MetroWest495 Biz

MetroWest495 Biz | May 2014 5 roundup NEW LEADER FOR WINDOW COMPANY Marlborough-based window manufacturer Uni- versal Window and Door has named a new president and CEO, the company announced. Tony Muraco, who served as CEO for a similar company in New York for five years, has taken the reins at the firm immediately, according to a statement from Univer- sal's owner, Charlotte Broussard. Muraco was most recently chief operating officer for Duro Dyne Corp. of Bay Shore, N.Y., which focused on products and accessories for heating, ventilation and air condi- tioning systems. From 2006 to 2011, he was CEO at Champion Window and Door of Syosset, N.Y. Universal has 88 employees. MARLBOROUGH OFFICE BUILDING SOLD A New Jersey-based real estate investment firm has purchased a Marlborough office building for $11.75 million. Deed records indicate that Curo Marlborough LLC, affiliated with Steven Cox of Curo Enterprises, bought the building at 130 Lizotte Dr. on April 25 from The Realty Associates Fund VII LP, an affiliate of TA Associates Realty. The four-story, 79,568-square-foot building is 93 percent occupied, according to Dan Foley, a spokesman with Transwestern RBJ, which represented the seller, procured the buyer and will serve as exclusive leasing agent. Tenants in the Class A office building include Acosta Sales & Marketing and CareerArc Group, which connects employers with job seekers. No ma- jor renovations are planned, Foley said. HARVARD BIO SPINOFF REPORTS NET LOSS Fueled by an increase in stock-based compensa- tion related to the company's spin-off from Harvard Bioscience last November, Holliston-based Harvard Apparatus Regenerative Technology, Inc. (HART) reported a net loss for the quarter of $3 million, or 39 cents per share; an increase from $2 million from for the same period in 2013. HART — which makes regenerated organs for the human body — did have positive news on the revenue front, reporting first- quarter sales of $23,000 from its bioreactor systems for organ regeneration research, a number it did not report prior to being spun off, the company said. SHOPPING CENTER GIANT BUYS PLAZA North America's largest publicly owned shopping center operator has purchased Westmeadow Plaza in Westborough for $9 million. Deed records indicate that 180 Milk Street 1720 LLC, an affiliate of Long Island-based Kimco Realty Corp., bought the plaza, anchored by an Ocean State Job Lot store, on May 1 from GPB Real Estate Holdings LLC, which is af- filiated with Boston-based Bollard Group Holdings. The 151,191-square-foot complex at 166-180 Milk St. has nearly 25,000 square feet of vacant space. Ann & Hope Curtain & Bath Outlet is another major ten- ant. Westmeadow Plaza was one of 24 New England retail properties acquired earlier this month from Bollard by Kimco for a combined $270 million. TECHSANDBOX GRANT TO HELP STARTUPS TechSandBox, the MetroWest innovation center for science- and technology-based startups, said it has received a $25,000 planning grant to develop a new accelerator program from the Westborough- based Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. As part of its efforts to strengthen regional innovation and entrepreneurship across the state, The Inno- vation Institute at the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative is providing the six-month grant. TechSandBox said the money provides half of the funding needed to research, define and communicate a formal accelerator program for MetroWest and similar communities. NEW OWNER FOR MARLBOROUGH DEVELOPMENT A national real estate operating company pur- chased Brookview Village — a 28-acre development site in Marlborough — on May 1 for $5.85 million, according to deed records. FF Realty II, an affiliate of Fairfield Residential, plans to build 225 luxury apart- ments on the site, according to CBRE/New England, which represented the seller, Marlborough/North- borough Realty Trust. The site is located across from the Marlborough Technology Park. The property will consist of 117 one-bedroom units, 96 two- bedroom units and 12 three-bedroom units spread among several buildings, CBRE/New England said. Amenities will include a pool. Construction is slated to start later this year. AMERESCO REVENUE DROP First-quarter revenue fell 9 percent at Fram- ingham-based Ameresco, the company said. The energy efficiency and renewable-energy company announced first-quarter sales of $100.7 million, down from $110.1 million last year. Ameresco's first-quarter operating loss also climbed from $2.1 million last year to $6.8 million this year. Its net loss (which included ancillary items not related to normal business activities) was $8.3 million, or 18 cents per share, up from $1.9 million, 4 cents per share, last year. The company said it continues to anticipate 2014 revenues in the $560 million to $600 million range. STAPLES' SALES, RATING DOWN Chicago-based Fitch Ratings has downgraded its assessment of Framingham-based Staples due to a reported decline of core office supply sales and weak business technology product sales. Fitch lowered its long-term default rating from BBB to BBB-minus, and. gave the company a negative rating outlook. As of Feb. 1, Staples had $1.1 billion in outstanding debt, Fitch said. The company said the downgrade reflects Staples' "weak sales and margin trend" in core office supplies (57 percent of Staples' 2013 sales, half of which is paper, ink and toner), and business technology products (15 percent of sales). Fitch said the declining performance also stems from competi- tion from online retailers. MORE SHIPMENTS, MORE REVENUE FOR SEVCON Southborough-based Sevcon Inc. — which makes microprocessor-based controls for electric and hybrid vehicles — attributed higher second-quarter revenue and income to increased shipments across most of the company's markets. Revenue in the quarter, which ended March 29, was $9.2 million, compared to $8 million a year earlier. Operating income increased to $196,000, after the company posted a loss of $463,000 in the second quarter of 2012, and net income totaled $162,000, compared with $62,000 in 2013. President and CEO Matt Boyle said demand was particularly strong in Asia, where the company posted high double-digit sales growth in Japan and China. Second-quarter earnings marked the fifth consecutive quarter of sequential revenue growth, and the third consecutive quarter of year-over-year gains, according to Boyle. STAPLES BUYS ONLINE MEDIA FIRM Office supply retailer Staples of Framingham said it will buy a Canadian digital media firm that helps retailers. The purchase price for PNI Digital Media of Vancouver, British Columbia, is estimated at about $67.2 million. Staples, seeking to boost its online presence while cutting down on its physical retail space, said the acquisition of PNI will help the world's leading office products firm broaden its online offerings and functionality for its business customers. Many retailers have used PNI's soft- ware platform to sell personalized products, such as photo prints and stationery. PNI's customers include Walmart and Costco. KOPIN CORP. POSTS LOSS Westborough-based Kopin Corp., a developer of wearable computing technology, posted a loss of $9.1 million in the first quarter that ended March 29, while revenue slid to $4.7 million, compared with $6.3 million a year earlier. The decrease, which re- sulted in a loss of 15 cents per share, reflects a decline in sales of display products for military applica- tions, which was partially offset by increased sales of components for wearable applications, according to an earnings statement. But the company, which last year announced it would transform its business model "from one that has been primarily commod- ity-based to one powered by providing innovative solutions for wearable devices," continued investing in research and development, spending $5.1 million in the first quarter to develop wearable and military technologies. EVERyTHiNG you NEEd To KNoW ABouT metrOWest BSX ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION n atick-based pharmaceutical company Boston Scientific Corp. (BSX) an- nounced it will acquire IoGyn Inc, a clinical- stage company that has received federal regulatory approval on a system designed to treat uterine fibroids and polyps. BSX said in a statement that the sale is expected to close "within days." IoGyn's system, known as the Symphion System, "broadens the Boston Scientific portfolio of minimally invasive approaches for surgeons to treat debilitating gynecologic conditions that affect millions of women worldwide," BSX said. BSX said it had a 28-percent stake in IoGyn prior to the acquisition, and paid $65 million to acquire the remaining 72 percent of the company. s page 6

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