Special Feature, 12/17/98: The 1998 Year In Review, Timeline

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'98 Year In Review
December 17, 1998

First Quarter 1998

by Yi-Hsin Chang (TMF Puck)

January

14... Fifth Third Bancorp <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FITB)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: FITB)") end if %> says it will acquire CitFed Bancorp <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CTZN )") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: CTZN )") end if %> for $688.2 million in stock

23... Canadian money center banks Royal Bank of Canada <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: RY)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: RY)") end if %> and Bank of Montreal <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: BMO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: BMO)") end if %> announce they will enter into a merger of equals.

26... Digital Equipment Corp. agrees to be acquired by Compaq Computer <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") end if %>, creating a combined company that will control over a third of the NT workstation market, take the lead in multi-user storage systems, and continue to lead the server market with more than 31% market share.

February

09... Water and waste water treatment company U.S. Filter Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: USF)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: USF)") end if %> says it will purchase Culligan Water Technologies for around $1.5 billion, or 3.8 times Culligan's trailing sales.

11... Computer Associates International <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CA)") end if %> makes an unsolicited bid to buy Computer Sciences Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CSC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CSC)") end if %> ) for $108 per share in cash, an offer Computer Sciences rebuffs. Computer Associates soon decides to let its offer expire in mid-March.

17... Manufactured homes retailer HomeUSA Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: HSH)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: HSH)") end if %> agrees to be acquired by Fleetwood Enterprises <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: FLE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: FLE)") end if %>, one of the nation's largest makers of manufactured housing and recreational vehicles, for about $162 million in stock and cash.

March

02... Sunbeam Corp. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: SOC)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: SOC)") end if %> says it will acquire three separate companies: Coleman <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CLN)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CLN)") end if %>, maker of outdoor recreation equipment; Signature Brands, maker of consumer and institutional products such as Mr. Coffee machines; and First Alert, which makes smoke detectors and other home safety equipment.

04... Intel <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(Nasdaq: INTC)") else Response.Write("(Nasdaq: INTC)") end if %> pre-announces a 10% sequential and year-over-year decline in first quarter revenues. The Pentium chip maker says inventory is backed up at its original equipment manufacturer (OEM) customers, which meshes with similar guidance from Compaq Computer <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: CPQ)") end if %> regarding soft PC pricing in North America.

Regional banking powerhouse First Union <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: FTU)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: FTU)") end if %> says it will acquire consumer lender The Money Store <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MON)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MON)") end if %> in an all-stock deal valuing the company at about 21 times trailing earnings.

09... Aluminum Co. of America <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AA)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AA)") end if %> agrees to acquire Alumax Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AMX)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AMX)") end if %> in a deal valued at about $3.8 billion in cash and stock. However, the deal must overcome scrutiny by antitrust regulators, as the annual aluminum output of the combined company would be more than twice that of its closest rival, Alcan Aluminum <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: AL)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: AL)") end if %>.

11... Waste Management <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: WMI)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: WMI)") end if %> decides to merge with USA Waste Services in a deal valuing Waste Management in excess of $13 billion. The combined company will be the nation's largest solid waste management concern, controlling roughly 20% of the market.

26... McDonald's <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MCD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MCD)") end if %> announces initiatives to improve restaurant operations, enhance returns, and reduce expenses. Its U.S. restaurants will change over to a new food-preparation system called "Made for You," which is supposed to allow the fast-food king to serve hotter and fresher food as well as cut food waste by filling an order within 25 seconds after the customer places it -- a dramatic change from McDonald's old practice of serving pre-made food waiting in heating bins.

27... Pfizer Inc. <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: PFE)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: PFE)") end if %> wins marketing approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its much-anticipated, blockbuster impotence drug Viagra, which ends up taking the world by storm, garnering black-market prices in countries where it isn't yet available and becoming the topic of jokes of late-night TV talk shows.

Next -- Second Quarter 1998