Borders to close books on two more local stores
Borders Group added its stores in Fairfield and Stamford to those slated for closure as part of its bankruptcy reorganization, in addition to stores in Danbury and Wilton.
The company intends to close the stores by late May. Borders is currently operating with $505 million in debtor-in-possession financing arranged by Norwalk-based GE Capital.
Sun sets on DeFeo”™s career
Neil DeFeo is retiring in May as CEO of Sun Products Corp. in Wilton, with the laundry detergent company appointing Jeffrey Ansell as his replacement.
DeFeo was Sun Products”™ first CEO after its 2008 spinout from Unilever with brands like All, Snuggle and Wisk; previously he was CEO of Playtex Products in Westport, where his brother Ron DeFeo leads the construction equipment giant Terex Corp.
Ansell most recently was CEO of Pinnacle Foods Group, a Mountain Lakes, N.J.-based purveyor of well-known brands including Birds Eye and Duncan Heinz. Ansell previously was with Procter & Gamble Co., where he led the Iams pet food division.
Theory to open in Westport
A Theory clothing store is opening in Westport, marking the company”™s second location in Fairfield County along with a store in Greenwich.
Corporate parent Fast Retailing Group took a 10-year lease for 2,500 square feet at 69 Main St. in Westport, a building owned by New York City-based Malkin Properties. Malkin indicated it is in negotiations with prominent retailers for other Main Street properties it owns.
Vineyard Vines gets Derby deal
Churchill Downs Racetrack made Vineyard Vines Inc. the “official style” of the Kentucky Derby, the first time it has created a fashion collection associated with the May race.
Stamford-based Vineyard Vines will create sports jackets, shirts, ties and belts for men, dresses, tops, scarves, hats and handbags for women and sportswear for men and women.
Passur gets vote of confidence from chairman
The chairman of Passur Aerospace Inc. committed to covering any financial obligations the company cannot meet in the upcoming year, even as Passur reported a profit for the fiscal quarter ending Jan. 31.
Greenwich-based Passur provides flight arrival and departure data for airlines, airports and air charter companies by analyzing passive radar signals, which can include broadcast signals reflected off aircraft. The company”™s chairman is Beckwith Gilbert, who runs Stamford-based Field Point Capital Management Co.
In the fiscal quarter ending Jan. 31, Passur Aerospace Inc. increased revenue by half from a year ago to $3.5 million.
“Aviation remains a challenging environment,” said Jim Barry, CEO of Passur, in a prepared statement. “We”™ve made significant investments in the company and they are paying off. We have built what we believe to be the largest commercial air traffic surveillance network in the world.”
GE, Xerox set ethics tone
General Electric Co. and Xerox Corp. made this year”™s list of the 110 most ethical companies in the world, published by the Ethisphere Magazine, the only Fairfield County-based companies to appear on the list.
An Ethisphere panel rated businesses on seven broad factors, including corporate citizenship, their legal and regulatory track record, internal ethics programs and the “tone from the top” set by executives, in the magazine”™s words.
Other regional companies to appear on the list included the Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., and PepsiCo and Swiss Re, which have their main U.S. offices in Westchester County, N.Y.
Olympus sells Taco Bell franchisee
Olympus Partners sold K-Mac Holdings Corp. to Brentwood Associates, with Arkansas-based K-Mac the third-largest Taco Bell franchisee in the nation with 190 restaurants total, including some KFC and Golden Corral locales.
Stamford-based Olympus bought K-Mac in 2004; since then the company has opened or acquired nearly 50 restaurants and increased employment 30 percent.
“K-Mac has been one of the most successful investments for Olympus, earning a return of more than eight times the initial equity funded by our investors,” said Paul Rubin of Olympus Partners, in a prepared statement. “We were fortunate to back a very talented and seasoned management team supported by the strength of the Taco Bell brand, at a time when few private equity firms were comfortable investing in the franchisee space.”
IBM settles with SEC over Asia gifts
IBM Corp. is paying $10 million to resolve federal claims its employees made improper payments and gifts over more than a decade as Big Blue sought business in China and South Korea.
IBM”™s New York headquarters operations employ a large number of people in Fairfield County.
IBM did not admit or deny responsibility in its settlement with the SEC.
IHC hit with medical losses in Q4
Independence Holding Co. lost some $350,000 in the fourth quarter, despite a 65 percent increase in revenue to $105 million driven by its acquisition last year of American Independence Corp.
Stamford-based IHC sells specialty health and life insurance policies, including stop-loss medical policies to which it attributed its fourth-quarter loss. For the full year, the company earned $22 million after recording a $7.4 million loss in 2009, and revenue rose 23 percent in 2010 to $435 million.
AG sues Redding energy agent
Attorney General George Jepsen sued Turris Associates L.L.C., a Redding electricity aggregator company accused of defrauding the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools and Hess Corp. of $180,000.
The Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control imposed a $360,000 penalty on Turris last fall and revoked the company”™s authorization to do business in Connecticut, saying it overcharged the association.
