Business Notes

Washington— Energizer Holdings revealed in its 10Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission here in mid-February, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, that the battery maker had net accounts receivable from bankrupt Kmart of $20.7 million. Energizer, which said it was not possible to determine what amount, if any, of the accounts receivable will be collected from Kmart, emphasized that failure to collect substantially all of these monies would result in additional charges in one or more future quarters.

Dayton, Ohio — CE and majap retailer REX Stores has declared a 3-for-2 split of its common stock, effected as a 50 percent common stock dividend. The dividend, payable Feb. 11 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Feb. 1, means shareholders will receive one additional share of common stock for every two shares held on the record date. As a result of the split REX's outstanding shares will rise from 8.2 million to about 12.2 million. The retailer operates 265 stores in 37 states.

New York— Amazon.com had its ratings raised by Moody's Investors Service following the e-tailers posting of its first net profit in this past holiday quarter. Moody's raised the Seattle-based retailer's senior unsecured debt rating to "B3," its sixth highest junk grade, from "Caal." It also raised Amazon's subordinated debt rating to "Caa2", its eighth highest junk grade, from "Caa3. The one-notch upgrades affect $2.2 billion in debt, and reflect improved operating measures and sharply lower cash drain from operations, said Moody's. The higher ratings can reduce the e-tailer's costs if it again wishes to borrow.

Carrollton, Texas — Wireless products provider CellStar will effect a reverse split of its common stock on a one-for-five basis. It also has completed its offer to exchange cash, 12 percent senior subordinated notes and 5 percent senior convertible notes for its 5 percent convertible subordinated notes. CellStar said it appears that about 88 percent of current holders exchanged their notes, allowing the company to "focus more of our time and energy on the challenge of enhancing Cellstar's future operating performance," said Terry Parker, CEO.

San Jose, Calif. — TiVo said its sale of 2.1 million shares of common stock to an institutional investor for $14 million takes advantage of an attractive opportunity to supplement its working capital. Proceeds from the mid-January transaction are expected to bolster the company's capital resources and provide for additional flexibility in achieving its goal of cash flow breakeven by the end of its next fiscal year.