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G r e at e r H a r t f o r d ' s B u s i n e s s n e w s w w w. H a r t f o rd B u s i n e s s . c o m for more B2B news visit March 9, 2015 Volume 23, number 15 $3.00 subscribe online Friday, March 20th, 2015 8:30am – 1:00pm Hartford Hilton HartfordBusiness.com/MCS L e a r n i n n o v a t e C o L L a b o r a t e S a v e SUMMIT ANNUAL 's Index ■ Reporter's Notebook: PG. 5 ■ Week in Review: PG. 6 ■ The List: PGS. 9, 10 ■ Deal Watch: PG. 13 ■ Nonprofit Profile: PG. 18 ■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 20 Moving In Downtown Hartford is about to land another major tenant. Find out who and when. PG. 5 Deal-Making Mode St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center is working on a myriad of deals including an acquisition, merger, and joint partnership with the state's largest health system. Find out what's behind the strategy. PG. 3 Bioscience alarmed by R&D tax credit cap By Brad Kane bkane@HartfordBusiness.com T he long-term future of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's most ambitious economic development program — the $1 billion Bioscience Connecticut initiative — could be undercut by the governor's own hand, if law- makers approve his proposed cap on research and development tax credits, a move that would encourage larger, more mature R&D companies to seek out other states with more favorable incentives, industry officials warn. Although Malloy's proposed $40 billion budget left untouched an R&D tax credit cash refund program vital to the survival of small bioscience startups, his proposal to cut in half the ability of larger companies to offset their tax liability with R&D tax credits would diminish Connecticut's attraction to the bioscience industry. It would also bolster the competitive edge of New England's other major bioscience research hub: Massachusetts. "Serious high-end biotech investors will tell small companies to go to more attractive states," said Susan Froshauer, president and CEO of CURE, Connecticut's bioscience industry group. In his two-year budget plan, which aims to close a multi-billion dollar deficit, Malloy pro- posed cutting the amount of tax credits a com- pany can use to offset its annual tax liability from 70 percent to 35 percent for fiscal year 2016. His proposal increases that offset to 45 percent for Continued on page 14 Susan Froshauer, president and CEO of CURE, Connecticut's bioscience industry group. P H O T O | H B J F i l e CT's EXP investment: $10,000 per job By Gregory Seay gseay@HartfordBusiness.com C onnecticut has seen a spike in state- wide small-business aid recipients that shut their doors after collecting millions in loans and grants meant to grow their payrolls, new state data shows. According to the state Department of Eco- nomic and Community Development, 1,272 firms across Connecticut have drawn $184.6 million in borrowed funding the past three fis- cal years in exchange for their commitments to retain or create at least 18,189 jobs, mostly in manufacturing, retail, information technol- ogy and hospitality-entertainment-tourism. That works out to $10,148.99 per job. Of those EXP participants, 24 business- es that collected $14.9 million in loans and grants have shut their doors the last three years, reneging on their repayment and job- creation pledges. A year ago, DECD counted P H O T O | S T e v e l a S c H e v e r Benjamin Cox, owner of West Hartford Fence Co., used a state economic development loan and grant to acquire larger space, more vehicles and equipment, and to hire extra workers. Continued on page 16