Weirton Steel auction ends, board mulls bids
The court-supervised auction of bankrupt Weirton Steel Corp. ended Tuesday with a steel company and a creditors group seeking control, and the company's board of directors must now tell the court which bid it favors. The board met by telephone for two hours Tuesday to review the offers but made no decision on which bid it would recommend to a federal bankruptcy judge, said Mark Glyptis, president of the Independent Steelworkers Union and a member of Weirton's board. Last week, the Informal Committee of Senior Secured Noteholders offered to purchase the company for $261.2 million. In February, Cleveland-based International Steel Group offered $255 million.
Verizon adds DSL fee
Verizon Communications Inc., the biggest U.S. local-telephone company, will add $2 to $3 to monthly high-speed Internet-service bills to cover costs for a federal program that brings phone service to remote areas. The company will add the fees in May or June to bills for digital subscriber line, or DSL, service, which provides Web access at faster speeds than regular connections. Verizon, which charges $29.95 to $34.95 a month for the Web service, said it has 2.5 million DSL subscribers.
Jacobs named dean
Robert Morris University said Tuesday it has named Derya A. Jacobs dean of the school of business and professor of management. She succeeds Richard W. Stolz, who remains as professor of finance and economics. Jacobs has served for the past two years as associate vice president of academic affairs and previously served as dean in the college of engineering and technology at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.
Flanagan switches
Bill Flanagan, longtime KDKA-TV business and finance reporter, will host a half-hour business program on rival WPXI-TV beginning at 10 a.m. on May 2. The program, which will be a cooperative effort of WPXI and the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, where Flanagan is executive vice president and chief public affairs officer, will be titled "Our Region's Business" and also will air on WJAC in Johnstown and WTOV in Steubenville, Ohio, both WPXI sister stations under Cox Communications, and on PCNC, WPXI's cable affiliate station.
Start-up gets $100,000
Agentase LLC, a Oakland-based start-up provider of technology for sensing toxic chemical agents in the air, in liquids or on surfaces, said Tuesday it has received a $100,000 investment from an affiliate of the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse. The company, which employs 19, was founded in 1999 by Keith LeJeune and Alan Russell based on LeJeune's research at the University of Pittsburgh. Chief Business Officer Gary Ryker said the company has raised $800,000 from a local investor, and has more than $1 million in annual revenue from several clients, including the Defense Intelligence Agency. Ryker said employment could expand by 5 to 10 people over the next year.
Other business news
-- From staff and wire reports
