AG challenges NewAlliance sale
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is demanding details from NewAlliance Bancshares Inc. and First Niagara Financial Group Inc. about the impact of their proposed merger on employment and community lending, particularly involving small businesses, low- and moderate-income families, and minorities.
Following its acquisition of NewAlliance, First Niagara disclosed plans to make initial cuts in Connecticut but to return job numbers to their previous levels by the end of 2012.
Buffalo, N.Y.-based First Niagara expects to complete the deal in April, and will keep its regional offices in New Haven where NewAlliance is based.
First Niagara said it will bolster its retail and commercial banking employee numbers, in part to accommodate extended hours at its branches in Connecticut and Massachusetts, where NewAlliance has about 1,200 employees.
Blumenthal did not immediately specify whether he has the legal authority to dictate terms of the merger.
“My main concern is jobs,” Blumenthal said in a statement released by his office. “Will this merger mean more loans to local businesses, creating more jobs, or will it bring layoffs and fewer loans? Will it power economic growth and expand employment or restrain and reduce it?”
GE donates $1.3 million for health centers
The GE Foundation and the GE Corporate Diversity Council are disbursing nearly $1.3 million to community health centers in Fairfield County, with the goal of increasing access to primary care for uninsured and underserved populations.
The donations are part of GE Developing Health under which General Electric Co. is donating $50 million nationally over three years while its employees help health center staff with various management challenges. Receiving $250,000 each are Community Health Center Inc. clinics in Danbury and Norwalk; Optimus Health Care Inc. sites in Bridgeport and Stamford; and Southwest Community Health Center Inc. in Bridgeport.
“It”™s particularly meaningful for us to expand Developing Health to Fairfield County ”“ not only home to our corporate headquarters and GE Capital, but also thousands of GE employees,” Beth Comstock, chief marketing officer of GE, said in a prepared statement. “Increasing access to primary care is vital to our community and Developing Health will help do this right here in our backyard. There”™s a perception that Fairfield County doesn”™t have as many underinsured or uninsured residents ”“ and that”™s simply not the case.”
Denmark, Japan buy Sikorsky choppers
The government of Denmark is ordering a dozen Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. Seahawk helicopters, in a contract valued at $2 billion if approved by the Pentagon as expected.
Denmark plans to use the aircraft for maritime security, surveillance and rescue operations. The country currently uses Agusta Westland Lynx helicopters.
The deal would include 27 engines manufactured in Lynn, Mass., by the GE Aviation division of Fairfield-based General Electric Co.
Separately, Japan”™s Ministry of Defense is purchasing 40 Black Hawk helicopters, with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to build the aircraft under license from Sikorsky. Mitsubishi is expected to receive $2.3 billion under the contract. Stratford-based Sikorsky did not disclose its share of the revenue.
Larger wind farm proposed off Rhode Island
Deepwater Wind LLC proposed what it says would be the largest wind farm in the United States off the coast of Rhode Island, with Connecticut among the states that could draw power from the installation.
In September Deepwater Wind relocated its headquarters to Providence, R.I., from Hoboken, N.J.
According to the Providence Journal, the company wants to create an offshore wind farm capable of producing 1,000 megawatts of power, sufficient for the energy needs of as many as 1 million homes. The plant would be 18 miles from shore, and barely visible on the horizon on a clear day.
The project would include 200 turbines and a new undersea transmission line, at a cost of more than $5 billion. Deepwater had previously planned a 100-turbine wind farm off Rhode Island.
Volkswagen amps up Harman buys
In a $1.2 billion contract, Volkswagen AG will install infotainment systems from Harman Industries International Inc. in new vehicles it manufactures over the next six years.
Volkswagen brands include Audi, Bentley and Porsche.
Stamford-based Harman”™s systems include stereo Internet access and navigation tools.
Fed discloses GE credit
General Electric Co. borrowed $16 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank following the market collapse of 2008, according to recently released Fed documents.
Fairfield-based GE had acknowledged participating in Fed programs to help it raise cash to fund its daily operations, but had not revealed the extent of its borrowing. It subsequently shifted its commercial paper issuances to a program run under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
State rises in health rankings
Connecticut moved up three spots to No. 4 in a ranking of the “healthiest states” published by America”™s Health Rankings, an organization backed by the United Health Foundation.
Vermont repeated as the healthiest state in the nation, according to a formula that includes prevalence of obesity and smokers, poverty and lack of health insurance.
Massachusetts and New Hampshire were sandwiched between Vermont and Connecticut, followed by Hawaii. New Jersey and New York ranked No. 17 Â and No. 24, respectively.
Private equity companies sell Floor and Decor
Najeti Ventures, Saugatuck Capital Co. and TWJ Capital LLC sold their controlling stakes in Floor and Decor Outlets of America Inc. to affiliates of Ares Management LLC and Freeman Spogli & Co.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Atlanta-based Floor and Decor sells a range of flooring and accessories at 25 outlets in nine states, none in the Northeast. The company said the deal will allow it to expand the number of stores and markets in which it operates.
Saugatuck Capital is based in Wilton and TWJ Capital has its offices in Stamford. Najeti Ventures is located in Southbury.
Stamford area lauded for smarts
Lower Fairfeld County ranks among the half-dozen top metropolitan areas for “brainpower,” according to a Portfolio.com index that analyzes educational attainment across the country.
The top city on the list was Boulder, Colo., followed by Ann Arbor, Mich., and Washington, D.C. The Stamford area ranked ahead of notable locales for work-force talent, including New York City, Boston, San Francisco and the Silicon Valley.
Among large metropolitan areas ranking lowest on the Portfolio.com list were Las Vegas, Memphis, Tenn., San Antonio, Texas, and the Tampa, Fla., area.
FAF promotes Polley as first CEO
The Financial Accounting Foundation named Teresa Polley as its first-ever CEO in 38 years of operation, elevating her from the position of president.
Norwalk-based FAF administers the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
Campus Televideo receives new look
Greenwich-based Campus Televideo, a provider of custom cable TV, data and voice services to more than 220 colleges and universities nationwide, has unveiled its new branding, including a fresh color scheme, a new logo and a redesigned website.
Campus Televideo worked with Norwalk-based The Allen Group Inc. to design, code and host the new website, and with Chicago-based Chris Herron Design to develop the new logo.
Gramercy jumps pond
Gramercy in Greenwich has opened an office in London to follow emerging markets and oversee the defined Central Eastern Europe Middle East and African investments.
The firm also announced that Doug Krehbiel has joined as managing director and European regional head. His appointment was effective in early summer. Krehbiel, who is based in London, is a member of the firm’s centralized investment committee. He was previously at New York City-based BlueCrest Capital Management, where he led global emerging markets credit research.
WorkPlace Inc. to distribute training grants
The WorkPlace Inc. plans to distribute nearly $300,000 next year to employers for training skilled workers, with awards ranging from $10,000 to $50,000.
Grant funds are intended to help companies develop employee-training systems that address work force challenges in southwestern Connecticut. All funds for training programs must be allocated by May 31, and training must be completed by June 30.
Applications are available at www.workplace.org/eventdocs/147.doc.
CVS Caremark fined for dumping
CVS Caremark Corp. is paying more than $250,000 in penalties after the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection accused the company of discharging water laced with chemicals from pharmaceuticals and CVS photo processing sites.
A portion of the funds will be used by the Connecticut Fund for the Environment to study the potential for reducing the amount of stormwater that enters the sewer systems in New Haven and Bridgeport, which can become overwhelmed during heavy rains and release untreated sewage into Long Island Sound.
