5 day forecast
Business Briefs: Freeh Sporkin to merge with Pepper Hamilton
Share with others:
The white-collar law firms Pepper Hamilton LLP, which has offices in Downtown, and Freeh, Sporkin & Sullivan, LLP, announced on Tuesday that they will merge, effective Sept. 1. Freeh, Sporkin & Sullivan published the Freeh Report, an investigation into the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal at Penn State University, in July. It has offices in Wilmington, Del., Washington, D.C. and New York. Pepper Hamilton will acquire Freeh Group International Solutions, LLC, a consulting company, as part of the deal.
Moody's Investors Service has reaffirmed Excela Health's A3 rating with a stable outlook on $90.9 million in bonds. The ratings agency cited the Westmoreland County health system's "healthy" market share, improving operating cash flow margins and good liquidity.
Mexico City restaurant on Wood Street, Downtown, was closed for two days earlier this month by the Allegheny County Health Department for serious food safety violations, including rat droppings in the kitchen, a sewage back-up in the basement, multiple foods held at unsafe temperatures and other problems. The restaurant was cleared to reopen after a follow-up inspection.
Also this month, the health department posted a Consumer Alert at Georgetowne Inn on Grandview Avenue, Mount Washington, for food at unsafe temperatures, and at Family Dollar on Wharton Street, South Side, for mice and roaches. Both alerts have been removed. Allegheny County inspection records are available at webapps.achd.net/Restaurant/.
Despite improving U.S. job and housing markets, consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since November 2011, according to The Conference Board, a private research group. The results are the latest swing in the index, which has been on a rollercoaster ride this year. The index declined in January, rose in February and then posted four months of declines before registering an increase in July. The New York-based Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index in August fell to 60.6, down from a revised 65.4 in July and the 66 analysts were expecting.
Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC, the private-equity firm that exited Sally Beauty Holdings Inc. this year, agreed to buy David's Bridal Inc. for $1.05 billion, gaining the largest mid-market wedding-gown retailer in the country. Leonard Green & Partners, also a private-equity investor, will continue as a minority partner. David's Bridal, which Leonard Green and TPG Growth bought five years ago in a deal valued at about $750 million, has the most recognized name in its industry in the U.S., according to Standard & Poor's. The Conshohocken, Pa.-based company has more than half of the market share in the $600-and-under bridal gown market.
Ford Motor Co., eager to grab a piece of China's growing luxury market, plans to start selling its nearly 100-year-old Lincoln brand there in 2014 for the first time.
First Published August 29, 2012 12:00 am
