Deals of the Hour

Trying to find out what's the deal with the world, tracking what's on sale and who's talking about it on Twitter. Update hourly.

Deals of the Hour / July 2, 2010, 10:14 am

Columbia Labs (CBRX) Shareholders Approve Sale to Watson Pharma (WPI)

Columbia Laboratories, Inc. (Nasdaq: CBRX ) announced that in a special meeting of stockholders held this morning, stockholders approved the sale of substantially all of Columbia's progesterone related assets to Watson ... (Source: StreetInsider.com 2010-07-01T14:59:26Z)

AIG CEO, Chairman to Work out Differences: Report

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American International Group Inc Chief Executive Robert Benmosche and Chairman Harvey Golub, at odds since a botched sale of the company's Asian life unit, will try to work out their differences, the ... (Source: ABC News 2010-07-01T17:58:24Z)

Spain defies ratings warnings with bond sale

MADRID: Spain successfully raised money on the bond market at moderate rates on Thursday, despite a warning its credit standing was under review, but suffered a new blow when regional government debt was downgraded ... (Source: Channel NewsAsia 2010-07-01T14:59:26Z)

Treasury Gets $10.5B From Citigroup Share Sale

The Treasury Department says it raised $10.5 billion from the sale of a total of 2.6 billion shares of Citigroup stock it received as part of the government's rescue of the bank. The government sold the shares at a profit as it seeks to recoup the costs of the $700 billion financial bailout in 2008 ... (Source: ABC News 2010-07-01T12:50:35Z)

Treasury gets $10.5B from Citigroup share sales

The government sold the shares at a profit as it seeks to recoup the costs of the $700 billion financial bailout in 2008. Treasury says the latest sale of 1.1 billion shares, which figures into the total, completes its ... (Source: Detroit Free Press 2010-07-02T06:51:30Z)

Canucks land big free agent prize, sign D Dan Hamhuis to 6-year deal

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Highly sought after free agent defenseman Dan Hamhuis has finally found a home with the Vancouver Canucks. Twice traded since the end of the season to teams hoping to sign the ... (Source: Los Angeles Times 2010-07-01T21:18:50Z)

Watson Pharma Closes Acquisition Of Crinone And Prochieve Product Line And Shares Of Columbia Labs - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. (WPI: News ) announced that it completed the acquisition of the U.S. rights to Columbia Laboratories' Crinone and Prochieve progesterone gel product line and 11.20 million shares of Columbia common stock. As per the terms of the deal, Watson paid Columbia an ... (Source: RTT News 2010-07-02T15:05:25Z)

AIG Mulls Sale, Again, of 2 Japan Units

NEW YORK ( TheStreet ) -- American International Group ( AIG ) is reconsidering a sale of two Japanese life insurance companies for roughly $5 billion, a report says. A plan to sell the units, the Wall Street Journal reports, would represent a reversal of AIG's decision last fall to retain AIG Star ... (Source: Street.Com 2010-07-02T08:31:42Z)

Investors Close First Republic Buyout

An investor group led by Colony Capital and General Atlantic have sewn up their deal to buy First Republic from Bank of America with $1.86 billion in new equity capital, The Associated Press reported . Last October, Bank of America agreed to sell the San Francisco-based private bank, which it had ... (Source: New York Times Blogs 2010-07-02T10:26:14Z)

SandRidge reaches $140 million deal to sell Oklahoma acreage

OKLAHOMA CITY - SandRidge Energy Inc. has struck a $140 million deal to sell some of its Oklahoma assets. The Oklahoma City-based energy company announced today it has reached an agreement with unnamed buyer for deep acreage rights in northwest Oklahoma's Cana Shale play. The extent of the acreage ... (Source: Tulsa World 2010-07-02T16:17:00Z)

Canucks sign sought after D Hamhuis to six-year deal

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Highly sought after free agent defenseman Dan Hamhuis finally found a home - close to home - with the Vancouver Canucks. Twice traded since the end of the season to teams hoping to sign the ... (Source: Washington Post 2010-07-02T05:54:14Z)

Watson Acquires Columbia Drug

MORRISTOWN, N.J. (AP) -- Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc. said Friday it completed its acquisition of the U.S. rights to a Columbia Laboratories' progesterone drug in a deal that could be worth more than $92.5 million. Watson now has the rights to a drug that is sold under the names Crinone and Prochieve ... (Source: Industrial Distribution 2010-07-02T16:02:41Z)

My Horizons

AOMORI, Japan -- In an attempt to learn more about the Japanese culture, I have been talking to people who are Japanese as well as foreigners that have lived here for a five or more years. Arriving in this country, I fell under the spell of the famous Japanese custom of extreme politeness to ... (Source: American Reporter 2010-07-02T16:17:00Z)

Raptors agree to deal with Amir Johnson

Hedo: 43.8 million for 4 more years. Calderon: 29.3 million for 3 more years. Bargnani: 50 million for 5 more years. A. Johnson: 34 million for 4 more years. J. Jack: 15 million for 3 more years. So Hedo/Cald/Bargs/Jack ... (Source: Sactown Royalty 2010-07-02T04:42:39Z)

