GoAmerica to buy Verizon relay unit

GoAmerica Inc., which provides telecommunications services for the deaf, said Thursday it will buy the assets of a Verizon Communications Inc. unit that helps the deaf and speech-impaired communicate by phone through operators.

GoAmerica is buying the telecommunications relay services unit for $50 million in cash and up to an additional $8 million depending on the unit’s ability to meet certain financial targets.

GoAmerica said the Verizon unit generated about $67 million in revenue in 2006. GoAmerica’s 2006 revenue was $12.8 million.

The Hackensack, N.J., company said the acquisition will be financed through the issuance of $65 million in new preferred stock and debt to private-equity firm Clearlake Capital Group, which will receive one new seat on GoAmerica’s board, expanding to three seats when the deal is completed.

•The Seattle Times Co. has paid nearly $24 million to The Hearst Corp., owner of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, under a deal the companies reached in April settling a dispute over their joint operating agreement.

The settlement was scheduled to close on Aug. 15, but in an e-mail to the P-I, Hearst spokesman Paul Luthringer said, “both companies are delighted that the transaction has been completed and that all is proceeding as agreed upon.”

P-I Publisher Roger Oglesby confirmed that The Times Co. had paid Hearst the money owed, the P-I reported Thursday.

Since 1983, The Times has handled business functions such as advertising, circulation and printing for both papers. In exchange, The Times has kept 60 percent of their joint profits.

•Sony is recalling 416,000 digital cameras because the case may warp, creating an edge that can cut or scratch the user’s hands, the company said Thursday.

The company will replace the bottom casing, where the problem occurs, at no cost.

The recall affects 350,000 Cyber Shot DSC-T5 cameras sold in the United States, Europe and China, and about 66,000 sold in Japan, Sony spokeswoman Ryoko Takagi said.

Customers are advised to check the model and serial numbers of their cameras to see if they are among the affected products. The problem only affects cameras with numbers between 3500001 and 3574100.

U.S. customers can go to Sony’s support Web site at http://esupport.sony.com for more information or call Sony support at 877-573-7669.