3rd pleads guilty in probe of Pilot Flying J

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 | Finance News

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A third employee of the truck stop chain owned by the Cleveland Browns owner and Tennessee's governor has pleaded guilty in what authorities call a scheme to cheat trucking firms out of rebates.

Regional sales manager Kevin Clark pleaded guilty to mail fraud Tuesday in federal court in Knoxville. Court records state he conspired with others in Pilot Flying J's sales division to short-change trucking companies by thousands of dollars between 2009 and this spring.

Like two other employees previously did, Clark pleaded guilty in an arrangement called an information rather than an indictment. That indicates he's cooperating with investigators.

Pilot Flying J is run by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, the brother of Gov. Bill Haslam. Jimmy Haslam has denied wrongdoing. The governor maintains he is not involved with operating the company.

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U.S. court lets stand Ex-Im Bank loan for Air India

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 | Finance News

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday let stand a decision by the U.S. Export-Import Bank to finance the sale of 30 Boeing wide-body jets to Air India in a legal challenge brought by Delta Air Lines .

"I am gratified by the court's recognition that these transactions should not be impeded by litigation," Fred Hochberg, chairman and president of Ex-Im Bank, said in a statement after the ruling.

However, the court directed the government-run bank to better explain its rationale for the loans, which Delta claimed as a victory in its long-running spat with Ex-Im Bank.

(Reporting by Doug Palmer and Karen Jacobs; Editing by Will Dunham)

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Exclusive: Japan’s Astellas looks to sell dermatology assets – sources

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013 | Finance News

By Jessica Toonkel

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc is looking to sell its dermatology portfolio, which could be worth between $500 million and $1 billion, according to three people familiar with the situation.

Astellas has hired London-based investment banking boutique DC Advisory to sell the assets, according to two of the people, who wished to remain anonymous because they are not permitted to speak to the press.

The company's dermatology portfolio, which includes a drug to treat eczema called Protopic, sells products around the world.

The drugmaker, which has $23 billion in market capitalization, is discussing breaking up the business and selling the pieces to different parties to generate a greater premium, said one of the people.

It is unclear how much each of the businesses would fetch.

Breaking up the portfolio and selling it to different parties makes sense particularly because the U.S. patent for Protopic is set to expire next year, opening it up to generic competition, said another of the three persons.

Astellas declined to comment. DC Advisory did not return calls requesting a comment.

(Editing by Maureen Bavdek and Matthew Lewis)

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