ST LOUIS (LALATE) – A group headed by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has offered to buy Del Monte. KKR, Vestar Capital Partners and Centerview Partners gave Del Monte (NYSE:DLM) a $5.3 billion bid which the San Francisco based company has accepted.

The bid comes to roughly $19 per share and includes the assumption of $1.3 billion in net debt. The deal will be finalized in March. Del Monte is still allowed to solicit a higher bid between now and January 8.

Del Monte’s chairman and chief executive, Richard G Wolford praised the move as consistent with Del Monte’s long term strategy. Wolford in a news statement also applauded the hardwork of his employees to make the deal possible. “The hard work and dedication of our talented team has helped to transform Del Monte from a $1bn consumer foods business into a branded pet and consumer products company with more than $3.7bn in revenues.”

Simon Brown, a member of KKR’s consumer group, said in a statement that it will it build upon Del Monte’s trusted brands. “Del Monte has a first-rate brand portfolio and excellent reputation for providing high quality and nutritious products to families and their pets”.

Del Monte brands include Milk Bone and Meow Mix pet products.

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WASHINGTON D.C. (LALATE) – Are banks open the day after Thanksgiving November 25, 2010? Banks today are back open, as are Post Offices, credit unions, mass transit and grocery stores. Banks will be open regular days and hours until New Years.

Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) establishes the following public holidays for Federal employees. Moreover, the OPM each year publishes the federal holidays.

But in some cases, “when a holiday falls on a nonworkday — Saturday or Sunday — the holiday usually is observed on Monday (if the holiday falls on Sunday) or Friday (if the holiday falls on Saturday).”

Some federal offices will be closed December 24. Since Christmas falls on Saturday, some federal offices, agencies, and divisions will give employees December 24 off.

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CERRITOS (LALATE) – Black Friday sales today prompted a brawl and partial mall lockdown. Black Friday sales in Los Angeles started shortly after midnight. But at one mall, the fights erupted only two hours later.

At roughly 2:30 am PST today, Los Cerritos Center mall went onto “semi-lockdown” after a brawl erupted among shoppers. The mall, located north of Orange County, had just opened when panic set it. Instead of shoppers running for sales, they were running for their lives, believing that they had heard gun shots. Instead, men in the food court got in a major fight, tossing furniture everywhere. The sound of the furniture crashing was mistaken as gunfire.

People heard the chairs crashing and thought it was gun shots, reported Sgt. Ciro Racowschi this morning. LA County Sheriff showed up at the mall, not to shop, but to put the facility into “semi-lockdown”. Afterward, police were unable to determine who had been fighting. No injuries were reported. The mall was later opened fully thereafter.

Shoppers had visited the Los Cerritos Center for what the mall promoted “Midnight Madness.” The mall said today would be insane. “Imagine . . . all your holiday shopping done before the sun comes up — now that’s insane.”

Mall officials had no comment about today’s incident.

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LOS ANGELES (LALATE) – Chris Henry’s mom Carolyn Henry Glasby (video below) today revealed the lives blessed because of organ donations from Henry. Cincinnati Bengal Chris Henry died at age 26 in December 2009. Carolyn told CBS news during an NFL pregame show on Thanksgiving “I thought I was going in to see [my son’s] injuries. I never imagined in a million years I was going to see my son for the last time.”

Carolyn Henry Glasby and four recipients of Chris’ organs were reunited during the segment. “To get a transplant, it was like getting a second chance of life” said one recipient.

CBS’s telecast anchor James Brown was left speechless prompting Boomer Esiason to encourage others to follow Glasby’s example.

Shane Shelley was Chris Henry’s high school quarterback. Shelley told funeral attendees in December the following about Chris: “It’s a sad day for Belle Chasse. We really lost a good friend, a brother, one of my best friends. It’s hard. We lost one of us. We’re going to miss him. We love him.”

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NEW YORK (LALATE) – What drove Michael Brea (“Ugly Betty”) to kill his mother Yannick Brea? Prosecutors still don’t have an answer. Michael Brea remains hospitalized while prosecutors say they have no timeline on when to set his arraignment. They, along with friends and family, aren’t sure what drove this talented, loved, and successful New Yorker to suddenly slash his mother to death, decapitate her, just days before Thanksgiving.

One report claims that the actor had financial issues and was being supported by his motive. But there has yet been any clues that financial stress had drove the actor to kill. Witnesses say he went to bed early on Monday having not eaten. A report claims he had been suffered a horrible headache that day. When he awoke, Brea began attacking his mother shouting “Repent! Repent!”. “The greatest architect of the universe” was among the Freemason phrases he shouted.

Michael Brea Pictures
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Investigators have yet to reveal how much time elapsed between when he allegedly awoke and went on his attack.  Yannick Brea’s family and friends are denouncing police handling of the case.

Initial reports had claimed Brea had stolen a Freemason sword from a Monday night meeting. Brea’s twin brother Marcel was not at home at the time. He and Marcel lived with his mother in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. Neighbor Oscar Peters told WABC: “It’s not someone who you can look at and say it’s a monster walking the road, someone who can flip anytime. It’s not like that.”

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