Titan Sees Limited Impairment Charges Following Bankruptcy Of SureBeam Corp KARA WETZEL / Dow Jones Newswires 13jan04

Recent history of SureBeam:

10nov03 Titan Corp Discloses Risks Related To SureBeam Exposure DJ Newswires
28oct03 SureBeam Corp. (Cl A) (Delisted 10/28/03) (SUREE)
27oct03 SureBeam Corp Notified Of NASDAQ Delisting DJ Newswires
23oct03 Surebeam Enters Into Private Placement Of $5M In Pfd Stk DJ Newswires
17sep03 SureBeam Says It Won't Meet Targets for Revenue and Profit WSJ
16sep03 Lockheed to Acquire Titan Corp. For $1.8 Billion in Cash, Stock WSJ

SAN DIEGO—Titan Corp. (TTN) expects to record an impairment charge of up to $10 million related to the Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing of SureBeam Corp. (SURE), a former unit.

The exact amount of the charge will depend on the proceeds Titan recovers from the liquidation of SureBeam's assets, Titan said in a press release Tuesday. SureBeam owes Titan $25 million in senior secured notes.

Titan also guarantees certain SureBeam facility leases, and the charge will vary depending on how easily Titan can mitigate the obligations under those leases.

Titan, a defense contractor, spun off SureBeam in March 2001. San Diego-based SureBeam , which provides electronic food irradiation systems, said Monday it would file for bankruptcy because of a debt default and shortfall of funds.

Separately, Titan said it is working with Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT) to close their merger in the first quarter. Lockheed agreed to buy Titan in September in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $1.8 billion at the time.

SureBeam Corp Authorized To File For Bankruptcy

JACQUIE JORDAN / Dow Jones Newswires 12jan04

SAN DIEGO—SureBeam Corp. (SUREE) plans to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and expects to cease operations on Friday, after failing to reach a restructuring agreement with its senior secured lender or raise the funds needed to keep doing business.

The lender has indicated it plans to accelerate the maturity and to demand payment of SureBeam's debt.

In a press release Monday, provider of food-irradiation systems said the court will appoint a trustee to liquidate its assets and those of its principal operating unit, SB OperatingCo. LLC.

SureBeam's shares have traded on the National Quotation Service Bureau, or Pink Sheets, since being delisted from Nasdaq National Market on Oct. 28 for failure to file a quarterly report. The company had fired its auditors, Deloitte & Touche, after the firm raised accounting issues related to certain transactions dating back to 2000.