EX- TYCO CEO NOW HEADS NONPROFIT

new york » A former business titan convicted more than a decade ago in a notorious corporate fraud case that featured headline- grabbing tales of excessive spending is now board chairman of a New York City nonprofit that helps exprisoners re- enter society, the group announced Tuesday.

Former Tyco International CEO L. Dennis Kozlowski, who served 6 ½ years behind bars after he and another executive were convicted of looting the security systems company of $ 600 million, said he was honored to lead The Fortune Society’s 31- member board.

U. S. Foods files for IPO. The nation’s second-

largest food- service distributor has filed papers for an initial stock offering.

U. S. FoodsHolding Corp., based in Rosemont, Ill., said Tuesday it plans to raise $ 100 million in the IPO, although the amountwas listed to calculate fees and likely will be revised.

In its filing, U. S. Foods said it has about 25,000 workers and annual sales of $ 23 billion. It reported a net loss of $ 73 million last year.

Anadarko cuts dividend. Anadarko Petroleum

Corp. slashed its dividend by 81 percent, joining a parade of oil and natural gas drillers cutting investor payments as they struggle to preserve cash with prices below$ 30 a barrel.

The cut, the first in the company’s history, reduces payments payable March 23 by 22 cents to 5 cents per share, the company said Tuesday. The move will save about $ 450 million a year for Anadarko, the third- biggest U. S. gas producer and the largest oil and gas producer in Colorado.

Aluminum foil maker files for bankruptcy.

One of North America’s biggest makers of aluminum foil is seeking bankruptcy protection to restructure, citing falling aluminum prices and other market challenges that will force it to idle production at a Missouri smelter.

Noranda Aluminum Holding Corp., which refines aluminum and mines bauxite, made the Chapter 11 filingMonday in St. Louis.

The company, with more than 1,800 employees, said in court documents that it plans to sell its flat- rolled products business and next month halt the last remaining pot line at a smelter in NewMadrid, Mo.

Sears to speed up store closings B

hoffman estates, ill. » Sears keeps pruning its business in a years- long makeover, a bid to transform itself from a 123- year- old retail store into a nimble, 21st- century operator.

Patience appears to be wearing thin. Shares slid Tuesday after the company said it would accelerate the closure of some stores following a “challenging” holiday season.

The company’s stock is down 20 percent this year and has been cut in half in the past 12 months.

Comparable- store sales in the fourth quarter dropped 6.9 percent at Sears, and 7.2 percent at Kmart, which the company also owns.