BRIEFLY

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 21, 2000

ADVERTISING ACQUISITION: Publicis SA of France agreed to buy Saatchi & Saatchi PLC, a U.K. advertising company, for $1.9-billion in stock. The deal gives Publicis some of the world's biggest advertisers, including Procter & Gamble Co. and General Mills Inc. Last month, WPP Group agreed to buy U.S. ad company Young & Rubicam Inc. for $4.7-billion in stock, defeating Publicis and creating the world's biggest ad company. The Publicis-Saatchi deal creates the fifth-largest firm.

SHOE RETAILER CHARGED WITH STOCK MANIPULATION: Designer and shoe retailer Steven Madden was arrested on charges that he conspired to manipulate the value of his company's stock during its initial public offering. Madden, 43, faces federal indictments accusing him of making secret deals with broker dealers. Madden denies the charges. Steven Madden Ltd., which is known for its clunky, high-heeled shoes, operates about 60 stores and sells its shoes in more than 3,000 department and specialty stores.

NEW COMPUTER VIRUS SPOTTED: A new computer virus, which looks like a harmless text file, has caused shutdowns of the e-mail systems at major U.S. companies, anti-virus experts said. The virus, similar to May's "Love Bug" virus, multiplies by sending itself out to everyone listed in the infected computer's address book. The e-mail message contains "funny," "life stages" or "jokes" in the subject line.

PORT PICKS MEXICO CITY REPRESENTATIVE: The Port of Tampa has hired a representative for its one-person trade office in Mexico City, a position that has been vacant about a year. Nestor J. Navarro, who was previously working for the port as a consultant, will be paid $2,000 a month under a one-year contract approved by the port board. Navarro was one of five people to submit a proposal. The appointment is part of an ongoing effort to beef up the port's marketing division.

PSC REJECTS INDUSTRY MOTION AGAINST TECO UNIT: Florida regulators denied a motion by a group of large industrial companies seeking relief from power interruptions and high electric prices charged by Tampa Electric, a unit of TECO Energy Inc. The Public Service Commission said TECO could continue to halt electricity to companies that agreed to interruptible power service. It also denied the group's request to shop for electricity from other utilities and limited the ability of companies that generate their own power to send electricity to businesses operating in TECO's service area. The group, called the Florida Industrial Power Users Group, had filed a complaint with the PSC in May.

ALLIANCE CAPITAL AGREES TO BUY BERNSTEIN: The holding company for Alliance Capital Management, the ninth-largest investment company in the world, has agreed to acquire the investment firm Sanford C. Bernstein Inc. for about $3.5-billion in stock and cash. The combined company would have about $475-billion of assets under management and annual revenues of about $3.2-billion.

CP&L CREATES NEW HOLDING COMPANY: Carolina Power & Light Co. has created a new holding company that will be called CP&L Energy -- for now. The Raleigh, N.C., utility plans to pick a permanent name for its holding company once it completes its acquisition of Florida Progress Corp. of St. Petersburg later this year. CP&L said the holding company structure will give it more flexibility to move quickly into the fast-growing, non-regulated side of the business.

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