Tower exits bankruptcy

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Mar 16, 2004

Fabled music retailer Tower Records emerged from bankruptcy Monday with its creditors owning 85 percent of the company, its debt newly trimmed by $80 million and a last hurdle cleared on the way to selling itself. The 93-store chain launched in 1960 during the "Twist" dance craze completed the process in near-record time, resurrecting itself only 35 days after filing for a Chapter 11 reorganization in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Monday's action means a group of creditors led by London-based Barclays Bank now runs Tower Records, which is being marketed for sale by Los Angeles investment banker Lloyd Greif.

T-bill rates rise

Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities rose in Monday's auction. The Treasury Department sold $18 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.945 percent, up from 0.930 percent last week. An additional $16 billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 0.990 percent, up from 0.975 percent. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills fell to 1.16 percent last week from 1.23 percent the previous week.

QUICKLY

Canada's Power Measurement, a global provider of energy management systems for businesses, said it has acquired ABB's retail energy business, formerly Energy Interactive in Oakland. ABB's retail energy software helps improve communications between electric utilities and their customers. 4 Jewelry retailer Friedman's said Ernst & Young has resigned as the independent accountants for Oakland's Crescent Jewelers. Friedman's, which has a direct investment in Crescent of $85 million and common controlling ownership of Crescent, said it does not know why Ernst & Young resigned.

4 Alameda software company Wind River Systems said Siemens Medical Solutions has chosen Wind River's VxWorks Developer Tool Kit as the foundation for its latest medical imaging system, Magnetom Avanto. 4 Broadband Internet equipment firm Netopia of Emeryville said it will team with Linksys, a division of Cisco Systems, to offer a parental control service to Linksys home networking customers.

4 Livermore's Adept Technology has been selected by Lights Out Factory Automation to provide robots and vision guidance for automated fuel cell assembly system.