Local cigar company is sold for $2.9 billion
John Middleton Inc., which began as a Center City tobacco shop in 1856, was acquired Thursday for $2.9 billion in cash, providing a rich payday for one of the owners of the Phillies. The buyer - which is paying 16 times Middleton's projected earnings for 2007 - is Altria Group Inc. of New York, parent of Philip Morris USA. The tobacco company is trying to offset declining cigarette sales by jumping into the growing cigar market. The seller is privately held Bradford Holdings of suburban Philadelphia, headed by John S. Middleton, whom friends describe as an intensely competitive, private businessman. His holdings include the McIntosh Inn hotels and a minority share in the Phillies. Altria predicted that John Middleton Inc. would produce 1.2 billion cigars this year and earn an estimated $182 million on sales of $360 million. See:
John Middleton Inc., which began as a Center City tobacco shop in 1856, was acquired Thursday for $2.9 billion in cash, providing a rich payday for one of the owners of the Phillies. The buyer - which is paying 16 times Middleton's projected earnings for 2007 - is Altria Group Inc. of New York, parent of Philip Morris USA. The tobacco company is trying to offset declining cigarette sales by jumping into the growing cigar market. The seller is privately held Bradford Holdings of suburban Philadelphia, headed by John S. Middleton, whom friends describe as an intensely competitive, private businessman. His holdings include the McIntosh Inn hotels and a minority share in the Phillies. Altria predicted that John Middleton Inc. would produce 1.2 billion cigars this year and earn an estimated $182 million on sales of $360 million. See:
» READ MORE: http://go.philly.com/CIGAR04
Interest rates down, oil prices keep climbing
The Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by one-quarter percentage point to 4.50 percent, a move to spark the U.S. economy amid conflicting economic signals. Oil prices resumed their climb toward $100 a barrel, boosting the threat of inflation, and the Commerce Department reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter growth, raising questions about the need for a rate cut. The Fed's goal is to keep the U.S. economy growing, but at a pace that does not spark inflation - that is, widespread price increases. Wednesday's cut was to the federal funds rate, which is what commercial banks charge each other for overnight loans. It influences a range of consumer and business lending rates. Banks immediately cut their prime lending rates - what they charge for loans to their best customers - by the same amount to 7.50 percent.
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» READ MORE: http://go.philly.com/RATES04
Virtua Health to build new center in Voorhees
Virtua Health said it would soon break ground on a new hospital and outpatient center in Voorhees that it said would marry the latest in technology with a family-friendly atmosphere. Plans for the hospital, to be built on 125 acres bordered by Route 73 and Dutchtown Road, were five years in the making. The project includes a $400 million, 376-bed hospital and a $120 million, 300,000-square-foot regional outpatient center offering surgery, cancer treatment, women's imaging and physician offices. The new campus will employ at least 1,000 more people than Virtua's current hospital in Voorhees. The health system, which operates four hospitals in South Jersey, expects to break ground this year. Ultimately, its 290-bed Voorhees hospital - Virtua West Jersey Hospital Voorhees - will close, and the building will be sold. See:
» READ MORE: http://go.philly.com/VIRTUA04
New rule gives tenants broader cable choices
Federal regulators approved a rule that would ban exclusive agreements between cable-television operators and managers of apartment buildings, opening up competition for other video providers that could lead to lower prices. The Federal Communications Commission unanimously approved the change, which Chairman Kevin Martin said would help lower cable rates for millions of subscribers who live in apartment buildings and other multiunit dwellings. He said the move would particularly help minorities, who disproportionately live in multiunit dwellings. The rule would prohibit cable companies, such as Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Cable Inc., from enforcing exclusive cable-TV contracts with apartment managers. See:
» READ MORE: http://go.philly.com/CABLE04
Trump Entertainment's profit grows in quarter
In what has otherwise been a tough year, Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., owner of three casinos in Atlantic City, reported a jump of nearly 14 percent in its third-quarter profit despite a small drop in revenue. "I'm pleased with our performance. All the initiatives that we have embarked upon are working," Mark Juliano said. In July, he was named chief executive officer of the casino company controlled by real estate developer Donald J. Trump. "It's not apparent to people," Juliano said, "because Pennsylvania has taken the cream from the top. If you take Pennsylvania out of the equation, we had a spectacular quarter." The addition of 12,653 slot machines in Pennsylvania's six slots parlors has had a dramatic impact on the Atlantic City gambling market. See:
» READ MORE: http://go.philly.com/CASINO04
Coming tomorrow
The IRS is holding a lottery you don't want to win.
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