Newsbriefs

Media

Sudbury publisher grabs review line

SUDBURY - Jones and Bartlett Publishers Inc. has acquired National Nursing Review's best-selling NCLEX Review Books by Sandra Smith. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. NCLEX is the National Council for Licensure Examination. Jones and Bartlett said the acquisition will expand its market-leading position in nursing review products. National Nursing Review NCLEX Review Books have been the leading books in the NCLEX review market for over 30 years, the company said in a statement. Jones and Bartlett is the seventh largest college publisher in the U.S.

Comcast recruits Monster

Monster Worldwide Inc. has entered into a two-year deal to provide its online recruitment services through cable giant Comcast's online portal. Maynard-based Monster will be the exclusive provider of career tools and services on comcast.net. Comcast, based in Philadelphia, is the country's largest provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. The agreement will create a co-branded recruitment channel off of comcast.net that will list hundreds of thousands of job openings nationwide, Monster officials said. "Working with Comcast will allow us to capitalize upon two powerful brands to bring Monster's world-class products to key customers nationwide," said Monster North America President Doug Klinger. Comcast.net is a top 10 site nationwide with more than 2.5 billion page views per month.

Retail

Staples promotes new counsel

FRAMINGHAM - Kristin Campbell, former senior vice president, deputy general counsel for Staples Inc. in Framingham, was promoted to senior vice president, general counsel, the company said. Campbell will be responsible for managing the company's legal group and will report directly to Ron Sargent, Staples' chairman and CEO. Campbell has been at Staples for 13 years. "Kristin is an outstanding and respected leader," Sargent said. "She has done an excellent job of shaping the vision for the Staples legal team, and will play an important part in supporting the company's growth in the future."

BJ's arranges stock repurchase

NATICK - BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. said its board of directors authorized the repurchase of $100 million of company common stock, bringing the total available for share repurchase to $133 million. During the first quarter, the company purchased 500,000 shares worth about $17 million. As of May 5, the company had about 65.4 million shares outstanding.

Biomedical

Symonds sachs AstraZeneca

Jon Symonds, CFO for pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca PLC, will leave the company at the end of July to join investment management firm Goldman Sachs as a managing director. AstraZeneca has 900 employees at its Westborough facility. Its U.S. corporate headquarters are located in Wilmington, Del. Symonds joined the company in 1997, when it was known simply as Zeneca. He was instrumental in the negotiations with Swedish pharmaceutical company Astra that led to the merger of the two companies in 1998, the company said. "I have the utmost respect for Jon's personal and professional capabilities," said Louis Schweitzer, chairman of AstraZeneca. "I regret Jon's decision to leave AstraZeneca, however, the move to Goldman Sachs represents an exciting career challenge for him and I wish him every success with it." 

Cytyc postpones annual meeting

MARLBOROUGH - Cytyc Corp. has indefinitely postponed its annual stockholders meeting, which was scheduled for July 24. In a statement released, the company cited its pending merger with Hologic Inc., and anticipation of a special meeting of stockholders relating to it, as the main reason for the postponement. The diagnostic and medical device company said it would announce the date, time and place of the special meeting once a final determination has been made. The annual meeting would only be held if the merger is not approved or otherwise does not occur. Cytyc reported net income of $140 million on net sales of $608 million in 2006, up from $114 million in income and $508 million in sales the previous year.

Patent OK for Caliper

HOPKINTON - Drug discovery and research firm Caliper Life Sciences Inc. has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a new imaging method that allows researchers to track diseases in animals. The new patent, which covers a method of in vivo, non-invasive imaging of light generated within mammals, allows Caliper to provide licensing rights to the method, and should encourage customers to also buy imaging systems from Caliper, the company said. Some companies already use Caliper imaging methods with equipment from other manufacturers, Caliper said. The non-invasive imaging uses light generated within a mammal to allow researchers to track happenings within that mammal at a molecular level, Caliper said. The development enables drug developers to study the effects of new drug compounds earlier in the drug development process, reducing the time it takes to get new drugs up for sale, the company said.

Health Care

UMass Medical School gives vaccine to CytoDyn

WORCESTER - The University of Massachusetts Medical School has provided Santa Fe, N.M.-based CytoDyn Inc. with updated influenza vaccines for the 2007-08 flu season. The DNA-based H1 and H3 serotype vaccines will be used by CytoDyn in clinical trials to evaluate the prime-boost method of vaccination invented by Dr. Shan Lu at UMass Medical. This new method of vaccination may provide better protection for those at risk of life-threatening complications from seasonal flu, such as the elderly, CytoDyn said. Dr. Lu is head of the DNA vaccine effort at UMass. According to CytoDyn, DNA-based vaccines take less time to update than wild or natural virus vaccines based on 19th-century technology still used by a majority of major vaccine providers. 

