July 24, 2000

American International Dairies Inc., American Dairy Co. LLC and Milk Makers LLC, all listed at the same Post Office box in Franklin, Tn., have filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. Each filing listed assets and liabilities of between $10 million and $100 million.

Automata International Inc. An 8/2 hearing has been scheduled to consider a motion on the sale of certain interests in the Automata International Inc. Chapter 11 bankruptcy. For further information contact the debtor's attorney, Paul Traub, at 212-476-4770.

Converse Inc., which defaulted on a June interest payment on certain subordinated notes, hopes to finalize a deal on $85 million in financing with Universal Credit Corp. by the end of this month. The company desperately needs the money after recently receiving a going-concern warning from its accountant, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. The North Reading, Ma. athletic-shoe company has reportedly been looking for a suitor, but its $176 million debt load makes it less than attractive the company's high-profile name.

Foodsource Inc., Smyrna, Tn., has now filed Chapter 7 listing assets and liabilities of between $1 million and $10 million each. The filing, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, was made under case number 00-05623.

Mariner Post-Acute Network Inc. As part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, Mariner Post-Acute Network Inc. of Atlanta, Ga. is handing over control of eight of its nursing homes in Wisconsin to Five Star Quality Care Inc. of Newton,  Ma.

Monet Group Inc. An 8/15 deadline has been set for filing certain claims in the Monet Group Inc. Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  For further information contact the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware at 302-573-6174.

Sunset Sales Inc., Hurricane, Ut., has now filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah. The company listed assets of between $1 million and $10 million and liabilities between $500,000 and $1 million.

July 25, 2000

Cambridge Homes Inc., Cincinnati, Oh., has now filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The case number is 00-13510. The firm listed assets and liabilities of nearly $3.6 million and $3.7 million respectively.

Craven Corp., Ogden, Ut., has now filed Chapter 7 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Utah. The company listed assets and liabilities of $260,000 and $1 million respectively.

DeVlieg-Bullard Inc., an Akron, Oh.-based maker of machine tools, has been bought by KPS Special Situations Fund LP, a New York buyout firm, for more than $30 million. The move allows DeVlieg-Bullard to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Edgewater Steel Ltd., a Pittsburgh, Pa. maker of steel locomotive wheels and bearing rings, is hoping to recover from its troubled past under the leadership of its new chief executive officer, James Smith. Edgewater went through a difficult period with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in 1997, but the firm was able to keep operating with the help of one of its customers, General Motors Canada. In addition, Reserve Group, a Cleveland, Oh. firm that takes over troubled manufacturers, helped Edgewater go through an overhaul as it reintroduced some of its manufactured parts.

Faulkner Hospital in Boston, Ma., which has been losing money for years, is now hoping that its turnaround efforts will yield results by the fall. Through a number of marketing partnerships with other hospitals in the area, Faulkner could double its number of admissions in the near future. Faulkner, which lost $35 million last year on revenue of $1.4 billion, now stands to realize a surplus of more than $8 million for the first half of this year. For a free copy of an article about Faulkner Hospital call 800-407-9044.

Gold Rush Restaurant and Saloon, Monroeville, Pa., filed Chapter 11 under case number 00-25018. No schedules were listed in the filing.  Another Gold Rush location in McKeesport, Pa., filed Chapter 11 in two separate filings, 00-25019 and 25020. The McKeesport location listed assets and liabilities of $1.7 million and $1.3 million respectively.

J&L Structural Inc., Aliquippa, Pa., has now filed Chapter 11 listing assets and liabilities of $67.9 million and $71.8 million respectively.

Neeco Industries Inc., Houston, Tx., has now filed Chapter 11 listing assets and liabilities of between $1 million and $10 million each.

Netcert Education Center LLC, Lorton, Va., has now filed Chapter 11 listing assets of less than $50,000 and liabilities of between $1 million and $10 million.

Randall's Island Family Golf Centers Inc. A 7/28 deadline has been set for filing objections to the sale of certain real property in the Randall's Island Family Golf Centers Inc. Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  For further information contact the debtor's attorney, Lawrence First, at 212-859-8000.

TB Direct Enterprises Inc., Orlando, Fl., has now filed Chapter 11. No schedules were listed in the filing. 

Youth for Christ Inc., Washington, D.C., has now filed Chapter 11 listing assets and liabilities of $2.7 million and $4.6 million respectively.

  

July 26, 2000

Headlines for July 26th:

Chemicals maker Chemfab Corp. agrees to be bought by Norton Co. for $136 million...

Circuit City Stores Inc. will phase out large appliances and cut its payroll by 1,000 employees...  (1.7% of its workforce).

