T he P ortland O bserver • J une 19, 1996
P age
B 7
&
Finance
Ks
K __ :___ L .
Denny And Langeler To Join Portland
Software Inc's Board Of Directors
Stocks Trade In
Narrow Range
Blue chip stocks were in a nar-
I row trading range today as inves
tors searched for a catalyst to give
the market some direction. In ear-
ly-afternoon trading, the Dow
Jones index was o ff 7 .0 1 points at
5,642.44, having traded between
5,657.58 and 5,638.74 since the
opening. The Nasdaq composite
J index was down 4.15 points at
1,209.03. Analysts say anticipa
t i o n o f negative second-quarter
earnings pre-announcements made
| many traders cautious.
Manufacturing
Profits Rise
Profits o f manufacturers rose
I strongly at the beginning o f 1996
after a weak finish in the closing
quarter o f 1995, according to the
Commerce Department. A quar
terly survey o f about 7,900 com
panies showed profits rose to a
seasonally adjusted 5.8 cents per
dollar o f sales from a revised 5
cents in the fourth quarter last year.
The improvement was consistent
with a pickup in overall economic
activity this year after a lackluster
final quarter last year, when the
gross domestic product, or GDP,
I barely expanded.
Trade War Averted
The United States withdrew
I threatened sanctions against Chi
na today after winning commit
ments from Beijing to stamp out
copyright piracy, averting what
| could have been a costly trade war.
‘The U.S. side will cancel trade
I sanctions against China as a result
o f the talks,” Chinese state televi
sion said. In,urn, China reportedly’,
will not follow through with its
own punitive sanctions. An indus
try source says China agreed to
clamp down on more factories ac
cused o f counterfeiting films, mu
sic and com puter software and
make progress in opening their
I markets to U.S. manufacturers.
Japanese Trade
Surplus Shrinks
Japan's trade surplus shrank by
160 percent in May as Japanese
consumers kept snapping upcheap-
er imported goods, but economists
say the pace o f the decline might
run out o f steam later this year.
Japan says its massive trade sur
plus totaled $2.12 billion in May,
down 60.5 percent from a year
| earlier.
Portland Software, Inc., recently
selected by Upside magazine to be
one o f the five hottest Internet start
ups, today announced completion o f
its first round o f institutional financ
ing, with Olympic Venture Partners
(OVP) in the Pacific Northwest, and
YBR Associates (YBR), based in
Chicago. As part o f this investment
agreement, Gerard H. Langeler from
OVP and James M. Denny from YBR
will join the Board o f Directors of
Portland Software, Inc.
“ We are very pleased to have
Olympic Venture Partners and YBR
Associates as investors,” said Charles
Jennings, the President and Chief
Executive Officer o f Portland Soft
ware. “ In addition to their capital
contributions, they bring a breadth o f
experience and business connections
to the Company that will be invalu
able.”
Portland Software, Inc., a private
company founded in 1994, is a lead
ing provider o f ideas, systems and
tools for secure distribution o f soft
ware and other digital content on the
In te rn e t.
T he
c o m p a n y ’s
ZipLock(TM) secure container tech
nology is the recognized leader in
delivery o f electronic content over
public an private networks. An ac
tive participant in the Microsoft Elec
tronic Software Distribution pilot
program, Portland Software is a pre-
ferred provider o f secure containers
for distributing Microsoft products
on-line.
"Portland Software has already
distinguished itself in the emerging
field o f electronic commerce," said
Gerard Langeler o f OVP. “ We are
delighted to be in a position to help
them grow.”
Olympic Venture Partners is the
leading technology-focused venture
capital firm in the Pacific Northwest,
with offices in Portland, OR and Se
attle, WA. The specific emphasis of
Olympic is firms in the software, life
sciences, multimedia, communica
tions, and health care sectors.
“We are excited about the oppor-
tunity to support Portland Software
and their technology solutions for
the electronic commerce market,"
said James Denny o f YBR “By
addressing Internet security concerns,
Portland Software's secure contain
er technology could be one o f the
most important catalysts ofthe growth
o f the electronic commerce market.”
