Business Desk

This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.

The New York Sun

PUBLISHING


VILLAGE VOICE EDITOR RESIGNS


The editor in chief of the Village Voice, Don Forst, resigned yesterday, the Voice reported on its Web site.


He led the newspaper for nine years, and his resignation comes after a decision last week by the Justice Department to allow a merger with another alternative newsweekly publisher, New Times.


“A number of prospects have presented themselves and I think this is an opportune time to explore them,” Mr. Forst wrote in an e-mail to the staff.The Voice reported that the New Times merger was “expected to hasten” his departure. Mr. Forst’s resignation is effective at the end of the month. – Staff Reporter of the Sun


AVIATION


CHINA PLACES $10 BILLION ORDER WITH AIRBUS


PARIS – China ordered 150 Airbus single-aisle A320 airliners yesterday, more than twice as many plane orders as the company’s American rival, Boeing, snagged from China last month.


The European aircraft manufacturer said the deal was worth nearly $10 billion and was “the largest single order that Airbus has ever received since it entered the Chinese market two decades ago.”


The order upstages China’s purchase last month of 70 Boeing jets during a visit to Beijing by President Bush. At list prices that deal was worth about $4 billion. Buyers typically get discounts on large orders. – Associated Press


PHARMACEUTICALS


BOSTON SCIENTIFIC BIDS FOR GUIDANT, IN CHALLENGE TO J&J


Boston Scientific Corporation threw its hat into the ring for Guidant with an offer that represents a 14% premium to Johnson & Johnson’s revised proposal, potentially sparking a bidding war over the maker of medical devices.


Indianapolis-based Guidant, which has had to recall its implantable heart defibrillators, has quickly gone from having its deal with J &J nearly fall apart to winning the attention of two suitors. Boston Scientific’s offer of $25 billion, split evenly between cash and stock, values Guidant at $72 a share, compared with J&J’s offer of roughly $21.5 billion, or $63.43 a share.


Guidant’s stock recently traded at $67.86, up $6.04, or 9.8%, on heavy volume. The disparity between the current trading price and the new $72 offer indicates that many on Wall Street are skeptical about Boston Scientific’s bid. – Dow Jones Newswires


WALL STREET


M&A FEES MAY REACH RECORD $18 BILLION IN 2006


Mergers and acquisitions, the most lucrative money-maker on Wall Street after trading,may provide a record $18 billion in fees to the financial industry next year as corporations use their burgeoning stockpiles of cash for the biggest spending spree since the Internet bubble burst.”2006 may well be the best year ever for mergers and acquisitions,” said Paul Taubman, global head of M&A at Morgan Stanley, the world’s no. 2 merger adviser after Goldman Sachs Group. – Bloomberg News


IN BRIEF


Retailers may reduce prices over the next several weeks to salvage holiday sales after reporting lackluster results in November … Holiday spending this season will be “middling,” held back by higher home heating bills and slow growth in incomes, according to JPMorgan economists … The Supreme Court, in an appeal by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp., will consider whether workers who complain about illegal discrimination can sue for retaliation if they are transferred or suspended … Ford Motor’s board will meet this week to consider closing as many as four North American auto assembly factories … The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Christopher Cox, said he is concerned about the concentration of large public-company audit work in the “Big Four” accounting firms.


Bloomberg News


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