., which lost a Supreme Court fight over file-sharing software popular for copying songs and movies online, agreed Monday to shut down and pay $50 million to settle piracy complaints by Hollywood and the music industry.
The surprise settlement permanently bans Grokster from participating, directly or indirectly, in the theft of copyrighted files and requires the company to stop giving away its software, according to court papers.
WASHINGTON
Creditors back United in fight with Disney
United Airlines’ creditors have sided with the airline in its battle with the Walt Disney Co., saying the entertainment company’s bid to collect a debt could have a “staggering” effect on the airline’s other creditors.
The dispute, scheduled for a hearing next week before a bankruptcy judge in Chicago, involves tax benefits Disney asserted it lost when United scuttled an aircraft lease in 2003.
Disney said it’s entitled to full compensation from the airline. If the judge agrees, United and its creditors say, the airline could find itself on the hook for a total of $5.1 billion in similar claims.
NEW YORK
Treasury Dept. sells $36 billion in T-bills
The Treasury Department auctioned $19 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 3.870 percent and an additional $17 billion in six-month bills at a rate of 4.155 percent.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the price was $9,902.18 for a three-month bill; for a six-month bill, it was $9,789.94.
