Foreclosed Apartments Find New Owner
The bank that bought the Whitney Manor and Frayser Manor apartment complexes in Frayser out of foreclosure has sold the properties to a Connecticut-based entity called Group 40 LLC. The $2.2 million sale closed in late July.
Whitney Frayser Manor Memphis LLC, a local entity related to the original lender, Madison Realty Capital LP, acted as seller in the transaction. It had bought the properties April 6 from successor trustee Charles S. Sanger on the Shelby County Courthouse steps.
Whitney Manor is a 96-unit apartment complex at 3081 St. Charles Drive. Built in 1968, the complex sits on 6.83 acres at the northeast corner of Steele Street and Whitney Avenue. The Shelby County Assessor of Property’s 2009 appraisal is $1.4 million.
Frayser Manor is a 106-unit apartment complex at 931 Frayser Blvd. Built in 1974, the complex sits on six acres near the intersection of Frayser Boulevard and Thomas Street. The assessor’s 2009 appraisal also is $1.4 million.
The previous owners of the apartment complexes are Whitney Manor Real Property Holdings LLC and Frayser Manor Real Property Holdings LLC, both of which list a Southington, Conn., address and are managed by Daniel Ross.
Ross defaulted on a $2.4 million loan issued by New York-based Madison Realty Capital dated March 14, 2007.
The new owner, Group 40, financed the purchase with a $1.5 million loan through Madison Realty Capital LP. Attempts to reach Group 40’s managing member, Susan E. Birk, were unsuccessful.
Source: The Daily News Online & Chandler Reports
GTx Reports Smaller Net Loss in Q2
Memphis-based biopharmaceutical company GTx Inc. provided a timetable for the rollout of potential new therapies Monday when it released its second quarter earnings report.
The company, which is about to transition from the research and development phase to marketing new therapies, had a net loss of $11.3 million for the quarter compared to a net loss of $13.2 million for the same period a year ago. GTx, which has no debt, also said it has cash on hand of $68.9 million.
GTx expects to receive approval Oct. 30 from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to begin marketing toremifne 80 mg to reduce the risk of bone fractures in men with prostate cancer who are undergoing male hormone deprivation therapy to combat the disease. The company also said it plans to submit an application next year for another new drug for the prevention of prostate cancer.
There are two other potential therapies in the pipeline, as well. One is for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. The other is to prevent muscle loss for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
GTx has begun devising a sales force for the commercial rollout of its new therapies. It has hired six or seven district sales managers and will add other sales personnel after receiving FDA approval, company officials said.
FedEx Express Expands International Shipping
FedEx Express, a subsidiary of Memphis-based FedEx Corp., on Monday announced the expansion of its international shipping portfolio, giving customers more choices when shipping packages and freight worldwide.
The company now offers its FedEx International Economy service from more than 90 countries and territories. Also, the FedEx International Economy Freight service is available from more than 50 countries and territories. Prior to the expansion, FedEx International Economy was offered from 16 countries and territories and FedEx International Economy Freight was available from 13 countries.
FedEx International Economy and FedEx International Economy Freight are “door-to-door, customs-cleared, time-definite delivery services that reach markets representing more than 90 percent of global GDP,” according to a company statement.
E.W. Scripps Posts Q2 Profit of $2.3M
Media company E.W. Scripps Co., parent company of The Commercial Appeal, reported Monday it made a profit in the second quarter despite a decline in ad revenue, reversing a year-ago loss that was weighed by impairment charges.
E.W. Scripps earned $2.3 million, or 4 cents per share, up from a loss of $531.2 million, or $9.78 per share, in the same period a year earlier. The 2008 quarter included impairment charges of $583 million from the company’s newspaper businesses and from investments in newspaper partnerships in Colorado.
Revenue fell 23 percent to $193.9 million from $250.9 million.
Rich Boehne, president and CEO of the Cincinnati-based company, said Scripps is seeing slight improvement in its advertising markets over the past several weeks, especially at TV stations.
Revenue from the company’s television stations was $61.1 million, a decrease of 24 percent from the same period a year earlier. The decline was largely from reduced ad spending from companies in the automotive, financial services and retail industries.
Revenue from newspapers managed solely by Scripps fell 22 percent to $113 million. Advertising revenue declined 29 percent to $79.4 million, hurt by a weakness in print classified advertising.
Boehne said in a conference call with analysts the company is “aggressively cutting expenses and reallocating resources” to improve its financial health.
“At a time when most competitors are whacking away at their products, we’re trying to do the exact opposite,” he said. “That’s not been easy. Even in newsrooms, we’ve reduced compensation, but we’ve tried to protect our overall investment in news product.”
Earlier this year, Scripps shut down Denver’s Rocky Mountain News. Last year the company split off its cable networks and online shopping sites into a separate, publicly traded company called Scripps Networks Interactive Inc.
CKX Posts Lower Q2 Profit, Sales
Media licenser CKX Inc. reported Monday its second-quarter profit declined as revenue fell and operating costs increased.
The company earned $4 million, or 5 cents per share, down from a profit of $11.9 million, or 12 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Revenue fell 10 percent to $79.5 million from $88.5 million.
CKX owns and develops entertainment content, including licensing the names and likenesses of Elvis Presley and Muhammad Ali. It also has the rights to “American Idol” and adaptations that air in more than 100 countries.
The quarter’s operating costs rose 8 percent to $68.3 million.
Ten Butler Snow Attorneys Recognized in Best Lawyers
Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada PLLC has 54 attorneys recognized in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, including 10 based in the Memphis office.
Denise Burke, Don Campbell, Mike Coury, Charles Crawford, Chuck Harrell, Frank Holbrook, David Jaqua, Bob Morris, Randy Noel and Jeb Bailey were all nominated by their peers for the honor this year.
Butler Snow ranks highest in Memphis on The Best Lawyers in America 2010 list for bankruptcy and creditor-debtor rights law.
Habitat for Humanity To Hold Auction
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis will hold a live auction in conjunction with Roebuck Auctions Thursday.
The auction, to benefit Memphis Habitat, will be held at 10:07 a.m. at its 169 Scott St. location. Those unable to attend can make bids at www.roebuckauctions.com.
Items for sale will include trucks, plumbing supplies, decking, siding, aluminum and wood windows, televisions, appliances, new air compressors, new air conditioning units, new water heaters, cabinets, flooring, and lavatory and kitchens sinks.
Merchandise that is won must be collected by the end of the business day. All items will be available for inspection from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday.
For more information about the auction, call Jody Hopkins at Roebuck Auctions at 888-763-2825.
Stanley’s Resignation Receives National Pub.
The intern scandal that led to the resignation Monday of Germantown Republican state Sen. Paul Stanley was briefly spotlighted in the Aug. 17 issue of Newsweek.
An image of Stanley appears prominently toward the front of the magazine in a feature called its “indignity index.” The magazine placed Stanley’s affair at 70 on a sliding scale of “dubious public behavior” going from 0 to 100, with 0 being “mildly tacky” and 100 being “utterly shameless.”