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Business briefs

Briefs and news of note.

By Times Staff
Published June 9, 2006

Compex's Tampa facility to close

The Tampa processing facility of Compex Technologies Inc., which does business as Rehabilicare, will close by February 2007. All 178 jobs will be eliminated, with the first phase of layoffs on Aug. 4. Compex, a medical device company based in New Brighton, Minn., was acquired in February by Encore Medical Corp. of Houston.

Lincare to settle whistle-blower suit

Lincare Holdings Inc. of Clearwater agreed to pay $526,000 to settle a federal whistle-blower lawsuit claiming three of its Massachusetts offices overbilled Medicare. The allegations were made by a former Lincare sales representative and involved billing from January 1999 through March 2004. The settlement was not an admission of liability by Lincare, which provides home oxygen equipment through more than 800 locations nationwide. In May, the company agreed to pay $12-million to resolve federal allegations it gave kickbacks to providers. Under that agreement, Lincare did not admit any wrongdoing.

Citizens approves $710M line of credit

The board of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. on Thursday approved a $710-million revolving line of credit that will be used to pay claims for future property losses. Because of bond insurance received recently, Citizens now has more than $5-billion in capacity to handle claims. "We'll have close to $5-billion in liquidity by the first week of July,'' board chairman Bruce Douglas said. "For a supposedly shaky company, we're doing pretty well.''

Rooms to Go buys store in New Orleans

Rooms to Go, the nation's largest furniture retailer, has acquired the 92-year-old Kirschman's Furniture in New Orleans. The Seffner-based company's purchase from the third generation of Kirschman's founder is a follow-up of Rooms to Go's recent moves to be a bigger player in the rebuilding of the hurricane-racked Gulf Coast. The purchase includes five stores in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Gulfport, Miss. The price was not disclosed but the acquisition did not include four New Orleans stores that never re-opened after Hurricane Katrina. Rooms to Go last year grew closer to the New Orleans market by acquiring Rhodes Furniture out of bankruptcy for $45-million, including 11 stores and a distribution center that serves the Florida Panhandle and Gulf Coast.

CORRECTION

A report from A.M. Best Co. suggests 20 to 40 insurance companies could fail if a hurricane season resulted in $100-billion in losses. A headline Thursday was incorrect.

[Last modified June 9, 2006, 06:23:19]