Smith new chair of CI
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy added chairman of Connecticut Innovations Inc. to the resume of Catherine Smith, the new commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.
Connecticut Innovations invests venture capital in businesses and provides financing for the purchase of renewable energy systems through the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. Malloy has yet to say whether CCEF will remain at Connecticut Innovations or be transferred to his new Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Business Expo upcoming
The Connecticut Business Expo is scheduled for June 9 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.
This year, organizers expect more than 5,000 attendees from 200 industries and multiple state agencies that offer business financing. Nearly 60 percent of last year”™s visitors owned their companies or were senior managers.
Compass posts loss
Compass Diversified Holdings Inc. lost $6.6 million in the first quarter after recording an impairment charge in a subsidiary.
Westport-based Compass owns a portfolio of companies representing a wide-range of industries, including the Cincinnati-based temporary employment agency Staffmark, which is readying for an initial public offering of stock.
Compass took a charge against earnings to account for soft sales at American Furniture Manufacturing, a subsidiary in Ecru, Miss.
Southfield buys rail-services stake
Greenwich-based Southfield Capital Advisors acquired an ownership stake in Hallcon Corp., a Toronto company that provides various outsourced services to railroads and transit companies.
Southfield did not disclose what it paid for Hallcon.
Founded in 1954, Hallcon services include providing attendants and cleaning services for rail cars and stations; as well as booking transportation and overnight accommodations for rail crews, among other services. It recently won its first contract to administer crew transportation on a national basis in the United States.
Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this article incorrectly stated that DECD had formal oversight of Connecticut Innovations.
Editor’s note: Due to a reporting error, a previous version of this article included a brief with inaccurate and outdated information on SBA loans in Connecticut.
