Saturday, December 22, 2012
GE to buy Italian aviation unit
FAIRFIELD, Conn.
Industrial conglomerate General Electric plans to buy the aviation business of Italian manufacturer Avio for $4.3 billion to grow its jet-propulsion business and strengthen its supply chain.
The Fairfield, Conn., company said Friday that it wants to build its supply chain as it ramps up engine production. The deal also gives GE a chance to offer Avio products outside the aviation industry, in power generation, oil and marine products.
GE will buy Avio S.p.A.’s aviation business from European private-equity firm Cinven and the Italian aerospace group Finmeccanica.
Planned News Corp. spinoff loses $2B
LOS ANGELES
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. said Friday that the news and publishing unit it plans to spin off next year posted a $2 billion net loss in the fiscal year through June, mainly due to one-time charges and restructuring costs in its newspaper division.
The details of the split were revealed Friday in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
It confirmed investors’ suspicions that the spun-off company — to be known as News Corp. — will be smaller and less profitable than the TV and movie business that will form Fox Group Inc.
The “new” News Corp. posted $8.7 billion in revenue last fiscal year, about a quarter of the company’s total.
Charges amounted to $2.8 billion, mainly due to declines in the value of newspapers and a drop in advertising at its in-store flier business.
The charges included restructuring costs of $156 million, most of which came from shutting down The News of the World, the tabloid at the heart of a phone-hacking scandal in Britain.
Hostess expects to split up products
NEW YORK
Twinkies, Wonder Bread and Devil Dogs are likely to return to shelves in coming months, but probably not under the same owners.
Hostess Brands Inc. said in bankruptcy court Friday that it’s narrowing down the bids it received for its brands and expects to sell off its snack cakes and bread to separate buyers.
The testimony came from an investment banker for Hostess, which is in the process of liquidating.
A likely suitor has emerged for the namesake Hostess brand, which includes Twinkies, Ding Dongs and Ho Hos, along with Dolly Madison cakes, which includes Coffee Cakes and Zingers, said Joshua Scherer of Perella Weinberg Partners.
He said another viable bid was made for Drake’s cakes, which includes Devil Dogs, Funny Bones and Yodels.
That bidder also wants to buy the Drake’s plant in Wayne, N.J., which Scherer said is the country’s only kosher bakery plant.
Associated Press