DETROIT — Cash-strapped Ford Motor Co. has sold a controlling stake in the Aston Martin brand, made famous by its exotic sports cars appearing in James Bond movies, raising $848 million to help fund its turnaround plan.

Aston Martin now will be run by a consortium of investors, including racing mogul David Richards, car collector John Sinders and Kuwaiti firms of Investment Dar and Adeem Investment Co.

Ford officials announced the sale today at Aston Martin's headquarters in Gaydon, England. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter.

Ford will retain a $77 million stake in the company. That values all of Aston Martin at $925 million.

Dearborn-based Ford, which lost $12.7 billion last year and expects losses to continue until 2009, put Aston Martin up for sale last August.

DOLLAR GENERAL MAY TAKE $6.9B BUYOUT OFFER

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Dollar General Corp. said today its board has agreed to a buyout offer of about $6.9 billion from the private-equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in a deal that will take the discount retailer private.

Dollar General shareholders must still approve the deal. The company's board is recommending that its shareholders vote for it and the company said it could close in the third quarter.

The discount retailer, based in the Nashville suburb of Goodlettsville, operates about 8,260 stores.

Under terms of the deal, Kohlberg Kravis will pay $22 per share for each Dollar General share. The price represents a 31.1 percent premium to the stock's closing price Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

PHARMACEUTICAL UNIT CHANGES HANDS

NEW YORK — Schering-Plough Corp. said today it will buy the drug unit of Netherlands-based Akzo Nobel NV for $14.4 billion, giving the U.S. pharmaceutical company an array of women's health products while bolstering its animal health business and late-stage pipeline of experimental medicines.

The approximately $4.9 billion in revenue from Organon Biosciences would bulk up Schering-Plough's sales by about half, and analysts applauded the New Jersey's drug maker's effort to diversify and lessen its dependence on its cholesterol franchise. But they also expressed concern about the deal's debt and one key late-stage product, a treatment for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder called asenapine.

The acquisition will be financed through a mix of cash, debt and equity, Schering-Plough said. New debt is expected to total $6 billion to $8 billion.

NEW CENTURY FINANCIAL CLOSER TO BANKRUPTCY

NEW YORK — New Century Financial Corp. said today all of its lenders have cut funding or announced their intent to halt financing after the subprime mortgage lender failed to make payments, pushing the company further toward bankruptcy.

"The company and its subsidiaries do not have sufficient liquidity to satisfy their outstanding repurchase obligations under the company's existing financing arrangements," New Century said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

New Century, which lends money to prospective home buyers who have poor credit histories, uses short-term borrowings to finance mortgage loan originations and purchases. The company said there is no guarantee it will receive additional financing.

'BEST AND ONLY OFFER' MADE FOR CAREMARK RX

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Express Scripts Inc., which has been battling CVS Corp. to acquire pharmacy benefits manager Caremark Rx Inc., said today it won't make a higher offer because it isn't allowed to see enough of Caremark's financial data to perform due diligence.

"Our current offer is the best and only offer we can make at this time," George Paz, Express Scripts president, chief executive officer and chairman, told a news release.

The company said Caremark's board refused to permit it to see the financial data.

Since CVS and Caremark announced a stock acquisition agreement in November and Express Scripts offered a rival bid for cash and stock in December, the drug store operator has improved its offer three times. Express Scripts improved its offer once.

Both CVS and Caremark declined to comment.

VIOXX BLAMED IN IDAHO DEATH

TRENTON, N.J. — Merck & Co.'s painkiller Vioxx contributed to an Idaho postal worker's heart attack, a jury in Atlantic City ruled today, reversing the verdict in the man's first trial and hitting Merck with a total of $47.5 million in damages.

The jurors awarded the man and his wife $20 million in compensatory damages this morning, then later hit Merck with $27.5 million in punitive damages.

The verdict in the case of Frederick "Mike" Humeston, who was granted a second trial in light of new evidence, means Merck has now won nine cases and lost five in the mushrooming litigation over its former blockbuster arthritis pill.

Humeston, 61, of Boise, Idaho, suffered a heart attack in September 2001, several months before Merck — under pressure from federal regulators — put a stronger warning about the cardiovascular risks of Vioxx on the drug's detailed package insert.

CIVIL FRAUD CHARGES FILED IN NORTEL NETWORKS CASE

TORONTO — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is filing civil fraud charges against four former executives of Canada's Nortel Networks, including ex-CEO Frank Dunn, after probing years of financial accounting and restatements at the telecommunications equipment maker.

The markets regulator alleged today that Dunn and three other executives were involved in repeatedly altering Nortel's revenue recognition to bridge gaps between the company's true performance, its internal targets and market expectations.

Also named in the filing are former chief financial officer Douglas Beatty, controller Michael Gollogly and assistant controller MaryAnne Pahapill.

The commission is seeking a permanent injunction, civil monetary penalties, officer and director prohibitions and repayment, plus interest.

UNITEDHEALTH GROUP BUYS SIERRA HEALTH SERVICES

NEW YORK — Health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. today agreed to buy Nevada-based healthcare services provider Sierra Health Services Inc. for about $2.6 billion.

The deal will add about 310,000 employer-sponsored health plan members in Nevada to UnitedHealth's rolls as well as about 320,000 people from senior and government programs throughout the United States.

UnitedHealth is offering Sierra shareholders $43.50 cash per share, which represents a 21 percent premium to the stock's Friday closing price on the New York Stock Exchange.

TRUMP ENTERTAINMENT RESORTS HIRES MERRILL LYNCH

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — The casino company that bears Donald Trump's name said today that it has hired an investment firm to help it explore strategic alternatives that could include a possible sale.

Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc., which lists Donald Trump as chairman, said it retained Merrill Lynch to assist in identifying and evaluating capital structure, financing and other options. It would not comment further.

As part of a 2004 bankruptcy reorganization, Donald Trump gave up majority control to his bondholders while still remaining the company's single-largest individual stockholder. He declined to be interviewed on today.

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS TIGHTENS SALES OUTLOOK

DALLAS — Texas Instruments Inc., the leading maker of chips for cell phones, tightened its profit and sales outlook for the first quarter today.

The company said it expected operating earnings of 29 cents to 33 cents per share on sales of $3.07 billion to $3.22 billion in the quarter.