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Johnson & Co Pay Magical $2 Billion For The Dodgers

March 28, 2012 by · Comments Off on Johnson & Co Pay Magical $2 Billion For The Dodgers 

Johnson & Co Pay Magical $2 Billion For The Dodgers, Ending a soap opera starring owner Frank McCourt in a bitter divorce battle, the Los Angeles Dodgers have been sold for a whopping $2 billion to a group led by basketball legend Magic Johnson.

The deal price for Dodgers is by far the highest amount ever paid for a North American sports franchise. The total sales price is said to be $2.3 billion, including $2 billion for the team and stadium, plus $300 million for the surrounding land and parking lots, the Dodgers announced Tuesday night.

The controlling partner of the purchasing group, Guggenheim Baseball Management LLC, will be Mark Walter, chief executive officer of Guggenheim Partners, a Chicago-based financial services company. Apart from Johnson, the group also includes movie executive Peter Guber, baseball executive Stan Kasten, along with Bobby Patton and Todd Boehly.

It is expected that Kasten, former president of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals, would be the club president and Walter is not expected to play a significant role in its day-to-day operation.

Johnson & Johnson

January 20, 2012 by · Comments Off on Johnson & Johnson 

Johnson & Johnson, A lawsuit in which Texas accused Johnson & Johnson of plundering the state Medicaid program by overstating the safety of an expensive anti-psychotic drug and improperly influencing officials and doctors to push the medication has been settled for $158 million, a subsidiary of the health care giant and state officials announced Thursday.

Texas had been seeking up to $1 billion from the drug maker.

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., one of the J&J subsidiaries that had been sued, said in a statement it will pay $158 million in full resolution of all claims in Texas.

The settlement represents a resolution to claims brought by Texas for alleged Medicaid overpayment during the years 1994-2008, the company said.

“Janssen is committed to ethical business practices, and has policies in place to ensure its products are only promoted for their FDA-approved indications,” the company statement said.

Tom Kelley, a spokesman for the office of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, which was leading the case on behalf of the state, confirmed the settlement but declined further comment.

A court hearing in which the settlement was to be announced was pending Thursday morning. Testimony in the trial began Jan. 10.

A whistle-blower filed the lawsuit, then Texas joined it. The lawsuit is one of dozens of pending state and federal cases alleging illegal marketing practices and kickbacks in an effort to boost Risperdal over competing drugs. Risperdal is a pill for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Lawyers for Abbott’s office and whistle-blower Allen Jones accused Johnson & Johnson and some of its subsidiaries of committing fraud against Medicaid, the joint state-federal health care program for the poor, by making false or misleading statements about Risperdal and its safety, cost and effectiveness compared to other drugs in the 1990s.

Risperdal is used to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

At the start of the trial, lawyers for the New Brunswick, N.J.-based health care giant had insisted the company did nothing improper in marketing the drug.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2004 by Jones, a former employee of the Office of Inspector General in Pennsylvania, who said he learned of Johnson & Johnson’s actions in Texas while investigating similar claims in his home state. Texas joined the case in 2006.

Last year, a South Carolina judge ruled Johnson & Johnson must pay a $327 million civil penalty after a jury found it guilty of overstating the safety and effectiveness of Risperdal. In 2010, a Louisiana jury found the company violated that state’s Medicaid fraud act and awarded it $258 million in damages.

Johnson & Johnson $1 Billion Risperdal

January 6, 2012 by · Comments Off on Johnson & Johnson $1 Billion Risperdal 

Johnson & Johnson $1 Billion RisperdalJohnson & Johnson $1 Billion Risperdal, Shares of Alcoa Inc. (NYSE:AA) are trading 1.40 percent lower after the closing bell. The company said it will reduce its global smelting capacity by 12 percent, due to the large decline in aluminum prices.

Investing Insights: Aloca Kicks Off 2012 Earnings Season with These Expectations.

Family Dollar Stores Inc. (NYSE:FDO) shares are down 2.48 percent in late trading. The company reported fiscal first quarter profits of $80.4 million, or 68 cents per share. Shares of Dollar General Corp. (NYSE:DG) and Dollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ:DLTR) are also trading lower.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) continue to edge lower in extended trading hours. The consumer healthcare company will pay more than $1 billion to the U.S. and most states to resolve a civil investigation regarding marketing practices of its anti-psychotic Risperdal drug.

Don’t Miss: Kraft Leverages Soda.

After closing the day down almost 1 percent, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) shares continue to decline in late trading. Bloomberg reports, “The Weather Channel and WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ:WBMD) are among companies Yahoo is interested in owning as part of a tax-efficient asset swap with Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Softbank Corp., said three people with knowledge of the matter.” WBMD shares are trading higher on the news.

Shares of RF Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD) are plummeting almost 13 percent after the company provided a Q3 update. CEO Bob Bruggeworth said, “RFMD is navigating broadly lower demand in 2G handsets and softness across MPG’s markets. Despite this challenging macro environment, RFMD is winning new business with industry-leading products and technologies, and we fully expect to grow in fiscal 2013, supported by market share gains, new product launches, and expanding relationships with both channel partners and customers.”

Investing Insights: These 5 CEOs Made Bank on Rising Share Prices in 2011.

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