Peet’s going private
EMERYVILLE, Calif. >> Peet’s Coffee & Tea is being taken private by a German conglomerate paying about $977.6 million for the company.
Privately held Joh. A. Benckiser, which invests in consumer goods brands, will pay $73.50 per share, a 29 percent premium to Peet’s closing stock price of $57.16 on Friday.
Hawaiian Telcom speeds up wireless service
Hawaiian Telcom has introduced 4G mobile wireless service and is aiming its marketing at small- and medium-size businesses, according to a company announcement Monday.
The new, faster wireless service is being promoted as part of the company’s bundle for business customers. The bundle includes hosted Voice-over-Internet-Protocol service, broadband Internet service and multithreat security protection, enabling secure workforce mobility, the company said.
Hawaii’s islands rank high in new listing
The island of Kauai is No. 2 in the world for best beaches, according to U.S. News Travel, by U.S News & World Report.
Second to Bali, Kauai was followed by the Seychelles, in the Indian Ocean, northeast of Madagascar.
Kauai and Maui, respectively, are the Nos. 1 and 2 Best Honeymoon Destinations, ahead of Florence, Italy.
Maui was ranked the No. 3 Best Summer Vacation destination, behind Nice, France, and Mykonos, Greece.
Kauai is the third-best winter vacation destination, behind Puerto Vallarta and Playa del Carmen, Mexico, but offers the second-best hiking trips in North America according to the magazine listing, which considers input from travel experts and consumers in its methodology.
No Hawaii destination is among the top three U.S. vacations, listed in order as Yellowstone National Park, New York City and Washington, D.C., but the islands of Hawaii are ranked on more lists the magazine breaks out into six categories, each with several subcategories.
For the complete list, go to travel.usnews.com/Rankings.
Soft game sales weigh on Hasbro earnings
PAWTUCKET, R.I. » Toy maker Hasbro Inc. said Monday its second-quarter net income dropped 25 percent on weak sales in most categories as revenue in major product categories including boys, girls and games declined.
But higher prices and cost-cutting helped the maker of Monopoly, Nerf and My Little Pony beat analysts’ earnings expectations.
The second quarter is seasonally small for toy makers, which make the bulk of their sales during the second half of the year and the holiday season. But it can give indications about the strength or weakness of toy demand.
Revenue fell 11 percent in the latest quarter, missing Wall Street expectations. That drop reflected lower sales in Hasbro’s boys, girls and games categories. Hasbro said that was partly planned, because the company is working to make inventory more in line with when people buy toys, later on in the year.
Hasbro’s net income fell to $43.4 million, or 33 cents a share, for the period that ended July 1. That’s down from $58.1 million, or 42 cents per share, a year ago.
Ex-Yahoo CEO named head of ShopRunner
SAN FRANCISCO » Recently ousted Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson has landed a new job leading ShopRunner, an online service that provides two-day shipping from a variety of Internet retailers.
Monday’s announcement of Thompson’s appointment as ShopRunner’s new CEO comes two months after his short-lived tenure at Yahoo Inc. came to a mortifying end.
Yahoo shoved aside Thompson, 54, after a dissident shareholder uncovered misinformation in his official biography filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The bio listed a bachelor’s degree in computer science that he never received, raising doubts about Thompson’s integrity that led to his departure after just four months on the job.
Yahoo last week replaced Thompson, hiring longtime Google Inc. executive Marissa Mayer as its fifth CEO in the past five years.
Wet Seal ousts CEO as summer sales lag
NEW YORK » As sales declines deepen, teen clothing seller Wet Seal Inc. has fired CEO Susan McGalla without a replacement for her.
McGalla had been Wet Seal’s CEO since January 2011, and had signed an employment contract with the company through August 2014. Her departure is effective immediately, and the company said Monday that it is starting a search for a new CEO. In the meantime, the company’s chairman, president and chief financial officer are overseeing Wet Seal.
Cisco to ax 1,300 in latest cutback
SAN JOSE, Calif. » Cisco Systems is preparing to lay off about 1,300 workers just a few months after the world’s largest maker of computer networking equipment warned that growing economic uncertainty is making it tougher to close sales with its customers.
The cuts announced Monday represent about 2 percent of Cisco System Inc.’s payroll of 65,000 workers.
The upcoming layoffs represent the company’s latest austerity measure. Last year Cisco shed about 10,000 jobs as part of a program aimed at saving about $1 billion annually.
On the Move
The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel has announced that Peter Pahk has been hired as executive chef. His experience includes 15 years as executive chef at Ritz Carlton-Atlanta and Marina Del Rey as well as executive chef for Silverado Resort in Napa Valley and worked with the Mauna Kea’s hotel manager, Phyllis Branco.
The Hawaii State Bar Association has hired:
>> Julie Yang as mandatory continuing legal education administrator. She was previously working as a freelance writer.
>> Lynn Nakagawa as communications specialist. She was previously a business reporter with Pacific Business News.
UHA has named Lance Kaneshiro senior vice president and chief operating officer. He has been with the company for 13 years and has served as senior vice president and chief sales officer since 2009.
