Denver – Frontier Airlines is expected to announce it will fly from Denver to Baton Rouge, La., as the Baton Rouge Airport prepares to publicize new service, according to media reports from the area.
Frontier discontinued flights to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and chief executive Jeff Potter said in 2005 that the airline could fly to Baton Rouge or another city while it awaits a clearer picture of New Orleans’ future.
Frontier spokesman Joe Hodas wouldn’t confirm the Denver-Baton Rouge flight Tuesday.
Additional business news briefs:
ARAPAHOE COUNTY
Aviation Technology allies with Citigroup
Aviation Technology Group Inc., an Arapahoe County-based developer of very light jets, hired Citigroup Inc. to raise the $200 million it will use to help bring its aircraft to market.
The company is selling preferred shares to institutional investors through a private placement, according to a notice filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 10. Citigroup Global Markets Inc. began marketing shares to prospective investors in late March.
DENVER
Re/Max International to buy 2 independents
Denver-based Re/Max International will purchase the independently owned Re/Max of Florida and Re/Max Carolina in separate transactions.
Together, the two regions will represent an addition of 420 offices and more than 10,000 agents to the Re/Max-owned regional operations.
Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
BOZEMAN, Mont.
Bill Barrett to drill near Bridger Mtns.
Bill Barrett Corp. plans to drill exploratory wells near the northern end of the Bridger Mountains of Montana this summer.
The Denver-based company is hoping to find oil or natural gas in a basin about 7 miles north of Wilsall near U.S. 89, said Duane Zavadil, vice president of governmental and regulatory affairs.
DENVER
ProLogis weighing India expansion
ProLogis, the world’s largest owner and builder of distribution facilities, may expand into India, a country also being targeted by competitor AMB Property Corp., said ProLogis chief executive Jeffrey Schwartz.
ProLogis, based in Denver, now has four people working at an office in Mumbai, India, that opened last year.
Last month, Schwartz and other executives visited the country to explore an expansion there, he said.
DENVER
Samson Investments buying PYR Energy
Denver-based PYR Energy Corp. agreed to be acquired by Samson Investment Co. of Tulsa, Okla., for about $49.4 million and the assumption of PYR’s debt.
Samson Acquisition Corp., a wholly owned Samson subsidiary, will pay $1.30 a share, representing a 38 percent increase over PYR’s closing price Jan. 26, the last trading day before Samson’s initial proposal.
BENTONVILLE, Ark.
Wal-Mart may open 400 clinics in stores
Wal-Mart Stores plans to open as many as 400 in-store health clinics over two to three years and could raise the total to 2,000 within seven years, the world’s largest retailer said Tuesday.
Wal-Mart has more than 3,000 discount stores and Supercenters in the U.S., where it has been experimenting with walk-in health clinics as part of a trend among several national retail, grocery and drugstore chains.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.
MySpace en Español site targets Latinos
MySpace has launched the beta version of MySpace en Español, a site aimed at America’s 42 million Latinos, the social-networking site said Tuesday.
MySpace, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., but owned by New York media giant News Corp., said the site’s entertainment content is geared toward Latinos and that it will offer a Spanish-language instant-messenger service.
DALLAS
Stolen laptop holds vital Neiman’s data
A computer stolen from a Neiman Marcus consultant contained personal information on nearly 160,000 current and former employees, the luxury retailer said Tuesday.
The company said there was no indication yet that the thieves had tapped into the personal information, which included individuals’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, birth dates and salaries.
BEIJING
Yahoo China loses music-piracy suit
A court has ruled against Yahoo’s China arm in a lawsuit that accused it of aiding music piracy, the company and a music-industry group said Tuesday.
The ruling came amid U.S. pressure for Beijing to stop rampant copying of music and other goods.
The lawsuit filed by the International Federation of Phonographic Industries accused Yahoo China of violating copyrights because its search engine linked to sites that carried 229 pirated songs.
It was filed on behalf of 11 recording companies, including Sony BMG, Warner Music, EMI and Universal Vivendi.
MEXICO CITY
Foreign investment in mining apt to double
Foreign investment in Mexico’s mining industry will double to $3.5 billion this year, partly because of surging metals prices, Mexico’s General Mining Coordinator Norberto Roque said.
Companies from the U.S., Australia and Canada will invest 83 percent of the amount in copper, gold, silver and zinc exploration, Roque said.
