The company at issue is indeed the latest incarnation of Divine Interventures, invariably referred to (except in this space) as the formerly high-flying Internet incubator. The company was started less than four years ago, just this side of the dot-com wave, and has cast about in the meantime for a new business model.
At some point, while backing off (slightly) from the boast of its original name, Divine picked up RoweCom, a Massachusetts company that packages subscription services for libraries. Creditors, however, say that Divine soon decided to abandon the unit while still spending the cash rolling in for subscriptions. RoweCom filed for bankruptcy Monday.
RoweCom’s largest creditor is the National Institutes of Health, with a $2.4 million claim. Illinois creditors include Illinois State University, $1.1 million, and Western Illinois University, at $504,000.
Negotiations between Divine and RoweCom creditors are in the works, with the focus on a cash payment from Divine to creditors and possibly a lien on any future earnings. And there is a rational link between the formerly high-flying Divine Interventures and a library subscription service: Company officials hoped the connection would be an entree to selling libraries on other Divine offerings, especially on-line content.
Acquittal in mob deaths: Lamont Motes was found not guilty of murder Wednesday but was convicted of mob action and aggravated battery in the killing of two men whose van had crashed into a group of women on a South Side stoop. The verdict could mean the difference between life in prison and probation for Motes, the first of eight defendants to go on trial in the tragedy. In agreeing on the lesser charges, jurors said they compromised, with some thinking a life sentence would be too severe and others not wanting to risk a hung jury that might send Motes on to another trial with the same possible stiff penalty. The evidence included a witness who said she saw him jumping on one of the victims and a jailhouse informant who said Motes admitted burning evidence; jurors said they doubted both accounts.
They’ve both taken a hit lately: … but Ted Turner is still worth billions and Liesel Pritzker is still worth $160 million. Plus, she has time to catch up; Turner is 64, Pritzker is only 18.
Which lop-side are you on? The score of the Super Bowl: 48 points for one team, 21 for the other. Same time next year?
Just do it: A round-trip ticket to Paris this month can be had for $276. Need we say more?
