3-Par will talk with H-P about takeover bid • 3Par Inc. said in a filing that it will hold talks with Hewlett-Packard Inc. over its unsolicited $1.6 billion takeover bid while giving Dell Inc. a chance to raise its own offer. H-P offered to buy 3Par after the company had already secured a deal with Dell to be acquired for $18 a share, or $1.15 billion. Dell is planning a second offer to try to keep 3Par out of H-P's hands, according to a person familiar with the discussions. The exact timing and amount of Dell's offer are not known. The person said Dell's bid will likely top H-P's offer. Previous 3Par filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission suggested that H-P had made an earlier bid, which was turned down.
Durbin, Costello remind Olin Corp. of their efforts • Two federal lawmakers urged Olin Corp. on Wednesday to reconsider its possible plans to move 1,000 jobs from its ammunition-making operation in Illinois to Mississippi, cautioning the company to be mindful of their efforts in Washington to steer business in its direction. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Jerry Costello (D-Ill.), in a letter to Olin President and CEO Joseph Rupp, pressed for a meeting to discuss the plans to shift its Winchester ammunition division's Centerfire production from East Alton to Oxford, Miss. The legislators suggested they deserved the courtesy, saying they worked hard on Capitol Hill to help Olin get sizable government contracts. Those deals included supplying Winchester munitions to the Army and a $54 million deal the lawmakers called "the largest ammunition contract in the history of federal law enforcement," the letter said. Clayton, Mo.-based Olin, which also makes specialty chemicals, announced the possible move earlier this month with little public elaboration, stunning Illinois lawmakers and the operation's union-represented workers.
Boeing gets contract • The Defense Department said Wednesday that the Air Force awarded Boeing Co. a $26 million contract modification to provide a leased aircraft. The Pentagon said the Boeing 737-C40C was contracted for by Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. On its website, the Air Force says it uses the C40B and C40C to carry military commanders and members of the president's cabinet and Congress around the world. It's based on a business jet model of Boeing's popular 737-700 aircraft, which lists at between $58.5 million and $69.5 million on Boeing's website. Good customers routinely get discounts, however.
Apple won't affect TV watching • Apple Inc.'s iTunes store may have revolutionized the music business, but its recent push to let people rent TV shows for 99 cents won't amount to a game changer for how people watch TV. The idea to offer episodes of hit shows for rental a day after their broadcast may be great for people with busy lifestyles, and it could help Apple sell more iPhones and iPads, but only a few of the major media companies support the plan. That's because they already make money from TV shows in a number of ways, and compared with those, the planned price of 99 cents is seen as a big cut, according to some people familiar with Apple's proposal.
EARNINGS
BHP Billiton Ltd., which has made a nearly $39 billion hostile bid to acquire Potash Corp., said its fiscal-year profit more than doubled, bolstered by the emerging world's hunger for commodities. The world's biggest miner, based in Melbourne, racked up record sales volumes for iron ore, metallurgical coal and petroleum. For the fiscal year ended June 30, BHP posted attributable net profit of $12.72 billion, up sharply from $5.88 billion in the preceding year. Revenue increased 5 percent.
TiVo Inc. lost significantly more money in its second quarter than it did a year earlier, but still turned in results slightly ahead of Wall Street's expectations. TiVo lost $15.3 million, or 13 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.7 million, or 3 cents, a year ago. Revenue fell to $51.6 million.
Toll Brothers Inc. posted a third-quarter profit, but the luxury homebuilder said fewer buyers signed contracts. The company earned $27.3 million, or 16 cents per share, compared with a loss of $472.3 million, or $2.93, last year. Revenue slipped to $454.2 million.
