Reported by Star-Bulletin staff & wire
Monday, June 1, 1998
Federal funds available for Oahu employers
Business that can hire and train dislocated workers and economically disadvantaged people on Oahu can get help from $600,000 in federal funds through WorkHawaii, a partnership between Mayor Jeremy Harris and the Oahu Private Industry Council.However, Friday is the deadline to get proposals in to WorkHawaii, on the fifth floor at 715 S. King St.
Officials said the program is designed for businesses planning to hire people and expand. They should be able to provide training in any of a range of skills and if they qualify they can get funds to design and develop training programs. For information contact Nancy Olipares at 527-5928.
Tesoro to issue shares to pay for BHP deal
Tesoro Petroleum Corp., which on Friday completed its acquisition of BHP Hawaii Inc., its Barbers Point refinery and 32 BHP Gas Express stations, said today it plans a public stock offering to cover the cost of the purchase.The San Antonio, Texas-based company said it will offer common stock worth about $150 million and a form of preferred securities worth about $100 million.
Part of the money from the stock issue will finance Tesoro's acquisition of a refinery in Anacortes, Wash., from Shell Refining Holding Co. Tesoro said it is also planning to raise $300 million in a private placement and to syndicate $550 million in new senior debt.
In the Hawaii deal, Tesoro paid Broken Hill Proprietary Co. $243.5 million in cash and issued a $50 million promissory note.
A&B completes sale of California property
Alexander & Baldwin Inc. today completed the sale of a commercial property in Cupertino, Calif., for $51.5 million to a partnership.A&B bought the 246,000-square-foot research and development and office complex in 1989, as one of its first mainland investments when it began to diversify its investment portfolio.
Proceeds from the sale to Ridgeview Court Associates will be reinvested in other areas of the mainland or in Hawaii, A&B said. A&B said the purchase and sale of properties when conditions are right is part of a corporate strategy of maximizing value for shareholders. A&B added that since 1994 it has acquired seven properties and sold three.
Northwest pilots reject airline's salary offer
EAGAN, Minn. -- The pilots' union has rejected an offer from Northwest Airlines to link pay to salaries at other major airlines.The proposal was offered Saturday, the last day of weeklong talks between the carrier and Air Line Pilots Association, which represents 5,500 pilots. The pay plan would have tied Northwest pilots' salaries to the average of the pay scales at United, American and Delta airlines.
In a letter yesterday to a union official, Northwest senior vice president Ben Hirst called the rejection a disappointment.
Northwest's offer was the first time the airline has put a dollar figure on the table in 18 months. Still unresolved in the negotiations are issues of compensation, vacation, training and hours of service. Last week, the pilots' union voted to authorize a strike. It would be at least late June before any strike could occur.
In other news . . .
MADISON, N.J.-- American Home Products Corp. and Monsanto Co. said they will merge in a $33.5 billion stock swap, as the two midsize makers of drugs, seeds and herbicides could no longer face bigger rivals alone. American Home, maker of Advil painkiller and Premarin hormone therapy, will swap 1.15 of its shares for each Monsanto share, valuing Monsanto at $55.56 a share on Friday's closing price. The new company, still to be named, will be 65 percent-owned by AHP shareholders.
See expanded coverage in today's Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
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