SeaTac Office Center sold to Portland investors

A Portland real-estate investment company says it has bought the largest office complex near Seattle-Tacoma International Airport for $79.2 million.

ScanlanKemperBard Cos. said Saturday it has purchased the 532,000-square-foot SeaTac Office Center — two 12-story towers and a two-story building — across Highway 99 from the airport.

County property records indicate the complex has been owned by Kilroy Realty, a California-based real-estate investment trust. The three buildings were constructed in 1974, 1979 and 1980.

ScanlanKemperBard invests in commercial real estate in several Western states. It said it plans "targeted improvements" at the SeaTac complex, which it said is 87 percent leased.

CNet Networks

Takeover move brews among big investors

A consortium of prominent investment funds has amassed a 21 percent stake in CNet, one of the original online media companies, and is seeking to oust the company's directors and control its board, according to people briefed on the proposal.

The consortium is led by Jana Partners, an $8 billion fund founded by Barry Rosenstein that has mounted successful proxy fights against several big corporations, these people said.

The proxy fight is expected to shake up CNet, whose shares have underperformed the market.

The company, with more than 2,600 employees, has been hard hit because of increased competition in its core market from technology-focused blogs, like TechCrunch.

Delta Air Lines

Merger possibilities, Comair fate studied

Delta Air Lines said Sunday it's still studying a possible sale of its Comair regional unit while a board panel reviews merger possibilities.

The Financial Times reported Sunday Delta was delaying a decision on Comair while it explored hooking up with United or another competitor.

Delta wants the board panel and its merger advisers to finish their work before hiring JPMorgan Chase to act on options already discussed with that bank for Comair, the Financial Times said, citing unidentified people familiar with the plan.

Sony

Super-thin TV coming to U.S.

Sony said Sunday it is introducing to the U.S. market a high-quality organic LED television only as thick as three stacked credit cards.

The 11-inch XEL-1 television, to go on sale this month, is Sony's first television for the U.S. to use organic light-emitting diode technology, which enables superior picture quality on super-thin displays.

The XEL-1 has a contrast ratio — the difference between maximum and minimum brightness — of 1 million to one, because pixels can be turned off completely for a near-perfect black. That compares with 30,000 to one for a good conventional flat-panel TV, which can't show a perfect black.

The high quality comes with a high price — about $2,500.

Sony BMG Music

Plastic cards needed for music downloads

Sony BMG Music Entertainment on Jan. 15 will become the last major record company to sell downloads without copy restrictions — but only to buyers who first visit a retail store.

The No. 2 record company after Universal Music will sell plastic cards, called Platinum MusicPass, for individual albums for a suggested price of $12.99. Buyers enter a code from the card at the new Sony BMG site MusicPass.com to download that card's album.

Best Buy, Target and Fred's stores will be first to sell them. By Jan. 31, they'll be in Winn-Dixie, Coconuts, FYE, Wherehouse and Spec's. Like gift cards, MusicPass cards are activated at the store.

Sony BMG initially will offer cards for 37 albums by performers including Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Brown, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry and Santana.

Compiled from Seattle Times business staff, The Associated Press, The New York Times, Bloomberg News and USA Today