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V I E W P O I N T S W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 3 JA N UA R Y 1 1 , 2 0 1 6 For a daily digest of Maine's top busi- ness news, sign up for the Mainebiz Daily Report at mainebiz.biz/enews Get Maine's business news daily at mainebiz.biz and on Twitter (@Mainebiz). Below is some of the best from our online-only offerings: Featured @ Mainebiz.biz "F ive on the Future" is the annual kickoff to the year for Mainebiz. We ask fi ve economists to give their view of what's ahead for the year. is year's responses echo some themes from last year and further back. e economy is better, but some of the same issues are still on the minds of the economists we polled: Maine's aging workforce, lack of qualifi ed workers in a wide range of trades and professions, concern about the shackles government puts on business. Yet there is some good news wrapped in there. e reason there's a labor shortage is companies are indeed hiring. Interest rates are expected to remain low. Banks are healthy so credit is available. Industries and sectors seeing growth include health and personal care; professional and technical services (including data analytics, IT, engineering and scientifi c research); and, at least in southern Maine, housing con- struction and remodeling. From global politics to local taxes, this overview has the economy covered. I want to thank the economists who look time to answer our questions: J. Scott Moody, CEO and chief economist at Federalism in Action; Jonathan Reisman, associate professor of economics and public policy at the University of Maine at Machias; Amanda Rector, Maine's state economist; Charles Lawton, chief economist at Planning Decisions Inc.; and Garrett Martin, executive director of the Maine Center for Economic Policy. I'd also like to thank the panelists who have agreed to take part in our Jan. 14 "Five on the Future" event at Portland's Holiday Inn by the Bay: Jeff Fuhrer, executive vice president and senior policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston; Heather Paquette, vice presi- dent of retail operations at Hannaford Supermarkets; John Chandler, managing principal at BerryDunn; Pat Scully, CEO of Bernstein Shur; and David Whitney, regional sales manager at Sheridan Construction. Could 2016 be the year of the deal? Already in recent weeks we are seeing a number of deals take place. ¡ Kepware, a Portland technology fi rm with $20 million in annual sales, agreed to be acquired by PTC, an Internet of ings technology company based in Needham, Mass., for $100 million. e deal was announced Dec. 23 and is expected to close early this year. ¡ Kennebec Technologies, a precision machining company based in Augusta, was sold to employees. e ESOP, which took eff ect Jan. 1, keeps the company (and its 65 employees) based in Maine, while giving former sole owner Charles "Wick" Johnson, 67, a path to retirement. ¡ Morris Yachts, which we profi led in Mainebiz last year, was sold to Hinckley Yachts, a deal between two privately held Maine companies. e deal was eff ective Jan. 1. Both companies have signifi cant manufacturing operations in Trenton and a total of 380 employees. ¡ ese go back a couple months, but two WEX Inc. deals are expected to close this year. e South Portland-based corporate-payment services company agreed to buy rival Electronic Funds Source LLC from the private equity fi rm Warburg Pincus for $1.4 billion in cash and stock. It also agreed to pay $80 mil- lion for the Omaha, Neb.-based software company Benaissance . Both deals were announced in October. Bellview Associates co-founder Susan Scherbel, who arranged the Kennebec Technologies ESOP (as well as those of GAC Chemical, Prock Marine Co. and Sargent Corp.), told me that activity has heated up for two reasons: Few buyers were emerging during the recession and Maine's business-owning baby boomers are looking for an exit strat- egy. "We're seeing so much happening now," she says. Peter Van Allen pvanallen@mainebiz.biz From the Editor What's ahead sounds strangely like the past Don't miss Mainebiz's 'Five on the Future' "Five on the Future" features a panel discussion with a group of industry experts from top economists to area business leaders who will offer their insights into what regional businesses can expect in 2016. Sign up at mainebiz.biz/5on Former King staffer to lead strategic consulting business Toby McGrath, former deputy chief of staff for Sen. Angus King who was recognized as a "rising star" by Campaigns & Elections magazine in 2010, has been named managing director of Drummond Woodsum's strategic consulting business. Find out more at mainebiz.biz/McGrath Fairchild suitors raise the heat on takeover bids ON Semiconductor Corp. has extended its tender offer for Fair- child Semiconductor International Inc. until Jan. 20, but didn't raise the amount of $20 per share, which is lower than an unsolicit- ed offer of $21.70 from a Chinese investor group in late December. Learn more about this high-stakes acquisition at mainebiz.biz/Fairchild bernsteinshur.com CELEBRATING 1OO YEARS When you need someone committed to raising the bar, not just passing it. Be smart. BE SHUR.

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