Business briefs
Prantl’s in Squirrel Hill shut down by Health Department
The Allegheny County Health Department shut down Prantl’s Bakery in Squirrel Hill for opening a new location there without a permit and failing to request a pre-operational inspection. The bakery also was cited for holding food at unsafe temperatures, lack of a probe thermometer, failure to sanitize food contact surfaces, lack of sufficient hot water and lack of hand-washing sinks in food handling areas. The facility must remain closed until the problems are fixed. The business’ owner could not immediately be reached for comment.
Peloton recalls treadmills, halts sales after a child dies
Peloton is recalling about 125,000 of its treadmills less than a month after denying they were dangerous
after denying they were dangerous and saying it would not pull them from the market, even though they were linked to the death of a child and injuries of 29 others. The company said it will offer full refunds for the Peloton Tread+ treadmills, which cost more than $4,200.
Services in U.S. expand at 2nd-strongest pace
U.S. service providers expanded in April at the second-fastest pace in data back to 1997, cooling slightly from the prior month as business activity and order growth pulled back from record highs. The Institute for Supply Management’s services index unexpectedly fell to 62.7 last month from a record 63.7 in March. Readings above 50 signal growth.
Knighthead offers bid to buy Hertz superior
Hertz Global Holdings said a proposal from Knighthead Capital Management and Certares Management to buy the car renter out of bankruptcy was superior to an existing offer from a rival investor group. The company’s current reorganization sponsor, a group led by Centerbridge Partners, would need to counter with an updated plan to stay in the running. The Knighthead bid assigned Hertz an enterprise value of $6.2 billion, paid debt holders in full, and offered shareholders cash and a chance to purchase warrants that valued holdings at around $2.25 a share, Bloomberg previously reported.
Office Depot plans split; Staples pursues
The parent of the Office Depot retail chain plans to split into two publicly traded companies, reshaping the company as rival Staples pursues an acquisition. ODP Corp. would retain its retail consumer and small-business products and services, while separating its Business Solutions Division contract unit and independent regional office-supply distribution operations.
Quarterly bond sale of debt still at high
The U.S. Treasury kept its quarterly auction of longterm debt, planned for next week, at a record size to help fund the government’s continuing wave of stimulus spending. It’s the first time in more than a year the socalled quarterly refunding total hasn’t risen, suggesting financing needs have peaked. The department offered no major strategic changes, and said it will sell $126 billion of long-term securities at auctions next week.