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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 14, 2008

TAMPA BAY AREA

Envirofuels Asks For Delay

The Tampa Port Authority staff has recommended approving a pair of three-month lease extensions sought by Port Sutton Envirofuels, which wants more time to study how it could use the site where it plans to build an ethanol plant. Envirofuels also wants its permitted use to include biofuel and ethanol-related uses, including production, tank storage, blending and distribution. The Tampa Port Authority is scheduled to consider the lease option at its monthly business meeting Tuesday at 1101 Channelside Drive.

Lake Sought For Sports

A businessman wants to open a new water sports facility in Hillsborough County, according to an e-mail sent out by the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce's Committee of One Hundred and obtained by The Tampa Tribune. The e-mail said the unnamed investor wants to lease or buy a lake of up to 10 acres and some land for a building and parking. The e-mail doesn't say what type of sport the facility would host. Howard Volland, a project manager for the Committee of One Hundred, said Wednesday that he could not comment.

NATION

MBIA Sells 40% Stake

Fighting to stave off a ratings downgrade that would cripple its business prospects, MBIA said Wednesday that it raised $1.1 billion by selling a roughly 40 percent stake in itself. In a deal managed by JPMorgan and Lehman Bros., MBIA sold 94.6 million shares at $12.15 per share. Warburg Pincus, which last year invested $500 million in MBIA, bought an additional $300 million of the company's shares. MBIA is struggling to safeguard its crucial top-notch financial-strength rating, which is besieged by expectations for more defaults. MBIA writes insurance policies promising to repay bondholders when bond issuers default.
Clear Channel Buyout OK'd

The Justice Department on Wednesday allowed two private-equity firms to go ahead with a $19.5 billion buyout of Clear Channel Communications, the largest operator of radio stations in the United States. To address competition concerns, the agency is requiring Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners to sell four radio stations in Cincinnati, Houston, Las Vegas and San Francisco. The Federal Communications Commission approved the deal to take Clear Channel private last month, contingent on the San Antonio, Texas-based company selling radio stations in 42 markets. The company has previously said it expects the deal to close in the first quarter of 2008.

A staff and wire report

Watch the Tribune's Business report at 5, 6 and 11 a.m. Tuesday to Friday and 9 a.m. Saturdays on WFLA-TV.

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