CSN Stores, the third-largest online retailer of home goods in the U.S., has had its best year ever so far.  Compared to the same period last year, sales in Q1 and Q2, 2010 are 60 percent higher.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100730/NE43862)

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100730/NE43862)

At the same time, CSN has increased its staff significantly in the past year, moving up from 400 to 650+ to help drive and manage the company's ongoing expansion both in North America and overseas in the U.K. and Germany.

"Though the economy continues to fluctuate, we believe that Q3 and Q4 will be even busier and better for CSN than the first half of the year," said CSN Stores CEO and Co-Founder Niraj Shah. "Most of our 22 categories, both new and established, have seen significant growth.  Barring any major economic setback, the Back-To-School and Holiday seasons should expedite that growth."

Some of the fastest-growing categories at CSN Stores so far this year include: Toys (up 155 percent); Housewares (up 101 percent); Upholstery (up 178 percent); Bedding (up 128 percent); and Pet Goods, which increased by 279 percent over the same period last year.

Among CSN Stores' many emerging categories, the flooring business (including hardwood flooring, laminate, vinyl, and bamboo) is one of the fastest-growing. Since launching this time last year, sales for that category have increased by more than 750 percent.

Founded in 2002, CSN Stores (www.csnstores.com) is a $300 million+, privately owned company, comprised of 200+ online stores in North America, the U.K., and Germany providing unparalleled selection, great customer service and significant savings. CSN's sites include: Cookware.com, BedroomFurniture.com, Luggage.com, AllModern.com, and many more.

Based in Boston, Mass., CSN offers 1.5 million+ products from more than 4,000 brands. CSN is the No. 3 online retailer of housewares and home furnishings in the U.S., according to Internet Retailer.

SOURCE CSN Stores

Back to top

RELATED LINKS
http://www.csnstores.com

Silver Lake, the global leader in private investments in technology and technology-enabled industries, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a majority stake in Allyes Online Media Holding Ltd. ("Allyes"), China's leading digital marketing solutions provider, making it one of the largest private equity investments in China this year. Allyes is a subsidiary of Focus Media Holding Limited (Nasdaq: FMCN), China's leading digital media group.

Through its digital marketing platform, Allyes provides online advertising agency services, advertising networks, performance marketing, advertising technology solutions and online market research to leading global brands such as Sony, Pepsi and Chrysler and leading Chinese companies such as China Merchants Bank and Taobao.

Allyes has built a leading market position by capitalizing on the robust development of the online advertising market in China, which is driven by strong economic growth and a rapid increase in Internet penetration. According to iResearch, the market size of China's online advertising industry reached over RMB 20.7 billion in 2009, up 21.9% from 2008.

"We are delighted to welcome Silver Lake as our majority shareholder and strategic partner," said David Zhu, CEO of Allyes. "Allyes looks forward to leveraging Silver Lake's deep technology background and exceptional insights in the global digital market as we continue to grow and innovate our business strategies."

"We are impressed with Allyes' success over the last 12 years and look forward to partnering with its high caliber team," said Dr. Eric Chen, Managing Director at Silver Lake. "We are optimistic about Allyes' future and believe that the company is well-positioned to leverage the growth trends and continue to develop as a leader in digital marketing. As Silver Lake's largest investment in a Chinese company to date, Allyes is a strong and complementary addition to our global portfolio of leading technology and technology-enabled businesses."

Latham & Watkins and FangDa Law Partners are advising Allyes on this transaction.

Kirkland & Ellis, Jun He Law Offices and PricewaterhouseCoopers are advising Silver Lake on this transaction.

About Allyes

Established in 1998, Allyes is the largest online media service provider in China that offers a complete suite of digital marketing solutions and a pioneer in Chinese Internet advertising technology. Allyes provides its customers with comprehensive and professional services through Allyes' proprietary suite, AdForward, a software application which has been independently certified and registered in China. AdForward products include online ad-publishing, creative production, tracking, targeting and performance analysis and have been used by hundreds of commercial websites and ad agencies, maintaining a leading position in the Internet advertising application field. Allyes' mission is to become the worldwide industry leader in helping web media owners materialize and increase their online marketing value and improving efficiency and effectiveness of advertisers' media spending. Headquartered in Shanghai, China, Allyes has branch offices in Beijing, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Chengdu. For more information, please visit http://www.allyes.com .

