Steere House, Scandinavian Home to develop assisted living facilities in Rhode Island, nearby Bay State
PROVIDENCE – Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, of this city, and Scandinavian Home and Retirement Center of Cranston announced that they have formed a nonprofit partnership to develop, own and manage assisted living facilities in Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts. To be called Ocean State Assisted Living, Inc., the newly formed nonprofit is considering an 84-unit facility to be built in East Greenwich adjacent to a new nursing facility being built by Saint Elizabeth Home. Lorraine O’Rourke, president of Ocean State Assisted Living, said a decision on the East Greenwich site should be made this summer. Meanwhile, the new organization is considering other locations for development, as well as the possibility of acquiring or managing existing facilities. The town of East Greenwich has already approved a master plan that would include an assisted living facility on the site being developed by Saint Elizabeth Home.
Victoria agrees to acquisition by Jones Apparel
WARWICK – Jones Apparel Group of Bristol, Pa. Announced that it had agreed in a letter of intent to buy Victoria + Co. Ltd., based here. Jones reportedly will pay $90 million for Victoria, including about $65 million in assumed debt. Victoria operates plants here, Providence and Warren and employs 700 in the state, plus about 250 more in its national sales force and New York marketing group. According to a Victoria spokesman, no jobs would be lost in the acquisition. Victoria manufactures costume jewelry under the brands, Napier and Richelieu, as well as under licensed brands, Nine West, Tommy Hilfiger and Givenchy. Jones designs and manufactures a variety of women’s apparel under its own brand names, Jones New York, Evan-Picone Rena Rowan, as well as under license Lauren by Ralph Lauren and Polo Jeans Company. Jones Apparel announced that it plans to add costume jewelry to its line.
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RIPEC elects Subramaniam president
PROVIDENCE – The board of directors of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council has elected Shivan S. Subramaniam president. He succeeds E. Gordon Gee, former president of Brown University who resigned after accepting the position of chancellor of Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Subramaniam is president and chief executive officer of FM Global, a company that was formed out of the merger of Allendale Insurance and Protection Mutual. The board of directors also chose Daniel L. Smith to be a director. He is vice president and general manager of Raytheon Naval & Maritime Integrated Systems.
Pawtucket group buys five radio stations
PAWTUCKET – AAA Entertainment announced that it has acquired five radio stations in Illinois. The acquisition increases AAA’s ownership to 11 stations. The company’s latest acquisitions include three stations in Champagne, all owned by Liberty Radio for $5.3 million, plus two more in Peoria. One of those, owned by Central Illinois Broadcasting cost $7.5 million. The other, owned by Orchard Communications, cost $2.6 million. To finance the acquisitions, Alta Communications of Boston joined AAA as an equity partner. AAA owns WLKW-AM, WWKX-FM and WAKX-FM in the Providence area.
Textron buys Illinois manufacturer
PROVIDENCE – Textron Inc. announced that it had bought Advantage Molding and Decorating based in Mount Prospect, Ill. Advantage Molding manufactures decorative lenses and housings for wireless phones. It also has a manufacturing plant in Naples. Fla. Terms of the purchase were not disclosed.
State Farm Mutual to reward policy holders
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. announced that it was returning $300,000 to Rhode Island policy holders in the $1 billion it is distributing to customers throughout the nation. The returns reflect better than anticipated business results for the company, the announcement said. The company said the returns will average $29 per insured car and will be sent by check during the six-month policy renewal period which began last week.
Narragansett man sentenced in kickback scheme
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Arthur Peckham of Narragansett, R.I. has been sentenced to three years in prison as the result of his involvement in a kickback scheme which was said to have cost Milton Bradley Co. more than $350,000. Peckham, who was formerly a vice president for Milton Bradley, the toy and game manufacturer in East Longmeadow, was convicted along with a former maintenance supervisor, of money laundering, mail fraud and conspiracy charges by a federal jury in November 1999. Peckham was also convicted of evading $50,774 in federal taxes. According to the Associated Press, Milton Bradley executives took kickbacks from vendors between the late1980s and 1994. Peckham was also placed on three years probation and fined $54,000 when he was sentenced last week.
(Compiled from news reports and releases, print and electronic)
