”˜Rio”™ takes flight for Blue Sky
Blue Sky Studios released “Rio,” its first animated feature film produced entirely in Connecticut.
In 2009, Blue Sky moved its headquarters to Greenwich from White Plains, N.Y., three years after Connecticut instituted a 30 percent tax credit on costs generated by movies, TV shows and digital entertainment.
Past Blue Sky titles include the “Ice Age” series and “Horton Hears A Who.”
Rio”™s plot revolves around a pet macaw”™s adventures in South America; Blue Sky worked with the Finland-based gaming application vendor Rovio Mobile Ltd. on a Rio version of its popular Angry Birds app.
Morrison out at Chamber
Mary Ann Morrison reportedly resigned as president of the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce, a post she held for 11 years.
The Greenwich Time cited an unidentified source saying Morrison”™s departure was the result of staff cuts ”“ she was the lone paid employee ”“ and the possibility she had another job offer in hand.
In 2009, the most recent year on public file with the IRS, Morrison was paid nearly $91,000, on a total Greenwich Chamber of Commerce budget of about $320,000, down from $465,000 two years earlier at the height of the last economic cycle.
Starwood in bid for Anguilla resort
Starwood Capital Partners reportedly is the stalking-horse bidder for Barnes Bay Development Ltd., a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based company in bankruptcy that owns the Viceroy Anguilla Resort & Residences.
Greenwich-based Starwood took over some $370 million in Barnes Bay loans last October, according to Bloomberg News.
Viceroy Anguilla offers some 165 waterfront villas and rooms, and multiple restaurants.
Blyth ships out wholesale business
Greenwich-based Blyth Inc. is selling off its wholesale division that provides candles and home products for sale by other retailers.
MVP Group International is buying Midwest-CBK from Blyth, whose primary distribution channels are catalogs and home-based agents that organize parties to pitch products.
“As Blyth”™s focus is on the direct-to-consumer channels, Midwest-CBK has become less of a strategic fit going forward,” said Bob Goergen, CEO of Blyth, in a prepared statement. “When conversations arose with a strong and growing company interested in increasing its premium channel presence and manufacturing capabilities, we were receptive to a dialog.”
First Reserve buys metals company
First Reserve Corp. is spending $960 million to acquire Metallum Holdings, a Belgian company that refines, trades and recycles metals like copper and tin.
The bulk of Greenwich-based First Reserve”™s portfolio is focused on energy companies. In March, the company took a 45 percent stake in Rome-based Finmeccanica”™s Ansaldo Energia, which generated $1.9 billion in revenue last year building power plants.
United Rentals boosts Canada business
United Rentals Inc., which has offices in Greenwich, is acquiring Venator Group, which claims status as the largest independently owned crane and lift rental provider in Ontario, Canada.
Venetor was founded in 1975 and has seven locations.