About Silver Lake

Silver Lake is the global leader in private investments in technology and technology-enabled industries. Silver Lake invests with the strategic and operational insights of an experienced industry participant. The firm has over 90 investment professionals located in New York, Menlo Park, San Francisco, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo and manages over $14 billion across large cap and middle market private investment strategies as well as a credit investment strategy. Its portfolio includes or has included technology industry leaders such as Ameritrade, Avago, Avaya, Business Objects, Flextronics, Gartner, Gerson Lehrman Group, Instinet, Intelsat, Interactive Data Corporation, IPC Systems, MCI, Mercury Payment Systems, the NASDAQ OMX Group, NetScout, NXP, Sabre, Seagate Technology, Serena Software, Skype, SunGard Data Systems, Thomson and UGS. For more information, please visit http://www.silverlake.com .

SOURCE Silver Lake and Allyes

Back to top

RELATED LINKS
http://www.silverlake.com
http://www.allyes.com

Ralcorp Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: RAH) announced today the appointment of Walt George as Corporate Vice President and President of American Italian Pasta Company ("AIPC"), which it acquired on July 27, 2010.

Mr. George will be responsible for managing the AIPC business segment and will report to Kevin J. Hunt, Co-Chief Executive Officer and President of Ralcorp.  Mr. Hunt commented on the appointment of Mr. George:  "Throughout the process of acquiring AIPC, we have been very impressed with Walt's knowledge of the business and his leadership abilities.  I am confident that Walt's demonstrated leadership and experience will be a major contribution to the future success of our dry pasta business.  We look forward to working with Walt as we pursue new and exciting initiatives at AIPC."

Mr. George replaces Jack Kelly, who has announced his decision to leave AIPC after a transition period that will conclude on November 1, 2010.  In announcing his decision to leave, Mr. Kelly said, "I am confident the AIPC management team and its dedicated employees will continue to thrive under the corporate leadership of Kevin Hunt and David Skarie."

Mr. George has spent the last nine years with AIPC, most recently as Chief Operating Officer.  Prior to that, Mr. George was Executive Vice President - Operations and Supply Chain, and Senior Vice President – Supply Chain and Logistics.  Prior to joining AIPC, Mr. George was Vice President of Supply Chain for Hill's Pet Nutrition, Inc.  Previously, Mr. George held plant management and operations positions with Frito-Lay, Inc.

About Ralcorp Holdings

Ralcorp produces Post-branded cereals, a variety of value brand and store brand foods sold under the individual labels of various grocery, mass merchandise and drugstore retailers, and frozen bakery products sold to in-store bakeries, restaurants and other foodservice customers.  Ralcorp's diversified product mix includes: ready-to-eat and hot cereals; nutritional and cereal bars; snack mixes, corn-based chips and extruded corn snack products; crackers and cookies; snack nuts; chocolate candy; salad dressings; mayonnaise; peanut butter; jams and jellies; syrups; sauces; frozen griddle products including pancakes, waffles, French toast; frozen biscuits and other frozen pre-baked products such as breads and muffins; frozen dough for cookies, Danishes, bagels and doughnuts; and dry pasta.  For more information about Ralcorp, visit the company's website at www.Ralcorp.com.

SOURCE Ralcorp Holdings, Inc.

Back to top

RELATED LINKS
http://www.ralcorp.com

Cord Blood America, Inc. (http://www.cordblood-america.com) (OTC Bulletin Board: CBAI), the umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation company focused on bringing the life saving potential of stem cells, a biological insurance policy, to families nationwide and internationally, today announced highlights for the six-month period ended June 30, 2010. The Company believes the period was the most significant and eventful in its history.

"If we can continue this pace of expansion and acquisition, we will fast approach our goal of becoming the most significant stem cell company in the world," Matthew Schissler, co-founder and CEO, said.

The year started with more than 200 investors gathered in Las Vegas, along with a number of local and state dignitaries, for the Grand Opening of the Company's 17,000 square foot stem cell laboratory and headquarters, which is believed to be the largest cryogenic storage facility and stem cell laboratory in the U.S.

Also in January the Company announced it had received commitments for up to $16.8 million to fund its business strategies in 2010, including acquisitions, and that it had signed a letter of intent to process and store cord blood specimens for BioCells, Inc., headquartered in Argentina, one of South America's largest stem cell companies with revenues topping $1.5 million (U.S.) annually. That agreement was finalized in February and in April Cord Blood America announced its intention to purchase a controlling interest in the profitable Buenos Aires firm. Also in February the Company named Shamoon Ahmad, M.D., President of the Nevada Oncology Society with a distinguished record in medical oncology, as Director of its Medical Advisory Board.

March 2010 began with the Company announcing it had acquired controlling interest in stellacure GmbH, one of the largest cord blood banking services in Germany, operating in conjunction with the German Red Cross. "This gives us the foundation needed to expand our services throughout Europe," Mr. Schissler said. Revenues from stellacure are projected to top $1 million in 2010. The month of March ended with Cord Blood America announcing it has signed a License and Cooperation Agreement for the processing and storage of umbilical cord blood in China. "Our plan is to create the world's largest cord blood bank in the world's most populous nation," Mr. Schissler said.

