Auto device means lenders get dough or you don’t go
Limerick, Pa. – Rashida Redd punched in a six-digit code in her Pontiac Grand Prix and got a new lease on life.
The 34-year-old Pottstown mother of five had to file for personal bankruptcy about a year ago in the face of mounting medical bills from her husband’s open-heart surgery. Despite her poor credit history, Redd was able to lease the 3-year-old car from Williams Pre-Owned of Limerick on the condition that it have a starter-interrupt device.
“At least I was able to save the house,” said Redd.
The device, the size of a cigarette pack and mounted under the dashboard, flashes green if she has made a car payment on time. If she misses her $94 weekly payment, it won’t let her car start.
Starter-interrupt devices are becoming a popular way for lenders to ensure they get paid, and consumers seem willing to accept them to get into nicer cars, use a smaller down payment and qualify for a lower interest rate, according to device manufacturers.
Redd’s car is equipped with a device made by Payment Protection Systems Inc. of Temecula, Calif. It’s one of three manufacturers that dominate the market – the others are PassTime in Littleton and Pay Technologies of Cleveland.
DENVER
Analyst: Merger likely if Frontier fails to act
An airline analyst said in a research report Monday that Frontier Airlines could become a merger or acquisition target if it does not meet challenges, including a more aggressive United Airlines in Denver and Southwest Airlines’ growing presence.
Southwest plans to take on a fourth gate at Denver International Airport in August.
“We believe this is very aggressive and will further pressure Frontier,” wrote Calyon Securities analyst Ray Neidl. “If these challenges cannot be met, we believe Frontier could be a prime candidate for a merger or to be acquired.”
Frontier had no comment.
SAN DIEGO
PEC Minerals buying Sempra subsidiary
Sempra Generation, a unit of San Diego-based Sempra Energy, said Monday it has agreed to sell its exploration and production subsidiary, Sempra Energy Production Co., to PEC Minerals LP for about $225 million in cash.
Sempra Energy expects to record an after-tax gain of about $110 million on the sale as part of discontinued operations.
Denver-based Petrie Parkman & Co. advised Sempra Energy in the transaction.
TORONTO
Canadian tycoon Thomson dies at 82
Kenneth Thomson, the former chairman of Thomson Corp., who became Canada’s richest man by turning a chain of newspapers into one of the world’s biggest distributors of financial data, died at his Toronto office Monday morning. He was 82.
Thomson died of an apparent heart attack.
He was chairman of Thomson Corp., the owner of Westlaw legal research and First Call financial data, from 1978 until his retirement in 2002, when his eldest son, David, succeeded him.
Thomson remained on the company’s board and was chairman of Woodbridge Co. Ltd., the family holding company.
LONG BEACH, Calif.
Pacific Energy Partners acquired
Oil transport and storage operator Pacific Energy Partners LP said Monday that it has agreed to be acquired by Houston- based Plains All American Pipeline LP for about $2.4 billion in cash, stock and debt.
The deal is expected to yield $30 million in near-term cost savings and revenue growth, increasing to $55 million over the next few years, Plains said.
Pacific Energy Partners, headquartered in Long Beach, Calif., formerly was majority owned by Denver investor Philip Anschutz until he sold his stake last year.
Pacific operates pipelines in Colorado, other Rocky Mountain states, California, Pennsylvania and Alberta, Canada.
DENVER
Post website follows “Real World” doings
The Denver Post has a new website where fans of MTV’s “The Real World” can follow the antics of the reality show’s cast and production crew, who are currently filming the upcoming season in LoDo.
The interactive, multimedia website can be found at www.getrealdenver.com.
“‘Real World’ coming to Denver offered us a chance to connect in a fun way with a younger demographic,” said Denver Post editor Greg Moore. “The show will have a presence around town, and to be disconnected from it seemed a missed opportunity.”
COLORADO SPRINGS
Foreclosure rate ranks 13th-highest
The home-foreclosure rate in Colorado Springs was the 13th highest in 100 metropolitan cities nationwide during the first quarter, with one for every 155 households, according Realty- Trac research service.
The city is on pace to have more than 2,500 foreclosures this year, compared with 2,289 last year, The Gazette reported Monday.
The record was 3,476 foreclosures in 1988, according to the El Paso County public trustee’s office, which handles foreclosures.
GREELEY
Ex-Tribune editor to lead online effort
Former Greeley Tribune editor Chris Cobler has been tapped to lead new online initiatives for the newspaper’s owner, the Greeley Publishing Co., and its parent, Swift Communications Inc.
Reno, Nev.-based Swift owns the Tribune and 28 other newspapers throughout the West.
Its subsidiaries include Colorado Mountain News Media, which operates daily newspapers in Frisco, Vail, Glenwood Springs, Aspen and Grand Junction, as well was several weeklies.
WALNUT CREEK, Calif.
MediaNews chief expands Calif. role
William Dean Singleton, chief executive of Denver-based ap Inc., took a bigger role in his company’s San Francisco Bay Area operations as it prepared to acquire the Contra Costa Times, Monterey County Herald and San Jose Mercury News.
Singleton, 54, has become chief executive of the Alameda Newspaper Group, a Media News subsidiary that includes the Oakland Tribune and other Bay Area newspapers, the company said. MediaNews also owns The Denver Post.
Singleton, who has served as ANG’s chairman for 21 years, replaced Fred Mott, 58, who left the company after serving as its president, publisher and CEO.
