Diomed wins court order vs. rivals in patent row

May 23, 2007

Diomed Holdings Inc. won a federal court order blocking rivals AngioDynamics Inc. and Vascular Solutions Inc. from using its patented technology for treating varicose veins. US District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton in Boston said at a hearing that he would sign an order permanently barring both companies from marketing products that infringe Diomed's patent. He gave the companies one week to agree on the wording in the order. In March, Diomed was awarded $12.5 million in damages by a federal jury that found the rivals infringed Diomed's patent for removing varicose veins with a laser. Both firms said they will appeal. (Bloomberg)

Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s 6-million-share initial public offering was priced at $10 each, in the middle of an expected price range of $9 to $11 a share. The company had expected to price an IPO of 5 million shares. JPMorgan, CIBC World Markets, Piper Jaffray, JMP Securities, and Rodman & Renshaw were listed as the offer's underwriters. Sirtris, of Cambridge, develops drugs to treat diseases associated with aging, including metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. The company plans to list its common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol SIRT. (Dow Jones)

BJ's Wholesale Club Inc.'s profit fell 11 percent in the first full quarter since a leadership change returned Herb Zarkin to the retail warehouse club's top job. Despite the lower profit, Zarkin said he expects his efforts to revamp merchandise and pricing at Natick-based BJ's to yield improved earnings by late this year. Net income for the three-month period ended May 5 declined to $13.7 million, or 21 cents per share, from $15.4 million, or 23 cents per share, a year ago. The latest quarter included income of a penny per share from the sale of pharmacy assets following Zarkin's Jan. 4 disclosure of plans to close 46 unprofitable in-store pharmacies. Revenue grew to $2.06 billion from $1.91 billion last year. (Bloomberg)

Analog Devices Inc., a Norwood maker of semiconductors used in products from mobile phones to cars, said second quarter earnings fell 14 percent on expenses to shut down a plant and a shift in orders to less-profitable products. Profit fell to $125.4 million, or 37 cents a share, from $145.8 million, or 39 cents, a year earlier. Sales gained 3.9 percent to $669.1 million in the period ended May 5. Analysts expected earnings of 36 cents a share on $659 million in sales. Analog Devices shares fell $2.27 to $38.15 in extended trading following the disclosure. The stock, up 23 percent this year, earlier gained 28 cents to $40.42 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. (Bloomberg)

THE NATION

Morgan Stanley, the biggest real estate investor among Wall Street banks, agreed to buy Richard Rainwater's Crescent Real Estate Equities Co. for $2.78 billion. The total value of the deal is $6.5 billion including debt, Crescent, of Forth Worth, said. Morgan Stanley, already one of the largest office landlords in San Francisco, adds properties in Dallas, Houston, and Las Vegas to its portfolio with the purchase. Crescent owns and manages 71 office buildings with 28 million square feet. (Bloomberg)

Fremont General Corp., whose loans to risky borrowers helped trigger the subprime mortgage crisis, will sell its commercial real estate unit for $1.9 billion and bring in new managers led by billionaire banker Gerald J. Ford. IStar Financial Inc., a real estate lending and leasing company, will buy the commercial loan operation, Fremont said. Fremont, of Santa Monica, Calif., also will get $80 million by selling a minority stake in the remaining enterprise to investors headed by Ford, who once ran Golden State Bancorp Inc. (Bloomberg)

The House of Representatives passed legislation creating a stronger regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The bill passed 313 to 104. The legislation gives a new regulator the power to alter reserve requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, sell off their assets in the event of default, bar them from new lines of business, and force a reduction in the companies' mortgage assets when the portfolios threaten the soundness of the companies. (Bloomberg)