GE buys power conversion giant
Fairfield-based General Electric Co. is spending $3.2 billion for a 90 percent stake in Converteam, a provider of electrification systems, with management retaining the rest of the company”™s shares.
Among other applications, France-based Converteam”™s products are widely used in the renewable energy sector, converting intermittent and variable power that is generated by solar panels and wind turbines into steady and reliable streams of electricity.
Converteam traces its history to the 1880s, with GE one of its original corporate ancestors. The company adds 5,000 employees worldwide to GE”™s workforce today; its main U.S. office is in Pittsburgh, near the headquarters of another predecessor company and GE rival in Westinghouse Electric Co.
N.H. company buys Allegient
A Portsmouth, N.H.-based company is acquiring Allegient Systems in Wilton for $48 million, gaining access to Allegient”™s online portal for legal e-billing and analytics.
Bottomline Technologies itself sells a wide range of invoice and payment applications, including a product line for the legal sector. The company said Allegient was attractive for its big base of customers in the insurance industry.
Allegient was founded in 1989 and since 1999 has been owned by H.I.G. Capital.
People”™s United donates $2.4M
People”™s United Financial Inc.”™s foundation distributed $2.4 million to some 275 charitable organizations in the Northeast in 2010, many of them in Fairfield County.
The Bridgeport-based bank said its contributions helped leverage an additional $1.2 million in donations from other entities.
“Our staff had to make difficult decisions as we received triple the number of grant requests than in previous years,” said CEO Jack Barnes and Hank Mandel, executive director of the People”™s United Community Foundation, in a joint statement. “Although 2010 was a difficult year for many, challenges were confronted and significant progress was made.”
First Aviation records unexpected loss
First Aviation Services Inc. completed 2010 with a surprise $1.4 million loss, blaming the shortfall on what it said were misstatements regarding costs and inventory of Limco-Piedmont, a Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company it acquired in 2009.
Westport-based First Aviation provides general aviation services such as engine maintenance. Thanks in part to the acquisition of Limco-Piedmont, since renamed Piedmont Propulsion Systems, revenue increased 18 percent to $129 million.
During the year, the company received its largest contract ever from the U.S. Department of Defense, a deal to operate a spare-parts logistics center for U.S. Army Beechcraft C-12 Huron and Cessna UC-35 Citation utility transport turboprops.
Mass. CEO to chair Biodel
Biodel Inc. elevated Dr. Brian Pereira to chairman effective immediately, replacing Dr. Charles Sanders who is taking a medical leave.
Danbury-based Biodel is developing fast-acting insulin drugs to treat diabetes. The company aims to have two drug formulations in phase 3 clinical trials next year, ahead of the 2013 schedule it previously forecast.
A kidney disease expert, Pereira is CEO of AMAG Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Lexington, Mass.-based developer of therapies for anemia. He previously was CEO of the New England Health Care Foundation.
AWD sold to L.I. company
The U.S. Marshals Service sold Automated Waste Disposal to an affiliate of Winters Brothers Waste Systems, a Long Island, N.Y. company.
Federal authorities seized Danbury Automated Waste Disposal following the arrest of former owner James Galante, who is serving a prison sentence for racketeering.
New CEO Joe Winters indicated plans to continue operating AWS”™ current service territory of Fairfield County and Westchester and Putnam counties in New York.
Electricity suppliers getting heat
Complaints against electricity suppliers and aggregators rose sharply in Connecticut last year, as the supplier industry gains a bigger competitive footprint in the state.
Overall, investigations dropped 6 percent last year by the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control in response to complaints by utility customers, but the some 3,900 cases still was higher than in 2008 and 2007.
For a fifth straight year, Bridgeport-based Aquarion Water Co. led all utilities in the state for generating the fewest number of complaints under DPUC”™s assessment system. DPUC”™s scorecard includes complaints regarding billing, installations, outages and terminations.
Complaints against cable TV companies dropped 22 percent.
Sirran redeploys in Westport
Sirran Communications Ltd. is relocating its U.S. headquarters within Westport to 120 Post Road W., dubbed Old Hill Offices.
Sirran, an Ireland-based company that consults on helping military units and other customers establish mobile and secure communications links, had been at 15 Ketchum St. It is leasing nearly 3,000 square feet at Old Hill Offices, whose owner was represented by Vidal Wettenstein.
Triathlon center opens in Stamford
Pacific Swim Bike Run opened in Stamford”™s South End, providing gear, fitness and nutrition consultation, and classes for triathlon competitors.
Run by Julie and Yori Gabay, the facility features 7,500 square feet of space and a staff that includes USA Triathlon-certified coaches. Pacific Swim Bike Run offers individualized training sessions, bike fittings and repair, a “computrainer” studio and a locker room.
UI installs home charging station
The United Illuminating Co. installed its first residential electric vehicle charging station at an Easton residence.
The New Haven-based company is using Kevin Porter”™s charging station as a test site as it mulls a wider rollout at customer homes. Porter has a 24-mile commute in his Chevy Volt, which takes four hours to recharge.
“We are proud to be a part of the new wave of ”˜commuting green,”™” said Roddy Diotalevi, senior director of client services for United Illuminating, in a prepared statement. “Monitoring Kevin”™s usage will help us better understand the usage and charging patterns of PEV owners and determine UI”™s role in helping streamline the integration of electric vehicles throughout Connecticut.”
Yale takes M&A contest
Students from the Yale School of Management won the ACG Connecticut Cup, a contest sponsored by the Connecticut chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth that tested their knowledge of the merger and acquisition process.
The Yale team included management students Michael Barjum, Tugce Dursun, Alejandro Palacio and Jesse Yao. They beat out teams from the University of Connecticut, Sacred Heart University and Quinnipiac University.
Royal Bank of Scotland hosted the event at its Stamford trading floor. The judging panel included Jim Barra of Ironwood Capital, Mark Campbell of BlumShapiro, Ramsey Goodrich of Carter, Morse & Mathias, Fridolf Hanson of RBS Business Capital, Jamie McCleary of Willis Group and Andrew Runk of CIT Group.
“The competition this year was incredibly close,” said Goodrich, president of ACG Connecticut, in a prepared statement. “The teams”™ presentations were compelling in their different approaches to valuation, transaction structures and positions on non-financial considerations like the roles of management, use of leverage and operational improvements for this case study.”
