Merger results in credits
Northeast Utilities agreed to $25 million in credits for customers of its Connecticut Light & Power Co. subsidiary, as a condition to Connecticut”™s approval of its merger with NStar.
Massachusetts regulators last month secured a similar commitment from NU and NStar. As part of its Connecticut agreement, Northeast Utilities agreed to keep its headquarters in Hartford at least seven years; the company has previously stated it would maintain dual headquarters in Hartford and Boston where NStar is based.
NU also agreed to freeze base distribution rates until December 2014 and said it would set aside $15 million for energy efficiency programs for low-income customers and for the development of electric vehicle infrastructure, microgrids and renewable energy.
“The agreement ”¦ will ensure that distribution rates for our consumers will stay flat for two and a half years, providing some much needed relief for residents,” Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a press release.
Bridgewater the biggest
Westport”™s Bridgewater Associates tops a list of the largest hedge funds in the U.S. published by the website 247wallst.com.
Based on data from Absolute Return Magazine, DealBook, the SEC, Bloomberg and others, analyst John Ogg estimates that Bridgewater now manages $76.6 billion in hedge fund money, $31.6 billion more than its nearest competitor, J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Bridgewater employs roughly 1,200 people.
No other Connecticut hedge fund cracked the top 10.
Taxes do matter
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy opened the first meeting of the Governor”™s Business Tax Policy Review Task Force March 16 in Hartford.
Malloy established the task force last year to evaluate the cost, benefit and effectiveness of current business tax credits. Task force members include Chris Bruhl, CEO of the Business Council of Fairfield County in Stamford.
“Taxes are less important in business decisions than all of the usual rhetoric suggests, but taxes do matter especially in terms of clarity, predictability and simplicity,” said Kevin Sullivan, commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services. “We do not want to encourage business tax shopping or come to see business tax benefits as entitlements. But it is also a real mistake to see businesses as revenue generators that are somehow expected to pay any price just to be in business in Connecticut. There are too many other choices in this global economy.”
Gone with the wind
As quickly as Clipper Windpower blew into United Technologies Corp.”™s world, it sailed away.
UTC is selling off the wind turbine business it bought only in 2010, along with its Rocketdyne rocket engine unit, to raise $3 billion toward its $16.5 billion purchase of Goodrich Corp. UTC is also selling off multiple industrial systems units under its Hamilton Sundstrand subsidiary.
In February, UTC CFO Greg Hayes said the company had no interest in selling Stratford-based Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.
New dean at UConn
The University of Connecticut School of Business named as its next dean John Elliott, who currently is dean of the City University of New York”™s Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College.
Separately, UConn named Robert McCarthy vice provost for engagement, charged with developing stronger partnerships among UConn campuses throughout the state. McCarthy retains his current position as dean of UConn”™s School of Pharmacy.
Elliott previously was an accounting professor at Cornell University”™s Johnson School of Business, where he received his doctorate. Elliott holds an undergraduate degree in economics and an MBA from the University of Maryland; in the private sector, he worked for Arthur Anderson and Westinghouse.
Xerox snags Texas deal
Xerox Corp. won an $848 million contract to create and run cloud computing services for the state of Texas over eight years.
Xerox said it was among the largest projects of its kind in the country. Xerox is based in Norwalk and its business process outsourcing division ACS has its main office in Dallas.
Separately, Texas awarded Xerox a six-year, $53 million contract to continue its printing and mailing services that support a number of state agencies. Xerox prints more than 240 million pages annually, including notices, vehicle titles and workers”™ compensation documents.
Tangoe doubles in size
Amid a major expansion, Tangoe Inc. plans to raise more than $40 million through a sale of stock, with the Orange-based company selling telephony and communications software.
Tangoe revenue increased revenue by more than half last year to $105 million, with the company losing $5.2 million. The company added 460 employees last year giving it just over 1,000 in all.
Making the case
The Connecticut chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth holds its third annual ACG Connecticut Cup competition April 2 at RBS Business Capital in Stamford.
The case-study competition is designed to give students from Connecticut MBA programs real world experience in mergers and acquisitions, private equity, investment banking and financial advisory work.
Judges include:
Ӣ Jim Barra of Ironwood Capital;
Ӣ Mark Campbell of BlumShapiro;
Ӣ Michael Carter of Carter, Morse & Mathias;
Ӣ colleague Ramsey Goodrich; and
Ӣ Fridolf Hanson of RBS Business Capital.
