Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Daily Business Update

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Wed. Jan. 11, 2012

Yellow Wood Partners raises $225m

Boston investment firm Yellow Wood Partners LLC said it has raised $225 million of capital, exceeding its target of $200 million. The firm said its plan is to make investments ranging from $10 million to $80 million in companies in the consumer packaged-goods industry, an area where the firm has extensive experience. Yellow Wood has made previous investments in such brands as Meow Mix and Spic And Span.

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Massachusetts officials consider DNA testing to prevent fish mislabeling

State officials are considering using DNA testing to combat fish mislabeling and are launching a pilot program in partnership with Legal Sea Foods that would trace seafood using barcodes, according to testimony prepared today for a hearing held by the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. These efforts follow a Globe report in October that uncovered widespread seafood misrepresentation at area restaurants and lax government oversight.

Boston Scientific is bullish on its plan to broaden its business

The new leadership team at Boston Scientific Corp. sees a push to broaden its business base paying off in the next two years and is aiming for annual double-digit earnings increases over the next five years. That was the word from company executives who made their pitch to investors today at the 30th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Franciso. Investments in new products and new geographic markets should enable Boston Scientific to grow in the coming years.

Amtrak bringing faster locomotives for Northeast

Amtrak this year having the first of 70 new locomotives built to eventually power the entire regional Northeast fleet. The electric locomotives, which will operate at speeds of up to 125 miles per hour between Washington and Boston -- up from 110 miles per hour on some trains -- will replace units that have been in operation for up to 30 years and traveled an average of 3.5 million miles.

Arnold ad about ‘Egg McMuffin of boyfriends’ inspires tweets and Facebook mentions

Arnold Worldwide has created a new commercial for the Egg McMuffin that the Boston ad agency claims is creating a bit of hubbub on social media. The ad uses the phrase “Egg McMuffin” as a gold standard for excellence, as in, “You are the Egg McMuffin of boyfriends.” According to Arnold, the phrase is now showing up in tweets, Facebook mentions, and Craigslist posts for rental apartments. To view the ad, please click on “Full Entry.”

Vermont dairies scramble to find feed after Tropical Storm Irene

Flooding from Tropical Storm Irene swept away some bales of hay Doug Turner grew to feed his dairy cows and ripped open others, contaminating them with muddy water. In most years, Turner grows all the hay and corn his 45 cows need, but like a number of Vermont farmers, he’s struggling to find feed this winter after the August storm damaged a third of his crops. The timing of the destruction couldn’t be worse. Feed prices have risen amid a hay shortage caused by drought in the Southwest.

BackBay Communications will do PR for Expect Miracles Foundation

BackBay Communications, a Boston-based public relations firm with a focus on the financial-services industry, said it has been retained as public relations agency of record by Expect Miracles Foundation - Financial Services Against Cancer. Expect Miracles Foundation was formerly Mutual Funds Against Cancer. The BackBay Communications mandate includes ongoing promotion of the foundation’s recently established Miracle Maker Leadership Council and the council’s breakfast series to be held over the coming year in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles.

Raytheon in talks to mount Javelin rocket on Tata combat vehicle

Raytheon Co., the world’s largest missile maker, is in talks with Tata Motors Ltd. to mount the Javelin anti-tank weapon system on an infantry combat vehicle that India’s largest truckmaker may make. “This could be one of India’s solutions to covering the full spectrum of combat equipment challenges in the region,” Brad Barnard, senior manager for international business and strategy at Waltham-based Raytheon. Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland Ltd., and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. are expanding their military equipment units after India opened defense production to private players in 2001.

Rick Jakious is the Massachusetts Nonprofit Network’s new chief executive

The Massachusetts Nonprofit Network, the association that represents the Commonwealth’s nonprofit sector, said it has a new chief executive: Rick Jakious. The network, which refers to itself as MNN, seeks to raise the nonprofit sector’s visibility, engage members in public policy initiatives, and help individual nonprofits in the state. MNN currently includes nearly 500 members representing nonprofits in various parts of Massachusetts. Jakious comes to MNN from City Year Inc. He succeeds David Magnani, a former Massachusetts State Senator.

Bain Capital and private equity world jarred by attacks on Romney

Bain Capital executives have been bracing since last summer for the inevitable downside to their old boss running for president: seeing their firm’s name dragged through the mud by Mitt Romney’s opponents. But the onslaught has come harder and faster than they or the industry expected, with Romney’s emergence as a frontrunner in the primaries. Republican rivals have painted Bain Capital and private equity firms like it as engaged in the wrong kind of capitalism, making money as corporate raiders and by cutting jobs.

