Fairfield County business news in brief

Aquarion adds ”˜liquid”™ assets

Bridgeport-based Aquarion Water Co. has bought Meckauer Water Co. in Bethel.

Charles Firlotte, president and CEO of Aquarion, said his company would be improving Bethel”™s water supply and begin future development within the town.

The details of the sale transaction were not disclosed by either party.

With its purchase of Meckauer, Aquarion has customers in every municipality in Fairfield County.

Aquarion supplies water to more than 580,000 people in 39 cities and towns throughout Connecticut, as well as serving customers in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  It is the largest investor-owned water utility in New England and is the seventh largest in the U.S.

 

AQR creates reinsurance unit

Greenwich-based AQR Capital Management has formed a reinsurance group.

David Kabiller, founding partner and head of strategies at AQR, is organizing this business and has hired Andrew Sterge to lead the reinsurance unit. Sterge is the former head of Pulsar Re Holdings and the Cooper Neff Group.

Kabiller said the new group will develop investment strategies that have little connection with traditional markets and hedge funds. Sterge will have two London based reinsurance underwriters working for him. The business plan strategy for the new group has a $250 million funding goal and will be capitalized by AQR and outside investors.

 

Jack Wills joins ”˜The Avenue”™

Jack Wills is the latest retail addition to Greenwich Avenue.

The clothing store has opened in the old Banana Republic space at 254 Greenwich Ave.

The London-based retailer, which offers its own brand of clothes, targets 16 to 30 year olds.

The brand will occupy 2,558 square feet of space.

Jack Wills opened its first store in England in 1999. The Greenwich store is one of the first in the U.S. Jack Wills will also be opening stores in Nantucket, Newport, R.I., Boston, New Haven and New York City.

Banana Republic closed its location in 2009. The site is now divided into three spaces that house Madewell, Calypso and now Jack Wills.

 

CPA group elects leaders

The Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants has elected two Fairfield County attorneys to its advisory and leadership council.

The organization members elected Frank Rowella Jr., managing partner of Reynolds & Rowella, CPAs L.L.P. in Ridgefield, New Canaan and Wilton, and Alan A. Schachter of Redding, a partner in the valuation and forensic services group at Citrin Cooperman in Norwalk.

 

Superhero server

Stamford-based Centerplate recently served as the hospitality host for Comic-Con International, the largest comic book convention of its kind in the world, at the San Diego Convention Center.

The hospitality company had prepared for the event over four months to serve more than 125,000 attendees.

In 2010, Centerplate served more than 1,500 gourmet salads, 5,000 gourmet sandwiches and 10,000 personal pizzas.

Comic-Con International is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms.