Tuesday, April 05, 2005

Follow-ups and new deals Cendant's seemingly insatiable appetite for smaller travel and tour companies has ended up in yet another purchase. The company purchased UK-based tour company Gulliver's Travels. Defense contractor General Dynamics announced it will acquire MAYA Viz, a US-based company that specializes in "enhanced visualization systems" that are used by US army divisions. Information services company McGraw Hill recently completed the acquisition of consumer market survey J.D. Power and Associates, which sells its surveys on customer satisfaction to automobile companies among others. McGraw Hill is the parent of Standard & Poor's financial information publishing, BusinessWeek magazine, textbooks, and training materials. Internet information and services provider IAC struck again, buying search engine Ask Jeeves to add to its large portfolio of key Web businesses. Lufthansa Airlines of Germany announced it has approval to take over Swiss International Airlines. That company, the successor to bankrupt Swissair, has similar financial problems. This is yet another step in the demise of national airlines, especially those in smaller countries, lines that can no longer compete. 9:26:37 PM

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