Hartford Business Journal

2 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | March 14, 2022 Biz Briefs Editorial Greg Bordonaro | Editor, ext. 139 gbordonaro@hartfordbusiness.com Zachary Vasile | Web Editor, ext. 128 zvasile@hartfordbusiness.com Beat: Energy Michael Puffer | Staff Writer, ext. 145 mpuffer@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Real Estate, Economic Development, Banking & Finance Robert Storace | Staff Writer, ext. 127 rstorace@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Health Care, Higher Education, Arts & Culture Skyler Frazer | Staff Writer, ext. 145 sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com Beats: Manufacturing, Cannabis, Technology, Transportation Tim Doyle | Lead Researcher Heide Martin | Research Assistant Steve Laschever | Photographer Business Tom Curtin | Publisher, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com David Hartley | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 130, dhartley@HartfordBusiness.com Daniel Schilke | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 135, dschilke@HartfordBusiness.com Emily Paskind | Senior Accounts Manager, ext. 133, epaskind@hartfordbusiness.com Valerie Clark | Director of Audience Development, ext. 332 vclark@nebusinessmedia.com Jill Coran | Human Resources Manager jcoran@nebusinessmedia.com Megan Mason | Events Manager, mmason@hartfordbusiness.com Production Christie Novotny | Production Director, ext. 147 cnovotny@hartfordbusiness.com Peter Stanton | CEO, pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Tom Curtin | President, ext. 124, tcurtin@hartfordbusiness.com Mary Rogers | COO/CFO, mrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Subscriptions Annual subscriptions are $110.00. 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Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Hartford Business Journal P.O Box 330 Congers, NY 10920-9894 Max Restaurant Group Founder Rosenthal retiring, selling stake in business R ich Rosenthal, the founder and CEO of Max Restaurant Group, announced his retirement, saying he will sell his shares of the business and hand over his title to current senior vice president and Chief Operating Officer Scott Smith. Rosenthal, who opened the first Max restaurant, Max-on-Main, in Hartford in 1986, said his shares will be sold to partners under the leadership of Smith and Steven Abrams. Abrams will take over Smith's roles as senior vice president and COO. "With our many restaurants fully reopened and the business stabilized after one of the most difficult times in our history, this seemed like the right time to pass the baton," Rosenthal said. "Under the leadership of Scott and Steve, Max Restaurant Group is well-positioned to prosper and move forward in new and innovative ways." Smith and Abrams have formed a new management company, Max Hospitality LLC, with their other partners and current investors. Liberty Bank provided financing for the deal. Max Restaurant Group Founder Richard Rosenthal. HBJ FILE PHOTO Wesleyan University pays $3.1M for former Liberty Bank corporate offices PHOTO | COSTAR 55 High St. in Middletown. Wesleyan University recently paid $3.1 million for Liberty Bank's former corporate offices in Middletown. Wesleyan purchased the nearly 44,000-square-foot, 60-year-old office building at 55 High St., near a corner of the campus, in February. It had served as Liberty offices until 2018, when the bank moved its administrative offices to a newly- renovated, 90,000-square-foot headquarters at 245 Long Hill Road in Middletown. Wesleyan spokesman Steve Scarpa said the university will spend the next six to 12 months determining the best use for the building, but no plans have been made public so far. People's United Bank acquisition wins federal approval; April 1 closing set The Federal Reserve has approved M&T Bank's acquisition of Bridgeport- based People's United Bank, setting the stage for the $7.6 billion deal to officially close on or around April 1, the banks said. The Federal Reserve said the partners meet the standards for approval, with both banks being well-capitalized and well-managed. Regulators also said the deal would not harm competition or give the combined business an unfair share of the regional market. Both M&T, which has its corporate headquarters in Buffalo, and People's United have already secured approvals from banking regulators in their home states. M&T officials have said their first priority after federal approval will be systems conversion and integration work. People's United's current central office, in downtown Bridgeport, is expected to serve as a regional headquarters for M&T. Wooden: State pension funds will divest from Russian assets PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED State Treasurer Shawn Wooden. State Treasurer Shawn Wooden has instructed his investment team to divest Connecticut's pension funds from Russian-owned assets in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The retirement funds, valued at $47 billion, currently hold Russia- domiciled investments worth more than $218 million in equity and fixed income, the treasurer's office said. Those holdings will be eliminated, not only to condemn Russia's actions, but because the Russian invasion creates "substantial risk for Connecticut's investments," according to treasury officials. The Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds have been gradually reducing their stake in Russian- owned assets since 2014, when Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine. Amazon will offer full tuition to UConn, dozens of other schools HBJ FILE PHOTO Amazon's 182,000-square-foot South Windsor facility at 240 Ellington Road. Amazon's Career Choice program will now offer fully-funded tuition for local hourly workers to attend the University of Connecticut, the e-commerce giant announced. UConn is one of about 140 higher education institutions officially joining the Career Choice program, which aims to "upskill" workers while they maintain their jobs at Amazon. Up until recently, the initiative had covered only partial tuition for select adult education courses, but that will change as Amazon pumps $1.2 billion into education projects with the goal of helping 300,000 employees obtain new degrees and certifications by 2025. The benefit will extend to UConn's Storrs, Hartford, Groton, Stamford and Waterbury campuses. 116-acre golf course property in Windham sells for $1.1M PHOTO | COSTAR The Windham Club. A 116-acre golf course property in Windham sold for $1.1 million in January to a limited liability company whose principal is the brother of the town's mayor. The Windham Club on Club Road was sold in January by KKC Property Co. LLC of Windham to 184 Club Road LLC. The buying LLC is headed by Timothy DeVivo of Mansfield, according to state business records. DeVivo had also been president of nearby Willimantic Waste Paper Co., a recycling business operated with the aid of his brother, Thomas. Thomas DeVivo has been mayor of Windham since 2020. Willimantic Waste sold to Vermont- based Casella Waste Systems Inc. in July for an undisclosed sum. Windham Economic Development Director James Bellano said his discussions with the DeVivo brothers indicate there are no current plans for the property beyond keeping the club running, perhaps with some course improvements.

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