AIG CEO and chairman to work out differences: source

NEW YORK (Reuters) - American International Group Inc ( AIG.N ) Chief Executive Robert Benmosche and Chairman Harvey Golub, at odds over a botched sale of the company's Asian life unit, have agreed to work out their ... (Source: Reuters 2010-07-02T08:53:11Z)

Spain's Aaa on Downgrade Review at Moody's as Note Sale Nears

July 1 (Bloomberg) -- Spain's top credit ranking was placed on review for a possible downgrade by Moody's Investors Service as the country prepares to sell as much 3.5 billion euros ($4.3 billion) of five-year notes ... (Source: BusinessWeek 2010-06-30T21:55:48Z)

Treasury Department makes profit on Citigroup stock sale

The Treasury Department said Thursday it raised $10.5 billion from the sale of a total of 2.6 billion shares of Citigroup stock it received as part of the government's rescue of the bank. The government sold the shares ... (Source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review 2010-07-02T03:52:32Z)

SandRidge offer for Arena still only one

Arena Resources Inc.'s merger with SandRidge Energy Inc. cleared a major hurdle Thursday when a 30-day "go-shop" period ended without another company offering a rival takeover bid. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, the financial adviser to Arena in the deal, alerted 24 possible merger partners and none ... (Source: Tulsa World 2010-07-02T15:12:34Z)

Canucks sign D Hamhuis to 6-year deal

VANCOUVER - Dan Hamhuis (notes) turned down more money from other teams for a chance to play at home and maybe win a Stanley Cup. The free-agent defenseman agreed to a US$27-million, six-year deal with the Vancouver ... (Source: YAHOO! 2010-07-02T08:46:01Z)

Spanish sale of $4.3 billion in bonds is successful despite credit downgrade warning

MADRID, Spain - Spain succesfully raised euro3.5 billion ($4.3 billion) Thursday in an oversubscribed bond sale, a reassuring sign for markets a day after ratings agency Moody's warned it may join others in downgrading ... (Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune 2010-07-01T12:21:58Z)

Interview: Disney's Steve Wadsworth On Tapulous, Android & Mobile Money

What is it with Disney ( NYSE: DIS ) and summer game deals? Three years ago, Disney Interactive acquired sought-after virtual world Club Penguin for $350 million, looking for a path into a growing online game area. Now, for an undisclosed sum, it's picked up Tapulous , the profitable developer of ... (Source: paidContent.org 2010-06-30T23:57:30Z)

NBA free-agency tracker: Former Pistons Darko Milicic, Amir Johnson get big deals

The Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to terms with former Pistons draft pick Darko Milicic on a four-year deal. Milicic's agent, Marc Cornstein, says the two sides reached agreement today, just over 12 hours after ... (Source: Detroit Free Press 2010-07-02T06:22:52Z)

AIG puts two life insurance units back on the block: WSJ

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- American International Group Inc. is putting two Asian life-insurance units back on the sales block, hoping to get roughly $5 billion for the businesses, The Wall Street Journal reported ... (Source: Marketwatch 2010-07-02T03:02:26Z)

Wanted: Innovative Mathematical Thinking

We read all the time how poorly the US mathematics education system performs compared with other nations, particularly those we compete with economically. The most cited comparison study on which this dire conclusion is reached is PISA, short for Programme for International Student Assessment ... (Source: MAA Online 2010-07-02T15:41:12Z)

Raptors agree to deal with Johnson

Amir Johnson (notes) has reached agreement on a five-year, $34 million contract to return to the Toronto Raptors , his agent Kevin Bradbury told Yahoo! Sports on Thursday. Johnson, 23, averaged 6.2 points and 4.8 ... (Source: YAHOO! 2010-07-02T11:30:40Z)

Interview: Disney's Steve Wadsworth On Tapulous, Android & Mobile Money

What is it with Disney ( NYSE: DIS ) and summer game deals? Three years ago, Disney Interactive acquired sought-after virtual world Club Penguin for $350 million, looking for a path into a growing online game area. Now, for an undisclosed sum, it's picked up Tapulous , the profitable developer of ... (Source: Yahoo Finance 2010-07-02T00:24:57Z)

UPDATE 1-SandRidge plans some Oklahoma rights sale for $140 mln

July 2 (Reuters) - Oil and natural gas explorer SandRidge Energy Inc ( SD.N ) said it has signed a letter of intent with an oil and gas company to sell some of its acreage rights in Oklahoma for $140 million in cash to ... (Source: Reuters 2010-07-02T11:52:08Z)

'Tap Tap Revenge' Developer Snagged By Disney

One of the early successes of the App Store was a simple but fun rhythm game called "Tap Tap Revenge." Developed by Tapulous, the game was sustained through several sequels with for-pay downloadable content songs and ... (Source: MTV.com (blog) 2010-07-02T15:48:22Z)

Colony Financial says investor group has completed First Republic deal with Bank of ...

LOS ANGELES — Colony Financial Inc. said Thursday that the acquisition of San Francisco-based private bank First Republic from Bank of America has been completed. Last October, Bank of America agreed to sell First ... (Source: Washington Examiner 2010-07-01T17:29:46Z)

BofA closes sale of First Republic Bank

First Republic Bank said Thursday that it is once again an independent bank, with the closing of a private equity investor group purchasing the bank from Bank of America . An investor group led by Colony Capital and ... (Source: San Francisco Business Journal 2010-07-01T08:04:16Z)

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