September 3, 2007
Newsbriefs
Real Estate & Development
July was the second month this year in which home sales rose, according to the Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. Year-to-date sales and median prices are still down, the group said. Sales rose 1. 5 percent from 5,151 in July 2006 to 5,229 this year. Sales began to fall steadily in February 2005, but experienced a reprieve in January 2007, when they increased by 5. 8 percent. Sales had declined every month since, until July. According to the Warren Group, single-family home sales overall dropped 5. 3 percent in the first seven months of the year from 32,191 in 2006 to 30,496 this year. The median price for single-family homes fell 4. 6 percent in July from $338,400 to $323,000.
HOLLISTON - The former Amprint building at 123 Washington St. in Holliston has been sold to Holliston-based Comptel Services Inc., remarketers of telecommunications products.
The 34,000-square-foot building was sold for $1. 36 million. Comptel will use the space for warehousing and distribution, and will lease its unused space to Holliston Glass and RPJ Associates. Amprint operated in the building since 1992, until they were bought by Allied Printing and the company moved to Marlborough. Jeremy Fried of Boston Realty Advisors represented the buyer while John Eysenbach of R. W. Holmes Realty Co. Inc. represented the seller.
WORCESTER - Herlihy Insurance Group is counting on growth as it plans to relocate to a newly renovated building at 51 Pullman St. in Worcester. The agency, which is currently headquartered at a 4,500-square-foot office at 65 Elm St. in Worcester, recently invested about $800,000 in renovating and purchasing the building on Pullman Street, according to Mark Herlihy, vice president of the family-owned firm. Herlihy said that the agency will occupy about 7,500 square feet of the new building, while leasing out the remaining 2,000 square feet. The renovations included gutting the building, installing a new façade, as well as adding parking and a second floor mezzanine. The agency also plans to retain its other branch offices in Holden, Rutland and Sutton.
High Tech
FRAMINGHAM - Moldflow Corp. of Framingham said fourth quarter results it reported today would be preliminary until the company answers some questions from the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, which makes computer hardware and software for plastics manufacturers, reported net income of $571,000 for its fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $440,000 for the fourth quarter of 2006. The company reported revenue of $15 million for the quarter, compared to $12. 8 million for the same period a year ago. The company said it received a comment letter from the SEC in December regarding the way Moldflow determines the value of its maintenance contracts.
SOUTHBOROUGH - Double-Take Software Inc. said a public offering of 2.79 million shares of its common stock was priced at $16 a share. The Southborough provider of data replication and storage software said the offering includes 100,000 shares being sold by the company and 2.69 million shares being hold by stockholders. Double-Take said it expects net proceeds from the sale of its own shares of $1 million.
WESTBOROUGH - eClinicalWorks is the highest ranked company in Massachusetts on this year's Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U. S. eClinicalWorks occupies spot number 34 on the list. Other Central Massachusetts companies on the list include Sourcentra of Framingham at number 250 and Incendia Partners, also of Framingham, at number 284.
Manufacturing
OXFORD - IPG Photonics Corp., an Oxford-based manufacturer of high-performance fiber lasers and amplifiers, was awarded a $3. 8 million contract from the U. S. Navy to suppluy the Naval Warfare Surface Center with a 44 kilowatt fiber laser system.
The contract calls for the delivery of eight commercial 5. 5 kilowatt fiber lasers, beginning in September with final delivery scheduled for December. The system will be the first large fiber laser system for the Navy, the company said. The lasers will be manufactured at IPG's facility in Oxford.
NORTHBOROUGH - Saint-Gobain Corp. will build a three-story, 55,000-square-foot lab and office building to expand its research and development center off Interstate 290, part of a 15-year master plan that could add 300 more employees, according to a report in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. The plan for the center, which will be submitted to the Planning Board in the fall, calls for the new structure to have a capacity for 730 employees. Currently, 300 employees are working at the facility, some using two modular structures. Mr. Seiberlich said the new building will be constructed in the first phase of the multiyear plan. Saint-Gobain currently has long-term plans to add up to 300 new employees to the 24-acre campus, he said. The building will have a first floor of 18,000 square feet.
