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10 Hartford Business Journal • March 21, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com To view the full list, please visit HartfordBusiness.com THE LIST Largest Connecticut mergers and acquisitions (Deals announced, pending or completed in 2015, ranked by dollar amount) Rank Buyer Deal size Seller Unit sold Date announced Status (1) 1 Pfizer Inc. Groton, CT $160,000,000,000 Allergan PLC Coolock, Dublin, Ireland Allergan PLC Nov 23, 2015 (P) 2 Charter Communications Inc. (2) Stamford, CT $55,000,000,000 (3) Time Warner Cable Inc. New York, NY Time Warner Cable Inc. (4) May 25, 2015 (P) 3 Anthem Inc. Indianapolis, IN $48,400,000,000 Cigna Corp. Bloomfield, CT Cigna Corp. Jun 15, 2015 (P) 4 The Blackstone Group LP with Wells Fargo New York, NY $22,500,000,000 General Electric Capital Corp. Norwalk, CT GE Capital Real Estate debt and equity assets Apr 10, 2015 (P) 5 Frontier Communications Corp. Norwalk, CT $10,540,000,000 Verizon Communnications Inc. Whitinsville, MA Wireline operations with service to California, Florida and Texas Feb 5, 2015 (P) (5) 6 General Electric Co. Fairfield, CT $9,500,000,000 Alstom SA Saint-Ouen, France Energy Activities Apr 30, 2014 (C) 7 Lockheed Martin Corp. Bethesda, MD $9,000,000,000 United Technologies Corp. Farmington, CT Sikorsky Aircraft Jul 20, 2015 (C) 8 BMO Harris Bank NA (6) Naperville, IL $8,900,000,000 General Electric Capital Corp. Norwalk, CT GE Finance and Transportation Sep 10, 2015 (C) 9 Banque Fédérative du Crédit Mutuel (7) Strasbourg, France $7,500,000,000 General Electric Co. Fairfield, CT DE FR Equipment Receivable Finance Business Dec 3, 2015 (P) 10 Element Financial Corp. Mississauga, Ontario $6,900,000,000 General Electric Capital Corp. Norwalk, CT Vehicle fleet management assets in the U.S., Mexico, Australia and New Zealand Jun 29, 2015 (C) 11 Qingdao Haier Co. Ltd. Laoshan District, China $5,400,000,000 General Electric Co. Fairfield, CT GE Appliances Inc. (8) Jan 15, 2016 (P) 12 Starwood Capital Group Global LLC Milestone Apartments REIT Greenwich, CT $5,370,000,000 Equity Residential Chicago, IL Institutional-quality portfolio of 23,262 apartment units Oct 26, 2015 (P) 13 Sumitomo Mitsui Finance & Leasing Co. Ltd. Tokyo, Japan $4,800,000,000 General Electric Co. Fairfield, CT Japanese leasing unit Dec 15, 2015 (P) 14 Dynegy Houston, TX $3,350,000,000 EquiPower Resources Corp. Hartford, CT EquiPower Resources Corp. including Brayton Point Holdings LLC Aug 22, 2014 (C) 15 Iberdrola USA (9) New Gloucester, ME $3,000,000,000 UIL Holdings New Haven, CT UIL Holdings Feb 25, 2015 (C) Source: Company filings and news reports. (1) (C) = Closed, (P) = Pending. (2) Comcast Corp. abandoned its plan to takeover Time Warner Cable Inc. in April 2015. (3) Approximately $79 billion including assumed debt obligations. (4) An additional acquisition of Bright House Networks is subject to the completion of the Time Warner deal. (5) California Public Utilities Commission approved the deal on Dec. 3, 2015. (6) A subsidiary of Bank of Montreal Financial Group. (7) A subsidiary of Caisse Fédérale de Crédit Mutuel. (8) A $3.3 billion-agreement for Sweden's Electrolux AB to acquire GE Appliances Inc. was terminated in Dec. 2015 amid opposition from U.S. antitrust regulators. (9) On Dec. 17, 2015, the merged companies became Avangrid Inc. and began trading on the NYSE under ticker symbol AGR. —Compiled by Stephanie R. Meagher. minimize delays, in the environ- mental, design and construction phases of the process. Q: What are accelerated construction techniques? How are they being imple- mented from an engineering perspective — and not just for highway projects? A: Accelerated construction involves a wide range of con- struction techniques, processes and technologies designed to maximize construction or recon- struction operations while mini- mizing project delays and com- munity disruption. One application is accelerat- ed bridge construction (ABC), which utilizes innovative meth- ods of project planning, design, contracting and construction to significantly reduce time needed to replace a bridge, particularly when compared to traditional methods. ABC uses pre-fabricated components built off-site and put in place once on-site, or can involve an entire structure built off-site and transported into place. Using ABC, a bridge can be removed and replaced in a mat- ter of days — sometimes in one day or less — minimizing traffic disruption and traveler incon- venience. ABC is used for both highway and railroad bridges. One nearby example is on I-84 in Southeast, N.Y., where twin bridges over Dingle Ridge