BRIEFCASE UNITED ONLINE BUYS CLASSMATES.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

WOODLAND HILLS - Internet service provider United Online Inc. said Wednesday that it has completed the $100 million acquisition of Classmates Online Inc., a networking Web site.

Classmates Online Inc. operates Classmates.com, which connects millions of members throughout the U.S. and Canada with friends and acquaintances from school, work and the military. Its Classmates International subsidiary also operates leading community-based networking sites in Sweden, through Klasstraffen Sweden AB (www.klasstraffen.com), and in Germany, through StayFriends GmbH (www.stayfriends.de).

Classmates Online has 168 employees and will continue its operations in Renton, Wash., as wholly owned subsidiary of United Online, whose brands include NetZero and Juno.

'Invincibles' Blue Cross' target now

THOUSAND OAKS - Blue Cross Life & Health Insurance Co. has its eyes on what it calls the ``young invincible'' market, as it announced a new plan Wednesday targeting the 19- to 29-year-old age bracket.

The insurer believes there are 1.6 million uninsured Californians in the state in the age range. Covering basic services like checkups, eye exams and dental work, the Tonik Health Plans plans cost between $64 and $123 a month, depending on age, residence and level of service.

Applied sees 80% increase in sales

SANTA CLARA - Profit at Applied Materials Inc., the world's largest maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, skyrocketed in the latest quarter as it reported an 80 percent surge in sales.

For the quarter ended Oct. 31, Applied Materials late Wednesday posted net income of $455 million, or 27 cents a share, compared with $15.5 million, or a penny a share, a year earlier.

In August, the company projected earnings of 24 cents to 26 cents a share.

Results in the latest quarter included costs of $26.6 million for litigation settlements and a favorable tax-rate adjustment.

Last year's results included restructuring, asset impairments and other charges, as well as a related provision for income taxes. Excluding these items, the company would have posted earnings of $95.5 million, or 6 cents a share.

Net sales rose to $2.2 billion from $1.22 billion.

Bristol-Myers to file 2 applications

NEW YORK - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. reiterated on Wednesday it was on track to file two new drug applications by the end of the year - one for its diabetes treatment muraglitazar and the other for rheumatoid arthritis medicine abatacept.

The company added that entecavir, an investigational Hepatitis B treatment it filed two months ago with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has been granted priority review by the agency. That means the FDA will make a decision on entecavir's application within six months instead of the typical 10 months.

Bristol-Myers also released data which showed that muraglitazar reduced triglyceride levels 26 percent to 29 percent and increased HDL cholesterol or good cholesterol 14 percent to 16 percent. Triglycerides are a type of fat.

Enron sells most prized assets

HOUSTON - Enron Corp. took another step toward disappearing Wednesday when the company closed the $2 billion sale of its most prized remaining assets and its plan to emerge from one of the most costly and complicated bankruptcies in history became effective.

Enron's sale of its interest in three natural gas pipelines to CCE Holdings LLC, a joint venture of Southern Union Co. and a unit of GE Commercial Finance was approved in September by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Arthur Gonzales in New York. CCE Holdings also will assume $430 million in debt.

Still pending is a $1.25 billion sale of Portland General Electric, Enron's Pacific Northwest utility, to a holding company backed by Texas Pacific Group, which also will assume $1.1 billion in debt. Gonzalez approved that sale in July. That deal, announced a year ago, is awaiting approval from Oregon regulators.