LOCAL BUSINESS
AssuraMed makes acquisition
AssuraMed of Twinsburg has purchased the Invacare Supply Group medical supplies business from Invacare Corp. of Elyria for $150.8 million in cash, Invacare announced.
Invacare said it will use the proceeds from the sale to reduce outstanding debt.
AssuraMed specializes in wholesale and home-delivered medical supplies throughout the United States.
In a news release, Invacare said the sale “is consistent with Invacare’s globalization strategy, allowing the company to focus on its core equipment product line.”
BROADCASTING
TWC to broadcast Dodgers
Time Warner Cable Inc. has struck a deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers to broadcast the Major League Baseball team’s games on a regional sports cable network.
An announcement of the agreement is imminent, although no deal has been signed yet. The games will be carried on a new regional sports network developed by Guggenheim Partners, which bought the Dodgers for $2.15 billion last year. Time Warner Cable will be a partner in the project and won’t own the television rights outright, Bloomberg News reported.
The deal would snatch the rights away from News Corp., the media company controlled by Fox and executive Rupert Murdoch, which has been paying about $40 million a year to broadcast the games.
Time Warner Cable’s third-largest business unit covers its operations in Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania and is based in Akron.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
AT&T purchases Alltel unit
AT&T Inc., the second-largest U.S. wireless carrier, agreed to buy spectrum and subscribers from Atlantic Tele-Network Inc. for $780 million in cash, bolstering the company’s network and bringing in 585,000 new customers.
The deal includes the purchase of licenses, network assets and retail stores, Dallas-based AT&T said. The spectrum is in the 700-, 850- and 1900-megahertz bands, making it complementary to AT&T’s network, the company said. Atlantic Tele-Network operates under the Alltel brand in six states, mostly in the South and Midwest.
RETAIL
Walmart bigger in Canada
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will spend $453 million building new outlets and renovating stores in Canada, pushing back at rival Target Corp.’s expansion into the country.
Walmart Canada will complete at least 37 superstores in the year through January 2014 and will increase its distribution network, the Bentonville, Ark.-based company said.
Walmart is bolstering its presence in Canada and working to attract and retain customers as Target expands outside the U.S. for the first time. Walmart Canada expects to end the month with 379 locations, including 209 superstores, while Target plans to open 125 sites in Canada this year.
Full grocery sections will be added to more locations across Canada, Shelley Broader, chief executive officer of Walmart Canada, said in the statement.
EARNINGS
Verizon posts loss in quarter
Verizon Communications’ fourth-quarter loss widened, dragged down by restructuring, pension and Superstorm Sandy costs. The company activated a record number of new devices on its contract-based plans during the period.
The parent of the country’s biggest wireless carrier lost $4.23 billion, or $1.48 per share, for the period ended Dec. 31. That compares with a loss of $2.02 billion or 71 cents per share, a year ago.
Operating revenue rose 6 percent to $30.05 billion from $28.44 billion.
TIRE & RUBBER
European stocks see decline
Michelin & Cie and Continental AG fell the most in more than three months after the French company said demand for tires slumped across Europe last month.
Michelin shares declined as much as 4.10 percent, the biggest intraday drop since Oct. 16 in Paris. Continental fell as much as 3.8 percent, the most since Oct. 16, in Frankfurt.
Sales of tires used in new vehicles fell 16 percent in Europe and 2 percent in North America last month, Michelin said on its website. Sales of replacement tires dropped 7 percent in Europe and 8 percent in North America, Michelin said.
Auto suppliers are feeling the pinch from the economic downturn in Europe. Car sales in December fell 16 percent in the region, the steepest monthly decline in more than two years, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association.
“Production is at a standstill at car and truck producers,” said Hans-Peter Wodniok, an analyst at Fairesearch GmbH & Co.
Compiled from staff and wire reports