Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • June 22, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com TOP STORY Cigna, Aetna in acquisition crosshairs A major consolidation wave threatening to hit the health insurance indus- try could have major ramifications in Connecticut. Hartford insurer Aetna and Bloomfield's Cigna Corp. were both rumored last week to be acquisition targets of out-of-state insurers. If any of those deals happen it could mean major job losses in Greater Hartford, which em- ploys tens of thousands of insurance industry workers. The Wall Street Journal reported that Indianapolis health insurance giant Anthem has been in talks to acquire Cigna, while UnitedHealth Group is courting Aetna. All four insurers are major employers in Connecticut. Lo- cally, Cigna has 4,200 employees; Anthem, 1,400; Aetna, 6,100; and United- Health, 4,300, according to Hartford Business Journal's 2014 Book of Lists. The potential deals are part of a consolidation trend of the health insur- ance industry as insurers look to scale up to better compete in an evolving healthcare landscape, which is being impacted by federal healthcare reform. The merger talks also come shortly after Aetna threatened to relocate jobs outside Connecticut, following the state legislature's passage of a $2 billion tax increase. HEALTH CARE Hartford Healthcare laying off 418 Hartford Healthcare announced last week it would lay off 418 staff members to deal with Medicaid cuts in the new state budget. The five-hospital system plans to eliminate the equivalent of 335 full-time positions, impacting 418 staff members, and spend $40 million less for prod- ucts and services. Hartford Healthcare employs more than 18,000. Jeffrey A. Flaks, Hartford Healthcare's executive vice president and chief op- erating officer, said the cuts are the result of $100 million in Medicaid payment reductions state government has made in the past five years. Flaks said the cuts are important to keep the system and its new initiatives financially viable, including the recently opened Hartford Healthcare Cancer In- stitute facility at The Hospital of Central Connecticut. Yale, St. Francis team up for Hartford oncology effort The parent of Hartford's St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center and Yale New Haven Health's Smilow Cancer Hospital said they have finalized an oncology partnership the two sides had been exploring since November. St. Francis Care said the arrangement will provide its patients with access to clinical trials and broader cancer screening, diagnostic tools and treatment options. The deal is Yale's most northern incursion into Greater Hartford and an ex- ample of the New Haven provider's evolving cancer services. BIOSCIENCE UConn incubator adds three startups The UConn Technology Incubation Program said three new companies have joined its roster of 22 startups doing medical and technology research. Lipid Genomics, founded by UConn Health Center faculty member Annabelle Rodriguez-Oquendo, moved into the UConn incubator to conduct clinical trials on a cholesterol drug. The company's market value is $4.2 billion. Diameter Health, led by CEO Eric Rosow and President John D'Amore, is de- veloping technologies to help doctors and other health providers efficiently use data and succeed in an era of health reform. Shoreline Biome, founded by Mark Driscoll and Thomas Jarvie, plans to de- velop treatments targeting the trillions of microbes that live on and within the body. The founders used to work at 454 Life Sciences in Branford, which closed in 2013. The UConn incubator plans to add another 28,000 square feet in December at its Farmington facility near the UConn Health Center to accommodate more startups coming out of UCHC and Jackson Laboratory. ADVERTISING, MEDIA & MARKETING Back9Network vacates Boat Building, returns TV equipment Hartford's floundering lifestyle TV network Back9Network has hit another speed bump. The company has vacated its head- quarters in downtown Hartford's iconic Boat Building and returned some of its TV studio production equipment, com- pany officials confirmed to the Hartford Business Journal last week. "The board and management of Back9Network continue to work on strategic alternatives for the net- work," the company said in a writ- ten statement. "As part of its ongo- ing work to revamp the operations with a new partner, the company has returned some unnecessary TV- specific equipment to lessors and also consolidated its facilities." Through a company spokesman Back9Network said it has consoli- dated its operations to 10 Constitu- tion Plaza, which is home to its moth- balled TV studio. No further details were provided. Back9Network leased space on the 10th floor of the Boat Building from Hartford insurer The Phoenix Cos., whose CEO Jim Wehr was formerly on the golf network's board before resigning earlier this year. That location served as Back9's corporate headquarters as well as a secondary TV studio. Meantime, Back9Network didn't disclose how much equipment it returned or to whom it sent the gear. The company announced last August that it leased equipment from Grass Valley, a Canadian-based TV production and content dis- tribution workflow provider. In an Aug. 25, 2014 press release, Grass Valley said it leased to Back9Network advanced imaging cameras, a video production cen- ter, and other operating equipment. Grass Valley declined to comment on this story. Back9Network abruptly ceased operations in February and laid off virtually its entire staff after facing a cash crunch just months into its stint on DirecTV. REAL ESTATE Revera sells Meriden-based nursing-rehab division for $240M Canadian senior-living operator Revera Inc. said it agreed to sell its U.S. nurs- ing and rehabilitation business, including two Connecticut facilities, to Pennsyl- vania's Genesis Healthcare for $240 million. Genesis, which owns more than 500 skilled nursing center and senior living communities around the country, is buying 24 of Revera's 29 centers. Revera's nursing and rehab division has its corporate office in Meriden. The sale includes Revera skilled-care centers in Wallingford and Bristol, which are operated under the name Village Green and total 300 beds between them, as well as facilities in eight other states. The 24 centers have more than 3,000 beds, 3,800 workers and $280 million in revenue last year. Revera said it intends to sell its remaining five centers, including the 180-bed Village Green of Waterbury, to other buyers. Hartford area home sales flexed in May Hartford region house sales climbed again in May, with the pipeline of dwell- ings under contract but not yet closed continuing to show momentum, Realtors say. Prices flattened. Single-family house sales rose 4.3 percent last month to 872 units from 836 in May 2014, according to the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors. Pending sales also grew last month by 7.8 percent, to 1,309 units with an offer sheet but not yet sold vs. 1,214 a year earlier, the association said. Pend- ing sales, an indicator of a housing market's relative strength at a point in time, typically show up as closed sales later on. The median sale price eased to $218,000 from $216,600 a year ago. Average days on the market lengthened nearly a week, to 80 days in May from 75 in May 2014. BY THE NUMBERS $225,000 The amount of money the city of Hartford is guaranteed to receive annually for naming rights to Hartford Yard Goats' new downtown stadium. 12% The percent of mortgaged Connecticut homes that had negative equity in the first quarter, which is up from 11.4 percent a year earlier, according to Corelogic. 872 The number of Greater Hartford single-family homes that were sold in May, up 4.3 percent from a year earlier, according to the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors. 67% The approximate combined health insurance market share in Connecticut of Anthem and Cigna if the two insurance giants merge. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Back9Network vacates Boat Building, returns TV equipment ■ Yale, St. Francis team up for Hartford oncology effort ■ Report: Anthem in takeover talks with Cigna ■ Revera sells Meriden-based nursing-rehab division for $240M ■ Report: CT among most expensive for check-engine repairs STAY CONNECTED For breaking and daily Greater Hartford business news go to www.HartfordBusiness.com. HBJ on Twitter: @HartfordBiz HBJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/HartfordBiz HBJ on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ the-Hartford-Business-Journal Daily e-newsletters: HBJ Today, CT Morning Blend www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe Weekly e-newsletters: CT Green Guide Weekly www.HartfordBusiness.com/subscribe WEEK IN REVIEW Cigna CEO David Cordani is vying to lead a combined Cigna-Anthem insurance giant. Hartford's Phoenix Boat Building. P H O T O | H B J F I L E P H O T O | H B J F I L E

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