Internet broadcaster IBeam Broadcasting Corp. agrees to buy NextVenue Inc., a financial-services broadcaster, for             $375 million in stock...

Kmart Corp. will close 72 stores as part of a broad restructuring...

Nortel Networks Corp.'s 2nd quarter operating profit jumps 75% on a 48% rise in revenue...

Sporting-goods maker Riddell Sports Inc. retains an adviser to help it explore strategic alternatives...

BANKRUPT COMPANIES

Calco Autoline Inc., a Northridge, Ca. importer and wholesaler of automotive parts, has now filed Chapter 7 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles under case number SV00-15452-KL. The firm listed liabilities of nearly $1.2 million. No assets were listed in the filing. For further information contact the debtor's attorney, Yun Suh, at 213-384-2970.

Dean Technologies Inc., Denver, Co., has now filed Chapter 7 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver listing assets and liabilities of $210,000 and $503,000 respectively.

Fox Air Express Inc., a Los Angeles, Ca. shipping company, has now filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles under case number LA00-26524-TD. The firm listed assets and liabilities of $113,000 and $744,000 respectively. For further information contact the debtor's attorney, Dennis Winters, at 714-836-1381.

Kaiser Group International Inc. An 8/14 deadline has been set for making competing bids for certain assets in the Kaiser Group International Inc. Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  For further information contact the debtor's attorney, G. Christopher Meyer, at 216-479-8500.

LLO-Gas Inc., Malibu, Ca., has now filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles under case number SV00-15398-AG. No schedules were listed in the filing. For further information contact the debtor's attorney, Daniel Lev, at 213-430-3000.

M&W Spraybooth Manufacturing Co. Inc., Rancho Dominguez, Ca., has now filed Chapter 7 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles under case number LA00-26874-AA. The company listed assets of only $20,000 and liabilities of $632,000. For further information contact the debtor's attorney, Scott Clarkson, at 310-542-0111.

National Energy Group Inc. of Dallas, Tx. has received U.S. Bankruptcy Court confirmation for its reorganization plan. The plan calls for, among other things, cash payments to senior note holders equivalent to about 56% of the notes as well as cash payments to trade creditors valued at about 75% of their claims.

Paging Network Inc. of Dallas, Tx. has now filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The company earlier announcd that it would file for bankruptcy protection as part of its plan to merge with Arch Communications Group Inc. of Westborough, Ma.

R&R Dublin Fishery Inc., Dublin, Ca., has now filed Chapter 7. No schedules were listed in the filing. 

Sunset Beach Inc., Golden, Co., has now filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver. The case number is 00-17447. Sunset listed assets and liabilities of between $1 million and $10 million each.

Swift Enterprises Inc., Birmingham, Al., has now filed Chapter 7 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The case number is 00-03914. No schedules were listed in the filing. 

 Distressed or Rapidly growing Companies

Alltel Corp., a Little Rock, Ar. telecommunications and information-services firm, will expand by acquiring BenchMark

Consulting International, a privately-held financial-services consulting firm, for an undisclosed amount.

Appnet Systems Inc., a Bethesda, Md. provider of Internet services, reported a second quarter net loss of $16.3 million. Its revenue for the period doubled--to $51.2 million.

Centennial Communications Corp., a Neptune, N.J. wireless telecommunications firm, has agreed to sell its properties in the Southwest, primarily in the Yuma, Az. and Imperial, Ca. areas, to Western Wireless Corp. of Issaquah, Wa. for nearly $203 million in cash.

Chemfab Corp., a Merrimack, N.H. specialty-chemicals maker with annual sales of $125 million, has entered into an agreement to be purchased by Norton Co., a unit of French-based Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, for $136 million. As part of the deal, Norton also agreed to assume $30 million of Chemfab's debt load.

Chevron Corp. of San Francisco, Ca. is putting on the selling block its stake in a refinery complex in El Paso, Tx. and related facilities.

Circuit City Stores Inc. will undergo a makeover, announcing that its board approved a plan to focus exclusively on consumer-electronic and home-office products and phase out its major appliances. The three-year changeover calls for the Richmond, Va.-based retailer to remodel most of its more than 570 superstores. The restructuring also calls for closing eight of its distribution centers and reducing its payroll by 1,000 employees (1.7% of its workforce).

Continuus Software Corp. of Irvine, Ca. saw its stock price drop by nearly one-fourth recently after it announced that its upcoming operating losses would be three times higher than expected.

Data I/O Corp., a Redmond, Wa. maker of equipment for testing semiconductor devices, reported a second quarter net loss of $231,000. The results included nonrecurring charges of $255,000. Its sales for the period increased 22%--to $10.1 million.

