Business News

IBM Expands Ireland Software Development Operations

NEW YORK (AP) -- International Business Machines Corp. said Tuesday it is expanding its operations in Ireland, investing in its software development labs in Cork and Galway.

The plan follows the computer products and services provider's February acquisition of Vallent Corp., a Bellevue, Wash.-based provider of network performance management software for wireless providers. It will help grow product development for IBM's Tivoli software group, which now includes Vallent, the company said.

IBM said it will create up to 130 new jobs in an Industrial Development Agency in Ireland through a three-year grant of up to 24 million euros ($31.9 million) from the government.

Vallent already had 120 employees in Ireland, the company added.

IBM has more than 80 development labs around the world.

Shares of the Armonk, N.Y., company were down 60 cents at $94.40 in late morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Wachovia - World Savings integration on track

Even as Wachovia Corp. moves ahead with its plans to integrate Golden West Financial and its World Savings Bank into the Wachovia family, Wachovia executives are pleased with the progress the bank has made in California.

"There are a lot of people that bank with other banks coming in and letting us know what we can do for them," said Pete Jones, head of Wachovia's western banking group, in a conference call Friday with the East Bay Business Times and several sister publications. The new Wachovia branches are also seeing a lot of East Coast transplants and former Wachovia customers who are excited about Wachovia's entry into the California market, McGee said.

"Wachovia is one of the best companies when it comes to integrating acquisition targets," said Gerard Cassidy, a banking analyst at RBC Capital Markets, "so we've got a great deal of confidence they'll be able to integrate Golden West into their organization."

Exxon, Aramco China venture costs rise to $5 bln

BEIJING (Reuters) - Saudi Aramco and U.S. giant ExxonMobil Corp.'s first big Chinese downstream oil venture has grown to $5 billion, much more than planned, the firms said on Friday as they closed the books on 12 years of talks.

When the venture with top refiner Sinopec Corp was initially agreed in 2005, estimated investment for the refining and petrochemicals units in southeastern Fujian was $3.5 billion.

Since then, the partners have added a marketing venture with 750 filling stations and a network of terminals, while refinery costs have risen worldwide because of a tight contractor market and escalating prices for raw materials.

Speaking after a ceremony to commemorate final approval of the deal, Sinopec Corp.'s President Wang Tianpu told Reuters the cost difference was due entirely to the retail and wholesale operation. Aramco and Exxon Mobil declined immediate comment.

United Technologies to Buy Rentokil Unit

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- United Technologies Corp. said Friday it has offered $1.16 billion for the electronic security division of Britain's Rentokil Initial, and plans to sell its own manned security businesses in Britain and Australia.

Rentokil said its board plans to accept the offer. The deal still requires regulatory approval and discussions with employee works councils in Europe.

Its Initial Electronic Security Group operation sells integrated security systems, intrusion detection, closed-circuit televisions, access control and security software.

The business generated $580 million in sales last year, has operations in Britain, the Netherlands, France and the U.S. and employs 3,400 people in more than 100 branch locations.

"This acquisition strengthens particularly our position in Europe and expands our product and service offerings to a broader range of customers there," said UTC Chairman and Chief Executive George David. "We have at the same time decided to divest low-technology manned guarding businesses in Australia and Britain. These transactions together meaningfully transition UTC's fire and security portfolio toward higher margin and growth opportunities."

Since 2003, the company's UTC Fire & Security division has divested four manned security businesses with total revenue of about $100 million. The manned security businesses in Australia and Britain that are up for sale generated combined revenue of slightly less than $550 million.

Paul Nisbet, an analyst at JSA Research Inc. in Newport, R.I., said these moves were expected because the guard services business is "people-intensive and low-tech."

UTC said it doesn't expect to sell its smaller manned security businesses in Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, New Zealand, Macau, Ireland, and Spain. These local operations are combined with other security services provided by the company, and their combined revenue total about $100 million.