Bruker shareholders OK unit buyout, name change

Bruker BioSciences Corp. said its shareholders approved its acquisition of the Bruker BioSpin Group and changed the name of the combined company to Bruker Corp. Bruker BioSpin was owned by Bruker BioSciences' majority shareholders, the Laukien family. The cash and stock deal was valued at $914 million. Bruker shares rose 40 cents to $10.86. (AP)

Novell Inc., the second-biggest US vendor of the Linux operating system software, agreed to buy PlateSpin Ltd. for $205 million to add revenue from data management services. The cash purchase is expected to close by the end of April, Waltham-based Novell said. PlateSpin, a closely held, five-year-old company based in Ontario, helps large businesses consolidate computer servers and provides disaster backup and recovery services. Novell rose 15 cents to $6.72 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. (Bloomberg News)

Biotechnology company Metabolix Inc. of Cambridge named Richard P. Eno chief executive, effective March 17. Eno replaces Jay Kouba, who became president, chief executive, and chairman in May 2007 as the company sought a permanent replacement for James J. Barber, who resigned that same month. Kouba will remain chairman. Eno was most recently vice president, leader global oil and gas sector at CRA International, a management consultancy. Shares fell 25 cents $16.72 in aftermarket trading, following an 8 cent loss in the regular session. (AP)

Four former executives of General Reinsurance Corp. and a former American International Group Inc. executive were convicted of fraud charges for helping to deceive AIG investors through a sham transaction in 2000. Prosecutors in Hartford said they helped AIG fraudulently add $500 million in loss reserves, a key indicator of an insurer's health. The defendants, who face maximum terms of 20 years on the most serious charges, were each convicted of charges including conspiracy, securities fraud, mail fraud, and making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Sentencing is set for May 15. (Bloomberg)

Ford Motor Co. and India's Tata Motors Ltd. could disclose the sale of British automakers Jaguar and Land Rover on March 5 or 6, a top union official said. Dave Osborne, automotive industry national secretary for the Unite union, said Tata assured the union last week that it would keep employment in the United Kingdom around the current 15,300. Tata also denied press reports that it plans to sell the luxury sports car brand Jaguar shortly after the purchase. A Ford spokesman would not comment on dates for the sale, and a message was left after business hours for a Tata official. (AP)

The number of homes facing foreclosure jumped 57 percent in January compared to a year ago, with lenders increasingly forced to take possession of homes they couldn't unload at auctions, a mortgage research firm said. Nationwide, some 233,001 homes received at least one notice from lenders last month related to overdue payments, compared with 148,425 a year earlier, according to Irvine, Calif.-based RealtyTrac Inc. (AP)

Two hedge funds trying to elect a dissident slate to the board of The New York Times Co. amassed 19.03 percent of the company's common stock before last week's deadline for gaining voting power at the annual meeting, according to a report filed yesterday. That rivals the holdings of the Times Co.'s chairman, Arthur Sulzberger Jr., and his family, who have effectively controlled the selection of directors. A two-tiered stock structure gives the family unfettered control of nine of the 13 board seats; what the hedge funds are fighting for is control of the other four. The funds, Harbinger Capital Partners and Firebrand Partners, say Times Co. should sell assets, focus on the flagship newspaper, The New York Times, and invest more in Internet operations. But the funds have also said that they do not intend to challenge the two-tiered stock structure or the control of the company. Times Co. also owns The Boston Globe and a minority stake in the Boston Red Sox. (New York Times News Service)