Teams are competing from Fairfield University, Quinnipiac University, Sacred Heart University, the University of Connecticut and Yale University, which won the past two competitions.
Fade to black
The Connecticut Department of Banking entered fines totaling $200,000 against Point Stratford L.L.C., after co-founder Hector Natera and Yvette Cuccaro did not appear to contest accusations he sold unregistered securities.
Doing business as Hollywood East/Area 51, Point Stratford sought to build a digital media and film studio on a brownfield property in Stratford.
Separately, the Department of Banking levied $100,000 in fines on Greenwich-based Movies for a Better World L.L.C. and company president Michael Martineau, who likewise did not contest charges he raised financing through unregistered securities.
HEI sustains green
HEI Hotels & Resorts was one of nine New England organizations to receive an award from the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy for sustained excellence in protecting the environment.
Norwalk-based HEI was the lone Connecticut entity to win recognition, though the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund, Northeast Utilities and United Illuminating Co. were indirectly recognized via their sponsorship of the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships Inc.
Ethical awards
The Ethisphere Institute included General Electric Co. and Xerox Corp. on its list of the world”™s most ethical companies.
The list also included Realogy Corp., which is among the largest employers in Fairfield County via its Danbury-based Cartus Corp. division and its Coldwell Banker real estate brokerage unit.
Dreamy achievement
A year after Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. took home the nation”™s top prize for aviation innovation, multiple Fairfield County companies could claim indirect credit for this year”™s honoree, the Boeing 797 Dreamliner.
The National Aeronautic Association awarded its Robert J. Collier Trophy to Boeing Co., which relied on General Electric Co. and Stamford-based Hexcel Corp. and Crane Co. to produce key systems in the all-composite jetliner.
Stratford-based Sikorsky won last year”™s Collier Trophy for its X2 high-speed helicopter.
SHU plans addition
Sacred Heart filed plans for a new academic building for its business and education programs on Park Avenue in Fairfield.
Separately, Sacred Heart received an “honorable mention” in a Princeton Review list of the best graduate schools for video-game design.
Sacred Heart has 25 graduate students in its game design program. The Fairfield school is working with high schools to assist them in starting gaming clubs, and runs a summer program for high-school students interested in gaming.
BMW Ridgefield expands
BMW of Ridgefield opened a new showroom at 748 Danbury Rd., totaling 50,000 square feet of space. The expansion cost $8.5 million.
Arch leases in Darien
Arch Insurance Group and the Law Office of Gaetano Ferro L.L.C. have leased space at the Darien Green office complex.
New York City-based Arch Insurance Group underwrites specialty property and casualty coverage.
Located at 320 and 330 Boston Post Road, Darien Green is owned by Morristown, N.J.-based Normandy Real Estate Partners. The two buildings total 81,000 square feet.
Greenfield sells building
Greenfield Partners reportedly sold off 20 East Elm St. in Greenwich for $12.5 million, currently the home of an Urban Outfitters store.
The building was bought by Karkiden Holdings L.L.C. owned by Greenwich residents Dennis and Karen Keegan, according to the Connecticut Post.
Grillin”™ in Greenwich
Chipotle Mexican Grill is opening a restaurant at 49 Greenwich Ave. in Greenwich, its third Fairfield County location in addition to restaurants in Darien and Fairfield, as well as Rye Brook, N.Y.
Stamford multifamily sold
Colliers International arranged the sale of 15 Lafayette St. in Stamford, an 11-unit, bank-owned residential building in Stamford.
Clearview Opportunity Fund sold the asset to a private buyer. The companies did not state the purchase price.
A half-mile from the heart of downtown Stamford and one mile from Cummings Beach Park, the 15,000-square-foot property includes six three-bedroom flat units and five three-bedroom townhouse-style units.
Madoff moves to county
Ruth Madoff, wife of convicted swindler Bernard Madoff, has moved to Old Greenwich from Boca Raton, Fla., according to London”™s Daily Mail and other sources.
The move comes more than three years after her husband was arrested for running the largest Ponzi scheme in history. She moves into a home owned by her son Andrew.
The Madoffs lived in a Manhattan penthouse and had homes in the Hamptons and in Palm Beach, Fla. All of those residences and most other assets were sold to help repay her husband”™s victims.