Energy
 

Widening losses at AMSC

MARLBOROUGH - American Superconductor Corp. reported a fourth quarter loss of $11.4 million compared to a loss of $11 million for the same quarter a year ago. The company said it changed the way it measures its fiscal year, so March 31, 2007 marked the end of the 2006 fiscal year. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $19.1 million compared to $14.3 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2005. For the full 2006 fiscal year, the company reported revenue of $52.2 million and a net loss of $34.7 million. The energy technology company said restructuring costs and higher-than-planned costs to complete the assembly of equipment for the U.S. Navy were the main contributors to the ongoing losses. The company said it expects a loss of between $22 and $25 million for the 2007 fiscal year, but it expects revenue to improve to between $75 and $80 million.
 

World Energy buys Ohio firm

WORCESTER - Energy trader World Energy Solutions said it had reached an agreement to acquire EnergyGateway LLC, a private online electricity and natural gas broker, for $5 million in cash and just over 5 million shares of common stock. EnergyGateway is based near Columbus, Ohio, and provides energy purchasing services for more than 150 customers using its own online retail energy transaction system. According to World Energy, the acquisition is expected to close May 31, and would "enhance our presence in the natural gas market, and will complement our substantial position in electricity," said Richard Domaleski, World Energy's president and CEO. Domaleski said EnergyGateway's employees would be kept on as an "addition to our team."
 

Evergreen announces cost of offering

MARLBOROUGH - Evergreen Solar Inc. said its common stock would sell for $8.25 per share during its public offering scheduled for May 30. The company is offering 15 million shares, and expects to make $117.37 million after paying for commissions and other expenses. The company plans to use the money to expand its manufacturing capabilities, secure a supply of raw materials, including silicon, and for general corporate purposes. Evergreen recently announced that it would double the size of its Marlborough facility and its workforce. The company makes solar power products using low-cost manufacturing technology. For the first quarter, the company reported a net loss of $8.1 million on revenue of $11.5 million.

High Tech

EMC acquires Verid

HOPKINTON - EMC Corp. announced that it bought Verid Inc., a privately held information security technology company based in Florida. The acquisition is complete and further details of the transaction are not being disclosed, EMC said. According to an EMC statement, Verid "delivers knowledge-based authentication solutions to millions of users worldwide, through some of the largest consumer-facing financial institutions, telecom providers and retailers."

Cognex appoints two to board, committees     

NATICK - Cognex Corp. said a marine industry executive and an investment banker have joined the company's board of directors. The new members, Theodor Krantz and Edward J. Smith, have also been appointed to the board's audit committee, of which Krantz will be the chairman. Smith has been appointed chairman of the board's nominating and governance committee. Krantz is the president of Airmar Technology Inc., a Milford, N.H.-based ultrasonic sensor maker for the marine and industrial markets. Smith is president of New Jersey-based Barnegat Bay Capital, a consulting and investment banking firm. Cognex designs, develops and manufactures machine vision sensors and systems.
 

Spencer Technologies adds 135 employees

WORCESTER - Spencer Technologies added 135 jobs after securing several large contracts earlier this year. Spencer provides network design, infrastructure installation and technology deployment services to retail businesses. So far this year, the company has landed contracts with Macy's, Gap Inc., Limited Brands and Rite Aid. Spencer added 100 field technicians, 15 supervisors, 10 project managers and additional administrative staff as a result of the new deals. Spencer Technologies President and CEO David Strickler said the company is predicting a 43 percent increase in sales over last year, mandating the employment boost.

New COO for Micron

FITCHBURG - Michael F. Nolan has been named chief operating officer of Micron Products Inc. Nolan will be responsible for all operations at Micron and its three divisions, New England Molders, Micron Integrated Technologies and Leominster Tool. Micron is a wholly owned subsidiary of Arrhythmia Research Technology Inc. Nolan previously served as the managing director of Braver Business Strategies in Newton.

Economic Indicators

State Business Confidence Index up in May

The Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index rose 3.3 points last month to its highest level in nearly a year. The index rose to 57.2. A reading above 50 on the 100-point scale indicates state employers are generally optimistic about business conditions in the state, according to a report issued by AIM. The study also concluded that confidence increased sharply in May for non-manufacturers, up 4.8 points to an even 57. Confidence levels among manufacturers rose more slowly, only two points, to 57.2. AIM's monthly business confidence index is based on a survey of member companies across the state.

Banking & Finance

Benjamin Franklin Bank adds to its investment services division

Benjamin Franklin Bank has begun offering Cataldo Financial Group insurance products and financial services at its Franklin office. The "strategic alliance" between the two "will put us in a better position to assist clients with their personal financial goals," said Thomas R. Venables, president and CEO of Franklin-based Benjamin Franklin Bank. The bank's Investment and Financial Services Department provides portfolio reviews and recommendations in addition to a wide range of financial planning services. Cataldo Financial Group, based in Everett, offers professional investment advice and a full range of health, life, disability and long-term care insurance.

The News Briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports.