Liquid Audio refuses buyout offers

Liquid Audio, a provider of digital-security systems for protecting copyrights on the Net, says its board of directors has rejected offers from Steel Partners II and BCG Strategic Investors to buy the company for $3 a share. "The board concluded that the company has no interest in pursuing either of these indications of interest at this time," the company wrote in a statement, saying the suggested buyout price was " substantially below the company's cash value per share." Separately, Liquid Audio said it has added two members to the board, Raymond Doig and Stephen Imbler. Doig is president of EMV Partners and a former 20th Century Fox executive. Imbler is the former chief operating officer of Hyperion Solutions.