Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is set to disclose Thursday that it has signed a letter of intent to acquire Jordan Health Systems Inc., the parent of 155-bed Jordan Hospital in Plymouth, one of the last remaining independent community hospitals in Massachusetts. The parties hope to sign a definitive merger agreement later this year after they have completed a due diligence process. Jordan plans to retain its local management and board. LoJack Corp. a Canton company known for its stolen vehicle recovery systems, said Thursday that it has entered into a strategic alliance with TomTom Inc., a supplier of location and navigation products and services. TomTom, which has operations in Concord, will benefit from LoJack’s brand strength and distribution channel by introducing its fleet management technology to new business markets in North America, LoJack said. One benefit: TomTom will get access to existing LoJack relationships with US construction rental companies, auto dealers, and law enforcement agencies. Great Island Development has sold North Reading Plaza, a shopping center anchored by a Walmart, to RK Centers for $11.6 million, said a broker involved in the transaction. The broker is Cushman & Wakefield, which represented Great Island Development in the sale. With nearly 154,000 square feet of retail space, North Reading Plaza is 98 percent leased; tenants include a Marshalls and a Dollar Tree. Parametric Technology Corp., the formal name of a Needham company whose specialties include computer aided design, or CAD, and product lifecycle management, has long gone by the short-hand monicker of PTC. In a press release Thursday, the company announced that it will legally change its name, effective Jan. 28, and that henceforth it will be known as PTC Inc., or PTC, for short. According to the company, the name change reflects “the full breadth of its current technology portfolio, market scope, and corporate vision.” Inspiration Biopharmaceuticals, a Cambridge biopharmaceutical company focused on hemophilia, and Ipsen said Thursday have agreed to sell a hemophilia drug candidate to Baxter International Inc., a large health care company with specialties in medical devices, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Baxter has agreed to make an upfront payment of $50 million as well as milestone payments totaling $135 million. Inspiration and Ipsen are also eligible to receive annual net sales payments equivalent to a tiered double digit percentage of global net sales. As a result, the aggregate purchase price could exceed $700 million In another sign that the housing market may be on the mend, the median sale price of single-family homes in Massachusetts rose more than 12 percent in December to $300,000, the first time since August that median home prices have broken the $300,000 mark, the Warren Group said Thursday. Looking at the entire year, the Warren Group added that single-family home sales in Massachusetts rose 18 percent in 2012, the best year on record since 2006. “I would characterize 2012 as the year of robust recovery in the real estate market,” Warren Group chief executive Timothy M. Warren Jr. said The Panera Bread Foundation said its Panera Cares cafe in Boston is now officially open. A recent Globe story described how this cafe differs from most others in a chain of more than 1,600 restaurants: “There is no cash register at the Panera cafe near Government Center in Boston. There are no prices either — just suggested donations and bins to leave money, if you can afford to.” The idea is to provide a place where everyone can eat with dignity, regardless of their ability to pay. | 
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