Doty Bros. Equipment Co., an Orange County, Ca. pipeline-construction company, has entered into an agreement to be purchased by Meruelo Enterprises Inc. of Buena Park, Ca. for an undisclosed amount.

IBeam Broadcasting Corp., a Sunnyvale, Ca. Internet broadcast system, reached an agreement to acquire NextVenue Inc., a closely-held Manhattan, N.Y. provider of Web-broadcasting services for the financial-services industry, in a stock deal valued at $375 million. This is the second recent acquisition for iBeam, which only weeks ago agreed to acquire Server-Side Technologies Inc. of Culver City, Ca. for an undisclosed amount. Through that acquisition, iBeam, whose broadcast system combines satellite technology with a server network, will be able to provide additional services. Server-Side provides products that help entertainment companies protect their copyrights.

Kmart Corp. will close seventy-two of its stores, primarily in the South and Midwest. The move will affect 5,000 employees and result in a second quarter charge of $740 million. Many of the sites to be closed are former Venture locations, which Kmart now concedes were less than ideally situated for retail profitability. The Troy, Mi. firm, the second-largest discount chain and the third-largest retailer overall in the U.S., will also address inventory problems, investing $460 million to improve its computer system and another $210 million to fix up its distribution and logistics operations.

Kodak Polychrome Graphics, a joint venture between Eastman Kodak Co. and Japan-based Sun Chemical, is shutting down its facility in Holyoke, Ma.  The Holyoke plant manufactures coated plates that are used by newspapers and other commercial printers. The closure is part of the joint venture's plan to restructure and reduce its payroll of 4,200 by between 10% and 15%.

Labor Ready Inc., a Tacoma, Wa.-based provider of temporary help services, is apparently still suffering the consequences of its decision two years ago to dismantle its own sales force and outsource through a telemarketing firm. In hindsight, getting rid of the sale force was a blunder since the company had invested heavily in training the staff. With sales down at its offices, Labor Ready, which reported a loss of 5 cents per share on revenue of $193 million in the first quarter, has warned that its second quarter results will be lower than anticipated. For a free copy of an article about Labor Ready call 800-407-9044.

MEMC Electronic Materials Inc., an O'Fallon, Mo. maker of silicon wafers, reported a second quarter net loss of $15.5 million. Its sales for the period increased 19%--to more than $200 million.

Microtouch Systems Inc., a Methuen, Ma. Maker of computer-related touch input devices, reported a second quarter net loss of $301,000. Its revenue for the period declined 10%--to $ 36.7 million.

Moore Corp. Ltd., a Toronto, Ontario-based information retrieval, systems and software firm, reported a second quarter net loss of $14.1 million. Its sales for the period declined 4%--to $550 million. The results included nonrecurring charges of $2.3 million.

Net Perceptions Inc., a Minneapolis, Mn. marketing-services firm for online retailers, reported a second quarter net loss of $11.7 million. Its revenue for the period more than quadrupled--to $12.4 million.

Nortel Networks Corp., the Brampton, Ontario maker of communications equipment, reported a second quarter net loss of $745 million as a result of one-time charges. Its operating profit soared 75%--to $561 million. Nortel's revenue for the period jumped 48%--to $7.8 billion. Nortel has reportedly been negotiating a deal to sell its optical-components business to Corning Inc. of Corning, N.Y.

Office Solutions of Yorba Linda, Ca., the biggest independent commercial office-supply company in Southern California, has expanded again by acquiring South Coast Stationers in Costa Mesa, Ca.  Office Solutions hopes that the acquisition will boost its consumer base and expand its electronic-commerce capability. Last year the firm reported revenue of $18 million, a nearly 30% jump over the year-eralier period's figures.

Oil-Dri Corp., a Chicago, Il. maker of cat litter, said that it will restate downward its first three quarters' financial results. The company must reduce its estimated revenue by more than $800,000 in order to take into account pricing and other allowances related to the loss of a customer.

OYO Geospace Corp., a Houston, Tx. maker of seismic equipment, reported a third quarter net loss of $1.6 million. Its sales for the period increased 34%--to $12.9 million.

Priceline.com Inc., the Norwalk, Ct.-based online airline-ticket firm, reported a second quarter loss of $4.5 million, a significant improvement over its $14.3 million loss in the year-earlier period. The company's sales more than doubled--to $352 million.

Riddell Sports Inc., a Manhattan, N.Y.-based sporting-goods maker, has retained Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to help it explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the firm. Riddell, with annual sales of about $190 million, has not reported a fiscal profit since 1996 and believes its stock is undervalued.

