The Orlando Sentinel du lieu suivant : Orlando, Florida • Page 17

I The Orlando Sentinel TUESDAY, JUNE 3, 1997 Inside, D-5 Smaller stocks do well, but blue chips fall 41 .64 amid conflicting data. Markets, B-2 mm Washington Post Co. to buy WGP3C THE MARKETS Dow Jones industrials 7,289.40 down 41.64 By Rene Stutzman 500 846.36. down 1.92 OF THE SENTINEL STAFF NYSE Index 441.54, down 0.24 Nasdaq index 1,404.79, up 4.47 AMEX index 607.17, up 1.79 Dow Jones bond index 102.37 up 0.25 Gold. Comex close $343.70.

down 1.10 will be even more competitive." Post-Newsweek has a strong reputation within the industry. "They're one of the best in the news business," said. Pat Roberts, president of the Florida Broadcasters As-; sociation. The deal would appear to be an enormous short-term, boon for Meredith, the Iowa company that owns; WOFL-Channel 35 in Orlando and is best known as, publisher of Better Homes and Gardens. Meredith winds up with WFSB-Channel 3 in Hart-' ford, the top-rated station in that market and one with a cash flow that's 40 percent higher than WCPX.

It also; Please see WCPX, B-4' CBS affiliate to be traded in record $275 million deal WOFL newscast plans renewed: B-4 The purchase also promises to ratchet up, once again, news competition among Central Florida's three largest TV stations. Bill Ryan, president of Post-Newsweek Stations the Post's broadcast subsidiary, said, "We've always felt that local news is the very foundation of each of our stations. You could conclude the local news race Silver, Comex close $4,678, up $0,025 Dollar, Fed index 95.80 up 0.86 Prime rate 8.50 The Washington Post one of the most venerable names in news, on Monday signed a deal to acquire WCPX-Channel 6. The company agreed to trade away its Hartford, CBS affiliate and pay $60 million to Meredith Corp. for WCPX, also a CBS affiliate.

The transaction is worth $275 million, a record for a Central Florida television station. The deal gives the Post its third TV station in Florida. It already owns the top-rated WPLG-Channel 10 in Miami and WJXT-Channel 4 in Jacksonville. Mortgages, 30-year fixed 7.375-8.25 i-yr, i reasury maex as ot May 27 5.85 Consumer Price Index, 160.2 LOCAL-INTEREST STOCKS Albertson's 34Vi LockMartn 93 Unch. 35 -VA Lucent 64 Marriott 57 NorthropG 83V4 -1 PbdsiCo 1 7'i 37 i.0V 48 48 52 PlntHlywd Sprint Sears SunTrust Tribune Anheuser 42V Barnett 51 BellSouth 44 Boeing 105 Unch.

ColumHCA36 Unch. DardenR 8'fe Vb Delta 93V4 -V Disney 807e -1 First Union 85 Harris 88 Unch. Hughes 39 VA 42 Tupperware 36 Walgreen 46 Wal-Mart 30 Westinghse 20 PCA's sale may delay insurance takeover COMPILED FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS II 1 Y4 Kmart 137A winn-uoue aov Stock updates: http:www.orlandosentinol.com Company to buy Twin Towers American General Hospitality Corp. said Monday it will buy three hotels including the Radisson Twin Towers Hotel in Orlando and an office building for about $128 million. That will boost the number of hotel rooms by almost 25 percent for the Dallas-based real estate investment trust American General said it will spend $25 million over two years to renovate the Marriott Galler-iaWest Loop in Houston and the 24-year-old Twin Towers.

It also plans to rename the Orlando hotel but did not elaborate. Another hotel in Madison, Wis. the Ramada Limited will be converted to a Holiday Inn, the company said. The three hotels have a combined 1,246 rooms. The company owns 22 hotels in 15 states, representing more than 5,000 hotel rooms.