Biomedical
NATICK - Boston Scientific Corp. said this morning that it had refinanced its $5 billion in bank debt and amended its $2 billion revolving credit line in an effort to cut costs. The company said it had paid $1 billion of its bank loan, making its next payment of $300 million due in 2009. The company said it made the majority of the payment in cash, but borrowed $250 million against its accounts receivable to make up the rest. For paying the $1 billion chunk, Boston Scientific's banks agreed to relax the rules on the loan and the $2 billion line of credit. Now, the banks, led by Merrill Lynch, will allow Boston Scientific to carry debt equal to 4.5 times its annual earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization.
MARLBOROUGH - Sepracor Inc. has hired Philadelphia law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath as a lobbyist on anti-drug compounding legislation. Drinker Biddle registered Sepracor as a client Aug. 8. Lobbyists are required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to file client registration forms with the U. S. Congress' Office of Public Records. Sepracor makes sleep drug Lunesta, among others. Drug compounding is the practice of pharmacists who customize drugs for clients.
Energy
WESTBOROUGH - National Grid, the U. S. operations of which are based in Westborough, closed on its $7. 3 billion purchase of New York-based KeySpan. Bob Catell, KeySpan chairman and CEO, is now chairman of National Grid. National Grid, which is based in London, is the second-largest utility company in the U. S., delivering electricity to 3. 3 million customers, and natural gas to 3. 4 million in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. The company will also provide electricity to more than a million customers on Long Island.
Education
BOSTON - The University of Massachusetts announced it generated approximately $41.4 million in revenues derived from the commercialization of its intellectual property in fiscal year 2007 across its five campuses, surpassing its previous institutional record of $28.7 million in fiscal year 2005. The UMass $41.4 million in licensing revenue stemmed from the incorporation of University technologies in novel drugs, educational software products, research tools and other important technologies in many fields. It also included one-time sales of stocks acquired through University licensing consideration. For fiscal year 2007, University of Massachusetts research resulted in 174 invention disclosures, 106 patent applications, and 78 technology licenses across the University's five campuses.
News briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports.
July home sales up 1. 5 percent
July was the second month this year in which home sales rose, according to the Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. Year-to-date sales and median prices are still down, the group said. Sales rose 1. 5 percent from 5,151 in July 2006 to 5,229 this year. Sales began to fall steadily in February 2005, but experienced a reprieve in January 2007, when they increased by 5. 8 percent. Sales had declined every month since, until July. According to the Warren Group, single-family home sales overall dropped 5. 3 percent in the first seven months of the year from 32,191 in 2006 to 30,496 this year. The median price for single-family homes fell 4. 6 percent in July from $338,400 to $323,000.
Comptel buys, moves into former Amprint Building
HOLLISTON - The former Amprint building at 123 Washington St. in Holliston has been sold to Holliston-based Comptel Services Inc., remarketers of telecommunications products.
The 34,000-square-foot building was sold for $1. 36 million. Comptel will use the space for warehousing and distribution, and will lease its unused space to Holliston Glass and RPJ Associates. Amprint operated in the building since 1992, until they were bought by Allied Printing and the company moved to Marlborough. Jeremy Fried of Boston Realty Advisors represented the buyer while John Eysenbach of R. W. Holmes Realty Co. Inc. represented the seller.
Herlihy Insurance readies for new digs
WORCESTER - Herlihy Insurance Group is counting on growth as it plans to relocate to a newly renovated building at 51 Pullman St. in Worcester. The agency, which is currently headquartered at a 4,500-square-foot office at 65 Elm St. in Worcester, recently invested about $800,000 in renovating and purchasing the building on Pullman Street, according to Mark Herlihy, vice president of the family-owned firm. Herlihy said that the agency will occupy about 7,500 square feet of the new building, while leasing out the remaining 2,000 square feet. The renovations included gutting the building, installing a new façade, as well as adding parking and a second floor mezzanine. The agency also plans to retain its other branch offices in Holden, Rutland and Sutton.
High Tech
SEC questions Moldflow's cashflow
FRAMINGHAM - Moldflow Corp. of Framingham said fourth quarter results it reported today would be preliminary until the company answers some questions from the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, which makes computer hardware and software for plastics manufacturers, reported net income of $571,000 for its fourth quarter, compared to a loss of $440,000 for the fourth quarter of 2006. The company reported revenue of $15 million for the quarter, compared to $12. 8 million for the same period a year ago. The company said it received a comment letter from the SEC in December regarding the way Moldflow determines the value of its maintenance contracts.
