Business & Finance
Arthur Andersen LLP said 2,000 employees would transfer to accounting industry rival Deloitte & Touche, while another 87 in Pittsburgh would go to Ernst & Young. Earlier, auditor KPMG revealed plans to acquire 23 of Andersen's practices in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Andersen is reshaping itself in the wake of the Enron scandal. Its obstruction-of-justice trial began in Houston earlier this week.
Deeply indebted Hynix Semiconductor Inc. agreed to a proposal by creditors to divide its operations and sell those that attract buyers. The South Korean chipmaker's board last week rejected a $3.4 billion takeover by Boise, Idaho-based Micron Technology, saying it believed market conditions had improved to the point where Hynix could return to profitability. But a government analyst said by agreeing to the creditors' plan, the board now was showing it has given up hope of independent survival. The company owes lenders more than $5 billion.
Adelphia Communications Corp. said it will sell almost half of its operations to pay huge debts. Coudersport, Pa.-based Adelphia, the US's sixth-largest cable-TV operator, is under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission after disclosing financing deals that added $1.6 billion in debt to its balance sheet. On the auction block are cable systems serving 2.75 million subscribers in Los Angeles, Florida, Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia.
Beginning today, Cathay Pacific Airways will advertise 1,300 new job openings to fill anticipated needs as the industry rebounds after the terrorist attacks of last September. The Hong Kong-based company is planning to increase capacity over the next two years and is adding six new jets to its fleet.
Louisiana-Pacific Corp., a leading forest-products supplier, said it hopes to raise $700 million from the sale of about half of its North American mills, almost 1 million acres of timberland, and its majority stake in a joint venture in Ireland. The restructuring plan, aimed at reducing $1.2 billion in debt, also will result in 4,000 layoffs. Louisiana-Pacific's headquarters are in Portland, Ore.
