Acquisition

What Wall Street taketh, it can giveth back.Hechinger Co., pummeled for months by investors, got an overdue shot in the arm yesterday as shares in the Landover-based home improvement chain jumped 24 percent on speculation that the retailer might be an acquisition target.Analysts and Hechinger officials were equally puzzled by the sudden blip on their Quotron screens -- the stock rose $1.125, to $5.75, with shares trading more than 16 times higher than its three-month average."I cannot believe it's any more than a lark," said Kenneth M. Gassman Jr., a Davenport & Co. analyst who spoke yesterday with Hechinger officials -- and found them not averse to the stock's rise.

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.

Sunbeam Corp. Chairman Al Dunlap said yesterday that he had hired Morgan Stanley & Co. to advise the Delray Beach, Fla.-based company on buying other companies or selling itself, and speculation immediately focused on Towson-based Black & Decker Corp."

The Stroh Brewery Co. announced yesterday that it has completed its acquisition of the hobbling G. Heileman Brewing Co. in an estimated $290 million merger that will give the combined company control over about 10 percent of the U.S. beer market.The deal, announced in February, is expected to reinforce Stroh's position as the nation's No. 4 beer maker in a flat industry, giving the Detroit-based company a broader portfolio of national and regional brand-name beers, and what it hopes is an opportunity to cut costs and expand its distribution network and international sales.

Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. has finished the first phase of its acquisition of St. Louis' River City Broadcasting, a deal that will make it the seventh-largest broadcasting company in the nation.Baltimore-based Sinclair completed its acquisition of the "nonlicense assets" of River City on Friday. The assets include office space and television and radio equipment, said Pat Talamantes of River City, who has been named head of investor relations for Sinclair."In terms of the acquisition, this is by far the biggest piece of it," Talamantes said.

The Piney Run Recreation and Conservation Council urges you (Gov. William Donald Schaefer) to approve the acquisition of Greenway Gardensto the Patapsco State Park's Morgan Run Area.It is our understanding that the state Public Works Board deferred this agenda item for purchase because:* Questions were raised as to whether enough volunteer support would be available to maintain the arboretum.* Belt-tightening because of the state's fiscal deficit.Based on our experience at Piney Run Park, the volunteer base in Carroll County is quite adequate invisitor services and upkeep at Greenway Gardens.

The Baltimore Sun Co. yesterday completed its acquisition of Patuxent Publishing Co., the Columbia-based publisher of 13 weekly newspapers and two magazines.Mary E. Junck, publisher and chief executive officer of The Baltimore Sun Co., a subsidiary of the Los Angeles-based Times Mirror Co., said the acquisition strengthens The Baltimore Sun Co."It fits in with our strategy, which is to be a very strong information provider in our market," she said.Patuxent publishes 13 weekly papers in Howard and Baltimore counties, including the Columbia Flier, the Jeffersonian and the Northeast Times Reporter.

Capstone Pharmacy Services of Baltimore reported a loss for the third quarter of $3.3 million, or 17 cents a share, after one-time charges associated with the acquisition of Symphony Pharmacy Services, the pharmacy division of Integrated Health Services of Owings Mills.Without the one-time charge of $2.8 million and financing charges of $4.6 million, net income would have been 6 cents a share. That exceeded a consensus estimate of 3 cents based on a survey of five analysts by Zacks Investment Research.

UAL Corp., the parent of United Airlines, said yesterday that it is postponing its decision on whether to pursue an acquisition of USAir Group Inc.The Chicago-based airline had been expected to reach a decision by early November after a monthlong study of USAir's finances and its operating structure. A preliminary recommendation was expected to be made today to the airline's board of directors.But a spokesman for the company said yesterday that a number of complex issues prompted the company to delay its decision until mid-November.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Sprint Corp. and Nextel Communications formally completed their merger yesterday, forming a $76 billion communications company that already has moved its headquarters from Overland Park, Kan., to Reston, Va. Sprint officials said the value of the merger, which actually is the acquisition of Nextel by Sprint, won't be released until Monday. Based on closing stock prices yesterday, the deal would be valued at about $38 billion. Nextel shareholders will receive a combination of stock and cash equal to 1.3 shares of Sprint stock.