Business briefs, April 24

Published April 24, 2007 at midnight

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NATIONAL

Scrushy has deal with SEC to settle lawsuit in accounting fraud

Fired HealthSouth Corp. Chief Executive Richard Scrushy reached an $81 million settlement to end a government lawsuit in a huge accounting fraud, but he will pay less than $10 million - maybe much less - as his attorneys contend he is running out of money.

A federal judge in Birmingham, Ala., on Monday approved the settlement of the lawsuit filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which billed the financial deal as one of the SEC's largest against an individual. While not admitting that he did anything wrong, Scrushy agreed to give up $77.5 million that the government claimed he profited from in the $2.7 billion fraud at HealthSouth, and he agreed to pay another $3.5 million in civil penalties.

DELTA LOSS SHRINKS Delta Air Lines Inc. said its first-quarter loss shrank by 93 percent as an increase in international flights helped the third-largest U.S. carrier prepare to exit bankruptcy this month.

The $130 million loss compared with a $2 billion deficit a year earlier, Delta said in a statement that didn't give per-share results.

Excluding claims from Delta's regional partners and other reorganization costs, the loss was $6 million.

GENESCO REJECTS BID Genesco Inc., the footwear and accessories company, rejected on Monday a $1.2 billion buyout bid from rival Foot Locker Inc., saying the offer undervalued the company.

Genesco rejected Foot Locker's offer of $46 a share after consulting with financial adviser Goldman, Sachs & Co. and legal adviser Bass, Berry & Sims PLC.

SIRIUS COMPENSATION Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. paid its CEO Mel Karmazin compensation valued at $4.3 million in 2006, according to a regulatory filing the company made Monday.

Karmazin was paid $1.25 million in salary and a bonus of $3 million, as well as $16,937 in retirement plan contributions and profit sharing.

Karmazin was not granted any stock or options in 2006, but he did become vested in $2.43 million worth of stock awards, which was not included in the total pay calculation done by The Associated Press.

SEC FILES CHARGES The Securities and Exchange Commission said Monday it filed securities fraud charges against the husband of a top executive at California-based biotechnology giant Amgen Inc., accusing the man of insider trading in the stock of another company, Abgenix Inc.

The SEC complaint alleges Gary K. Melton of Newbury Park, Calif., misappropriated confidential information from his wife, Amgen's vice president of strategic sourcing and procurement, when he bought stock days before Amgen's acquisition of Abgenix was made public.

LOCAL

Goodall featured speaker at CSU event

Jane Goodall, one of the best-known primatologists, will speak at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Moby Arena of Colorado State University.

Last week, Goodall put her name on a new coffee from Vermont-based Green Mountain Roasters Inc. The coffee is grown by members of the Kalinzi Cooperative, a group of 2,700 small-scale farmers who live near Gombe National Park in Tanzania, the site of Goodall's groundbreaking research into chimp behavior.

MONFORT DEAN The Monfort College of Business at the University of Northern Colorado named Timothy Jares as the college's interim dean in the next academic year. Jares starts July 1, replacing Joe Alexander, who accepted a position as associate dean and senior professor of performance excellence at the Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn.

Jares was recruited to the Monfort College of Business in 2001 as an assistant professor of finance. He was appointed assistant dean in June 2002 and associate dean in August 2005. His responsibilities have ranged from managing the budget and supporting curriculum innovation to facilitating campus and community partnerships.

MANAGER PICKED Elysian Worldwide LLC and Lodging Capital Partners LLC picked Broomfield-based RockResorts International to manage the operations of 92-room Hotel Jerome in Aspen.

RockResorts is a subsidiary of Vail Resorts Inc. Elysian and Lodging Capital are in the process of purchasing the Hotel Jerome.

ENERGY PROMOTION Gander Mountain, a St. Paul, Minn.-based outdoor lifestyle retailer, on Monday said its stores in Minnesota, North Dakota, Iowa, Kansas and Colorado will offer free $50 and $20 gift cards to employees and customers who purchase wind power for their homes for one year with Boulder-based Renewable Choice Energy. More details about the promotion can be found at gandermountain.com/links.

THIS JUST IN...

• The 560-room Doubletree Hotel Denver in the Stapleton neighborhood has completed an $8.2 million renovation of its guest rooms, meeting space, dining outlets and recreation facilities.

• Greenwood Village-based Red Robin announced that Susan Lintonsmith has joined the company as senior vice president and chief marketing officer.

• The University of Colorado Natural Hazards Center, working with the Fritz Institute, a San Francisco-based nonprofit, will conduct a study of disaster preparedness among nonprofit organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area as part of a $1.3 million grant.

• The Colorado component of the American Institute of Architects recognized 16 architectural designers and young architects during its annual Young Architects Awards Gala on April 13. Joey Carrasquill of Anderson Mason Dale Architects received the Young Architect of the Year Award; Jin Soo Park of David Owen Tryba Architects received the Intern of the Year Award; Peggy Kinsey of Slaterpaull Architects received the Mentor of the Year Award; Kellen Schauermann, a student at the University of Colorado, received the Student Portfolio Award; Steven Perce of 22 West Design received the Visual Communication Award; Matthew Fitzpatrick of 4240 Architecture received the Architectural Craftsmanship Award; and Nicholas Fiore of Arcadea Architecture and Alex McCann of 4240 Architecture received Architectural Project Awards. Honorable mentions went to Matthew Fitzpatrick of 4240 Architecture and Levi Reeves of David Owen Tryba Architects for their Student Portfolios; Alex McCann of 4240 Architecture for Visual Communication; Chad Lovin and Tim Meador of RNL Design for Architectural Craftsmanship; Jane Rogers of JG Johnson Architects for Mentor of the Year; Jeff Bartosik of klipp for Intern of the Year; and Michael Tavel of Michael Tavel Architects for Young Architect of the Year.

• Ciber Inc. has appointed Marcia M. Kim to lead its federal government solutions practice as practice president.

• Pat Cortez, senior vice president for Wells Fargo Bank, and Manuel Martinez, a partner with the firm Holmes, Roberts and Owens LLC, will serve as honorary chairs for Clinica Tepeyac's "Fiesta on the Plaza" fundraiser scheduled for June 9 at the Belmar Center in Lakewood.

Rocky staff and wire reports

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