Associated Press
Merisant Worldwide files for bankruptcy
WILMINGTON, Del: . Merisant Worldwide Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday. The Chicago-based company, whose subsidiaries include Equal maker Merisant Co., entered bankruptcy protection with assets of $331.1 million and total debt of $560.7 million, according to filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware. The company said in the filings that its board decided seeking bankruptcy protection was in the best interest of the company. Chief Executive Paul Block said in a statement the goal is to restructure the company's balance sheet, not its business. "We've already taken aggressive steps to cut costs and make Merisant more efficient," he said, "and we don't intend to make any job cuts as a result of this filing."
Associated Press
Dec. sales declined, Best Buy reports
Best Buy Co., the largest U.S. electronics chain, said yesterday that December sales dropped after holiday discounts failed to draw shoppers. Revenue from stores open at least 14 months declined 6.5 percent. Total sales rose to $7.5 billion in the month, the Richfield, Minn.-based company said. The chain lopped $10 off Apple Inc.'s iPhone about a week before Wal-Mart Stores Inc. started selling the device. Last month, Best Buy said it would open fewer locations in the U.S., Canada and China to cut 2009 capital spending in half. About 500 corporate workers have agreed to take buyout packages, spokeswoman Sue Busch said. The decline in sales at Best Buy "is consistent with the drop in big-ticket spending," said David Schick, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in Baltimore. Best Buy reported that the overall consumer electronics segment, which made up 44 percent of December's domestic revenue, showed an 8.7 percent decline in same-store sales.
Bloomberg News and Associated Press
