Acquisition

PNC Financial Services Group has notified several hundred employees of Mercantile Bankshares Corp., the Baltimore bank it acquired this year, that their jobs are being eliminated as the financial institutions merge back-office and administrative operations. Affected employees were informed by a manager and human resources representative during individual meetings that began last week. They discussed severance and other opportunities at Pittsburgh-based PNC, which has 200 job openings in Maryland, and the employees were given at least two more months before they have to leave.

When Bank of America Corp. announced its $35 billion acquisition of MBNA Corp. in summer 2005, many people questioned whether it would work. MBNA, a stand-alone credit-card giant that started in Baltimore as part of MNC Financial Inc., took pride in its fast-paced and entrepreneurial spirit, its freewheeling spending and a secretive corporate culture. Executives roamed its opulent headquarters in Wilmington, Del., where the phrase, "Think of yourself as a customer," was spelled out in small gold capital letters on both sides of at least 1,700 doorways.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- First Union Corp., the sixth-largest U.S. bank, agreed yesterday to buy Chicago-based Everen Capital Corp. for $1.1 billion in stock, its second acquisition of a securities firm in a year.Everen shareholders will get 0.555 First Union share for each of their shares. Everen shares yesterday rose $4.3125 to $28.4375; First Union fell $1.25 to $53.75.First Union, based in Charlotte, said the acquisition will form the sixth-largest U.S. brokerage firm, with assets of $147 billion and 3 million customers.

NEW YORK -- Viacom Inc. said yesterday that it would acquire CBS Inc. for $37.3 billion, a deal that is the biggest media merger yet and would create the world's second-largest media company after Time Warner Inc.For Viacom and its 76-year-old chairman, Sumner Redstone, who will run the combined companies if the merger is completed, the deal adds a major broadcast television network, 15 CBS-owned television stations and the nation's biggest group of radio...

Axent Technologies Inc. got a clear message from Wall Street yesterday: Do not PassGo.Axent, a Rockville computer security company, said yesterday that it has bought Britain's PassGo Technologies in a stock deal initially valued at $50 million.Investors responded by sending Axent directly to jail: Three equity firms downgraded the company's stock, and Axent lost 25.96 percent of its share value in a single day, plunging $8.4375 to close at $24.0625.Axent President and Chief Operating Officer Brett M. Jackson played down the market fury that greeted the acquisition.

DAP Products Inc., which made a splash last summer when it became the first office tenant in the renovated American Can Co. in Canton, said yesterday that it will be acquired by an Ohio company for $290 million in cash.The acquisition by sealant manufacturer RPM Inc., whose brands include Rust-Oleum and Bondex, is expected to close next month. DAP is a subsidiary of the publicly traded London equity firm Wassall PLC.DAP moved its headquarters and research-and-development operations from Tipp City, Ohio, to Baltimore last summer.

Lockheed Martin Corp.'s financial woes are stoking suspicions that the defense giant's proposed acquisition of satellite communications company and Bethesda neighbor Comsat Corp. may be in trouble.Lockheed Martin planned to pay most of the transaction -- initially valued at $2.7 billion -- with its own stock.The value of that currency is declining: Adjusted for a 2-for-1 split, Lockheed Martin shares are worth 28.4 percent less than they were when the deal was announced Sept. 20.The European edition of the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Comsat Vice President and General Counsel Warren Y. Zeger said some Comsat shareholders have expressed concern because the recent decline in Lockheed Martin's share price has reduced the value of the transaction by 16 percent, and Comsat has "all aspects of this matter under review."

To the delight of a once-hostile Wall Street, Ciena Corp. announced another new contract yesterday, a three-year equipment deal with Alltel Corp., a telephone and Internet company in Little Rock, Ark. The news sent Ciena shares up $2.50, closing at $33.25.The Linthicum maker of telecommunications equipment is selling Alltel its signature product, a device that allows fiber-optic networks to carry more communications traffic. Ciena will be Alltel's sole supplier of the devices.Ciena said it has installed about $5 million in equipment along 2,500 miles of Alltel's network.

U.S. Foodservice Inc. said yesterday that it has completed its acquisition of Sofco Inc., a paper-product distributor in Albany, N.Y.Columbia-based U.S. Foodservice hopes to increase its sales of paper products -- such as napkins, towels and tablecloths -- and the purpose of the purchase is to get a foot in the door."

