Port Sets Cargo Record
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that the Port of New York and New Jersey surpassed $110 billion in total cargo handled for the first time in 2004. The Authority also reported that container volume grew by slightly more than 10% over the previous year. Asia was the largest market, representing 43.2% of cargo. Cargo from China alone increased 30.5% in 2004, representing 19.9% of the port's activity.

Philip Morris Agrees to Purchase Indonesian Tobacco Company
Phillip Morris International has announced that it has agreed to purchase a 40% stake in PT HM Sampoerna, the third-largest cigarette maker in Indonesia. The purchase price was announced as approximately $2 billion. Phillip Morris is a division of Manhattan-based Altria Group which also owns Kraft Foods.

Instinet Group Buys Bridge Trading
Instinet Group Incorporated, a global electronic agency broker, announced that it has completed its acquisition of St. Louis-based Bridge Trading Company, an agency execution broker, from Instinet's parent company, Reuters of London. In a related development, Reuters later announced that Instinet, based in Manhattan, would be sold to the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Avon Obtains Chinese Approval
Manhattan-based Avon became the first company approved by the Chinese government to sell its products door-to-door in that nation. The company began selling in April in Beijing, Tianjin, and Guangdong Province following approval by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.

Globecomm Systems Expands in Africa
Hauppauge-based Globecomm Systems Inc. announced that it has launched a new managed mobile network services platform into Africa utilizing the company's Internet Protocol network architecture. The company also announced that it has been awarded an $8.1 million contract from the National Air Navigation Services Co. (NANSC) in Egypt to design and install a satellite-based network connecting nineteen remote NANSC sites to the Cairo Air Navigation Center.

Hess Purchases Russian Oil Firm
VAmerada Hess Corp. of New York announced that it has acquired a 65% interest in Trabant Holdings International, a company which owns 100% of ZAO Samara-Nafta, an exploration and production company located in the Volga-Urals region of the Russian Federation, for $25 million. Samara-Nafta currently produces approximately 7,500 bbls/day of high quality crude from fields in the Mamurinsky license area in the southern Samara region.

American Bio Medica Appoints European Distributor
Biotechnology firm American Bio Medica Corp. of Kinderhook announced that they have signed a distribution agreement with MAVAND Solutions GmbH. Under this agreement, MAVAND will exclusively market and sell ABMC's product line in Europe except for the United Kingdom, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. MAVAND Solutions GmbH is a diagnostic system vendor of product solutions for the European market based in Mossingen, Germany.

Henry Schein Purchases Companies in Australia and New Zealand
Henry Schein, a Melville, N.Y., based provider of healthcare and veterinary products and services has announced the acquisition of Halas Dental Ltd. and Shalfoon Bros. Ltd., full-service providers of dental merchandise and equipment in Australia and New Zealand, respectively. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition adds more than 50 sales representatives to Henry Schein's existing Australian and New Zealand sales force of nearly 60.

Blackstone Acquires Merlin Entertainments
The Blackstone Group today announced the acquisition of Merlin Entertainments and Merlin management, by Blackstone Capital Partners IV, an affiliate of The Blackstone Group, from Hermes Private Equity. Merlin operates 28 tourist attractions and amusement parks in eight European countries and is headquartered in London. The Blackstone Group is a private investment and advisory firm with headquarters in New York. The purchase price was reported as approximately $187 million.

Jeffries Group Buys English Firm
Jefferies Group, Inc. announced that it has acquired Helix Associates Limited, a leading private equity fund placement firm based in London. Terms were not disclosed. Jefferies Group is a global investment bank and institutional securities firm headquartered in New York.

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