Sanofi outlines cuts

SAN FRANCISCO -- French drug maker Sanofi SA plans to wring $170 million in annual cost savings out of its operations after acquiring Cambridge biotechnology company Genzyme Corp. last year, the Sanofi chief executive said today, but many of the cuts will be at legacy Sanofi sites outside the Boston area. For instance, Sanofi is closing a New Jersey drug research lab because it has been less productive than Genzyme’s labs, which have developed treatments for rare diseases.

Daily Business Update

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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Daily Business Update

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Tue. Jan. 10, 2012

Zmags raises $7 million
Zmags, a Boston company that helps such retailers as Kenneth Cole and Express to market their merchandise to consumers with smartphones and computer tablets, said today that it has secured $7 million in additional funding. The financing is from new investor Square 1 Bank and existing investors OpenView Venture Partners and Northcap Partners. Since its inception, Zmags has raised more than $15 million in growth capital.

Paint company Benjamin Moore taps Mullen to be its new ad agency
Mullen, a Boston advertising agency, has won the ad account of Benjamin Moore & Co., a New Jersey-based manufacturer of paintings and coatings. Billings for the account are not being disclosed. ““Benjamin Moore offers a superior paint product, period,” a Mullen executive said. “Our job is to bring that differentiation to life in a fresh way.”

AIM: Mass. business confidence rose slightly in December
Business confidence in Massachusetts rose slightly in the final month of 2011, according to an index maintained by the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, or AIM, a group that represents Bay State employers. AIM’s monthly business confidence in Massachusetts posted a December reading of 51 on a 100-point scale, a nine-tenths of a point increase from the November reading.

Skanska USA to provide construction management services for expansion of Novartis complex near MIT
Skanska USA said that its building business unit has been selected to provide construction management services for Novartis AG’s ambitious expansion plans in Cambridge. Novartis, a Swiss medical giant, is moving ahead on a $600-million laboratory-and-office complex near the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The plan is for the complex to serve as the centerpiece of the company’s research operations. Among the designers hired by Novartis are noted architect Maya Lin, who came to prominence for designing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Warp Drive Bio launches with initial financing of $125 million
Boston venture capital firm Third Rock Ventures announced the launch of a genomic search engine company in strategic partnership with Sanofi SA, the French drug maker that recently bought Genzyme Corp. of Cambridge for $20.1 billion. The new company --- Warp Drive Bio --- will have $125 million in initial financing. Alexis Borisy, partner at Third Rock Ventures, is the interim chief executive officer of Warp Drive Bio.

37 Friendly’s stores closed
Here is a look at the 37 stores -- including 10 in the Bay State -- that are set to close.

Friendly’s Ice Cream out of bankruptcy, but closes another 37 stores, including 10 in Mass.
Friendly’s Ice Cream shuttered another 37 stores yesterday, including 10 in Massachusetts, before emerging from bankruptcy protection today, the company said in a statement.

Vertex upstaged by Bristol-Myers deal
SAN FRANCISCO -- This was supposed to be a victory lap for Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. executives: their first appearance at the life sciences industry’s most important annual conclave since they won long-sought approval of their potential blockbuster drug to treat hepatitis C. But the Vertex team, including its departing chief executive and his newly appointed successor, was partly upstaged by an announcement on the eve of the 30th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference that giant drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. was entering the hepatitis C market.

Mass. gas prices jump 8 cents a gallon
The average price of gas in Massachusetts is $3.379 a gallon in the latest weekly AAA survey, up 8 cents a gallon from the previous week’s average, AAA Southern New England said today. It’s the largest one-week increase since late last April, and local gas prices have risen 16 cents a gallon over the past three weeks. The current national average for gas is $3.37 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average was $3.08 a gallon.

Dunkin’ celebrates 60th anniversary of Today show with special donut
Dunkin’ Donuts is celebrating its 60th anniversary of the Today show this week with a special donut whipped up by its uber chef. In honor of this milestone, Dunkin’ commissioned Stan Frankenthaler, the executive chef and vice president of product innovation at its parent company, to devise a celebratory cake that draws heavily on the chain’s donut and Munchkins heritage. The cake was presented this morning to anchors on the Today Show, a morning news program. Through Jan. 15, folks can try a “Today Donut,” which the chain describes as a “yeast ring donut, topped with vanilla icing and Today-colored sprinkles in a red, orange, and yellow mix.”

TA Associates agrees to sell stake in TaxACT
TA Associates, a private equity firm with offices in Boston, plans to sell its full majority stake in TaxACT, an Iowa company that develops tax preparation software and Web-based services for consumers. The prospective buyer is InfoSpace Inc., an online search company headquartered in Bellevue, Wash. InfoSpace said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TaxACT for $287.5 million in cash.

