Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 20, 2026 | Worcester Business Journal 3 Worcester Business Journal (ISSN#1063-6595) is published bi- weekly, 24x per year, including 4 special issues in May, September, October, and December by New England Business Media, 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608. Periodicals postage paid at Worcester, MA. Copyright 2026. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Worcester Business Journal, 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608. Subscriptions: Annual subscriptions are available for $100.00. For more information, please email circulation@nebusinessmedia.com or contact our circulation department at 508-755-8004 x242. Advertising: For advertising information, please call Kris Prosser at 508-755-8004 ext. 286. Worcester Business Journal accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or materials and in general does not return them to the sender. Worcester Business Journal 446 Main St, Suite 201, Worcester, MA 01608 508-755-8004 tel. • www.wbjournal.com Worcester Business Journal WBJ A division of: Editor, Brad Kane, bkane@wbjournal.com Managing Editor, Eric Casey, ecasey@wbjournal.com (real estate, banking & finance) Staff Writer Mica Kanner-Mascolo, mkannermascolo@wbjournal.com (manufacturing, health care, education) Contributors Sloane M. Perron, Sara Bedigian, Emily Micucci, Livia Gershon Photographers Matt Wright, Edd Cote, Christine Peterson Research Director, Stephanie Meagher, smeagher@nebusinessmedia.com Research Assistant, Heide Martin, hmartin@nebusinessmedia.com Production Director, Kira Beaudoin, kbeaudoin@wbjournal.com General Manager Kris Prosser, kprosser@wbjournal.com Senior Accounts Manager Christine Juetten, cjuetten@wbjournal.com Special Product Manager Regina Stillings rstillings@nebusinessmedia.com Director of Finance, Sara Ward, sward@nebusinessmedia.com Accounting Clerk, Rae Rogers, rrogers@nebusinessmedia.com Event Coordinator, Patty Harris, pattyh@wbjournal.com Director of Audience Development and Operations, Leah Allen, lallen@nebusinessmedia.com Business Office Assistant, Nicole Dunn, ndunn@nebusinessmedia.com Publisher and CEO, Tom Curtin tcurtin@hartfordbusinessjournal.com Chief Operating Officer, Andrea Tetzlaff atetzlaff@mainebiz.biz Publisher Emeritus, Peter Stanton pstanton@nebusinessmedia.com Private equity firms finalize $18.3B Hologic acquisition, name new CEO Hologic has officially gone private. e Marlborough-based medical de- vice manufacturer has been acquired for $18.3 billion and named Joe Almeida as the company's new CEO, effective immediately. Hologic's acquisition by multi- national alternative asset managers Blackstone of New York City and TPG of San Francisco was complet- ed April 7, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. e medtech firm had originally announced its plans to be acquired on Oct. 21. Under the purchase agreement, Ho- logic stockholders will receive $76 per share in cash with the ability to receive up to an additional $3 per share, the company announced April 7. Hologic will continue to op- erate under its name and remain headquartered in Marlborough. e company generates $4.1 billion in annual revenue and employs 7,300 people worldwide. e manufacturer is no longer trading on the Nasdaq and is set to be delisted. With the acquisition complete, former chairman, president, and CEO Stephen MacMillan has retired, with Almeida stepping in as CEO. Almeida comes to Hologic having most recently served as chairman, president, and CEO for nine years at Baxter International, a medical device manufacturer out of Illinois. Previously, he worked as chairman, president, and CEO of Covidien, a medical device manufacturer acquired by Minneapolis-based Medtronic in 2015. Before that, he held senior management positions at companies including Mansfield-based Tyco Healthcare and Codman & Shurtleff, a now-shuttered division of Johnson & Johnson. Almeida earned his bachelor's de- gree from Instituto Mauá de Tecnolo- gia in Brazil. Founded in 1985, Hologic special- izes in medical devices supporting women's health, including mammog- raphy systems and cervical cancer screening tests. With 413 local employees, the firm is the 13th-largest manufacturer in Central Massachusetts, according to the WBJ Research Department. Wormtown reopens larger Worcester taproom following nine-month overhaul Wormtown Brewery reopened its Worcester taproom April 3 with a new look and nearly doubled capacity, aer shiing its production to Framing- ham. e newly-renovated space is 8,609 square feet, nearly double the size of the former 4,500-square-foot tap- room. e site is capable of holding up to 300 guests, with 16 total beer taps and a new private event space, the company announced. e taproom at 72 Shrewsbury St. had been closed since July. Space at the brewery was freed up by the shiing of Wormtown's produc- tion to the Jack's Abby Brewing facil- ity in Framingham. Jack's Abby parent company Hendler Family Brewing purchased Wormtown in April 2024. "Wormtown has always been rooted in all things Worcester, and this updated space allows us to be more thoughtful in how we wel- come guests," Sam Hendler, CEO of Hendler Family Brewing, said in the announcement. e taproom features a new menu designed by Casey Wilkins, head of culinary operations at Hendler Family Brewing. Items on the menu include tater tot lamb ragu poutine and chick- en pot pie. Beers on tap include offerings exclusive to the taproom, including Be Kool, a fruit punch double IPA; Be Lucky, a nitro Irish stout; and Wel- come to e Woo, an American light lager. e taproom will test out brews Wormtown is considering for whole- sale releases. Hendler Family Brewing is the larg- est brewer in Central Massachusetts, having produced 86,000 barrels in 2024, according to the WBJ Research Department. In addition to acquiring Worm- town, the company purchased Everett-based Night Shi Brewery in October 2024, with the Hendler Fam- ily Brewing Co. saying the acquisition made it the largest cra beer producer in the state. Cause determined in Aspen Aerogels explosion; 11 injured workers recovering Rhode Island's Office of the State Fire Marshal has determined the cause of April 8th's explosion at the East Providence facility of North- borough-based manufacturer Aspen Aerogels, which injured 11 employees. e explosion at 3 Dexter Road was an accident caused by an accu- mulation of ethanol vapors in one of Aspen's drying ovens, said Chief Deputy James Given. e office's investigation is officially closed. e explosion sent 11 peo- ple to healthcare facilities with non-life-threatening injuries, and all have since been released from medical care, he said. e injured people were all Aspen employees, the company announced April 9. WBJ has reached out to Aspen Aerogels for more details. e facility is hiring a third-party engineer to determine whether there was a failure within the machine, Giv- en said. e site is currently closed. Founded in 2001, Aspen manu- factures aerogel materials for electric vehicles and energy infrastructures. In 2025, the publicly traded compa- ny reported a $390-million net loss aer generating $13.4 million in net income in 2024. Joe Almeida Briefs continue on page 5 Wormtown Brewery

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