Basketball Hall of Fame plans expansion
SPRINGFIELD – The Basketball Hall of Fame, already committed to the addition of a 90-foot-high dome that will resemble a basketball, have announced that developers will add a 120-room Hilton hotel to the plans. The $103 million dollar expansion plan will include restaurants and stores, including a 350-seat Pizzaria Uno restaurant, it was announced.
Nortel announces jobs expansion in Bay State
WILMINGTON – Nortel Networks Corp., a Canadian company, announced that a planned major expansion of its optical network production that included building new facilities in this community as well as Billerica and staffing them with 1,800 people. Nortel had already made major commitments in Massachusetts, as recently as last month when it acquired CoreTek in Wilmington for $1.43 billion in stock in 2998 when it paid $7.2 billion in stock for Bay Networks. Inc. in Billerica. Nortel has announced that it plans to double its worldwide production of optical networking products within the next 18 months.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
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Polaroid partners with Japanese firm
CAMBRIDGE – Polaroid Corp. plans to form a partnership with Olympus Optical Co., one of the largest digital camera makers in Japan, to produce a digital camera with a built-in instant film-pack printer to sell for about $800, the Boston Globe reported. The camera would use Polaroid’s 500 film and have a zoom lens. An earlier agreement with Minolta proved to be unsuccessful. Ten years ago Minolta Camera Co. agreed to market Polaroid’s Spectra pro instant picture camera under the Minolta name. Though the model reportedly accounted for 2 percent of Polaroid’s sales, it was not as successful in Japan and was discontinued by Minolta.
Newly formed Internet firm gets Fleet backing
BOSTON – FleetBoston Financial Corp. announced that it is providing $300 million in financing to Elantic Communications, Inc., a new East Coast local phone and Internet service company formed from the merger of Conversant Communications LLC of Marlboro, Mass., and two other companies in Virginia and Florida, formed by former Brooks Fiber executives. The new company serves 54 of the 270 phone company central office switching stations with a major presence in Boston and smaller cities between Route 128 and Springfield, the Boston Globe reported.
FleetBoston completing divestiture
BOSTON – FleetBoston Financial has completed the largest segment of its divestiture of branches and assets with its third round of sales and transfers with the opening last Monday of 96 branches of Sovereign Bank of New England in Massachusetts along with 13 in New Hampshire. According to Fleet this represents 526,000 accounts with balances totaling $4.2 billion and loans totaling $22.1 billion. In addition two Massachusetts branches will open today as Enterprise Bank branches of the Lowell-based bank. These branches represent 9,000 accounts with balances totaling about $62 million and loans totaling $7.1 million. Finally, the last divestiture in Massachusetts for FleetBoston is scheduled for August 4 when 16 Massachusetts branches become Rockland Trust branches, with 45,000 accounts, containing balances totaling $358 million and loans totaling $143 million.
Nantucket bank bought by Seacoast Financial
NEW BEDFORD – Seacoast Financial Services Corp. has agreed to purchase Home Port Bancorp for about $68.5 million, Bloomberg News reported. Home Port is the holding company for Nantucket Bank. Bloomberg quoted Kevin Champagne, Seacoast’s chief executive with this explanation for the purchase, “We are the largest buyer of loans from Nantucket Bank and we’re familiar with the area. They are a lucrative, profitable, and well-run company.”
Steinway agrees to buy Indiana company
WALTHAM – Steinway Musical Instruments, whose products include the famous Steinway piano, has agreed to acquire United Musical Instrument Holdings, Inc. of Elkhart, Indiana. Dow Jones News service reported that Steinway valued the transaction at $85 million, including the assumption of debt. United makes band and string instruments. Steinway is reportedly the largest maker of band instruments in the United States. The company expects to complete the purchase in the third quarter.
New Bedford adds to loan pool
NEW BEDFORD – The New Bedford Economic Development Council is using an innovative technique to generate a new $500,000 loan pool for a still-to-be named partner. The technique which is reportedly new to the South Coast region involves leveraging non-profit owned property as a match or asset pledge to create new loan pools.
In this case the council is using two parking lots as leverage.
Liberty Financial
Boston (Bloomberg) — Liberty Financial Cos., the financial services arm of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., said second-quarter earnings rose 6 percent as strong annuity sales offset a slumping asset-management business. Boston-based Liberty said second quarter operating profit rose to $32.5 million from $30.8 million. Gross sales rose 17 percent to $4.1 billion.
(Compiled from news reports and releases, print and electronic.)
