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Mon. Jun. 25, 2012 Bud LaCava to lead KPMG’s Boston office Bud LaCava has been named managing partner for the Boston office of KPMG, an audit, tax and advisory services firm. KPMG, which recently announced a new office in Cambridge to serve emerging technologies and life-science companies, has roughly 700 employees in Greater Boston. LaCava succeeds Pat Canning, who was named managing partner of KPMG’s Chicago office.	Advertisement
Supreme Court won’t hear Madoff investor appeal on payment The US Supreme Court won’t hear an appeal by Bernard Madoff’s investors over whether they can recover lost profit, an action that lets stand the Madoff trustee’s calculation that investors lost $17 billion. The investors asked the top court for a hearing after federal appeals judges in New York said in August it would be “absurd” to treat fictitious paper profits as real, upholding a lower court ruling.
Mass. gas prices fall another 6 cents a gallon The average price for gas in Massachusetts is $3.379 a gallon in the latest weekly AAA survey, down 6 cents from the previous week’s average, AAA Southern New England said Monday. It’s the 10th consecutive week of decreases. Prices locally are now 52 cents less than the those recorded in mid April. The national average for gas is $3.41 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average price was $3.64.
Visual IQ receives $12m in financing Visual IQ, a Needham company specializing in marketing intelligence software, said Monday that it has received $12 million in funding from Boston-based Volition Capital and existing investor San Francisco-based Fog City Capital. Visual IQ said it currently manages more than $5 billion in media spend on behalf of its clients, which include some of the nation’s biggest advertisers. Sean Cantwell, a partner at Volition Capital, will join the Visual IQ board of directors.
Canadian court issues judgment against Dunkin’ Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., the owner of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins brands, said Monday that a Canadian court ruled that it must pay a group of franchisees about 16.4 million Canadian dollars ($15.9 million), plus costs and interest. As a result, the Canton-based company said it will increase its legal reserve for its current quarter. The company had previously reserved 4 million Canadian dollars ($3.9 million) for losses related to the lawsuit.
Teleflex buys Innovative Technology Teleflex Inc., a Pennsylvania medical device company, said Monday that it has bought Semprus BioSciences, a Cambridge spin-out from MIT. Under the agreement, Teleflex made an upfront payment of $30 million. Teleflex added that it may be required to make certain additional payments based upon the achievement of certain regulatory and revenue milestones. According to its website, Semprus is focused on reducing the health complications associated with medical devices such as infection, blood clots, improper healing, and cell overgrowth.
Bain Capital agrees to buy 50-percent stake in Japanese TV shopping channel for $1 billion Bain Capital, a Boston-based private investment firm, said it has agreed to acquire a 50 percent stake in Jupiter Shop Channel Co. Ltd., a TV shopping channel in Japan, from Sumitomo Corp. Financial terms were not disclosed. Headquartered in Tokyo, the Jupiter Shop Channel broadcasts live 24 hours a day and sells such items as jewelry and fashion goods, beauty and cosmetic products, fitness products, home and interior products, home appliances, and food.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt emerges from bankruptcy Houghton Mifflin Harcourt emerged from bankruptcy protection Friday, as a judge in New York approved a deal with the company’s creditors to eliminate $3.1 billion in debt. Under the terms of the Chapter 11 restructuring, Houghton’s creditors have exchanged their debt holdings for equity ownership stakes in the company.
Two Mass. companies expected to go public next week Burlington software maker Exa Corp. and Waltham biotech firm Tesaro Inc. are expected to debut on Wall Street next week. The 21-year-old Exa Corp., which makes software to improve vehicle aerodynamics, will price shares between $11 and $13, according to its Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Its IPO on the Nasdaq exchange could raise $75 million. Tesaro is also expected to open on the Nasdaq to raise $81 million. The drug maker will price shares between $12 to $15.
Apple has Siri, and now Logan International Airport has Carla Hoping to ease traffic through the main security checkpoint in Terminal E, Massport is introducing a virtual assistant named “Carla,’’ a digital projection dressed as Massport customer service rep, who will offer travelers instructions on what they need to do. Carla, who apparently speaks Spanish and English (but most would say she doesn’t sound like a local girl, more car-la than cah-lah), will remind passengers to get out their identification and boarding pass, shed shoes and coats, and prepare carry-on laptops, liquids, and medicines for inspection.
Brandeis center will manage Walmart initiative to line up summer jobs for teens The Walmart Foundation, the charitable arm of the retailing giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said it has given $5 million to a Brandeis University research center to manage a summer jobs initiative that is designed to help about 3,000 teenagers get work. The Walmart grant calls for its $20-million “Summer Youth Employment Initiative” to be managed by the Center for Youth and Communities at Brandeis’s Heller School for Social Policy and Management.
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