Givens ruling postponed A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Monday postponed a decision on the fate of International Administrative Services, the Longwood company owned by financial guru Charles J. Givens Jr. After hearing closing arguments, Judge Karen S. Jennemann delayed confirming the creditors' reorganization plan designed to steer the financial-services company out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Givens opposes the plan and, instead, proposed he retake managing control of the company. Lawyers have until June 13 to submit written conclusions. Jennemann is expected to make a ruling in early July. Treasury bill rates fall "Interest rates on short-term Treasury se GEORGE SKENETHE ORLANDO SENTINEL Physician Corp. of America officials said Monday they are negotiating a sale of the managed health-care company for $266 million, or $7 a share, in cash.

The announcement put on hold a possible takeover of the company's Longwood-based subsidiary by the state Insurance Department. PCA Property Casually Insurance Co. faced a Monday deadline to prove solvency, putting nearly 600 jobs in jeopardy. But Dennis Threadgill, a lawyer with the Insurance Department, said the state would wait to determine whether the proposed sale of Physician Corp. could cure the Long-wood operation's problems.

PCA Property, which provides workers' compensation policies to nearly 33,000 employers, has a projected deficit of $128 million. While that company employs few, nearly 600 workers of affiliated PCA Solutions Inc. could be fired if the sate insurance regulator took control of the insurance company, PCA Solutions officials have said PCA Solutions processes claims for the insurance company. Physician Corp. of America, based in Miami, did not identify the prospective buyer.

The company's stock fell 16 percent to $6 a share before rebounding to close at $655, off 87.5 cents. Trading was heavy at 1.36 million shares, compared with a three-month daily average of 288,300 shares. Earlier this year, Sierra Health Services dropped its proposal to buy the company for $11.81 a share, citing growing losses in the workers' compensalion divisioa "Perhaps investors believed that the sale price would be in the $8 a share range," said Pamela Menefee, an analyst at Robinson-Humphrey Co. "A agreement hasn't been reached, nor has there been resolution of the workers' comp issues, so there's some uncertainty sur-; rounding that $7-a-share price." Jack Snyder of the Sentinel staff contrib-; uted to this report Nutritious creations surround Chef Bob Tebeau of VG's Food on Monday. His display is in the section of the convention Center supermarkets in Minnesota at the Dairy-Deli-Bake '97 devoted to quick, healthy meals.

The expo, sponsored by the seminar and expo at the Orange County Convention Center International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association, ends today. niif J-umi Agency wants to break space jam curities fell in-Monday's auctions. The By Seth Borenstein Treasury Denart- T-biii discounts OF THE SENTINEL STAFF JUNE 3 ment sold $7.5 billion in three-month bills at an average discount rate of 4.93 percent, down from 5.03 percent last week. Another $7.5 billion was sold in six-month bills at an average rate of 5.22 per These are small rockets that carry less weight than Atlases, Deltas or Titans but cost much less to launch. Instead of the larger rockets' $50 million to $200 million launch cost, Shavits and similar-sized rockets cost about $10 rnillion, experts say.

Such a cheaper small rocket would be ideal to keep in storage and launch with little notice. It could take into space a new commercial satellite to replace one that just failed. Or it could deliver a satellite to study some fast-breaking scientific Please see LAUNCH, B-6 15.22 6-monlh I 14.93 1 3-month I i Lockheed Martin In satellite deal: 6-6 $2 million to convert an old 1960s era Titan launch pad into a new "quick response" launching area for small rockets carrying mini-satellites. Today Israeli Aircraft Industries officials will tour Cape Canaveral, looking to match their small Shavit II rocket to local plans for a speedy launching system. If a deal is worked out, federal law requires that an American company would have to own more than half the Israeli-designed rocket.

