Business Today

RJR, BAT MERGE TOBACCO COMPANIES: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and British American Tobacco PLC agreed Monday to merge their American tobacco businesses, uniting the nation's second- and third-largest tobacco companies. The agreement comes a month after R.J. Reynolds trimmed 40 percent of its work force. A new publicly traded holding company will be formed called Reynolds American Inc., which will rank behind only Philip Morris USA. R.J. Reynolds will pay $2.6-billion in cash and stock for a 58 percent controlling stake in the new company, RJR spokesman Tommy Payne said. BAT will own 42 percent of Reynolds American Inc. through its Brown & Williamson subsidiary.

ANTHEM, WELLPOINT MERGE: The two largest Blue Cross Blue Shield providers plan to merge in a deal the companies valued at $16.4-billion, creating the nation's largest managed-care provider with 26-million members from Maine to California. Anthem Inc., the slightly smaller of the two, will swallow California's WellPoint Health Networks Inc., the companies announced Monday. Anthem will trade one share of its stock, plus $23.80 in cash, for each share of WellPoint. The merger is expected to close by mid 2004.

UNITEDHEALTH BUYS MID ATLANTIC: Managed care giant UnitedHealth Group agreed to buy Mid Atlantic Medical Services Inc. in a $2.95-billion deal that would give the combined company a leading position in the mid-Atlantic region. UnitedHealth said Monday that MAMSI's shareholders will receive $860-million in cash and the remainder in UnitedHealth shares. MAMSI will keep its name and management team. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2004.

RAYMOND JAMES BANK DOWN: Raymond James Bank of St. Petersburg reported net income of $1.4-million for the fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30, a 4 percent decrease from the $1.5-million reported for the same period a year ago. For the full year the bank had net income of $5.9-million, a 45 percent increase from last year's $4.1-million. Total assets were $915.7-million, down from $924.3-million. The bank is a subsidiary of Raymond James Financial Inc.

PUBLIC COUNSEL CANDIDATE WITHDRAWS: Jacksonville attorney Ava L. Parker has withdrawn her name as a candidate for appointment as state public counsel. Parker said Monday she didn't feel her application would get fair consideration after news reports questioning why she hadn't disclosed her past work as a lobbyist for Supra Telecom of Miami in 1999 or that she was being paid by BellSouth to promote the state's Lifeline phone-service discount program for low income families. Parker's withdrawal leaves four candidates for public counsel. The Joint Legislative Auditing Committee is scheduled to interview the candidates and select a new public counsel in mid November.

REPTRON SELLS ASSETS: Reptron Electronics Inc. of Tampa said it is selling assets of its memory module division for $9.1-million, $6.9-million of it in cash and the rest in assumption of debt. The division lost $1.4-million on $16-million in revenues during the six months ended in June. The sale will affect about 15 employees, some of whom will be offered jobs with the purchaser, All Components Inc. of Farmers Branch, Texas. "This sale is another important element of our strategy to focus on our key strength in electronics manufacturing services and display systems," Reptron president Paul Plante said.

T-BILL RATES TICK UP: The Treasury Department sold $17-billion in three-month bonds at a discount rate of 0.940 percent, up from 0.920 percent last week. An additional $17-billion was sold in six-month bills at a rate of 1.020 percent, up from 1.015 percent. Also, the Federal Reserve said the average yield for one year constant maturity Treasury bills rose to 1.30 percent last week from 1.29 percent the previous week.

IRS HOLDS UNCLAIMED CREDITS: The IRS has almost 116,000 checks worth a total of more than $50-million in advance child care payments awaiting claim. The IRS mailed nearly 24-million advance payments in July and August after Congress agreed to increase the child tax credit this year from $600 to $1,000. Taxpayers who moved or changed their names might not have gotten their payments, worth up to $400 per child. They need to act by Dec. 5 to collect the payment this year, the IRS announced Monday. After Dec. 5, taxpayers can claim the credit when they file their 2003 tax return. Taxpayers can register new addresses with the IRS and claim refunds through their tax preparers or by calling toll-free 1-800-829-1040. Alternatively, taxpayers can file Form 8822 to notify the IRS of a new address.

MONUMENTAL LIFE SETTLES: Monumental Life Insurance Co. will pay $650,000 in increased death benefits to 9,000 Florida policyholders as part of a nationwide settlement. Investigators found many company subsidiaries charged nonwhite customers higher premiums than whites. More than 600,000 policyholders are affected nationwide. For information on obtaining benefits, call toll-free 1-877-216-0949.

INTERACTIVE BUYS ANYWAY.COM: InterActiveCorp, the biggest owner of Internet travel services, as well as Home Shopping Network of St. Petersburg, agreed to buy Anyway.com, an online seller of travel reservations in France, from Canada's Transat AT Inc. for about $62.7-million to gain customers in Europe. InterActiveCorp, headed by Barry Diller, will add Anyway.com to its travel unit, which also includes the Expedia, Hotels.com and Hotwire.com travel Web sites, the New York- based company said in a statement.

LAWYERS ARGUE OVER TAPE: Lawyers argued Monday over how much jurors should see of a videotape showing a $2-million party former Tyco International chief executive L. Dennis Kozlowski threw for his wife on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia. One of Kozlowski's lawyers, Austin Campriello, contended that the four-hour tape has material that is prejudicial to his client without adding anything to the larceny case against Kozlowski and former Tyco chief financial officer Mark Swartz. Justice Michael Obus said he would decide later how the videotape would be presented to the jury. Prosecutors accuse Kozlowski and Swartz of stealing $600-million from Tyco, partly by billing the company for personal expenses. Kozlowski and Swartz are on trial in Manhattan's state Supreme Court charged with grand larceny and enterprise corruption. Each faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted.

COKE TO CUT ASIAN JOBS: Coca-Cola will increase the number of jobs it is cutting worldwide to 2,800 from a previously disclosed 1,900. Of the 900 additional jobs to be cut, most will be in Asia, said Coca-Cola spokesman Ben Deutsch. The original 1,900 job cuts included 1,000 in North America, 500 of which were in Atlanta.

Cornerstone Community Bank: The St. Petersburg bank posted a 44 percent increase in net income for the quarter ended Sept. 30. The earnings per share was affected by the completion of a stock sale in October 2002 that increased the number of shares by 480,000.

Sykes Enterprises Inc.: The Tampa call center operator boosted its projections for 2003, forecasting revenues of $476-million to $481-million and earnings per share of 20 to 22 cents. It also plans to add 4,000 to 5,000 more seats in Latin America and Asia by June 30, due to growing demand for the lower-priced services it offers via those regions. Sykes sold one U.S. call center during the quarter, resulting in a 3-cent-per-share gain. Last year's figures reflect a 23-cent-per-share charge it took related to the settlement of a class-action suit.

Royal Caribbean: The Miami cruise operator reported a slight decline in third quarter profits Monday as the cruise line industry continued to recover from fewer bookings leading up to the war in Iraq. Earnings per share just missed Wall Street analysts' average forecast of 98 cents a share, according to Thomson First Call.

Humana Inc.: The Louisville, Ky., company posted higher third quarter earnings Monday as its fast-rising commercial business offset a slight drop in the managed care company's income from the government.