ISSAQUAH, WA and MEXICO CITY — Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ: COST) ("Costco Wholesale") and Controladora Comercial Mexicana, S.A.B. de C.V. ("CCM") are pleased to announce that they have executed a definitive agreement under which wholly-owned subsidiaries of Costco Wholesale will purchase from CCM its 50% share interest in Costco de México, S.A. de C.V. ("Costco México"), a joint venture, for $10,650 million MXN (the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars is $760.4 million based on an exchange rate of 14.006 pesos to the dollar). In addition, Costco Mexico has declared a cash dividend of approximately $4,774 million MXN (the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars is $340.85 million based on an exchange rate of 14.006 pesos to the dollar), 50% payable to a subsidiary of Costco Wholesale and 50% to CCM. Costco Wholesale will use the dividend proceeds and existing cash and investment balances to fund the purchase. CCM will use the dividend and sale proceeds to pay down debt.
The Costco México joint venture has been 50% owned by each of Costco Wholesale and CCM and operated by Costco Wholesale. The closing is subject to the approvals of the Mexican Federal Competition Commission and the shareholders of CCM. Mr. Guillermo González Nova, and Mr. Carlos González Zabalegui, respectively Chairman and CEO of CCM, will continue as members of the Board of Directors of Costco México. Mr. Jaime Gonzalez Solana will continue as CEO of Costco México.
Costco Wholesale currently operates 602 warehouses, including 435 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 82 in Canada, 32 in Mexico, 22 in the United Kingdom, 13 in Japan, eight in Taiwan, seven in Korea and three in Australia. The Company also operates Costco Online, an electronic commerce web site, at www.costco.com and at www.costco.ca in Canada. The Company plans to open up to an additional six new warehouses prior to the end of its fiscal year on September 2, 2012.
A brief conference call to discuss the transaction is scheduled for 8:00 a.m. (PT) on June 14, 2012, and is available at 800-399-8203 or via a webcast on www.costco.com (click on Investor Relations and "Play Webcast").
Certain statements contained in this document constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For these purposes, forward-looking statements are statements that address activities, events, conditions or developments that the Company expects or anticipates may occur in the future. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual events, results or performance to differ materially from those indicated by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, domestic and international economic conditions, including exchange rates, the effects of competition and regulation, uncertainties in the financial markets, consumer and small business spending patterns and debt levels, conditions affecting the acquisition, development, ownership or use of real estate, actions of vendors, rising costs associated with employees (including health care costs), energy, and certain commodities, geopolitical conditions and other risks identified from time to time in the Company's public statements and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
© Marketwire 2012
Mariners make wholesale roster changes - YAHOO!
Seattle sends Carp, Pryor to DL; calls up …
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The Associated Press
Computer hacker, 21, jailed for masterminding £27 MILLION fraud in his bedroom taking credit card details from unsuspecting internet users - Daily Mail
- Jay Moore, 21, acted as the middleman selling stolen credit card details through his website Freshshop
- He also hacked into payment systems to obtain credit card details
- Police found card numbers for more than 340,000 on his computer
- He had 250,000 in cash and bank accounts when he was arrested
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Fraud mastermind: Jay Moore, 21, sold on credit card details, allowing criminals to defraud unsuspecting internet users in frauds which cost 27million
A 21-year-old computer hacker has been jailed for three years for masterminding a scam which enabled 27million of fraud to be committed.
Jay Moore set up fake shopping website Freshshop to ‘farm’ credit card data from unsuspecting users, which he then sold to international criminal gangs.
He also hacked into payment systems to obtain databases of card information which he sold in bulk through his website.
Detectives later found the card details of more than 340,000 individuals on his home computer and 81,000 of cash in a safe in his bedroom.
Moore spent his money on a top-of-the-range BMW with a personalised number plate valued at over 10,000, and gave 40,000 to his father to help buy a large farmhouse.
Banks reported fraudulent losses linked to cards in excess of 26.9million.
Moore, who has no formal qualifications, pleaded guilty to 12 charges of fraud, money laundering and computer misuse at Bristol Crown Court.
His accomplice Damian Horne, 22, who used his personal bank account to collect criminal funds received through the website, was jailed for 21 months.
The court heard how Moore, of Cromhall, Gloucestershire, met Horne, of Manchester, in an online chatroom for hackers. Together they began selling stolen iTunes vouchers on eBay.
But their criminal enterprises soon escalated into credit card data and they began laundering the proceeds through a network of bank accounts, online financial institutions and overseas money exchangers.
Fraud HQ: Jay Moore, 21, set up his fake shopping website from this home in Cromhall, Gloucestershire. When police raided the property they discovered 81,000 stashed in a bedroom safe
Freshshop appeared like any other retail site and Moore allowed other hackers to sell their stolen data through him for a commission. Moore paid two of his friends, Lewis Danter, 20, and John Allen, 22, to collect cash from outlets which had been wired over from international criminals as payment for the illicit card data.
Meanwhile, Horne would post bundles of cash to Moore. When Moore was arrested at his parents’ home he had almost 81,000 of cash in a bedroom safe and more than 170,000 in his bank account.
He lied to friends and family, telling them he operated a web design business.
Danter and Allen, both of Bristol, pleaded guilty to money laundering and were each sentenced to 120 hours of community service.
A spokesman for the Serious Organised Crime Agency said: ‘The sale of this compromised data earned Moore substantial profits.
‘In addition to the fraud attributed to specific cards, the information brokered by Moore would also have been sufficient to enable fake bank accounts to be set up.
‘These could in turn be used to commit further fraud, such as cheque or identity fraud.’
Three years in prison just doesn't cut it. If his fraud had been against one or two people, three years would have been fine, but countless thousands should have warranted at the minimum ten years - the police and judiciary in Britain are still on the side of the criminal!
- Sam, English, England, 14/6/2012 19:25
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