Ryerson Tull Inc., a Chicago, Il. steel-reprocessing company, is restructuring in an effort to compensate for declines in orders and lower steel prices. The firm has already announced that it will close down plants in Seattle, Wa. and West Chester, Pa.  The closures resulted in second quarter charges of $23 million but will hopefully cut costs by $30 million annually. Although Ryerson Tull has been able to survive past downturns in the industry, investors are becoming more worried after the firm reported its second quarter earnings fell 71% from the year-earlier period. Further, the Ryerson Tull is running on very thin margins, which makes the firm vulnerable to a serious downturn. The company's current situation even has some observers wondering whether it might be a takeover target. For a free copy of an article about Ryerson Tull call 800-407-9044.

Sam's Golf-Tennis-Racquetball, a Mentor, Oh.-based sporting-goods retail chain, closed its store in Maple Heights, Oh.

Semco Energy Inc., a Port Huron, Mi. natural-gas firm, reported a fourth quarter net loss of $2.3 million. Its revenue for the period jumped 49%--to $76.5 million. In addition, Semco retained Banc of America Securities LLC to advise it on strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the firm. Semco, which also builds natural-gas pipelines, has a market value of about $260 million.

Silverstream Software Inc., Burlington, Ma., reported a second quarter net loss of $7.5 million. Its revenue for the period quadrupled--to $18 million.

Specialty Foods Corp., a Deerfield, Il. company that was formed through a series of acquisitions in the early 1990s, continues its recent strategy to pare down its operations, now reportedly wanting to auction off its Mother's Cake and Cookie Co. operations in Oakland, Ca., one of its only two remaining units. Specialty Foods still faces an enormous level of debt that is now estimated at eight times cash flow. In fact, the firm earlier this summer agreed with its debtholders that it would distribute proceeds raised through the sale of its remaining operations. For a free copy of an article that looks at the rise and fall of Specialty Foods call 800-407-9044.

Star Gas Partners LP, a Stamford, Ct. distributor of propane and related products, said that it anticipates a third quarter loss of $1.15/share, slightly better than Wall Street's expectations. The firm will report a 21% increase in volume sales for the period.

Strouds Inc., a City of Industry, Ca.-based retailer of linens and other domestic goods, is expanding into more luxury items in an effort to beat the competition which sells lower-cast sheets, bedspreads, towels and other products. By moving into a higher retail category, the chain of seventy stores hopes to take advantage of higher markups as well as escape the power of nationwide competitors such as Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. and Linens 'n Things Inc. Other strategies for the firm call for redoing the Strouds website, possibly so it can be spun off as an independent company. For a free copy of an article about Strouds Inc., which reported a loss of $2.2 million in its most recent quarter on revenue of $54.2 million, call 800-407-9044.

Synch Research Inc., an Irvine, Ca.-based maker of telecommunications equipment, is shutting down its facility in Norton, Ma. and will take a related charge of between $2.5 million and $3 million.

Western Digital Corp  While it's expected that Western Digital Corp. will soon report its eleventh-consecutive quarterly loss, the Irvine, Ca. maker of disk drives is likely to report a loss of about 11 cents per share, significantly better than industry expectations of a 17-cent-per-share loss. Continuing to face depressed prices for disk-drive products, Western Digital has closed plants and exited such product lines as server drives in an attempt to cut costs and reduce its losses. Further, the company's newest products are reported to have state-of-the-art engineering, which should help Western overcome last fall's setback when it had to recall 400,000 disk drives with a faulty chip. For a free copy of an article that takes a look at Western Digital's attempts to move ahead call 800-407-9044.

July 28, 2000

DeFoor Bonding Co. Inc., Shelby, Al., has now filed Chapter 7 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Alabama. The case number is 00-3586. No schedules were listed in the filing. 

Jitney-Jungle Stores of America Inc.  An 8/28 deadline has been set for filing proof of claims in the Jitney-Jungle Stores of America Inc. Chapter 11 bankruptcy.  For further information contact the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana at 504-589-7878.

Pathmark Stores Inc.  An 8/24 hearing has been scheduled to consider confirmation of the disclosure statement in the Pathmark Stores Inc. Chapter 11 bankruptcy. For further information contact the debtor's attorney, Douglas Bartner, at 212-848-4000.

Prime Succession Inc.  An 8/21 hearing has been scheduled to consider approval of the disclosure statement in the Prime Succession Inc. Chapter 11 bankruptcy. For further information contact the debtor's attorney, Pauline Morgan, at 302-571-6600.

SLTI LLC, Marietta, Ga., has now filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The case number is 00-68987. No schedules were listed in the filing. 

Titan Energy of Georgia Inc. in Roswell, Ga., which does business as United Gas Management, has now filed Chapter 11 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The case number is 00-69000. 

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