Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 4, 1995 TAG: 9505040135
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
RICHMOND - A securities specialist alleges that Smith Barney Inc. illegally used his ideas to clinch Viacom Inc.'s takeover of Paramount Communications Inc. last year.
The specialist, Thomas S. Inman of Richmond, says the New York-based investment firm breached a confidentiality agreement with him.
Inman developed a series of complex financial ideas that he shared with Smith Barney in the fall of 1993, according to the lawsuit. The two had an agreement that required the firm to divulge whether it was working on something similar, the lawsuit said.
Smith Barney represented Viacom in its successful five-month battle to buy Paramount Communications. The merger was approved in February 1994. The merger, valued at $9.6 billion, was the ninth-largest in U.S. history.
- Associated Press
Bank to install ATMs in 3 Krogers
NBC Bank will install automated teller machines in three Kroger stores in the Roanoke Valley that don't have branch banks.
NBC Bank already has ATMs in the six stores in the Roanoke Valley and one in Blacksburg where branch banks are located.
James Beckner, senior vice president, said the three new ATM locations are at the Hollins Kroger, 7223 Williamson Road; the store in Ivy Ridge Shopping Center, 3419 Orange Ave. N.E., and at Spartan Square, 1477 W. Main St., Salem.
NBC, which also offers private banking services, a mortgage division, a discount brokerage and commercial lending services, employs 45 people in the Roanoke area.
- Staff report
Briefly ...
Loman Garrett Inc., a wholesale distributor of heating and air-conditioning equipment and supplies, has opened a Roanoke branch at 2214 Patterson Ave., according to the Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership. Garrett, based in Greensboro, N.C., was established in 1947. The office has three employees. The company employs 60 people.
Lawyers for Chrysler Corp. have held preliminary discussions with Kirk Kerkorian's representatives to find a way to bring the billionaire's takeover bid for the automaker to an end, those with knowledge of the talks said Wednesday. The discussions, conducted by telephone last week, touched on a few detailed proposals and ended without resolution, they said.
America Online Inc. said Wednesday it has topped 2.5 million subscribers, more than three times as many as a year ago. CompuServe Inc. and Prodigy Services Co., the nation's other leading commercial online services, have about 2 million members each. America Online also said that with subscribers spending an average of $17 per month, its projected yearly revenue would exceed $500 million.
CSX Corp., Richmond-based international transportation company, will take a charge of $200 million to $250 million for restructuring expenses in the second quarter, primarily for a planned telecommunications system for its railroad. The 10-year agreement with AT&T Corp. was announced Tuesday. CSX also will use the charge to move Sea-Land Service Inc., its ocean shipping unit, from New Jersey to Charlotte, N.C.
Earnings ...
Premier Bankshares Corp. on Wednesday reported first-quarter net income of $2.2 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with $2.6 million, or 52 cents, for the first three months of 1994.
The bank, headquartered in Bluefield, said the decline was caused largely by a drop in security gains. Most of the gains realized in 1994 resulted from liquidation of bonds issued by the failed Executive Life Insurance Co.
Eliminating securities gains, operating income would have increased $122,000 over the past year.
The bank had assets of $649 million at the end of the quarter.
by CNB