DEBT AND EQUITIES General Mills Inc., Golden Valley, declared an increase in the quarterly dividend to 28 cents a share, payable Aug. 2 to shareholders of record on July 12.
MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS Cretex Companies, Elk River, Minn., acquired the assets of Concrete Products of Wyoming Co. through its Cretex Concrete Products West Inc. Casper, Wyo.-based Concrete Products makes reinforced concrete pipe and precast concrete products.
Valspar Corp., Minneapolis, agreed to acquire Australian paint manufacturer Wattyl Ltd., which distributes paint brands to retail customers through home improvement centers and hardware outlets and to trade customers through a network of 140 company-owned stores. Valspar will acquire all outstanding Wattyl shares for about $142 million (Australian) and will assume existing debt. The deal is subject to approval by Wattyl shareholders and regulatory authorities.
NEW PRODUCTS American Medical Systems, Minnetonka, said the Food and Drug Administration has cleared the MiniArc Precise Single-Incision Sling System for treatment of female stress urinary incontinence.
NEW BUSINESS HealthPartners, Bloomington, said that its Research Foundation team has received a National Institutes of Health research grant to create an electronic health record-based clinical decision support system to help reduce patients' risk of heart attack or stroke. The team, led by Dr. Patrick O'Connor, received $3.7 million to conduct the five-year study.
Veeco Instruments Inc. said its St. Paul operation will get $800,000 in matching funds from the Minnesota Commerce Department's Office of Energy Security provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support emerging renewable energy technology. The project will expedite bringing Veeco's CIGS (copper, indium, gallium, selenium) deposition equipment technology to market and help solar panel manufacturers reduce production costs.