Also in April 2010 Cord Blood America announced it had signed an agreement to provide placenta collection services for therapeutic transplantation for a large, well-respected U.S. tissue bank. "These stem cells are used in treatments against disorders such as sickle cell disease and leukemia and research is ongoing on utilizing these cells in treatments for diabetes, heart disease, stroke and other major medical conditions," Mr. Schissler said.  

Finally, to round out the six months of activity, Cord Blood America announced in May 2010 its "Afford-A-Cord" program, which significantly reduces the initial cost of storing umbilical cord blood stem cells, allowing more families to participate in taking advantage of the real and potential medical advances from the use of stem cells. In June 2010, in an analyst interview, Mr. Schissler said the unique new program could significantly increase new account additions.

"CBAI set its top-line focused goals for investors at the beginning of the year: Organic Growth, Acquisition, and Diversification of Revenue Streams. We believe in the first half of 2010 that we have built a strong foundation to support those objectives and we're excited about the second half of 2010. We look forward to continued pursuit of these important goals, as well as announcing additional news that we believe will reward and benefit all of CBAI's loyal shareholders," Mr. Schissler said.

About Cord Blood America

Cord Blood America is the parent company of CorCell, which facilitates umbilical cord blood stem cell preservation for expectant parents and their children. Its mission is to be the most respected stem cell preservation company in the industry. Collected through a safe and non-invasive process, cord blood stem cells offer a powerful and potentially life-saving resource for treating a growing number of ailments, including cancer, leukemia, blood, and immune disorders. To find out more about Cord Blood America, Inc., visit our website at http://www.corcell.com/. For investor information, visit http://www.cordblood-america.com/.

SOURCE Cord Blood America, Inc.

Back to top

RELATED LINKS
http://www.cordblood-america.com
http://www.corcell.com

Elbit Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ and TASE: ESLT) ("ESL") announced today, further to its announcement of July 15, 2010 regarding the issue of a cash tender offer by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Elbit Security Systems Ltd. ("Elsec"), to acquire the ordinary shares of I.T.L Optronics Ltd. ("ITL") held by the public (the "Tender Offer"), that Elsec has modified the Tender Offer.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080408/300441 )

According to the modification, Elsec increased the price from NIS 5.85 (approximately $1.51) per share, to NIS 6.63 (approximately $1.72) per share and for a total consideration of NIS 11,794,452 (approximately $3.06 million). The ordinary shares of ITL currently held by the public represent 14.37% of ITL's outstanding share capital. The Tender Offer period does not change and the Tender Offer will remain open through August 4, 2010

About Elbit Systems

Elbit Systems Ltd. is an international defense electronics company engaged in a wide range of programs throughout the world. The Company, which includes Elbit Systems and its subsidiaries, operates in the areas of aerospace, land and naval systems, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance ("C4ISR"), unmanned aircraft systems ("UAS"), advanced electro-optics, electro-optic space systems, EW suites, airborne warning systems, ELINT systems, data links and military communications systems and radios. The Company also focuses on the upgrading of existing military platforms, developing new technologies for defense, homeland security and commercial aviation applications and providing a range of support services.

For additional information, visit: http://www.elbitsystems.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) regarding Elbit Systems Ltd. and/or its subsidiaries (collectively the Company), to the extent such statements do not relate to historical or current fact. Forward Looking Statements are based on management's expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual future results, performance and trends may differ materially from these forward-looking statements due to a variety of factors, including, without limitation:scope and length of customer contracts; governmental regulations and approvals; changes in governmental budgeting priorities; general market, political and economic conditions in the countries in which the Company operates or sells, including Israel and the United States among others;differences in anticipated and actual program performance, including the ability to perform under long-term fixed-price contracts; and the outcome of legal and/or regulatory proceedings. The factors listed above are not all-inclusive, and further information is contained in Elbit Systems Ltd.'s latest annual report on Form 20-F, which is on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.

    Company Contact:
    Joseph Gaspar, Executive VP & CFO
    Dalia Rosen, VP & Head of Corporate Communications
    Elbit Systems Ltd
    Tel: +972-4-8316663
    Fax: +972-4-8316944
    E-mail: j.gaspar@elbitsystems.com
    dalia.rosen@elbitsystems.com

    IR Contact:
    Ehud Helft / Kenny Green
    CCG Investor Relations
    Tel: +1-646-201-9246
    E-mail:elbitsystems@ccgisrael.com

SOURCE Elbit Systems Ltd

Back to top