Bellevue software firm sold for $22. 5 million

BELLEVUE — Performant, a Bellevue-based diagnostics software company, said yesterday that it was acquired by Mercury Interactive in Sunnyvale, Calif., for $22.5 million in cash.

Mercury Interactive, which is listed on the Nasdaq, said it will assume all of closely held Performant's unvested employee stock options and retain its technology staff in Bellevue.

Performant's software, which focuses on Java 2 Enterprise Edition or J2EE, allows people to identify which part of a business process is causing a performance problem, exactly where in the code the problem resides, and how to fix it. In conjunction with Mercury's products, customers will be able to predict how well a fix will work once the application is in wide use, Mercury said.

In November 2001, Performant said it raised $7.3 million in a second round of funding. At that time, the company said it had raised a total of $9.8 million.

Seattle global logistics firm declares semiannual dividend

SEATTLE — Expeditors International of Washington said yesterday its board declared a semiannual cash dividend of 8 cents a share, up 33 percent from the previous dividend of 6 cents. The dividend will be payable on June 16 to shareholders of record as of June 2. The Seattle-based global logistics company reported last week that its first-quarter earnings rose 13 percent as sales climbed 23.8 percent.

Safeco loses controller, searching for replacement

SEATTLE — Safeco said its corporate controller, Richard Levy, has resigned after 10 months, according to a regulatory filing.

Levy, 44, left to "pursue other interests" and his resignation doesn't stem from any accounting irregularities, said spokesman Paul Hollie. The Seattle-based insurer has begun a nationwide search for Levy's replacement, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Levy, who left on May 8, joined Safeco in July 2002 from Washington Mutual, where he had been corporate controller and chief financial officer for the company's specialty finance unit.

Decision nears on Air Force plan to lease Boeing tankers

WASHINGTON — Top U.S. officials met yesterday at the White House to discuss an Air Force plan to lease 100 modified 767 jetliners from Boeing for use as refueling tankers. No final decisions were made, but an announcement on the proposal could come as soon as this week, officials said.

The deal has been repeatedly delayed as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top officials have sought more information. Most recently, Rumsfeld asked the Air Force to explore an option that would involve leasing some planes and buying others.

Defense officials have said Boeing has cut its price 6 percent a plane, bringing the overall price of the lease deal down to around $14 billion from $17 billion.

Nation/World

Justice Department eyes recent airline-fare increases

NEW YORK — The Justice Department is scrutinizing the $10-per-round-trip fare increases made by the nation's largest airlines to determine whether carriers violated an antitrust ruling enacted nearly a decade ago.

At issue is how airlines make fare changes that do not affect immediate travel, raising the possibility that they could signal future pricing plans to competitors.

American Airlines raised non-sale fares Thursday on its North American routes by $10 per round trip starting June 1. United matched the increase the next day. Northwest and seven other carriers had fallen in line by late yesterday.

The industry raised fares in anticipation of the government's upcoming four-month suspension of security fees, which amount to $2.50 per flight segment, maxing out at $10 per round trip.

Record turnover among CEOs seen all over the world

NEW YORK — Chief executives were forced out of their jobs last year at record levels all over the world, according to a survey released yesterday.

Management and technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton's survey of the world's 2,500 largest publicly traded companies found that 253 CEOs left their positions last year — a 10 percent rise over 2001. Of those, nearly 100 were forced out of their jobs because of poor performance, a 70 percent jump from 2001.

Compiled from Seattle Times business staff, Bloomberg News and The Associated Press