YBR Associates is a private in
vestment group based in Chicago.
J ames Denny ret ired as Vice Chair
man o f Sears. Roebuck & Co. in
1995. Currently, Mr. Denny is in
volved in private equity investments.
In addition to YBR Associates, he is
a Managing Director o f William Blair
Capital Partners, L.L.C. His is also a
Companies Rush To Soak Up Investor's Cash
The nature o f the beast: Bull
markets draw out new stock issues
faster than tax increases attract pro
testers.
And 1995 was a gusher — the
best market year in two decades —
and smaller companies sprinted to
the public markets to soak up inves
tor capital.
In the end, the Northwest uni
verse expanded by 3 4 1 istings, com
pleting a doubling ofthe 100-stock
Small Business
Tax-Relief Bills
Killed
T he R ep u b lic a n -c o n tro lled
State Assembly last week killed
two bills which would have elim
inated some o fth e tax burden for
small business. The move came as
a su rp rise-R epublicans unani
mously supported the measures in
the Revenue and Taxation Com
mittee.
The legislation, authored by
Marguerite Archie-Hudson (D-
Los Angeles), is part o f the small
business relief package formulat
ed by Assembly Democrats to help
get the state’s small businesses
back on their feet. The measures
essentially failed last week when
Republicans wouldn ’ t provide the
votes necessary to take the mea
sures o ff o f the Appropriations
suspense file.
“I think it’s curious that these
bills were applauded in the Reve
nue and Taxation Committee - one
passed the committee on consent
with on opposition and two Repub
licans joined the other as joint au
thors. Now they’re being killed.”
said Marguerite Archie-Hudson.
market o f a decade ago.
The explanation for this is supply
and demand. In the early to middle
1980s, when stock prices first showed
bullish inclinations, some companies
rushed to sell their first shares. But
many, not yet mature enough and
hoping for better market days ahead,
waited.
Each time the market spurted, in
vestment bankers cajoled young com
panies into considering a public list-
ing. The advantages to going public
include fresh capital and an instanta
neous marketplace for pricing one’s
holdings.
Disadvantages can include losing
control o f the company by putting
the tasks o f selecting senior manage
ment and directors into the hands of
outside shareholders.
Companies must be fully public,
at least as a Nasdaq-level stock, for
seven quarters, to be considered for
inclusion in the Northwest 100. So
the 34 companies that made their
stock debut in 1995 won’t be incor
porated until at least 1998.
But they are o ff to a good start
As a group, the 34 stocks were up
48 percent by last month, outdis
tancing the 42 percent gain o fth e
bellwether Dow Jones industrial
average since Jan. I. 1995. Twen
ty-four new stocks were ahead and
10 were behind.
US West Executive Leaders
Bill Swegles, vice president and
general manager ofN ew Media for U
S West Marketing Resources, is re
sponsible for developing new inter
active multimedia services, includ
ing the U S West Yellow Pages on
the Internet and Q&A interactive
audio advertising in the Yellow Pag
es (previously EasySource).
Gwen Smith Nail is the marketing
manager o f the U S West Yellow
Pages on the Internet. She is respon
sible for the development of the U S
West yellow pages on the Internet
marketing strategy and marketing
plan, including advertising, commu
nication and public relations plans,
pricing strategies and product devel
opment.
Steve Boyd is president and chief
executive officer o f U S West Mar
keting Resources, a company con
necting buyers and sellers through its
White and Yellow Pages Directo
ries, and interactive directory and
database marketing services.
Ed Jennings is general manager of
the U S West Yellow Pages on the
Internet. He has total responsibility
for the development and deployment
o f U S W est’s first Internet-based
service.
William Runninghorse Swegles, Vice President and GeneralManager
(above, left); Steve Boyd, President and Chief Executive Officer
(above, right); Ed Jennings, General Manager (below, left); Gwen
Smith Nail, Marketing Manager (below, right).
