News In Brief

A long-awaited restructuring plan is expected to be announced today by South Korea's deeply indebted Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. Reports said a centerpiece of the plan was a change of heart by sister company Hyundai Motor, which bowed to pressure from the Seoul government and reversed an earlier decision not to help in the rescue effort. But it also includes the sale of Hyundai Engineering's headquarters building, a steel plant, large tracts of land, and a car-audio equipment affiliate. The company owes creditors an estimated $4.4 billion. Its collapse would threaten the jobs of more than 28,000 people, plus those at thousands of subcontractors.

AT&T announced it would spin off its Liberty Media Group television programming arm, pending a favorable tax ruling. The move, AT&T said, could help it comply with the conditions set by the Federal Communications Commission on its recent $50 billion acquisition of MediaOne Group. AT&T acquired Liberty Media as part of a tax-free acquisition, which has made its sale before spring 2001 complicated. Englewood, Colo.-based Liberty Media has stakes in about 100 cable channels, including BET, Discovery Channel, E!, Encore, QVC, and USA Networks.

A leading provider of network service systems, Hekimian Laboratories of Rockville, Md., has agreed to be acquired by British electronics giant Spirent PLC for $1.58 billion, the companies announced. Spirent's move gives it access to such high-profile Hekimian clients as Cisco Systems, Verizon Wireless, and SBC Communications.

Verizon Inc. announced its wireless subsidiary will pay more than $1.5 billion in stock and assume $550 million in debt for a similar unit owned by Price Communications Corp. Price Wireless, based in Fort Myers, Fla., markets service under the Cellular One brand and has more than 475,000 subscribers. The deal could save Verizon millions in an auction of airwave spectrums next month by the federal government.

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