Hartford Business Journal

6 Hartford Business Journal • June 29, 2015 www.HartfordBusiness.com HOUSING CT multi-family permits hot in May Connecticut new-housing construction vaulted in May, with multi-tenant apart- ment, condo and townhome complexes continuing to lead the pace, new data shows. There were 740 permits issued in 104 cities and towns statewide last month, according to Census Bureau's monthly survey harvested by the state Depart- ment of Economic and Community Development. That was more than double the 334 permits those communities issued in April, DECD said. Of May's permit tally, 519 were for housing complexes with five or more living units, triple the 142 five-or-more unit permits granted in April. Single-family housing permits last month totaled 203 vs.176 the previous month. Year-ago permit comparisons are unreliable because Census' Connecticut permit survey last year covered 128 cities and towns. ECONOMY & LABOR CT's 1Q personal-income growth outpaced U.S. Connecticut residents' personal incomes grew 1 percent in the first quarter, out- pacing just over half of U.S. states, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the first three months of 2015, Connecticut's personal income — the sum of earnings by place of residence, property income and government benefits like disability insurance — totaled $229.45 billion, according to BEA. That was up from a revised $227.21 billion in the fourth quarter of 2014. That 1 percent increase was the second highest in New England and the 24th highest in the country. Net earnings — a component of personal income that includes wages, sala- ries and proprietors' income less withholdings for government social insurance — was responsible for more than two thirds of the increase in Connecticut. BEA said in March that Connecticut's personal income grew 3 percent in 2014. BIOSCIENCE Alexion wraps $8.4B Synageva deal Cheshire's Alexion Pharmaceuticals has completed it $8.4 billion acquisition of Massachusetts rare-disease drug maker Synageva Biopharma. Synageva is now a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of Alexion, which counts more than 2,800 employees. The companies first announced the deal in May. Alexion hopes the deal will soon allow it to add two not-yet-approved Syn- ageva drugs, Strensiq and Kanuma, to its product roster, which includes the blockbuster drug Soliris. Alexion is paying $230 per share for Synageva in equal parts cash and stock. Alexion is paying a high premium — more than two times the closing price of Synageva stock just prior to the announcement. RESTAURANTS & HOSPITALITY Windsor food equipment provider acquired A private-equity-backed Illinois company has acquired Windsor's North American Commercial Parts and Service, according to NACPS' financial advisor on the deal, Southport's Carter Morse & Mathias. Financial details of the transaction, which closed June 1, were not disclosed. The buyer is Parts Town of Addison, Ill. Parts Town is backed by Boston pri- vate equity firm Summit Partners. Founded in 2003, NACPS provides parts and repair services for commercial food equipment. The holding company employs more than 150 people in New England, California, Florida and Georgia. GOVERNMENT OPM: FY15 deficit gets smaller on higher biz tax revenue The state's deficit for the fiscal year that ends June 30 has narrowed nearly 30 percent over the past month, thanks largely to higher than expected tax revenue from corporations, insurers and hospitals, according to calculations by the Office of Policy Management. The 2015 fiscal year deficit stands at $115.7 million, down by $49.2 million from a month ago, OPM Secretary Benjamin Barnes wrote in a recent letter to Comptroller Kevin Lembo. The state's rainy day fund will cover any remaining deficit for the fiscal year, Barnes said. Revenue from the corporation tax, escheats from the insurance industry and the hospital tax, as well as fewer tax refunds than expected, added a combined $100 million to the general fund over the past month, Barnes said. But lower than expected income from the personal income tax and other taxes reduced that increase by about half. ENERGY & UTILITIES Malloy bans variable electricity rates Gov. Dannel P. Malloy last week signed into law a ban on competitive electric suppliers charging customers variable rates. Competitive electric suppliers offer alternatives to standard service utility pricing for the generation portion of ratepayers' bills and have been eligible to operate in the state since 2001. However, after electricity prices spiked in winter 2014, the supplier industry came under fire for charging variable rates in their contracts with ratepayers. That allowed suppliers to change month-to-month what they charged custom- ers. Suppliers also were criticized for luring in new customers with low intro- ductory rates and then hitting them with higher variable costs later in their contracts. With Malloy's signature, Connecticut becomes the first state to outright ban variable-rate contracts between suppliers and ratepayers. Suppliers may still offer fixed-rate contracts. BANKING & FINANCE United Bank expands eastern Mass. turf Glastonbury lender United Bank has relocated and expanded its loan-produc- tion office in eastern Massachusetts. The Wellesley office at 36 Washington St. houses seven veteran bankers who will serve the Route 128 corridor, which includes the towns of Brookline, Dover/ Sherborn, Needham, Newton and Weston, United Bank said. United began its presence in eastern Massachusetts in 2014, with two loan officers in Sagamore Beach. Also in the new office is a mortgage-banking team headed by Jim Picciotto, United's vice president and sales manager. TECHNOLOGY CT lotto launches scanner app The Connecticut Lottery Corp. said it has launched its first mobile app, which allows bettors to scan tickets to check for winners. The free app, which debuted earlier this month, is available on the App Store and Google Play. It was built by longtime vendor Scientific Games International. A handful of other state lotteries, including those in Pennsylvania and South Carolina, use similar SGI smartphone apps. BY THE NUMBERS $50 million The cost of a United Technologies Research Center R&D facility, which broke ground last week and will be done in 2017. 57 percent The extent to which Connecticut's state and local taxes are above the national average, according to Ernst & Young. $184 The per-share price Anthem offered to acquire Cigna a week ago, which the Bloomfield health insurer rebuffed. 54 percent The percentage of full-time U.S. office workers who said they intend to ask for a raise this year, according to Robert Half. TOP 5 MOST READ on HartfordBusiness.com ■ Cigna upset that Anthem went public with talks ■ UTC breaks ground on E. Hartford R&D facility ■ Malloy bans variable electricity rates ■ Edible Arrangements names new CFO ■ Ex-CT worker hit with $5,500 ethics fine 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 Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford. H B J P H O T O | B R A D K A N E TOP STORY Constitution Plaza buildings sell for $71.1M A portfolio of a half-dozen office buildings com- prising the bulk of Hartford's Constitution Plaza has sold to a New York City owner for $71.1 mil- lion, the listing broker says. Christopher L. Ostop, senior broker in the Hart- ford office of commercial-investment property bro- ker Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., last week identified Brooklyn-based BHN Associates as the new owner of high-rise One and 100 Constitution Plaza, plus the low-rise buildings at 10, 248, 250 and 260 Con- stitution Plaza, totaling some 664,000 square feet. Also included was the 1,743 space parking garage. Insurer MetLilfe was the seller, Ostop said. Not sold were the former hotel building that now houses Spectra Boutique Apartments, the former Travelers Education building that Trinity College bought earlier this year for its downtown campus, and the former Broadcast House site that engineer Abul Islam plans as office, retail and apartments. BHN officials couldn't be immediately reached for comment. Sale of the Constitution Plaza properties leaves just two trophy downtown office towers unsold: One Financial Plaza, also known as The Gold Building; and CityPlace I, regional headquarters for lead tenant, health insurer UnitedHealth.

• Cover