In the Region

GE could unwind stake in NBCU

A proposed deal to acquire NBC Universal Inc. would give current owner General Electric Co. the ability to unwind its stake over several years, and could see Comcast Corp. commit billions more to the joint venture, a person close to the situation said yesterday. GE would be allowed to redeem some portion of its 49 percent stake for cash after 31/2 years and again after seven years, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations and spoke on condition of anonymity. The cash would be generated by NBC Universal's operations, although Comcast, Philadelphia, has agreed it could provide up to "mid-single billions" of dollars to backstop the purchase of GE's remaining stake, the person said. Buying GE's remaining stake would not be mandatory, however, the person added. Representatives for GE and Comcast declined to comment. - AP

Vodka company changes forecast

Central European Distribution Corp. yesterday raised its 2009 sales forecast but lowered its earnings projection. The Bala Cynwyd maker and distributor of vodka said it was making the changes because of its recent acquisition of additional stakes in two Russian producers, Parliament and the Russian Alcohol Group, a July public sale of more of the company's stock, and foreign currency rate changes. Sales for the year now are forecast at $1.58 billion to $1.70 billion instead of a range of $1.55 billion to $1.68 billion. Earnings will be $2.35 to $2.50 per share instead of the previous forecast of $2.40 to $2.65 per share, Central European Distribution said. It is focusing on boosting its market share and the profit margin on its products, and lowering its debt, said William Carey, company president and chief executive officer. The company also projected its 2010 sales at $1.8 billion to $2 billion, and its earnings at $3 to $3.15 per share. - Paul Schweizer

Carpenter CEO resigns; roles split

Carpenter Technology Corp., a Wyomissing, Pa., producer and distributor of specialty alloys, announced the resignation of its chairman and chief executive officer, Anne L. Stevens, and said it planned to split the two roles into separate positions. The company's board named Gregory A. Pratt to be chairman and interim CEO and president, replacing Stevens. The company is searching for a CEO to serve as Stevens' successor, after which Pratt will serve as nonexecutive chairman. Pratt has been a company director since 2002. Stevens, who has an engineering degree from Drexel University, joined the company in 2006, replacing Robert J. Torcolini, who had announced his retirement. Carpenter said the decision to split the positions put it in line with new trends for corporate governance and made the company more accountable to shareholders. - AP

Alloy Surfaces wins Navy contract

Military contractor Alloy Surfaces Co. Inc. has received a $16.99 million contract to make decoy devices for Navy aircraft to be used as self-defense in combat. The job will be handled at the company's plant in Chester Township, and it is to be completed by December 2010, the company said in a news release. Alloy Surfaces is a subsidiary of British-based Chemring Group P.L.C. - Roslyn Rudolph

Unit gets FDA approval on drug

CSL Behring said the Food and Drug Administration granted marketing approval for the company's Berinert to treat acute abdominal or facial attacks of hereditary angioedema, a rare and serious genetic disorder, in adult and adolescent patients. Berinert is the first and only therapy approved for that indication in the United States. Hereditary angioedema causes fluid to accumulate outside of the blood vessels. The swelling can block the normal flow of blood or lymphatic fluid and cause dangerous swelling. CSL Behring, King of Prussia, is a subsidiary of CSL Ltd., a Melbourne, Australia, biopharma company. - Miriam Hill

PSE&G seeks rental space for solar

Got some unused roof space or a big sunny lawn to spare for solar energy? Public Service Electric & Gas Co. is looking to lease space to install 5 megawatts of utility-owned rooftop and ground-mounted solar systems that connect directly to the grid. The project is part of the New Jersey utility's Solar 4 All Program to dramatically expand the state's installed photovoltaic capacity. The solar installations must be able to accommodate a 500-kilowatt or larger solar system, which would require at least 50,000 square feet of unobstructed roof space. More information is available at PSE&G's Web site: www.pseg.com/thirdpartysolar. - Andrew Maykuth

Elsewhere

Sidekick contacts, data gone

Owners of Sidekick phones may have lost all the personal data they stored on the phone, including contact numbers. Sales of the phones have been temporarily suspended. The phones are made by a Microsoft Corp. subsidiary and sold by T-Mobile USA Inc., which say many Sidekick owners' information is "almost certainly" gone after a failure of servers operated by Microsoft wiped the data out. The phones have been troubled by data outages for more than a week. Some users tried to restart their phones by removing the battery, which erases data on the device. Normally, the data are then restored from servers, but with the server data gone, the device is left empty. Because of that, customers are being advised not to let the battery completely run down either. - AP

Ridership down, but still near high

Amtrak said its ridership dropped by more than one million passengers during the last year, but was still the second-highest year in the railroad's history. Figures released by the nation's intercity rail operator show Amtrak carried 27.2 million passengers during the 12 months ended Sept. 30. Amtrak's record was 28.7 million passengers during the previous year, a period coinciding with record high gasoline prices. Still, ridership was up over two years ago by 5.1 percent. Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman blamed the decline on the weakened economy. - AP

FINRA fines Citigroup $600K

Citigroup Inc. agreed to pay a $600,000 fine and be censured to settle regulators' allegations that it failed to supervise complex stock-trading strategies aimed at reducing the bank's potential tax bill. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced the civil fine against the Citigroup Global Markets Holdings Inc. division. Citigroup did not admit or deny FINRA's allegations. - AP