First Union Buys
Two Banks
First Union, the nation’s sixth-
largest banking company, says it
I will spend about $715 million to
buy two Florida and Connecticut
I banks. First Union says it will ac-
I quire
Home Financial, based in
Hollywood, Fla., for about $336
I million, and W aterbury, Conn -
I based Center Financial for about
| $379 million. First Union says it
1 will purchase the shares to be used
I in both deals in the open market.
I The acquisitions, which will be
I accounted for as purchases, are
I expected to close in the fourth
quarter, subject to approval by the
com panies’ shareholders and reg-
| ulators.
Ludwig on Loans,
Banking
Rising loan delinquencies and
I an increase in non-current loans
are a cause o f concern in a banking
sector th at’s generally healthy,
Comptroller o f the Currency Eu
gene Ludwig said today. “The in
crease in banks’ retail loan portfo-
1 lios makes banks more vulnerable
to problems in the retail sector, so
there is concern when we see ris
ing delinquencies and an increase
in non-current loans,” Ludwig told
the New York State Bankers As
so c ia tio n . His o ffice’s national
credit committee is conducting a
survey o f bank underwriting prac
tices, Ludwig said.
“We do more than provide power—we work with businesses to
develop programs that save energy and improve their bottom-line.”
Sheila Holden, General Business Manager
“The Columbia Corridor is a world-class business location.
And we're working with government, business and community
groups to pave the way for its future development.”
Carl Talton, General Business Manager
A t P acific P ower , W e ’ re C ommitted T o Y our F uture .
With more than 80 years as a supplier of electric service, few companies
can help communities and customers plan for a promising future like
Pacific Power. Our vast experience— along with our commitment to
community involvement— can help develop targeted strategies and
uncover opportunities to achieve the growth this community desires.
So whether we are finding ways to meet the needs of existing residents,
helping to retain and expand businesses in the community, or actively
recruiting new companies, Pacific Power wants to be your partner.
For more information, call Sheila Holden at (503) 282-4321
or Carl Talton at (503) 282-4320.
Visit Pacific Power’s website a t http://www.pacificorp.com
PACIFIC POWER
A D ivisio n o f PactfiCorp
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member ofthe Board o f Directors of
The Allstate Corp., GATX Corp.,
General Binding Corp., and Gilead
Sciences, Inc.
Gerard Langeler has over 20 years
experience in starting and growing
technology-based companies. He is
aGeneral Partner with Olympic Ven
ture Partners Mr. Langeler was a co
founder o f Mentor Graphics Corpo
ration where he served as President
and Chief Operating Officer. His
Board o f Directors memberships in
clude Consep, Inc., Now Software,
Inc., Surplus Software, Inc., and
Unify Corporation. He is the author
o f The Vision Trap (Harvard Busi
ness Review, 3/92).
Sports &
Recreation
Closes
Major
Facility
S ports & R ecreation Inc
(N Y S E :W O N ) announced last
week that it recently closed on
a $285 m illion revolving c re d
it fa c ility with N ationsB ank
and B arnett Bank as agents.
The cred it facility will p ro
vide w orking capital for the
com pany. A ccording to Ray
S p ringer, c h ie f financial o ffic
er, “ T his new credit facility
gives the com pany an im m edi
ate im provem ent in liquidity
and the new m anagem ent team
the flex ib ility needed to real
ize the full potential o f S ports
& R e c re a tio n .” S ports & R ec
reation is a specialty re ta ile r o f
quality nam e brand sp o rting
equipm ent and ath letic fo o t
w ear and apparel o p eratin g 85
large form at sp o rtin g goods
su p e rsto re s in 29 states.
The com pany was recently
ranked as the I Oth largest re
ta ile r o f sp o rtin g goods in the
U nited S tates by S ports T rend
S ports & R ecreation curren tly
o p erates its stores prin cip ally
under the nam es “ S p o rts &
R ec,” “ S p o rts” and “ S ports
U n lim ite d ” in co nnection with
local com m unity nam es.