| Bidding war breaks out over Coles
KKR said it was still interested in taking over the country's second largest retail chain after Australian conglomerate Wesfarmers last week made a 19.7 billion dollar (16.1 billion US dollar) for the chain, Coles said.
Coles board last year rejected KKR's 18.2 billion dollar offer as being too low, scuppering what would have been Australia's biggest ever corporate takeover.
Coles Ltd chairman Rick Allert said the KKR-led consortium had indicated it was confident of submitting a price equal to, or above the 16.47 dollars per share price offered by Wesfarmers in order to acquire 100 percent of the firm.
"The board welcomes the participation of another major consortium interested in a whole-of-company bid as contributing to a competitive ownership review process and therefore being in the best interests of shareholders," he said.
Federer swats Spain's Carlos
MONTE CARLO, April 22: Roger Federer ignored the distracting clatter of cutlery and a chattering lunchtime crowd on Saturday as he set up a second straight finals clash at the Monte Carlo Masters with Rafael Nadal. The Swiss applied the power to escape an early 1-3 deficit against two-time winner Juan Carlos Ferrero, defeating the Spaniard 6-3, 6-4. Holder Nadal, bidding to lift a third consecutive crown at the VIP venue, thrashed Czech tenth seed Tomas Berdych 6-0, 7-5. Federer got into trouble in the early going of his semi-final against Ferrero, a past master of the clay. While not blaming his mis-step on noise, the top seed did express quiet disgust with the celebrity suppers perched above the court on a terrace. "There were more than 7,000 people watching the match so I just think it would be nice if they (the diners) showed some more respect to the other fans that are watching the match and also the players," said the ten-time Grand Slam winner.
Strange, Green Earn Hall of Fame Bids
West Palm Beach, FL (AHN) - Curtis Strange and Hubert Green are among the inductees that will be honored at the 2007 World Golf Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony will take place Nov. 12 at the World Golf Village. "The 2007 induction ceremony will provide an appropriate opportunity to shine the light on the careers of these two successful players," said Jack Peter, senior VP and COO of the Hall of Fame, according to Golf World. Strange captured 17 PGA Tour victories, including consecutive U.S. Open titles in 1988-89. The 52-year-old was listed on 70 percent of the voters' ballots. Green, 60, claimed 19 tour titles, including the 1977 U.S. Open and 1985 PGA Championship. He's also won four Champions Tour events and continued playing following bouts of tongue and throat cancer in 2003.
Private schools are sold on online auctions
If asked, and she usually is, Donna Bates will buy the $9 roll of wrapping paper to support her niece's school.
She'd also drop $850 on four Red Sox tickets for the same worthy cause.
From a professional fundraiser's perspective, that's a home run.
This spring, Stoneridge Montessori School in Beverly is tapping out-of-state relatives like Bates by putting its annual auction items online. Instead of one night a year, the auction now lasts two weeks and is open to anyone with a credit card and a computer.
"In the past, I've always been called upon to baby-sit so mommy and daddy can attend the auction," said Bates, of Stratham, N.H. "I wouldn't have the ability to even bid on them, and that is the wonderful thing."
Stoneridge isn't the only North Shore private school using online auctions to capitalize on far-flung alumni, relatives and family friends.
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