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Friday, December 26, 2008
Advanta re-ups with World TeamTennis

Earlier this week, I wrote about lackluster projections for the growth in corporate sponsorships in 2009.

That’s bad news for a lot of organizations that depend on them, especially college and professional sports. One local company is standing by its sport, however.

Credit-card marketer Advanta Corp. just updated its sponsorship agreement with World TeamTennis professional and recreational leagues, which runs until the end of 2014.

The Spring House company will pay $6.75 million for the rights to continue as sole title sponsor for the leagues and the All-Star Smash Hits annual charity event for the next three years.

According to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Advanta said its Advantennis Corp. subsidiary also will pay $2.25 million to be the sole presenting sponsor of the Philadelphia Freedoms tennis team and its home matches for the next three years. In 2008, the Freedoms played at a temporary stadium near the King of Prussia Mall.

Also, I wrote that Forman Mills would donate a percentage of sales from its Aramingo Avenue store on Tuesday to organizers of the annual Mummers Parade. Now we know that the amount is $22,000, including matching funds by CEO Rick Forman.

It’s a blockbuster

Cephalon Inc. has a blockbuster on its hands.

The Frazer biopharmaceutical company told employees earlier this week that gross sales of its Provigil drug, used to promote wakefulness, hit $1 billion for 2008. The billion-dollar mark is the measure by which drugs are dubbed blockbusters.

The company will provide full-year 2008 financial results in February. Its 2007 sales of Provigil, also known by its chemical name modafinil, were $852 million, or 49 percent of its total sales of $1.7 billion.

But Provigil may not be a blockbuster for long. Cephalon could face generic competition for it starting in 2012. Generic substitutes, which cost a lot less than brand-name drugs, usually capture most of the sales once a brand-name drug loses patent protection.

Posted by Mike Armstrong @ 2:30 AM  Permalink | File Under: Business Services | | Financial Services | 2 comments
Comments   
Posted 07:26 AM, 01/10/2009
markwatson
Advanta bank is charging customers (small business owners) 3, 4 even 5 times the interest rates they were being charged-these are people with NO latenesses, good credit scores, and they are being charged rates that are creating extreme hardships. In addition, Advanta's stocks are at or near all-time lows-'A' stock is hovering around $1.50 and 'B' at $2.50-both are worth about 10% of their values a little more than a year ago. And the CEO has paid himself well, again, and is blowing all this money on TENNIS SPONSORSHIPS? Another example of corporate greed, Alter cares NOT about small businesses, but will THROW all lthis money at his 'true love'-TENNIS!!! Wake up, people...
Posted 07:30 AM, 01/10/2009
markwatson
Advanta bank is charging customers (small business owners) 3, 4 even 5 times the interest rates they were being charged-these are people with NO latenesses, good credit scores, and they are being charged rates that are creating extreme hardships. In addition, Advanta's stocks are at or near all-time lows-'A' stock is hovering around $1.50 and 'B' at $2.50-both are worth about 10% of their values a little more than a year ago. And the CEO has paid himself well, again, and is blowing all this money on TENNIS SPONSORSHIPS? Another example of corporate greed, Alter cares NOT about small businesses, but will THROW all lthis money at his 'true love'-TENNIS!!! Wake up, people...and, since I anticipate that this will NOT be published, please google 'Advanta complaints' so that you can see that this is not a small issue-there are literally thousands of small business owners who are having problems or may end up bankrupt because of the actions of Alter-Brian Tierney of all people should understand that this is an issue that will eventually affect even him.
2 comments
About Mike Armstrong
Mike Armstrong, a business editor and writer for nearly two decades, is the Inquirer's business columnist and PhillyInc blog editor.
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