Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal • September 14, 2015 www.wbjournal.com B arre Savings Bank and Fidelity Bank have decided to combine forces under the Fidelity banner. The merger, once it's completed next year, will create the second-largest mutual community bank in Worcester County, behind Hudson-based Avidia Bank. What are the basic facts about the two banks? Barre brings three branches – in Barre, Paxton and Princeton — to the deal, along with (as of June 2014) 38 employees and nearly $125 million in local deposits. Fidelity, based in Leominster, has seven branches: in Leominster (two locations), Fitchburg, Gardner, Shirley, Millbury and Worcester. As of June 2014, it had 124 employees and nearly $500 million in local deposits, making it the ninth-largest bank in Central Massachusetts. Both are mutual banks founded in the 19th century: Fidelity in 1888 and Barre Savings in 1869. Why merge? Smaller, homegrown banks need to balance the need for a healthy bottom line with their wish to not become so big that they lose their community focus and iden- tity. From Barre Savings' point of view, joining with the larger Fidelity keeps it viable and local, while offering more branches and services to customers. Meanwhile, for Fidelity, the agreement will raise its asset base to about $750 million, according to a joint statement from the banks, and expand its customer base. When will the merger take place? It's expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2016. As of press deadline, it's still subject to a vote of Barre Savings' corporators. The merger must also be approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Massachusetts Division of Banks. What about the leadership? Barre Savings' president and CEO, Guy H. Boyer, will retire after helping with the transition. Fidelity's chairman and CEO, Edward F. Manzi Jr., will lead the combined operation. Is this a friendly takeover? Yes. In their statement, both banks stressed com- mon values of commitment to customers, employees and community. Boyer said the deal was an "incredi- ble opportunity" for Barre Savings. Manzi added: "Barre Savings Bank has been a great example of what it means to be a community bank." Any icing under the ink? As part of the agreement, Fidelity will establish a $1.5 million community foundation to provide sup- port to nonprofit organizations in and around Barre, Paxton and Princeton. n WORCESTER — W. Patrick Hughes, the president and CEO of Fallon Health, will retire Nov. 1, the health insurer's board of directors announced. Hughes, 68, who has led Fallon for five years, will be replaced by Richard Burke, the organization's president of senior care ser- vices and govern- ment programs, as interim CEO, according to a statement from Fallon. The company said the board will begin to discuss plans to find a permanent successor at its next meet- ing. The statement from Fallon's board commended Hughes for his leadership in such areas as membership, service, quality, employee engagement, brand reputation, and product and network expansion, at a time of great industry disruption. WORCESTER — Worcester has improved in a ranking for small busi- ness friendliness that placed the city second in New England, behind Manchester, N.H., but ahead of Boston and Providence. Business owners were asked to rank friendliness across a num- ber of variables by Thumbtack, a service that pairs professionals and small-busi- ness owners with customers. The survey was taken by 44 businesses in Worcester, who gave the city a rating of B-minus, or around average. This was the highest overall grade in Massachusetts with Boston and Springfield earning C and D-plus grades, respectively. Manchester, N.H., received an A-plus as it excelled in all areas, while Providence received an F as it fell behind on tax code, licensing and zoning. ACTON — Video software manufac- turer SeaChange International saw a second-quarter loss of $4.8 million, or 14 cents per share, the company report- ed. Its revenue for the quarter, which ended July 31, was $27.9 million. The loss, however, was lower than that of the second quarter a year earlier, when the company declared an operating loss of $5.2 million, or 15 cents per share, on revenue of $29.8 million. SeaChange credited the improvement primarily to the growth of new product revenue. For the first six months of its fiscal year, the company posted revenue of $51 million and an operating loss of $14.2 million. That compares favorably to the first half of fiscal 2015, the com- pany noted. DEVENS — Power grid and wind energy equipment manufacturer AMSC said it has received a $40-million order from Inox Wind Ltd. for wind turbine electrical control systems (ECS). The company, formerly known as American Superconductor, expects to begin shipments under the new order during the current second quarter and to complete the vast majority of shipments by the end of its fiscal year, which is March 31, 2016. AMSC's ECS products are a suite of electronics systems that serve as the "brains" of the wind turbine to control power flow, voltage, pitch of the blades and other tasks that maximize efficiency. LEOMINSTER — All Points Limousine of Leominster has acquired All Seasons Limousine of Boxborough. The deal nearly doubles the size of All Points, and the company said it expects to add a half-dozen or so new employ- ees to its 25-member workforce over the next year. All Points President Becky Laramee said in a statement that the merger of the two family-owned transportation companies, which have a combined 30 years of operation, "will be absolutely seamless." She said the new venture would help All Points extend its core business into the grow- ing area of corporate transportation. WESTBOROUGH — Christopher J. Baldwin has taken over as president and chief operating officer of Westborough-based BJ's Wholesale Club Inc., the company announced. Baldwin, who has over 30 years of experience in the retail and consumer products industry, was most recently CEO of Hess Retail Corp. Before join- ing Hess, Baldwin served in a variety of leadership roles, including president of the snacks division at Kraft Foods (Nabisco); president of Hershey Co.'s North American division; and several executive roles at Procter and Gamble. Baldwin will be responsible for busi- ness operations and will also join BJ's board of directors. BJ's operates 208 clubs and 123 gas stations in 15 eastern states. MARLBOROUGH — Sunovion Pharmaceuticals received federal approval for its drug Aptiom as a monotherapy for the treatment of par- tial-onset epileptic seizures, the com- pany announced. The drug was first approved in 2013, but a recent deci- sion by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve the company's supplemental new drug application makes Aptiom the first once-daily, non-extended release anti- epileptic drug (AED). The drug can be used alone or in conjunction with other AEDs. The new approval gives health care providers greater flexibili- ty, said Antony Loebel, executive vice president and chief medical officer. REGIONAL BRIEFS >> Continued on next page Verbatim "We know this drug is important." Attorney General Maura Healey, after announcing that the company that makes the opioid overdose reversal drug known as Narcan will pay more than $300,000 into a new state fund to make the drug more affordable for cities and towns. Source: State House News Service, Aug.31 >> "It's not a cure, but in time, if you could silence this gene in a mouse, perhaps you could silence the gene in a human." UMass Medical School Chancellor Michael Collins, about ALS research at the school. Two research groups received $2 million, part of $77 million raised during an Ice Bucket Challenge to fund research into the disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. Source: State House News Service, Sept. 2 >> ""People are taking note of the city of Worcester. ... People want to do business here." Worcester Mayor Joseph M. Petty, citing progress on the CitySquare project. In last week's preliminary election, he topped the ballot among 16 at-large City Council candidates. Source: Telegram & Gazette, Aug. 31 >> CENTRALMASS In Review BRIEFING: BANK MERGER W. Patrick Hughes

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