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Monday, January 9, 2012

Daily Business Update

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Mon. Jan. 09, 2012

Mass. gas prices jump 8 cents a gallon
The average price of gas in Massachusetts is $3.379 a gallon in the latest weekly AAA survey, up 8 cents a gallon from the previous week’s average, AAA Southern New England said today. It’s the largest one-week increase since late last April, and local gas prices have risen 16 cents a gallon over the past three weeks. The current national average for gas is $3.37 a gallon. A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average was $3.08 a gallon.

Dunkin’ celebrates 60th anniversary of Today show with special donut
Dunkin’ Donuts is celebrating its 60th anniversary of the Today show this week with a special donut whipped up by its uber chef. In honor of this milestone, Dunkin’ commissioned Stan Frankenthaler, the executive chef and vice president of product innovation at its parent company, to devise a celebratory cake that draws heavily on the chain’s donut and Munchkins heritage. The cake was presented this morning to anchors on the Today Show, a morning news program. Through Jan. 15, folks can try a “Today Donut,” which the chain describes as a “yeast ring donut, topped with vanilla icing and Today-colored sprinkles in a red, orange, and yellow mix.”

TA Associates agrees to sell stake in TaxACT
TA Associates, a private equity firm with offices in Boston, plans to sell its full majority stake in TaxACT, an Iowa company that develops tax preparation software and Web-based services for consumers. The prospective buyer is InfoSpace Inc., an online search company headquartered in Bellevue, Wash. InfoSpace said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TaxACT for $287.5 million in cash.

Knome appoints Martin Tolar as chief executive
Knome Inc., a Cambridge life sciences company specializing in human genome interpretation, has appointed Martin Tolar, M.D., as its chief executive. Knome supports researchers with the informatics and software tools used to investigate the genetic basis of human disease and drug response. Before joining Knome, Tolar was chief executive of Normoxys Inc. Jorge Conde, Knome’s founding CEO, will become chief strategy officer and continue to serve on its board of directors.

Gillette fields team for the London Olympics
Gillette, the grooming brand with a Boston heritage and a history of sports marketing, introduced a line-up of athletes that will represent it at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. According to Gillette, athletes exemplify the brand’s conviction that in athletics, and in life, a great start can make all the difference. Gillette’s 24 athletes hail from 18 countries, and they include Roger Federer of Switzerland, Ryan Lochte of the United States, Lin Dan of China, Emmanuel Ginobili of Argentina, and Sir Chris Hoy of Great Britain.

Say hello to Dragon TV --- and good-bye to your old remote
Nuance Communications Inc., the Burlington company known for its Dragon brand of speech-recognition products, is unveiling Dragon TV. With Dragon TV, viewers have the ability to find content by speaking channel numbers, station names, show, and movie names. Issue such voice commands as “Go to PBS” or “Find movie comedies with Vince Vaughn,” and Dragon TV will quickly respond. As consumers are bombarded with more and more viewing choices, the traditional remote-control device is becoming overwhelmed and obsolete. The solution? Replace the remote with Dragon TV, Nuance says.

Four airlines bid to maintain regional Maine flights
Four airlines have submitted proposals to maintain service to airports in Presque Isle and Bar Harbor. US Senator Susan Collins, ranking member of the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, announced Sunday that three airlines have submitted bids with the US Transportation Department to operate service to and from Northern Maine Regional Airport in Presque Isle and the Hancock County-Bar Harbor Airport. They are Air Choice One, Peninsula Airways, and Sovereign Air.

Attivio taps HB as agency of record
HB, a Newton public relations agency, said it has been chosen as the communications agency of record for Attivio following a competitive agency review. With offices in Newton, Attivio helps business customers organize and analyze their data. Founded in 1999 as a business-to-business integrated marketing agency, HB does work for such clients as EMC Corp., Harvard University, and Northeastern University.

Boston Globe will print and deliver Boston Herald
The Boston Globe will print and deliver the Boston Herald starting later this month as the tabloid seeks to cut costs and prepares to move from its headquarters in the South End, the two newspapers said. Under the terms of the deal, the Herald will pay the Globe an undisclosed sum to print and distribute its editions in the Boston area, enabling the Herald to eliminate the jobs of 53 truck drivers and other delivery personnel through layoffs and buyouts.

State lawmakers schedule hearing on fish mislabeling
The state Legislature’s Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure has scheduled a hearing next week to address fish mislabeling in Massachusetts.

Kushner group takes stake in Portland newspaper
A group of investors including Wellesley businessman Aaron Kushner has agreed to take a large stake in the troubled Portland Press Herald, according to two people briefed on the deal. Boston Globe remains on his buy list.

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