THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, January 19, 1996 TAG: 9601190708
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Settlement between pharmacies/drug makers
Independent pharmacies are in line to collect about $600 million in a tentative settlement of a lawsuit against 13 big drug-makers. The class-action suit, brought by about 40,000 pharmacy owners, challenges the drug manufacturers' practice of offering big discounts to bulk buyers such as health-maintenance organizations. The defendants include Pfizer Inc., Merck & Co. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. Eight large manufacturers - including Johnson & Johnson and Pharmacia & Upjohn Inc. - have decided not to join the settlement but to fight the antitrust charges in court. The settlement also doesn't include pharmacies belonging to the retail chains Rite Aid Corp., Albertson's Inc., Kroger Co. and Safeway Inc. (AP) Dollar Tree to pay $53 million for chain
Dollar Tree Stores Inc., the discount variety retailer, on Thursday disclosed its purchase price for Terrific Promotions Inc., a 136-store chain based in Chicago. Dollar Tree, based in Norfolk, said it will pay $53 million plus expenses for the privately owned company, which uses the Dollar Bill$ banner on its stores. The deal is expected to close by the month's end. The combined company would have 636 stores in 26 states with annual sales of about $425 million. Both retailers sell products for $1 each. (Staff) Texas tubing firm moves to Richmond
An Austin, Texas-based custom-tubing distributor will be the first company to move to the Richmond area to supply Motorola Inc.'s $3 billion computer chip plant in Goochland County. Officials at Austin-Reed Corp. confirmed they have signed a three-year lease for an office-warehouse at Villa Park, a development at Parham Road and U.S. Route 1 in Henrico County. Steve M. Reed, president of Austin-Reed, said his company has supplied stainless steel tubing to Motorola for its last three major computer chip-making plants in Austin, Phoenix and Raleigh, N.C. The tubing carries away gases created in the production of the silicon wafers used to make computer chips. His company had sales of $18 million last year, Reed said. (Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News) CSX earnings rise 15 percent
CSX Corp. said fourth-quarter earnings jumped 15 percent on increased income from its railroad, container shipping and barge businesses. The Richmond-based transportation giant, which has a container terminal in Portsmouth and delivers coal to both coal terminals in Newport News, said net income for the quarter totaled $276 million, or $1.31 per share, up from $239 million, or $1.15 per share in the year ago quarter. Per-share result blew through Wall Street's $1.05 expectation. Revenue in the quarter rose 9 percent to $2.8 billion. (Bloomberg Business News) by CNB