Sun, Quantum Corp. settle StorageTek-filed patent suit
Sun Microsystems Inc. has reached a settlement with Quantum Corp. on the eve of a patent-infringement trial in which it planned to seek $109 million in damages.
The companies informed the U.S. District Court in Denver on Monday morning that they had reached a settlement, averting a trial scheduled to have begun Monday.
The suit was filed in 2003 by Louisville-based Storage Technology Corp., which was acquired last year by Sun Microsystems, based in Santa Clara, Calif.
StorageTek claimed that San Jose, Calif.-based Quantum infringed on patents on technology allowing information to be saved and read on the backside of data-storage tapes. Sun said in filings in December that Quantum owed it $109 million.
StorageTek lost a preliminary round in the case last May when a judge ruled that Quantum could sell its tapes and drives as the case proceeded.
Terms of the settlement were not available. Representatives of both companies did not return calls Monday.
DENVER
Janus management pulls buyout plan
A management-buyout plan of Janus Capital Group Inc. has been pulled because it became too expensive, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The stock of Janus closed at $22.18 Monday, down 9 cents.
Last fall, investors cheered reports that insiders at Janus were considering buying the company.
BROOMFIELD
Ball to buy 3 plants from Alcan Inc.
Packaging products supplier Ball Corp. said Monday that it plans to purchase three manufacturing plants and other assets from Alcan Inc. for $180 million in cash.
R. David Hoover, Ball chairman, president and chief executive officer, said the acquisition will complement the company’s existing operations and offer technology opportunities. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter.
DOUGLAS COUNTY
CH2M Hill unit settles case in Connecticut
A subsidiary of Douglas County-based CH2M Hill has agreed to pay $2 million toward community projects in Connecticut to settle an allegation it didn’t comply with requirements of the Clean Water Act at two wastewater treatment facilities.
The company also has agreed to improve its compliance procedures at the treatment plants, CH2M Hill said in a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
HOUSTON
Accountant testifies of raided Enron fund
The former top accountant for Enron Corp.’s profitable trading division said Monday that he improperly raided reserves to increase earnings in mid-2000 when he got word that chief executive Jeffrey Skilling and others wanted results that would wow Wall Street.
Wesley H. Colwell kicked off the fifth week of the fraud and conspiracy trial of Skilling and Enron founder Kenneth Lay, telling jurors he helped manipulate earnings to meet or beat analysts’ expectations.
DENVER
Qwest weighs buying nonphone company
Qwest chief executive Richard Notebaert raised the prospect of buying a company outside the traditional phone industry. The Denver-based phone company could theoretically buy a company that offers information technology services, Notebaert said Monday at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in New York.
GOLDEN
Biggest investor sells Health Grades stock
Health Grades Inc. announced Monday that its largest stockholder, Essex Woodlands Health Ventures IV, LP sold 4,136,802 shares of its common stock for $6.05 per share, more than $25 million.
The shares were sold to several institutional investors. MDB Capital Group LLC acted in a dual agency capacity in the sale.
DENVER
Season to Share sets fundraising record
Post-News Season to Share, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, raised $1.2 million during the 2005-2006 campaign, breaking its fundraising records.
The donations from 6,439 donors will be matched with $500,000 from the foundation. Grants totaling more than $1.7 million will be announced in April.
NEW YORK
Consumer advocate sells phone company
Consumer advocate Tom Martino is selling his phone company. New York-based eLEC Communications said Monday that it will buy Liberty Bell Telecom in Colorado as part of a bid to roll out Internet call service across the country. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Liberty Bell Telecom made revenues of $5 million in 2005, which included $150,000 in profit, the company said. On the company’s website, Martino said he started the local and long-distance telephone company in July 2003 to give Colorado customers an alternative to Qwest.
CHICAGO
United seeks partner in Latin America
United Airlines is applying for approval of a “codeshare” marketing agreement with TACA Group, an airline with hubs in San Salvador, El Salvador; Lima, Peru; and San Jose, Costa Rica.
United said the deal would allow its customers to fly and earn miles to more Central and South American cities.
SAN FRANCISCO
Net search engine jettisons “Jeeves”
After spending the last decade building its brand around a cartoon character named Jeeves, Ask.com wants everyone to forget the dainty butler and remember its Internet search engine as the next best thing to Google.
To make its point, Ask.com (formerly known as Askjeeves.com) is jettisoning Jeeves as its corporate mascot and unveiling a retooled website. The makeover, which will be supported by an advertising blitz, begins in mid-March.
WASHINGTON
T-bill auction brings $40 billion for agency
The Treasury Department auctioned $21 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 4.510 percent, and another $19 billion in six-month bills at a rate of 4.580 percent.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,886.00, while a six-month bill sold for $9,768.46.
