Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 18, 2024 | Worcester Business Journal 5 Athol public company to merge with Kentucky private equity firm, become privately-held e L.S. Starrett Co., a publicly traded tool manufacturing company founded 144 years ago, plans to merge with a private equity firm and become a privately-held company. e Athol-based company has entered a definitive merger agreement with MiddleGround Capital, a Kentucky-based private equity firm investing in manufacturing and speciality distribution companies, according to a press release issued by L.S. Starrett on March 11. L.S. Starrett shareholders will receive $16.19 per share, a 63.2% premium on the $9.92 price the Starrett stock closed at on March 8 on the New York Stock Exchange. Upon completion of the transaction, which is expected to close sometime in mid-2024, Starrett will become a wholly owned subsidiary of MiddleGround. Founded in 1880 by Laroy Sunderland Starrett, L.S. Starrett now manufactures more than 5,000 different products for professional and consumer markets, with facilities in five states and additional locations in Mexico, Brazil, Scotland, and China. CEO and President Douglas Starrett is the fih generation of the family to run the company, having taken over from his father in 2001, according to a history of L.S. Starrett published in 2015. e company originally went public on Dec. 30, 1987 and trades on the New York Stock Exchange. MiddleGround intends to fund the transaction with a combination of cash and committed financing. e firm has more than $3.5 billion in assets under management. Other companies in the firm's portfolio include HLC, a Quebec- based bicycle parts and accessories distributor. Baxter to close Acton manufacturing operation, lay off 59 Baxter International, a Illinois-based medical supply company, plans to lay off 59 workers in Acton and close its manufacturing operations there, two years aer it acquired the business that formerly operated the center. e company, which provides digital health solutions and therapies to hospitals, kidney dialysis centers, and other healthcare facilities, expects the layoffs to occur between May 3 and June 30, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Act notice filed to the MassHire Department of Career Services. "Aer a careful review, we made the difficult decision to close manufacturing operations at our Acton location. We are moving these operations to another facility within Baxter's integrated supply chain network," Lauren Russ, vice president, corporate marketing for the company, said in an email to WBJ. "We appreciate our Acton-based colleagues' dedication and service and are providing transition benefits to impacted employees." Baxter purchased Hillrom, the Illinois-based previous operator of the Acton facility, for $10.5 billion in February 2022. At the time, Baxter said the move would help reach a broader global market. Large Pepperell industrial logistics park approved A 454,750-square-foot industrial logistics park has received approval from the Town of Pepperell Planning Board, setting the stage for the creation for what developers are calling the largest industrial development in the town's nearly 250-year history. Cervenka Development Partners, Continued on next page August 2023 Month when Richard Fay, the new CFO for Leominster-based Fidelity Bank, joined the organization after a 17-year career as certified public accountant Source: Fidelity Bank Federal funding 20 Central Massachusetts organizations are slated to receive through fiscal 2024 appropriations, on projects ranging from $5 million for the MetroWest YMCA to develop an early learning center to $1.6 million for homeless housing in Worcester Source: Office of Congressman Jim McGovern (D-Worcester) $23 million 25 Employees at the Connecticut office of Hopkinton IT firm EchoStor Technologies, more than double its 2023 employee count, as the company grows its customer base in the state Source: EchoStor Technologies Tentative dates scheduled for a meeting between Massachusetts Treasurer Deborah Goldberg and suspended Cannabis Control Commission Chairwoman Shannon O'Brien, which could lead to O'Brien's firing. The meeting has been delayed by legal appeals from O'Brien. Source: Massachusetts Office of the State Treasurer April 10 & 11 52.4 On a scale of 0-100, the Central Massachusetts Business Confidence Index score for February, marking a return to an optimistic outlook on the future of the region's economy after the score had been pessimistic or neutral since September. A score of more than 50 indicates optimism. Source: Associated Industries of Massachusetts $2.2 billion Funding raised in a public offering by Marlborough medical device manufacturer Boston Scientific, which plans to use the proceeds to pay for its planned $3.7-billion purchase of California medical equipment maker Axonics Source: Boston Scientific $2 million Sale price of the medical office at 222-224 Boston Turnpike in Shrewsbury, which is leased to Reliant Medical Group and was purchased by the Marlborough-based dentist Patrick Assioun, who has Passion Dental offices throughout the Northeast Source: Worcester District Registry of Deeds The L.S. Starrett headquarters in Athol PHOTO | JOHN PHELAN

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