Mainebiz

V O L . X X I N O. X X I V O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 5 6 Optimistic outlook for Maine's fall tourism Maine's tourism industry is seeing a strong showing from visitors this fall, the season when many visitors travel the state to see the leaves changing colors. e Portland Press Herald reported recently that September and October have been busy months for tourism, especially as parts of the state reach peak foliage. Greg Dugal, president and CEO of the Maine Innkeepers Association and the Maine Restaurant Association, told the paper that members have been reporting "exceptional" business since mid-Sep- tember. On Columbus Day, the Maine Turnpike Authority reported high traffi c volumes in Wells and York to the New Hampshire border. Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal had one of its highest visitation weekends in recent memory. e manager of the state park estimated that about 1,200 people visited Bradbury Mountain on Oct. 11, the day before Columbus Day, and he expected holiday's numbers to be similar, the Press Herald reported. Last year, tourists spent an estimated $5.5 billion in Maine, up 4.5% from the year before, according to the Maine Offi ce of Tourism. Maine lobstermen report high prices for catch Even with a strong year for lobster land- ings, Maine fi shermen are reportedly receiving the highest prices for their haul since 2007. e Portland Press Herald reported that lobstermen are getting around $4 a pound, up from an average price of $3.69 last year and as much as 50 cents to $1 more than they were receiving at times last year. Last year, Maine fi sh- erman hauled 124 million pounds of lob- ster, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Data isn't available for the 2015 season, but industry offi cials told the paper that this year's harvest will likely be similar to last year's. But thanks to increased demand for processed lob- ster meat and a decline in the supply of Canadian lobsters available for processors this spring, Maine lobstermen are receiv- ing high prices for their catch, the paper reported. However, the higher wholesale prices have made for thinner margins for dealers. e demand has driven up prices for all lobsters, but it's diffi cult to pass on the higher cost to people buying live lobsters, dealers told the paper. N O T E W O R T H Y S T A T E W I D E The Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded $43,810 to the White- fi eld Fire Department and $63,096 to the Corinth Fire Department to en- hance their safety and operations. The U.S. Department of Labor award- ed the state of Maine $1 million to strengthen its unemployment insurance program. The funding will also help pre- vent and detect improper benefi t pay- ments, improve program performance, address outdated information technol- ogy systems and combat employee misclassifi cation that underpays or denies benefi ts to workers. Judge says Cape Elizabeth can't block Verizon plan A federal judge has ruled in favor of Verizon Wireless in its lawsuit against Cape Elizabeth over the town's decision B U S I N E S S M A I N E Business news from around the state S T A T E W I D E S O U T H E R N Tyler Technologies to pay $670M for software company Tyler Technologies Inc., a Plano, Texas-based public sector software developer with 540 employees at three locations in Maine, announced Oct. 1 it has signed a defi nitive agreement to acquire the privately held New World Systems Corp. for $670 million in cash and stock. Founded in 1981 by President and CEO Larry D. Leinweber, New World Systems is based in Troy, Mich., and has more than 2,000 public sector customers and more than 470 employees. Tyler Technologies, the largest company in the country solely dedicated to providing software and services to the public sec- tor, reported $493.1 million in revenues for 2014, up 18.4% over 2013. It has nearly 2,900 employees and more than 13,000 government and school clients in all 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and other countries. "Acquiring New World Systems is a highly strategic and growth-oriented decision, and we plan to invest in their products and fi nd new opportunities both in our com- bined client bases and in markets where they currently are most competitive," John S. Marr Jr., Tyler's president and CEO, said in announcing the pending purchase. Under the terms of the agreement, Tyler (NYSE: TYL) will acquire all of the equity in New World Systems for $360 million in cash and approximately 2.1 million shares of Tyler's common stock, representing approximately 5.9% of Tyler's outstanding common shares post transaction, subject to customary post- closing adjustments. The cash portion of the purchase price will be funded from cash on hand and proceeds from a new revolving credit facility. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2015 and is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. Leinweber will join Tyler's board of directors upon the closing of the transaction. There are no plans to materially impact either company's workforce and New World Systems' headquarters in Michigan is expected to continue to operate virtually unchanged, according to Tyler's announcement. Marr described the acquisition as "complementary" to Tyler's existing cus- tomer base and core competencies, noting that Tyler plans to integrate New World Systems' courts software platform with its own public safety platform to create a unique "end-to-end enterprise criminal justice solution." "Odyssey [Tyler Technologies' platform] is already a clear leader in courts and justice software, and we're seeing very solid growth from our e-fi ling solu- tion," Marr said in the announcement. "By adding a market-leading public safety offering to Tyler's portfolio of courts and justice solutions, we can deliver a com- prehensive enterprise criminal justice system that does not exist in the market today … We believe that our combined offering will create a unique opportunity for communities at the local, county and statewide levels." New World Systems is the largest acquisition to date for Tyler. This summer, Tyler announced plans to expand its offi ce building in Yarmouth, a $15 million project that would allow it to create more than 500 jobs over the next decade. The company's preliminary plans called for a roughly 85,000-square- foot, four-story offi ce building on Route 1 that would be connected to its existing building. Its other offi ces are in Bangor and Falmouth. — J a m e s M c C a r t h y THERE IS THERE IS A DIFFERENCE A DIFFERENCE THERE IS Because www.sheridancorp.com www.sheridancorp.com Construction Management Design/Build General Contracting Engineering Construction Management Design/Build General Contracting Engineering Sheridan Sheridan Construction Construction

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