Double-Take Software issues public offering
SOUTHBOROUGH - Double-Take Software Inc. said a public offering of 2.79 million shares of its common stock was priced at $16 a share. The Southborough provider of data replication and storage software said the offering includes 100,000 shares being sold by the company and 2.69 million shares being hold by stockholders. Double-Take said it expects net proceeds from the sale of its own shares of $1 million.
Westborough firm cracks top 50 on Inc. 500
WESTBOROUGH - eClinicalWorks is the highest ranked company in Massachusetts on this year's Inc. 500 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the U. S. eClinicalWorks occupies spot number 34 on the list. Other Central Massachusetts companies on the list include Sourcentra of Framingham at number 250 and Incendia Partners, also of Framingham, at number 284.
Manufacturing
IPG awarded Navy laser contract
OXFORD - IPG Photonics Corp., an Oxford-based manufacturer of high-performance fiber lasers and amplifiers, was awarded a $3. 8 million contract from the U. S. Navy to suppluy the Naval Warfare Surface Center with a 44 kilowatt fiber laser system.
The contract calls for the delivery of eight commercial 5. 5 kilowatt fiber lasers, beginning in September with final delivery scheduled for December. The system will be the first large fiber laser system for the Navy, the company said. The lasers will be manufactured at IPG's facility in Oxford.
Saint-Gobain plans expansion in Northborough
NORTHBOROUGH - Saint-Gobain Corp. will build a three-story, 55,000-square-foot lab and office building to expand its research and development center off Interstate 290, part of a 15-year master plan that could add 300 more employees, according to a report in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. The plan for the center, which will be submitted to the Planning Board in the fall, calls for the new structure to have a capacity for 730 employees. Currently, 300 employees are working at the facility, some using two modular structures. Mr. Seiberlich said the new building will be constructed in the first phase of the multiyear plan. Saint-Gobain currently has long-term plans to add up to 300 new employees to the 24-acre campus, he said. The building will have a first floor of 18,000 square feet.
Biomedical
BSX pre-pays loans, restructures debt
NATICK - Boston Scientific Corp. said this morning that it had refinanced its $5 billion in bank debt and amended its $2 billion revolving credit line in an effort to cut costs. The company said it had paid $1 billion of its bank loan, making its next payment of $300 million due in 2009. The company said it made the majority of the payment in cash, but borrowed $250 million against its accounts receivable to make up the rest. For paying the $1 billion chunk, Boston Scientific's banks agreed to relax the rules on the loan and the $2 billion line of credit. Now, the banks, led by Merrill Lynch, will allow Boston Scientific to carry debt equal to 4.5 times its annual earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization.
Sepracor hires D. C. lobbyist
MARLBOROUGH - Sepracor Inc. has hired Philadelphia law firm Drinker Biddle & Reath as a lobbyist on anti-drug compounding legislation. Drinker Biddle registered Sepracor as a client Aug. 8. Lobbyists are required by the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 to file client registration forms with the U. S. Congress' Office of Public Records. Sepracor makes sleep drug Lunesta, among others. Drug compounding is the practice of pharmacists who customize drugs for clients.
Energy
Grid merger closes
WESTBOROUGH - National Grid, the U. S. operations of which are based in Westborough, closed on its $7. 3 billion purchase of New York-based KeySpan. Bob Catell, KeySpan chairman and CEO, is now chairman of National Grid. National Grid, which is based in London, is the second-largest utility company in the U. S., delivering electricity to 3. 3 million customers, and natural gas to 3. 4 million in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. The company will also provide electricity to more than a million customers on Long Island.
Education
Tech transfer revenue at UMass climbs
BOSTON - The University of Massachusetts announced it generated approximately $41.4 million in revenues derived from the commercialization of its intellectual property in fiscal year 2007 across its five campuses, surpassing its previous institutional record of $28.7 million in fiscal year 2005. The UMass $41.4 million in licensing revenue stemmed from the incorporation of University technologies in novel drugs, educational software products, research tools and other important technologies in many fields. It also included one-time sales of stocks acquired through University licensing consideration. For fiscal year 2007, University of Massachusetts research resulted in 174 invention disclosures, 106 patent applications, and 78 technology licenses across the University's five campuses.
News briefs are compiled from staff and wire reports.
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