Weight Watchers price triples on Heinz

Weight Watchers International Inc. is telling investors that it's worth more than $2 billion, about triple the price paid by its current owners two years ago. Artal Luxembourg SA acquired Weight Watchers in September 1999 from H.J. Heinz Co. of Pittsburgh in a leveraged buyout valued at $735 million. Last month, Woodbury, New York-based Weight Watchers filed for an initial public offering that would let Artal sell part of its stake in the worldwide sponsor of weight-reduction programs and classes. The terms of the stock sale, filed Monday with the SEC, put the Weight Watchers' total market value as high as $2.4 billion. In July 1999, Heinz was seeking to free up cash for marketing its other products when it agreed to sell Weight Watchers. Analysts said then the $735 million price tag was a little higher than they expected, though today's IPO price may mean that Heinz did not charge as much as the company was worth.

Kennametal could rise

Barron's reported that shares of Kennametal Inc. may rise based on higher demand for coal, which could also make the Unity Township-based toolmaker an acquisition candidate. A Kennametal spokesman Monday said it was company policy not to comment on speculation. Kennametal makes drilling tools used in mining. Higher oil prices and coal's prominence in the Bush Administration's proposed energy program have brightened the outlook for fuel, Barron's said. The weekly financial newspaper also said insiders don't own a controlling stake in the company, which could make it even more attractive for a prospective buyer. Kennametal's annual shareholders meeting is scheduled for today at company headquarters.

CPU prices tumble

Intel Corp. chopped the price of some Pentium 4 personal-computer processors by as much as 29 percent, as the biggest semiconductor maker tries to jump-start sales of its newest PC chips. Rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. followed suit with its own price cuts. Intel reduced the cost of a 2 gigahertz Pentium 4 chip to $401 from $562. The price of a 1.9 GHz version fell 27 percent to $273 from $375, with the 1.8 GHz chip dropping 12 percent to $225 from $256. Advanced Micro lowered the cost of its Athlon XP 1800+ by 12 percent to $223 from $252. A 1.1 GHZ Duron for cheaper PCs fell to $89 from $103, with a 1 GHz model down to $74 from $89, and a 950-megahertz version at $69 from $75.

U.S. Steel appointments

In preparation for U.S. Steel Corp.'s start up in January, parent USX Corp. made several appointments Monday. Albert E. Ferrara Jr., senior vice president and treasurer, will head a unit that will oversee all finance, planning, risk management and cash management activities. David C. Greiner, treasurer, and William S. Smith, now the director of corporate risk management, will keep the same positions. Larry Brockway was named assistant treasurer for corporate finance. He replaces Michael Hatcher, who is now assistant controller for corporate accounting. Gregory Zovko was named assistant controller for accounting and financial analysis.

SEC approves GPU sale

FirstEnergy Corp. said it will take over operations of GPU Inc. Nov. 7 after the Securities and Exchanges Commission approved the takeover, now valued at about $10.7 billion in cash and stock. By adding GPU, Akron, Ohio-based First Energy will create the sixth-largest utility company in the U.S. with 4.3 million customers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio. FirstEnergy agreed to buy GPU for cash, stock and debt more than a year ago.

More lofts coming

Eve Picker of No Wall Productions continues to bring more loft housing to Pittsburgh's housing market. Her latest addition is a 21-loft apartment development in one of the former Kerotest buildings in the Strip District. Ground breaking for converting the three-story structure into housing takes place at 1:30 p.m. Nov. 1 at 2501 Liberty Ave., corner 25th Street. Picker also currently is involved in converting a former commercial structure at 905 Liberty Ave., Downtown, into eight loft apartments.

Gas prices still falling

Retail gasoline prices fell 3 cents in the past week to $1.235 a gallon, the lowest price in almost two years, the Department of Energy said. Regular self-serve gasoline prices have fallen 19 percent since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11 to the lowest level since November 1999, according to the department's survey of about 900 filling stations. Prices are 31 cents a gallon lower than at this time last year after falling for six straight weeks.

$400 million bond sale

Duquesne Light Co., a unit of DQE Inc., filed to sell $400 million of first mortgage bonds over time to refinance higher-cost debt and pay for general corporate expenditures. The Pittsburgh-based electric company will have the flexibility to sell the debt securities when market conditions or interest rates become favorable.

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