Sale of new stock fetches HEI $187 million
Hawaiian Electric Industries Inc. took in about $187 million by selling 7 million shares of new stock last week.
The parent company of Hawaii’s biggest utility announced the planned sale last week and set a price of $26.75 per share. The firm said it would sell 6.1 million shares and an additional 900,000 shares if there was enough demand.
HEI said it plans to use proceeds from the sale to pay for utility improvements over the next two years.
The last time HEI issued new stock was December 2008 when it sold 5 million shares to raise $115 million.
Shares of HEI closed Tuesday at $27.40, which was up from $27.01 a week earlier when the stock sale pricing was announced.
HMSA plans to open office in Keaau
The Hawaii Medical Service Association plans to expand its presence on Hawaii island with an office in Keaau next year that will become the organization’s fourth office on the island.
HMSA said it bought two acres from W.H. Shipman Ltd. and will build a two-story, plantation-style building to house customer service, sales and call center operations about five miles from Hilo at the corner of Old Volcano and Keaau-Pahoa roads.
W.H. Shipman, a major Hawaii island landowner, said it plans to build a retail complex on an adjacent site.
HMSA has three offices on Hawaii island employing 45 people. The first office was established in 1946.
Doctors warned over medical-device stock
MIAMI >> Federal health officials have issued a rare warning about doctors’ ownership of shares in medical device companies that allow them to profit from performing surgeries with those products.
The inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services issued a fraud alert Tuesday that called the practice “inherently suspect” and said it may violate anti-kickback laws.
The agency has issued only a handful of national fraud alerts in the past 20 years, and the warning sends a strong message to the medical industry.
‘American Idol’ loses viewers but not ads
LOS ANGELES >> In the heyday of “American Idol,” the notion that it could lose ratings to a zombie slugfest or standard crime drama would have been laughable.
That was then. With Fox’s singing contest shedding about 20 percent of its audience so far this season to hit new lows, it’s been leapfrogged repeatedly in total viewers by series like CBS’ “Person of Interest” and “NCIS.”
In a harsher blow to a blockbuster that once ruled the advertiser-adored young adult segment, “American Idol” has been overtaken this season by AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” despite the addition of new “Idol” judges Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban.
But in its 12th season, “American Idol” is managing to hit the right notes with sponsors if not always with fickle viewers: It has kept its status as TV’s advertising leader among series and the loyalty of its biggest backers, including Ford and Coca-Cola.
CBS to buy half of TV Guide channel, site
LOS ANGELES >> A person familiar with CBS’ deal for TV Guide says the broadcaster is buying a 50 percent stake in TV Guide’s cable channel and website for nearly $100 million.
The price is less than what JPMorgan Chase’s One Equity Partners paid for a similar stake four years ago and brings CBS Corp. into an equal partnership with Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.
The deal terms come from a person who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Berkshire amends deal with Goldman Sachs
OMAHA, Neb. >> Warren Buffett’s company will likely become one of the biggest shareholders in Goldman Sachs Group Inc. later this year, and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. won’t even have to part with any cash to do so.
Berkshire and Goldman said Tuesday that they had renegotiated an agreement that gave Berkshire the right to buy 43.5 million shares of the investment bank for $115 per share. Now the 2008 deal will be settled this fall with stock.
Buffett and Goldman Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein both characterized the deal as an endorsement of the investment bank — much as they did when Buffett invested $5 billion in Goldman during the financial crisis.
S&P 500 near record
The Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index climbed to within two points of its record closing high on Tuesday.
The S&P rose 12.08 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,563.77. Its record close of 1,565.16 was on Oct. 9, 2007, before the Great Recession and ensuing financial crisis battered markets.
ON THE MOVE
1013 Integrated Branding and Production has hired Kimberly Seko as a production coordinator. Prior to joining the company, Seko worked at Liquid Planet Studios.
Common Cause Hawaii has announced the appointment of three new board members: Jared Kuroiwa is senior programmer for Oceanic Time Warner Cable’s Interactive TV; Nikki Love is public policy director for the Hawai‘i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations; Burt Lum is an executive director of Hawaii Open Data.
