Midwest Air Group said Thursday that U.S. antitrust regulators asked for more information about the sale of the regional carrier to buyout firm TPG Inc. and Eagan-based Northwest Airlines. Midwest said it will respond "expeditiously" and "work toward a prompt closing of the transaction," and that it doesn't expect any change in its planned Oct. 30 shareholders meeting in Milwaukee to vote on the bid. The regulatory action is a potential complication in the regional airline's August agreement to be bought by TPG and Northwest for $451.4 million, ending an eight-month hostile takeover attempt by AirTran Holdings. TPG will own 53 percent of Midwest, with the rest held by Northwest. Northwest has said the takeover should receive antitrust approval because the airline won't have a seat on Midwest's board or any say in Midwest's management. Ev3 completes merger with FoxHollow
Medical-device company Ev3 on Thursday completed its merger with FoxHollow Technologies Inc. of Redwood City, Calif. With the merger, FoxHollow becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Ev3, which will have more than 1,500 employees, including about 600 in Minnesota. Ev3's headquarters will remain in Plymouth. The company's product portfolio will include an array of devices used to treat vascular disease. Projected 2008 sales will be in the $585 million to $615 million range, the company said in July when it announced the merger.Iron Range power plant can apply for loan
The Mesaba Energy Project, a controversial $2 billion coal gasification plant proposed for the Iron Range, is one of 16 "clean energy" projects out of 143 applicants that can apply for federal loan guarantees to cover up to 80 percent of its construction costs, the Department of Energy said Thursday. The 603-megawatt plant, proposed by Minnetonka-based Excelsior Energy, has met opposition from Xcel Energy and environmentalists. The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission in August denied Excelsior permission to sell its power to Xcel but left the door open for Excelsior to try again. The Department of Energy has asked Congress for $9 billion in loan guarantee authority this year to back projects that use innovative "clean" technologies.Four elected to Grain Exchange board
The Minneapolis Grain Exchange on Thursday elected to its board Daniel Brophy, Gregory Konsor, Michael Ricks and Gary Weber. Nine candidates ran for four available positions, and voter turnout was the highest in recent history, with 318 of the possible 399 votes cast. Four public directors will be appointed Oct. 15. A new requirement stipulates that the board must consist of least 35 percent public directors by October 2008. By that time, the exchange board will include eight member directors and five public directors.
BRIEFLY
Shareholders of Rural Cellular Corp. voted Thursday to approve the Alexandria, Minn.-based company's acquisition by Verizon Wireless for approximately $2.67 billion in cash and assumed debt. The deal still requires governmental and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the first half of 2008. ... Vadnais Heights-based Angeion Corp. announced the introduction of a new product called MedGraphics CCM Express. The monitor is designed to measure the nutritional requirements of patients in hospital intensive care and critical care units. ... AllRegs, an Eagan-based information provider for the mortgage industry, acquired Lender E-Source, a Web-based distributor of mortgage lending guidelines.
- Staff and wire reports
