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Tue. Oct. 23, 2012 Life is good lifestyle brand forms partnership with the Hallmark greeting cards company Life is good, a Boston-based T-shirt retailer with both a business plan and a do-good mission statement, said Tuesday that it is forming a strategic partnership with includes Hallmark Cards Inc., the greeting card brand. Among other things, the partnership will bring “Life is good” T-shirts, other apparel, and accessories into Hallmark’s distribution network, which Hallmark Gold Crown stores. Plans also call for the production of “exclusive co–branded products that will be available throughout the US, Canada, and the Caribbean.”	Advertisement
GE Capital, Franchise Finance provides loan to Wheelock Street Capital for the acquisition of six hotels GE Capital, Franchise Finance said Tuesday that it recently provided a $49.75 million loan to affiliates of Wheelock Street Capital LLC for the acquisition of six hotel properties in North Carolina, Texas, and Illinois. Wheelock Street Capital is a private real estate investment firm with headquarters offices in Boston and Greenwich, Conn. One area of concentration for the firm is the hospitality industry. The hotels involved in the acquisition have brand affiliations with Marriott, Hilton InterContinental, and Choice.
Loomis Sayles bond manager Kathleen Gaffney jumps to Eaton Vance Kathleen Gaffney, a key member of a team that invests $82 billion at Loomis Sayles & Co. in Boston has quit to work for cross-town rival Eaton Vance Corp., according to people familiar with her resignation. Gaffney was part of a team that worked for famous investment manager Dan Fuss. The team oversees about half of all the firm’s assets under management. It manages the $21.9 billion Loomis Sayles Bond fund and other mutual funds.
FLAG Capital Management agrees to buy Squadron Capital of Hong Kong FLAG Capital Management, a fund-of-funds that invests in private equity, venture capital, real estate and other assets, has agreed to acquire a Hong Kong investment firm called Squadron Capital. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Wrentham Village Premium Outlets officials agree to town’s terms, ‘look forward’ to Midnight Madness Officials at the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets say they’re working to get security cameras installed and “look forward” to the mall’s day-after-Thanksgiving “Midnight Madness” sale, after a dispute with the town endangered the massive shopping event. Last week, members of the Planning Board voted to allow the sale to go forward on the condition that the mall install 10 security cameras.
BOND will manage renovations on engineering and physics building at Brown University BOND, a construction management services firm whose specialties include health care and academic projects, said it has been chosen to provide construction management services for a major renovation for the engineering and physics departments at Brown University. Formerly known as Bond Brothers, Everett-based BOND said that the Barus & Holley Building and Prince Laboratory will receive infrastructure upgrades – including new switchgear, cooling towers, chillers, heat exchangers, boilers, air handling units, and exhaust fans.
Risk Strategies acquires D&D Insurance Agency Risk Strategies Co., a national insurance brokerage headquartered in Boston, said Monday that it has acquired D&D Insurance Agency, a Burlington firm specializing in personal and commercial insurance lines. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Risk Strategies, or RSC, said that this is its fourth acquisition in the last two years and its second in the Boston area in the last few months. In December, RSC bought Global Insurance Network Inc. of Needham.
Mass. gas prices drop 7 cents a gallon The average price for gas in Massachusetts was $3.769 a gallon in the latest weekly AAA survey, down 7 cents from the previous week’s average, AAA Southern New England said Monday. Prices locally are down 7 cents over the past month. The current national average price is $3.67 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average price was $3.42.
J.W. Childs agrees to sell its stake in CHG Healthcare Services CHG Healthcare Services, a health care staffing firm now controlled by the Boston-based private equity firm J.W. Childs Associates, said that two other investment firms plan to buy CHG, along with existing management. J.W. Childs has agreed to sell its stake in Utah-based CHG to Leonard Green & Partners and Ares Management LLC and the existing management of CHG; terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Eastern Bank is again the top SBA lender in Massachusetts Eastern Bank said it again ranks as the No. 1 Small Business Administration lender in Massachusetts, the fourth straight year it has done so. Boston-based Eastern Bank made 400 SBA loans in Massachusetts totaling more than $23 million, according to figures from the SBA’s Boston District Office. By SBA calculations, those loans collectively created nearly 500 jobs and retained about 1,700 others. Eastern Bank has about $8 billion in assets and more than 90 branches serving communities from the Merrimack Valley to Cape Cod.
Hasbro 3rd-qtr profit falls 4 pct, revenue drops PAWTUCKET, R.I. — Weakness in its boys and preschool categories globally and the stronger dollar pushed toy maker Hasbro Inc.’s third-quarter net income down by 4 percent. But the Pawtucket, R.I.-based company’s adjusted results topped Wall Street’s forecasts on Monday, and it remains confident heading into the critical holiday season, which is when toy makers can earn up to 40 percent of annual revenue. Chief financial officer Deborah Thomas said Hasbro was entering the holiday season with hot toys including its Marvel line.
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