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Wed. Apr. 04, 2012 John Hancock salutes Fenway Park’s 100th anniversary with Green Monster billboards Red Sox fans could see a special 100th anniversary tribute when they next visit Fenway Park. In honor of this century milestone, John Hancock has created billboards that mimic the Green Monster, the park’s legendary left-field wall. The Green Monster tribute was created for John Hancock, a Boston financial services firm, by Hancock’s ad agency, Hill Holliday of Boston. The metal Green Monster replicas are “dented as though they had been peppered with one hundred year’s worth of baseballs,” Hill Holliday said.	Advertisement
Navy’s top officer checks out destroyer being built at Bath Iron Works in Maine BATH, Maine — The Navy’s top officer says the next-generation of destroyer now under construction at Maine’s Bath Iron Works is a ‘‘marvel of engineering.’’ Admiral Jonathan Greenert toured the shipyard Wednesday, viewing assembled hull segments of the future USS Zumwalt. He also participated in a ceremony marking the start of construction of the third and final warship in the line. The 600-foot-long warships are the largest destroyers to be built at Bath Iron Works.
AMSC announces $25m financing AMSC, a Devens firm that makes control systems for wind turbines, has raised about $25 million in gross proceeds through the sale of convertible notes and warrants. Just about a year ago, AMSC, then known as American Superconductor, ran into trouble when the Chinese wind turbine company that was its largest customer stopped accepting shipments of AMSC products. AMSC had to halve its workforce. AMSC is now suing the Chinese wind turbine maker, Sinovel Wind Group, over allegations that Sinovel stole its technology.
iRobot gears up for National Robotics Week Bedford’s iRobot Corp. is gearing up for this year’s celebration of National Robotics Week, which unfolds from April 7 to April 15. One goal of the week is to inspire students to study the so-called STEM subjects --- science, technology, engineering, and math. As founding cosponsor of National Robotics Week, Bedford-based iRobot plans to do its part in seeking to raise public awareness about the growing importance of robots in education, industry, and the future of the US economy.
Biogen Idec seeks $1b payoff from solving Lou Gehrig puzzle Biogen Idec Inc. chief executive George Scangos was skeptical when he learned company researchers were pursuing a new treatment for Lou Gehrig’s disease. No one knows the cause of the illness that killed the famous baseball player more than 70 years ago, and no medicine for it has been shown to slow its advance for long. Scangos changed his mind. A company drug candidate that may slow disease progression is now in the final stages of clinical trials. Biogen Idec is headquartered in Weston.
OvaScience secures $37m in Series B financing OvaScience, a Cambridge company specializing in fertility treatments, announced Wednesday that it has completed a $37 million Series B financing. The financing was led by General Catalyst. Existing investors, Bessemer Venture Partners and Longwood Fund, were joined by new investors BBT Capital Management Advisors, LLC, Cycad Group, Hunt BioVentures, and RA Capital, among others. OvaScience plans to use the proceeds from the financing to support the development and commercialization of its fertility treatment approaches based on the egg precursor cell discoveries of OvaScience cofounder Jonathan Tilly.
Harmonix unveils new game: Rock Band Blitz Cambridge-based Harmonix Music Systems on Tuesday unveiled a new video game in its Rock Band series that eliminates the need for simulated musical instruments. The title, Rock Band Blitz, is designed for Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox 360 and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 consoles, and will go on sale this summer. A price was not announced.
TA Associates completes minority investment in India’s BillDesk TA Associates, a private equity firm with offices in Boston, has acquired a minority stake in BillDesk, India’s largest online payment services company. Terms of the investment were not disclosed. Founded in 2000, BillDesk works with many Indian banks, businesses, and e-commerce merchants. According to TA Associates, India is currently dominated by paper-based transactions, but there is growing acceptance of online payments by retail consumers for such things as electrical service, mobile phone service, and insurance.
Linear Retail Properties adds to its Hub portfolio with purchases on Congress and Newbury streets Linear Retail Properties has bought two Boston properties, one on Congress Street in the city’s Fort Point neighborhood, the other on Newbury Street. A Burlington-based real estate firm, Linear Retail purchased retail locations on the lower levels of 346-354 Congress St. for $4.8 million. Tenants include Menton and Sportello --- restaurants operated by uber chef Barbara Lynch. Linear also paid $2.25 million for retail space at 304 Newbury St. A UPS Store occupies part of that space.
Boston start-up takes on Groupon Boston start-up Privy publicly debuted its Web service Tuesday to give small businesses an alternative to “daily deal” websites. The company, which has four employees and was a 2011 MassChallenge finalist, has $330,000 in seed funding from investors such as John Goscha, the founder of IdeaPaint. It plans to open an office in Boston’s Innovation District.
Denham Capital raises $3b fund Denham Capital, a Boston private equity firm that invests in energy-related companies, said it has raised a $3 billion fund. Denham said its Fund VI is the largest of its kind to be raised since 2008. The firm is a spin-off of the former Sowood Capital Management, a Boston hedge fund that failed in 2007 and lost $1.6 billion.
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