Business Digest

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY GETS CONTRACT: Medical Technology Systems Inc. of Clearwater has signed a sole source contract to supply disposable medication packaging to Omnicare Inc., a provider of pharmacy services to nursing homes. The value of the three-year contract was not disclosed, but MTS estimates it will mean an increase in sales to Omnicare of about 20 percent. MTS' punch card packages organize drugs according to various criteria, such as time of day and day of the week.

DOLE CEO BIDS TO TAKE COMPANY PRIVATE: Dole Food Co. Inc. chief executive David Murdock told the fruit producer's board of directors that taking the company private is the best way to boost its share price, and offered $1.2-billion in cash to do so. Murdock offered $29.50 per share for the 76 percent of the company he doesn't already own. That was a 20.5 percent premium over Dole's closing price Friday. Investors pushed Dole's shares to nearly $31 a share before the stock closed at $28.99 a share, up $4.50. Murdock said the deal would total about $2.5-billion, including assumption of debt. Dole directors will establish a special committee to consider Murdock's unsolicited offer.

SPRINT TO SELL DIRECTORY BUSINESS: Sprint Corp. has agreed to sell its yellow pages directory business to R.H. Donnelley for $2.23-billion. The deal is expected to ease concern over a decline in revenue at Sprint's long-distance operations and weakening prospects at Sprint PCS, its large wireless subsidiary. Sprint's directory operation, the fifth-largest yellow pages publisher in the United States, sells advertising in yellow pages published in 18 states. Its largest markets are in central Florida and Las Vegas.

PEREGRINE FILES CHAPTER 11: After months of struggling to shed its financial and legal woes, San Diego software company Peregrine Systems Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it would sue accounting firm Arthur Andersen for more than $250-million. Peregrine, whose chairman is John J. Moores, owner of the San Diego Padres, blames its failure on Andersen, which it accuses of engaging in fraud, corporate negligence and failure in its auditing and accounting duties. Moores' former company, BMC Software Inc., has agreed to buy Peregrine's Remedy unit for $350-million. Remedy is a leading maker of software that identifies and fixes glitches in corporate computer networks.

SALOMON TO PAY FINE: Citigroup's investment banking division agreed to pay a $5-million fine to settle charges it issued "materially misleading" research reports. In a related matter, the self-policing arm of the securities industry filed a complaint against telecommunications analyst Jack Grubman and his assistant, Christine Gochuico, for authoring the reports. The National Association of Securities Dealers found that Salomon Smith Barney's reports on Winstar failed to adequately disclose the risks of investing in shares of the broadband telecommunications service provider, which filed for bankruptcy protection last year. The complaint against Grubman and Gochuico says e-mails and other internal Salomon documents showed they publicly recommended Winstar but expressed contrary views in private.

UNITED NAMES TASK FORCE: United Airlines CEO Glenn Tilton has created a task force to recommend ways to make the financially ailing carrier more competitive besides cutting labor costs. The move came as Tilton awaits a financial proposal from the company's five unions, which worked through the weekend to try to complete the joint plan. Tilton told employees that experts from outside the company, whom he did not identify, will join United officials in examining non-labor costs and issues of productivity and competitiveness.

XEROX INVESTIGATED: Xerox Corp. said the U.S. Attorney's Office in Bridgeport, Conn., is investigating the company's past accounting issues. Xerox agreed in April to pay a $10-million fine and restate results for the past five years to settle claims made by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it inaccurately booked some sales.

TREASURY AUCTION: Interest rates on short-term Treasury securities fell in Monday's auction. The Treasury Department sold $16-billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 1.610 percent, down from 1.660 percent last week. An additional $13-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.580 percent, down from 1.640 percent. The new discount rates understate the actual return to investors -- 1.639 percent for three-month bills and 1.615 percent for six-month bills. In a separate report, the Federal Reserve said the average yield for one-year constant maturity Treasury bills fell to 1.73 percent last week from 1.78 percent.

RIVAL BUYING EAUTOCLAIMS: EAutoclaims Inc. of Oldsmar, a 3-year-old company that uses the Internet to manage auto insurance claims, is being bought by rival DriverShield Corp. of Coral Springs. The companies signed a letter of intent to merge. Financial terms were not disclosed, but DriverShield said it will advance eAutoclaims up to $1-million for working capital after a definitive agreement is signed, likely next month. DriverShield shareholders will own about 57 percent of the company; eAutoclaims shareholders will own 43 percent. The merged company, which will have annual sales of about $50-million and 150 employees, will keep the eAutoclaims name as a subsidiary and eAutoclaims chief executive Eric Seidel will continue to oversee the Oldsmar operation. A spokeswoman said it was premature to say how many employees would work in Oldsmar.

NEWSPAPER GROUP NAMES PRESIDENT: P. Steven Ainsley has been promoted to president and chief operating officer of the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group. Ainsley, 49, had been senior vice president for the group, which is based in Tampa. He will succeed Lynn O. Matthews, 57, when he retires at the end of the year. The regional newspaper group is made up of 15 southeastern papers, including the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Lakeland Ledger and Ocala Star-Banner.

GLOBAL IMAGING NAMES COO: Peter W. Shoemaker has been named senior vice president and chief operating officer of Global Imaging Systems. Shoemaker, 60, will join the Tampa office equipment distributor Oct. 1. Most recently, Shoemaker has been president of business services, North America, for IKON Office Solutions.

HOPS SWITCHES AD AGENCIES: Advertising agency WestWayne has been awarded the integrated marketing account for Tampa-based restaurant chain Hops, the ad agency said. WestWayne, which has offices in Atlanta and Tampa, valued the account at $8-million to $10-million. The account was previously handled by Austin Kelley Advertising of Atlanta. Hops, owned by Avado Brands, is known for its microbrewery selection. It has 72 locations in 16 states.

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