Grant Thornton, the auditing firm that handled...

Grant Thornton, the auditing firm that handled defunct ESM Government Securities will pay a $22.5-million cash settlement to American Savings & Loan Assn. of Florida, the thrift said . . . Beverly Hills-based Giant Group increased its holding in Los Angeles-based TRE Corp. to 15.5% from 14.9% . . . Knudsen Foods’ deadline to respond to an involuntary bankruptcy petition was extended to Sept. 19 . . . Genetics Institute and Wellcome Foundation, British parent of Burroughs Wellcome, will build a $30-million plant to manufacture drugs developed through biotechnology . . . United Parcel Service announced that it will expand its international air service on Sept. 15 to every address in Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.