Manufacturer

The Blackstone Group enters into a definitive agreement to acquire Pinnacle Foods Group Inc., a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of branded food products in the United States and Canada, for approximately $2.16 billion in cash.

webMethods Inc., a business integration and optimization software company, today introduced webMethods Optimize for SAP, a new business activity monitoring solution for Order-to-Cash and other SAP processes.

Sugar processor Imperial Sugar Co. names John C. Sheptor as executive vice president and chief operating officer.

New Balance, a leading athletic shoe manufacturer, complies with its customer requirements for specialized UPC price and inventory labels with the help of Paxar Corporation.

Cadbury Schweppes Americas Beverages (CSAB), whose brands include Dr Pepper, 7UP, Snapple, A&W Root Beer, Hawaiian Punch, Canada Dry, Mott's and numerous others, is working with MasterCard and USA Technologies to enable Dr Pepper and Snapple vending machines in Dallas, New York and Chicago to accept credit card payments.

VF Outdoor Inc., a subsidiary of VF Corporation, is in negotiation to acquire Eagle Creek Inc., a supplier of adventure travel gear, including accessories, luggage, daypacks and other products.

Sony Electronics and Circuit City Stores Inc. launch free online education resources to help consumers learn about consumer electronics products and technologies.

In response to the way consumers find, browse and purchase their products online -- and to help generate excitement over a re-designed outerwear product line -- IBM helped L.L. Bean create a rich internet application for L.L. Bean's outerwear product line.