CAPE CANAVERAL Rockets launch at Cape Canaveral Air Station at Pony Express speed every several weeks or sometimes longer. If you want to launch something on an Atlas rocket, for example, you'll have to wait until the year 2000. A state agency wants to change that pace to Federal Express speed, launching six hours after a customer calls. The' agency is developing plans to spend 31)17313 7W7IS5W3 cent, down from 5.26 percent The new discount rates un derstate the actual return to investors 5.06 percent for three-month bills and 5.44 percent for six-month bills. PepsiCo forming bottling unit I 1 Theme parks make pass at tourists II I PepsiCo Inc.

stock gained almost 3 per 1 I.L I II .1 I II Disney bounces around idea for 3rd resort cent Monday after confirming it is creating a separate unit for its company-owned bottling operations in North America. Wall Street analysts said the move could mean By Jill Jorden Spitz v.v.v.v.x 'zJ ill OF THE SENTINEL STAFF Walt Disney World will announce plans today to build a 3rd All-Star Resort, this one with the eventual spinoff and public offering of part of the bottling business. The company denied it has any such plans. PepsiCo rose $1 to close at $37.75 a share on the New NASHVILLE, Tenn. In their most-direct strike at Disney's growing vacation empire, Central Florida's other main attractions have strengthened their multipark pass to give it more flexibility and greater availability, sj I a reported movie theme.

York Stock Exchange on a day when blue riTr I i ne Hoops Motel, shown here, IT "Hi -I isPartofanotnerAI-Star Resort and they have given it a new name. chip issues fell and some broad-market indicators gave ground. PepsiCo's Pepsi-Cola soft-drink operation makes concentrate Universal Stu i iuioi ucucu ui i spui to. in resort has a music theme. The ODenina of the 1.920- that is shipped to plants where the carbon- ation is added and the soft dnnks are bot tled and distributed.

i iwiii i iwivi i piai ii icu iui cany 'H 1999. See story, Page B-4. Number of visitors to U.S. rises WALT DISNEY COMPANY dios, Sea World and Wet n' Wild are to announce the new Orlando FlexPass today at the Discover America International Pow Wow trade show here. When U.S.

and international tour The new Orlando Flex-Pass will be good for seven consecutive days at Universal Studios, Sea World and Wet n' Wild. The number of visitors to the United States grew 7 percent last year to 46.33 million people and is on track to set a record in Ex-SabreTech workers try to get licenses back 1997, the U.S. Department of Commerce Of fice of Tourism Industries announced Monday. International visitation peaked in 1992 By Roger Roy OF THE SENTINEL STAFF with 47.3 million people, then dropped before rising again in 1995. The number of visitors to individual states and cities aren't yet available, but Central Florida can expect healthy increases because all of the area's top markets posted increases nationwide.

Visitation from Canada was up 4 percent to 15.30 million; visitation from the United Kingdom was less than six months after it opened when the FAA threatened to revoke its license. The company last year also closed its Miami repair station, which faced intense FAA scrutiny after the May 1996 crash of ValuJet Flight 592 in the Florida Everglades. SabreTech had packed for shipment on the aircraft oxygen canisters suspected of causing or contributing to the crash. FAA attorney Michael Moulis briefly alluded to Sabre-Tech's problems in Miami in his opening statement Monday, although SabreTech is not a party to the hearing. But he said he would not try to prove "guilt by association." i.

Please see FAA, B-4 itMHBBBHnilulllulllflai operators start selling the Orlando FlexPass on June 15, it will be different than the Vacation Value Pass that hit the market in March 1996. The Vacation Value Pass allowed visitors five consecutive days at Universal Studios, Sea World and Wet 'n Wild, or seven days at those parks plus Busch Gardens. The pass expired after that time. The new FlexPass will be good for seven consecutive days 10 with the Busch Gardens option for the same price. Officials said the changes are not in response to poor sales of the pass but rather are in hopes of reaching new customers.

Please see PASS, B-4 up 8 percent to 3.11 million; and visitation Four aircraft maintenance workers whose licenses were revoked for their part in falsifying records at Sabre-Tech Inc's Orlando repair station were in court Monday trying to get their credentials returned. They are among six former SabreTech workers whose Federal Aviation Administration licenses required to work as commercial aircraft mechanics were revoked by the agency in April when it ruled they had falsified records or performed improper repairs. SabreTech closed its maintenance hangar on the west side of Orlando International Airport in January from Brazil was up 6 percent to 891,000. Compiled from staff and wire reports..