Nautilus to buy cycling-wear maker Pearl Izumi

Nautilus, the Vancouver, Wash.-based maker of Bowflex, StairMaster and other fitness equipment, agreed to buy closely held Pearl Izumi USA for $68 million in cash to add clothing and shoes worn by cyclists and runners.

Nautilus said it will assume about $6 million in debt in the transaction.

Broomfield, Colo.-based Pearl Izumi USA had sales of about $49 million last year and holds a 16 percent share of the market for high-end cycling wear.

The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter and to add as much as 8 cents a share to Nautilus earnings in 2006. News of the deal pushed Nautilus stock down 78 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $27.72.

Investment fraud

4 sentenced for roles in $20 million scam

Four of the five players involved in Washington's second-largest municipal bond failure were sentenced to prison by a federal court yesterday.

All the defendants previously pleaded guilty in an investment fraud scheme that solicited $20 million in bonds from Holmes Harbor Sewer District in Island County to finance a business park in Everett that was never built.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Lasnik called the scheme "an absolute abomination," before sentencing ringleader Terry Martin, a 58-year-old Mukilteo developer, to 70 months for wire fraud, conspiracy and money-laundering.

Lasnik set lighter sentences on his cohorts after they cooperated with U.S. attorneys. John White, a Lynnwood mortgage broker who worked as Martin's banker, was sentenced to 10 months and J. David Smith, a former Edmonds lawyer who provided legal counsel, was sentenced to two years. Edward Tezak of Montana was sentenced to 18 months for his role in the project's private financing.

A fifth defendant, sewer-district engineer Leslie Killingsworth, will be sentenced as late as August.

Thumbspeed

InfoSpace VP hired as president, CEO

Bellevue-based Thumbspeed, which develops software for mobile phones, said yesterday it hired Hank Skorny to be president and chief executive. He also will join the board.

Skorny most recently worked at Bellevue-based InfoSpace, where he was the vice president of mobile. Before that, he was general manager of AOL Mobile, where he started the mobile messaging business.

Compiled from Seattle Times business staff and Bloomberg News