Road were replaced over two week - ends with road closures in each direction of less than 20 hours. ABC can reduce cost or project duration, or both. When all costs are considered, ABC is usually a very cost-effective approach. Q: In general, how is engi- neering doing as a field of study? Are schools creating enough engineers to meet the needs of the industry? A: Today, the demand for engi- neers is high, while supply is low. Job opportunities for engi- neers are good, with starting salaries among the highest for all college graduates. Six of the 10 college majors with the high- est starting salaries are in some branch of engineering. Civil engineers are one of the largest branches of engineer- ing in the world, accounting for one in five of all engineers working today. Civil engineer- ing is going through a period of significant growth, projected to be 20 percent from 2012 to 2022 — faster than the average for all occupations. One of the biggest factors accounting for this growth is that most of our infrastructure in the U.S. was built after World War II and now needs replace- ment or repair. n Q&A: Rocha are trying to incentivize. Alexion's new headquarters, for instance, was one of the projects supported through the state's First Five program, Gov. Malloy's economic initiative to attract and retain major employers in Con- necticut. In addition to relocating 350 employees to New Haven, Alexion expects to create 200 to 300 new jobs in the state by 2017. Reim said Connecticut's support for smart growth from state and municipal leaders and policymakers is better than most states. "It makes us want to invest in Connecticut projects," he said DeSantos said strong coordination among state agencies is one of the main reasons smart-growth developments — from Storrs Center to West Hartford's Blue Back Square to Stamford's Harbor Point — have caught fire in Connecticut. DeSan- tos said because smart-growth initiatives involve transportation, housing, environ- mental and economic impacts, having state agencies responsible for those func- tions on the same page — and collaborat- ing — is essential. Mark Moriarty, director of public works for New Britain, agrees and sees develop- ments like CTFastrak, the state's rapid- bus transit system, as an opportunity to build smart-growth developments around transportation infrastructures. "If we can address transit [issues], people may begin to think about [Connecticut] cities as places to be centered," Moriarty said. That will require a cultural shift in thinking, Mori- arty argues. "Connecticut is not a city-centered state; people see our cities as places to work," he said. "We need to keep those people — especially younger work- ers — in our cities and that's a challenge." It's a challenge that New Britain has been chip- ping away at with both small- and large-scale projects designed to make the city's downtown more walkable and pedestrian-friendly. Since 2009, Mortiarty said, New Britain has been using the Complete Street design methodology, an approach that factors in pedestrian safety to balance road design. New Britain has also been upgrading Main Street with more mixed-use development, adding 16 apart- ments near the city's CTFastrak stop. "If we improve our downtown, we attract more residents, increase property values and add to our grand list," Mortiarty said. More town leaders are taking notice of smart-growth projects across the state. "We've had people from other towns see what we've been doing and we try to learn from other communities," Moriarty said. Reim said the constant evolution of smart-growth development is a good thing that will benefit communities. "It can work in small towns or large cities," he said. "But it needs to be contextually appropriate." Such development may also potentially be a necessity. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the population of the U.S. will grow to 439 million by 2050, which the Journal of American Planning Association estimates will require an additional 89 mil- lion homes and 190 billion square feet of new offices, institutions, stores and com- mercial buildings. As population growth drives demand for more compact, efficient communities, smart growth seems like a smart invest- ment, Reim said. His company is currently investing in 13 projects — ranging from $200 million to $5 billion — across Canada and the United States. "Smart growth is our best opportunity for successful cities and towns," said DeSantos. "It's where companies and people want to be." n Urban Development Max Reim, managing partner, LiveWorkLearnPlay Ted DeSantos, senior vice president of community development, Fuss & O'Neill