On The Block

Jennifer Convertibles Inc. (AMEX: JEN) isn’t sitting around waiting for conditions to improve. The Woodbury, N.Y.-based company has gotten up off the couch and hired investment banker TM Capital Corp. to help evaluate its strategic alternatives. Jennifer Convertibles owns and licenses specialty stores that sell sofa beds in the U.S. The stores operate under the Jennifer Convertibles and Jennifer Leather brand names. For the fiscal third quarter ended May 30, 2009, the retailer’s losses widened to $1.5 million from $711,000 a year earlier as net sales fell to $22.1 million from $28.3 million. Same-store sales for the period dropped 26.5 percent.

Tii Network Technologies Inc.’s (Nasdaq: TIII) board has decided to reject an unsolicted acquisition bid from Wilcom Inc. The offer valued Tii common shares at $1 each. The board rejected the bid for the Edgewood, N.Y.-based telecommunications equipment maker as “inadequate.” Tii Network plans to continue evaluating options. It hired Mooreland Partners LLC in June to help with the review of its strategic and financial alternatives, including the Wilcom proposal. For the first quarter ended March 31, Tii Networks swung to a loss of $232,000 from earnings of $151,000 in the same period a year earlier. Quarterly sales fell to $5.8 million from $8.9 million on a year-over-year basis.

Western GeoPower Corp.’s (OTCBB: WGPWF) board has formed a special committee to evaluate its business options. The Vancouver-based renewable energy company didn’t set a timeframe for when it wanted to complete the review and it provided no assurances that a transaction will occur. Western GeoPower won’t provide an update on the process, unless the board approves a course of action. One of the special committee’s mandates is to determine options for the company’s Western GeoPower Unit 1 geothermal power plant project in Sonoma County, Calif. Alternatives being considered for this project include the start of an initial production and expansion of a drilling program.

Oscient Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: OSCI) and its Guardian II Acquisition Corp. unit are still considering various strategic alternatives, even though both entities filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 13. Waltham, Mass.-based Oscient is considering a number of options, including the sale of the rights to its Antara cholesterol drug. Its other product is an antibiotic called Factive that is already under contract to be sold to Cornerstone Therapeutics Inc. for $5 million plus the value of inventory and some future royalty payments. For 2008, Oscient’s losses widened to $64.8 million from $29.9 million, despite revenue growth to $86.8 million from $80 million a year earlier. The larger loss for the most recent period reflects a $50.8 million charge for impairment of intangible assets.