Arlington-based AES Corp., a global power company, plans to acquire Los Angeles-based New Energy Ventures, another energy-service provider, for $90 million. AES will finance the transaction through a combination of cash, debt and AES common stock. The deal strengthens the company’s finances and operations so that it is prepared to compete in states where the power is deregulated, says Dennis W. Bakke, president and CEO of AES Corp.

New Energy Ventures will retain its identity as a subsidiary of AES. Employees of New Energy Ventures will remain in place.

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America Online, a Dulles-based interactive services company, acquired Spinner Networks, a San Francisco-based Internet music company, and Nullsoft Inc., a Sedona, Ariz.-based Internet music company. The stock-for-stock deals were valued at $400 million. America Online also acquired Lewisville, Texas-based Digital Marketing Services, an online marketing services company. Terms were not disclosed.

Virginia Beach-based Amerigroup Corp., a managed health care company, acquired the Maryland Medicaid business of Newark, N.J.-based Prudential Healthcare, a managed health care company that is a subsidiary of the Prudential Insurance Co. Terms were not disclosed.

CFW Communications, a Waynesboro-based communications company, acquired 4,500 Internet customers and associated network assets from Charleston, W.Va.-based NewWave Communications Inc., an Internet service provider, for $1.1 million.

Dollar Tree Stores, a Chesapeake-based discount chain, acquired New York-based Only $One, a privately held business that operates variety merchandise stores. Terms were not disclosed.

G.C. Wright Co., a Petersburg-based independent insurance agency, was acquired by Raleigh, N.C.-based BB&T Insurance Services, a subsidiary of Branch Banking and Trust Co. Terms were not disclosed.

Falls Church-based General Dynamics, a defense contractor, plans to buy three defense businesses from GTE, an Irving, Texas-based telecommunications company, for $1.05 billion in cash. GTE’s three units do about $1.2 billion in annual business, have a $900 million backlog of unfilled orders, and employ about 6,200 workers, mostly in Massachusetts and California.

Heilig-Meyers Co., a Richmond-based furniture retailer, plans to sell its Mattress Discounters division to Bain Capital, a Boston-based investment firm. Heilig-Meyers will retain a 7 percent interest in the chain.

Winchester-based O’Sullivan Corp., an automotive parts manufacturer, was acquired by The Geon Co., an Avon Lake, Ohio-based polymer services and technology company. Geon acquired the outstanding shares of O’Sullivan for $12.25 per share in a $191 million deal.

Richfood Holdings, a Richmond-based grocery wholesaler, is being acquired by Supervalu Inc., a Minneapolis-based grocery distributor and supermarket operator, in a deal valued at $1.6 billion. According to a Richmond Times-Dispatch report, Supervalu does not expect to close any Richfood operating facilities, though it is likely some Richfood headquarters staff will be laid off. 

Dulles-based America Online, an interactive services company, and General Motors’ Hughes Electronics Corp., an El Segundo, Calif.-based digital television and satellite-based data services provider, formed an alliance to develop and market integrated digital entertainment and Internet services worldwide. AOL’s link with the satellite company will enable AOL to deliver Internet service up to 14 times faster through Hughes’ DirectPC satellite Internet network.

According to AOL Chairman and CEO Steve Case, the deal is a $1.5 billion cash investment — the largest in the company’s history. About $400 million will go toward developing a television set-top receiver to sell consumers Direct TV and AOL TV, which will be marketed next year. AOL and Hughes also hope to develop new content and interactive services abroad.

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The Collecting Channel of Norfolk, a Web site for collectors, reached an agreement to provide information on the eBay Web site. The Collecting Channel is owned by ChannelSpace Entertainment, and San Jose, Calif.-based eBay, an online trading company,

Capital One Financial Corp., a Falls Church-based financial services company, and DoubleClick, a New York-based Internet advertising company, agreed to make Capital One Bank the preferred credit card partner on DoubleClick’s shopping and services program.

Cavalier Telephone, a residential and business telephone company, established its headquarters in Richmond and has begun offering telephone services in the city. The business plans to create 200 new jobs in the Richmond and Hampton Roads areas by the end of this year.

Precision Bed Rail Manufacturing, an Appomattox-based furniture component supplier, plans to begin manufacturing at a new plant in Appomattox in September. The company expects to create 100 jobs over the next three years while investing $1 million in the new plant.

5B’s Inc., a Zanesville, Ohio-based textile company, closed its clothing-embroidery plant in Henry County, filed for bankruptcy and defaulted on its county-sponsored construction and equipment bonds, which totaled about $8 million.

Henry County administrator Sid Clower says there’s a possibility that the company’s troubles could cost local taxpayers $750,000 due to the county’s legal obligation to help pay off 5B’s bonds.

The company came to Henry County in 1997, promising to employ 500 people by 2000. The company only hired 97 employees and then began to cut back. Early in June, when the plant closed, the last 20 employees were laid off.

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Crest Uniform, a uniform manufacturer and division of Burbank, Calif.-based Aramark Uniform Services, plans to close its fabric-cutting facility in Salem. The cutback would eliminate about 75 jobs.

Richmond-based Circuit City Stores Inc., an electronics retail chain, is pulling the plug on the movie rental system called Divx. The company was having difficulty getting support from Hollywood studios and additional retailers. Circuit City Stores has spent more than $200 million on the venture. 

Greater Atlantic Financial Corp., a Reston-based savings and loan holding company, filed a statement on June 14 of its intent to go public with an initial offering of 2 million shares and a filing price of $9 to $10 per share.

Musicmaker.com, a Reston-based online music retailer, began trading July 8 on Nasdaq with an initial offering of 5 million shares plus 3.4 million by stockholders for $14 a share.

Network Access Solutions Corp., a Sterling-based Internet service company, began trading June 4 on Nasdaq, offering 7 million shares at $12 per share.

McLean-based Online Resources & Communications Corp., an e-commerce and online banking company, began trading June 4 on Nasdaq, offering 3.1 million shares at $14 a share.

Booz-Allen & Hamilton Inc., McLean: $45.6 million from the U.S. Transportation Department for research and development services.

MRJ Technology Solutions, Fairfax: $100 million from the National Institutes of Health for technical support services.