MCI WorldCom Inc.'s $129 billion planned acquisition of Sprint Corp. ran into early trouble yesterday as a key federal regulator expressed concern about the deal's impact on competition in the long-distance telephone market.The purchase, which was formally announced yesterday, would be the biggest corporate takeover in history, a stock buyout that would combine two of the three largest long-distance companies and create a huge rival to industry leader AT&T Corp.However, Federal Communications Commission Chairman William E. Kennard, who normally greets new merger deals with noncommittal calm, was unusually swift and critical in his initial reaction to the MCI WorldCom-Sprint proposal.

Spicemaker McCormick & Co. said third-quarter profit increased 9.5 percent as it began to see the benefit from its acquisition of Lawry's seasoning company last year. The Sparks-based company was also helped by cost-cutting measures and price increases on some of its products. On Thursday, the company reported net income of $75.1 million, or 57 cents per share, for the quarter ended Aug. 31. That was compared with $68.6 million, or 52 cents per share, for the same period a year ago. Sales increased 1 percent to $791.

Oxford, Ohio - Detroit is feeling the urge to merge. The Big Three automakers are burning through billions in cash. Stock values for General Motors and Ford are plummeting. So, in desperation, GM engaged in merger discussions with Ford this year, and reportedly is now entertaining the prospect of merging with Chrysler. Such a merger, though, is an awful idea. First, the record of corporate acquisitions involving the Big Three has been disastrous over the past decade: GM spent $2.4 billion on an option to acquire Fiat in 2000, only to spend another $2 billion to escape the deal five years later.

Spice maker McCormick & Co. will soon expand capacity at its Hunt Valley plant as it prepares to begin manufacturing Lawry's seasonings and Adolph's marinades. The Sparks company said yesterday that it had completed the $604 million acquisition of Lawry's from a division of Unilever. It was the biggest acquisition in McCormick's history. Company officials said the deal would immediately add to earnings, but wouldn't have a significant impact on the number of employees. "We see a number of opportunities to grow a business that we believe has been underserved in recent years," Alan D. Wilson, McCormick president and chief executive officer, said in a conference call with analysts yesterday.

Google Inc. Shares tumbled $9.78 to finish at $450.78. An analyst cut his price target by $20 to $570 and said the search engine giant's acquisition of DoubleClick will pressure margins over the next several quarters.

NYSE Euronext Shares climbed $5.73 to finish at $62.19 yesterday. It will buy back up to $1 billion of its common stock even as it pursues its planned acquisition of the American Stock Exchange.

Money makes the world go around. But dollars spent by giant technology companies to acquire trendy tech-related services and Internet sites increasingly aren't connected to reality or results. Nobody wants to look like yesterday's news or lose to competitors, so money is tossed wildly at the future. Skype is a software service created in 2003 that permits voice telephone calls over the Internet. Online auctioneer eBay Inc. liked the idea so much it decided to purchase the company for $2.6 billion in 2005, with more to be paid if results meet certain targets.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc., Pennsylvania's biggest bank, said third-quarter profit rose 23 percent as its acquisition of Baltimore's Mercantile Bankshares Corp. helped generate higher fee revenue. Excluding a gain last year from an investment in fund manager BlackRock Inc., earnings climbed to $469 million, or $1.37 a share, from $380 million, or $1.28, for the third quarter last year, the Pittsburgh company said yesterday. Exceeds estimates Per-share profit was 2 cents higher than the average estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Inside today A division-by-division breakdown as the NFL's 32 teams prepare to kick off training camps. PG 4D Next Sunday A special section previews the Ravens' camp, with a featured look at the team's biggest offseason acquisition, running back Willis McGahee, a day-by-day schedule, fans' guide, roster, depth chart and more.

PNC Financial Services Group has notified several hundred employees of Mercantile Bankshares Corp., the Baltimore bank it acquired this year, that their jobs are being eliminated as the financial institutions merge back-office and administrative operations. Affected employees were informed by a manager and human resources representative during individual meetings that began last week. They discussed severance and other opportunities at Pittsburgh-based PNC, which has 200 job openings in Maryland, and the employees were given at least two more months before they have to leave.

Two years after Legg Mason Inc. undertook the biggest acquisition in the company's history, only to get bogged down in the transaction and all the difficulties that came with it, Chairman and chief executive Raymond A. "Chip" Mason is talking about the next deal. Mason said in a conference call and in an interview yesterday that the Baltimore investment company would consider an acquisition, though not one of the size and complexity of the $3.7 billion business swap with Citigroup Inc. in 2005.