Jefferson Pilot Corp

Jefferson-Pilot to Acquire Insurer Alexander Hamilton Life: Greensboro, N.C.-based Jefferson-Pilot Corp. will make the buy for $575 million in cash, the companies said. The deal will almost double Jefferson-Pilot's assets to about $14 billion. Alexander Hamilton Life Insurance Co. is a wholly owned unit of Household International Inc. of Prospect Heights, Ill. Household, a leading home-equity lender and credit-card issuer, said it wants to focus on its core business.

Lincoln National Corp. said Monday that it would acquire rival Jefferson-Pilot Corp. for about $7.5 billion in cash and stock, as the two century-old companies create one of the largest publicly traded life insurance companies in the U.S. The buyer, which would retain the Lincoln National and Lincoln Financial Group names, would be the nation's largest seller of universal life insurance products and a leader in group disability insurance and retirement plan assets, the companies said.

Lincoln National Corp. said Monday that it would acquire rival Jefferson-Pilot Corp. for about $7.5 billion in cash and stock, as the two century-old companies create one of the largest publicly traded life insurance companies in the U.S. The buyer, which would retain the Lincoln National and Lincoln Financial Group names, would be the nation's largest seller of universal life insurance products and a leader in group disability insurance and retirement plan assets, the companies said.

Jefferson-Pilot to Acquire Insurer Alexander Hamilton Life: Greensboro, N.C.-based Jefferson-Pilot Corp. will make the buy for $575 million in cash, the companies said. The deal will almost double Jefferson-Pilot's assets to about $14 billion. Alexander Hamilton Life Insurance Co. is a wholly owned unit of Household International Inc. of Prospect Heights, Ill. Household, a leading home-equity lender and credit-card issuer, said it wants to focus on its core business.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether the nation's credit unions can expand their membership to bring in more customers. A ruling is not expected until early next year. . . . A federal judge in New Orleans has refused to throw out a federal lawsuit accusing the nation's largest tobacco companies of manipulating nicotine levels in cigarettes to keep smokers hooked. The tobacco companies said they would look at ways to get a rehearing of the suit, known as the Castano case. . . .

First American Title Buys Rival: The nation's No. 2 title insurer announced the acquisition of Jefferson-Pilot Title Insurance of Greensboro, N.C. The acquisition will add only three branches to First American Title Insurance Co.'s international network of 300 locations, but it would give the company an important presence in the fast-growing North Carolina market. Jefferson-Pilot is a subsidiary of Jefferson-Pilot Corp., which is one of the nation's largest shareholder-owned life insurers.

First American Title Insurance Co., the nation's No. 2 title insurer, continued its acquisition streak Friday by announcing its purchase of a North Carolina competitor. The acquisition of Jefferson-Pilot Title Insurance of Greensboro will add only three branches to First American's international network of 300 locations, but it will give the company an important presence in the fast-growing North Carolina market.

Parmalat's troubles deepened Thursday after six foreign creditor companies sued the global food group, which is caught up in one of Europe's biggest business scandals. Hours after the company filed for bankruptcy protection in Italy, a group of foreign life insurers holding unpaid bonds sued to win control of two Parmalat units in the Cayman Islands.

With a sinister laugh, an on-air promotion for Viacom Inc.'s WZNE-FM rock station has been tipping listeners in Rochester, N.Y., to the parent corporation's dark purpose. "Our company has a master plan for world media domination," an announcer says. He quickly adds: "We're not part of it." In the age of media consolidation, corporate radio is beginning to wrestle with a brand-new worry -- an audience that might actually care who owns the station.

MCI Communications Corp. said Thursday that its second-quarter profit fell a less-than-expected 27% as its strongest sales growth since 1996 helped offset costs and losses in its local phone business. The No. 2 U.S. long-distance company, which plans to complete its sale to No. 4 provider WorldCom Inc. this summer, earned $204 million, or 27 cents a share, before gains and charges, compared with $280 million, or 40 cents, a year ago. Revenue rose 11% to $5.37 billion.

Amazon.com Inc. said its loss widened in the third quarter, but much less than analysts had expected, as it poured more money into advertising and as its sales quadrupled. The No. 1 online bookseller said it lost $24.7 million, or 49 cents a share, in the latest quarter, compared with a loss of $9.6 million, or 21 cents, a year ago. Analysts expected a loss of 57 cents a share, according to First Call Corp. Sales climbed to $153.7 million from $37.

The flood of defections from the ravaged managed-care business took a significant turn on Thursday, as Prudential Insurance Co. of America agreed to sell its ailing health-care operations to Aetna Inc. for $1 billion. The deal would affect about 6.6 million people nationwide, nearly 700,000 of them Californians, who are currently insured by Prudential. It would make Aetna U.S. Healthcare the nation's largest provider of managed care, with about 18.4 million members in HMOs alone.