THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 19, 1994 TAG: 9411190478
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
Retirement System Restructuring RF&P: The Virginia Retirement System's trustees decided to convert its single largest holding, RF&P Corp., into a real estate investment trust to avoid a potential $500 million federal tax bill. RF&P, a real estate development company, was purchased by the $16.1 billion pension fund in 1992 for $548 million. The former railroad company's assets bought by the fund consist of large tracts of undeveloped land in Northern Virginia. But under its current configuration, the company cannot sell any of its undeveloped land without paying a hefty federal tax on each sale. By converting RF&P to a trust, the pension fund would shift tax liabilities to outside investors. The pension fund also named a new chief administrator, William H. Leighty, a state government veteran with ties to Democrats and Republicans. (Associated Press)
Sports Authority stock scores big in early trading: Sports Authority Inc., the second of Kmart Corp.'s units to be sold in an initial public offering, received a standing ovation from investors in its first day of trading. Stock in Sports Authority, the largest operator of giant sporting goods stores in the United States, rose $5 to $24 a share - a 26 percent increase. It was the most actively traded issue on all U.S. exchanges. Kmart's first IPO, the OfficeMax Inc. office-supply chain, has increased about 26 percent since going public earlier this month. Kmart still owns stakes in both chains. (Bloomberg Business News)
Cox Cable ordered to pay refunds/credits: Federal regulators Friday ordered Cox Cable Hampton Roads Inc. to refund or credit a total of $120,000 to 106,000 subscribers in Virginia Beach after determining the system had miscalculated regulated rates for cable services. The Federal Communications Commission's order is part of a batch of more than 6,500 complaints filed by consumers and local government officials against cable companies nationwide. The FCC said Cox overcharged its Virginia Beach customers 18 cents a month for six months for a type of service called expanded basic. Cox's refund or credit works out to about $1.13 per subscriber. (Associated Press) EARNINGS
Essex Financial Partners L.P., the Virginia Beach-based parent of Essex Savings Bank, reported a net loss of $4.4 million for the Sept. 30 quarter, blaming $2.4 million of litigation-settlement expenses, a $733,000 provision for loan losses and other factors. The partnership lost $505,000 in the comparable three months of 1993. Essex also said it began soliciting proxies from its partners for approval of the planned conversion from a partnership to a holding-company structure. GOVERNMENT FINANCE
State sells top-rated bonds: The state of Virginia has sold $219.4 million in general-obligation bonds at 6.44 percent to finance capital projects approved by voters in a 1992 referendum, State Treasurer Ronald L. Tillett said Friday. Three major bond-rating agencies, Moody's, Fitch, and Standard & Poor's, gave the Virginia bonds their top ratings. Tillett said the state government's conservative fiscal policy and Virginia's diversified economy were among the reasons for the high ratings. Virginia is one of only five states - the others are Maryland, North Carolina, Missouri and Utah - to receive the highest possible ratings from all three agencies. The widening of the George P. Coleman Bridge, between Gloucester Point and Yorktown, is one of the projects to be funded by the bond sale. (Staff) by CNB