Business Talk

This business blurb was buried in the Dallas Morning News: "Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc. said Thursday it has sold Aster, a media and communications company in Poland, to Mid Europa Partners, a buyout firm . . . . The deal, worth $490 million, gives Hicks Muse a return of 4.8 times its invested capital, said a spokesperson for the Dallas-based buyout firm. Hicks Muse made its initial investment in Aster in March 2003." Think about that. The Hicks, Muse group bought some Poland business for just under $100 million and sold it less than two years later for almost $500 million. Gordon Geeko lives. (The "Hicks", of course, is Tom Hicks - owner of the Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars. )