Worcester Business Journal

4 Worcester Business Journal • May 23, 2016 www.wbjournal.com Dec. 8: The FTC announces it will move to block the merger due to concerns about reduced competition. Staples quickly announced that it would fight the FTC, saying the commission had underestimated the competition in the field. Dec. 21: Staples announces it will take FTC to court, eventually landing in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Jan. 20: Staples extends its merger agreement with Office Depot. Jan. 27: Staples reportedly cut hun- dreds of corporate jobs in what ana- Oct. 13: The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) delays its ruling to Dec. 8. Nov. 25: The American Postal Workers Union raises concerns with the FTC about creating a monolithic entity akin to Godzilla that would dominate rivals in the office-supply market and create a monopoly. F eb. 3, 2015: Amid growing con- cerns over competition from online retailers and pressure from activist investor Starboard Value, Framingham-based Staples and Boca Raton, FL-based Office Depot announced their intention for a $6.3-billion merger. June 5: New Zealand approves merger, marking the first country to approve the merger. June 12: China approves merger. June 19: Office Depot shareholders approve merger, clearing the way for final regulatory approvals of the merger. Hanover Insurance names Zubretsky new CEO The Hanover Insurance Group announced on May 16 that Joseph M. Zubretsky will take over as president and CEO beginning in June. Zubretsky will take over from Frederick H. Eppinger, who announced his retirement last year. The transition will be June 20, with both working together to manage the transition. Zubretsky, 59, comes into the posi- tion with more than 35 years of experi- ence and most recently served as the CEO of Healthagen Holdings, a group of healthcare services and information technology companies at Aetna, where he was also on the board of directors Worcester economy expanded in first quarter The Worcester economy showed growth in the first quarter, according to the Worcester Economic Index (WEI). The index, a quarterly economic analysis created by Assumption College Professor Thomas White, found the Worcester economy experienced stron- ger growth, 1.8 percent on the index, in the first quarter after a sluggish fourth quarter. The WEI is expected to con- tinue to grow at a modest rate in the near future at about 1.8 percent over the next six months. The index is based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data on employment and unemployment for the Worcester metropolitan area. Providing positive indicators for the area's growth are Massachusetts initial unemployment claims, which are down while the number of new business incorporations in the Worcester area have risen year-over-year by 27 per- cent, said White. However, online job advertisements are down 21 percent compared to the first quarter of 2015. WPI partners with Girls Who Code; pledges $100K a year In an effort to close the gender gap in computer science and technology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute part- nered with Girls Who Code and creat- ed a $100,000 scholarship program. As part of the partnership, WPI has pledged $100,000 per year for five Girls Who Code program graduates to attend WPI and continue their com- puter science–related studies. WPI President Laurie A. Leshin made the announcement during the 2016 com- mencement exercises, which featured Girls Who Code Founder and CEO Reshma Saujani as the keynote speaker. This is the first time Girls Who Code has partnered with a higher education institution to provide college scholar- ships to alumnae of its programs. Medusa brewery takes gold at the 'Olympics of Brewing' Hudson's Medusa Brewing Co. took home a gold medal from the World Beer Cup for the one-year-old brew- ery's Duchovni Pilsener. The international competition takes place every two years and had Medusa taking home gold in the category of Bohemian-Style Pilsener. The single category drew in 65 entries, including beers from Germany and the Czech Republic, where the pilsener style originated more than 100 years ago. The one-year old brewery, which brews a relatively small 1,200 barrels a year, submitted four beers to the com- petition that Co-Founder Keith Sullivan described as the "Olympics of Brewing," as it puts the best brewers from throughout the world against each other. Night Shift Brewery in Everett took home a bronze medal for its IPA. Shrewsbury company to pay $181K to resolve violations The Worcester Sand and Gravel Company agreed to pay $181,200 for multiple violations related to its garage at the Shrewsbury Trap Rock mine. The settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration, covers multiple violations from 2013-2015. The first violation dates back to 2013 and centers around a mainte- nance garage with "serious structural defects including fallen timbers, roof holes and rotten and deteriorated roof timbers and floor supports," according to a U.S. Department of Labor release. Additional violations in 2013 and 2015 centered around safety issues and fail- ures to deal with those issues. The final settlement is for all viola- tions by the company and is the largest penalty amount paid by any mine opera- tor in New England in the last decade, according to the U.S. DoL. Tower Hill names interim CEO The Worcester County Horticultural Society has hired Suzanne Maas to serve as the interim CEO of the Boylston nonprofit operating out of the Tower Hill Botanic Garden. Maas will lead the organization while the board of trustees and man- agement conduct a search for the next CEO. She is a partner at the consultant firm Leadership Transitions, which specializes in guiding nonprofits through periods of executive change. Katherine Abbott, who succeeded longtime executive director John Trexler, announced her departure in March as Tower Hill's CEO for an opportunity to lead the newly-formed Boston Harbor Now. REGIONAL BRIEFS Verbatim "This is not, sort of, futuristic stuff any- more. This is hap- pening right now and is happening very, very fast." Rep. Jonathan Hecht (D-Watertown), on the exploration of incentives on electric cars >> "There's still a lot of rumors on the street that this is done; this is all wrapped up. That's not the case … It seems like we're always looking in the next couple two to three weeks." Rep. Thomas Golden (D-Lowell), House chairman of the Committee on Tele- communications, Utilities and Energy, on the House's energy bill >> "A significant amount of privately owned affordable housing is at risk as subsidized mortgages and affordability restrictions expire. These properties are vital for low-income working families, especially in the Greater Boston area, where the mar- ket pressures on traditional affordable housing are already significant." Gov. Charlie Baker, at the Urban Land Institute's Housing Opportunity 2016 Conference >> In Review CENTRALMASS >> Continued on next page Staples' failed $6B merger: a timeline BY SAM BONACCI Worcester Business Journal Digital Editor lysts thought was the company preparing for a possible failure of the merger. Feb. 11: Staples merger gets European Union approval. Feb. 17: Staples sells off $550 million in contracts in an effort to mitigate monopo- ly concerns. March 24: Staples' stock jumps as the U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan criti- cizes the FTC's handling of a key witness. May 10: Sullivan issues a 75-page ruling in favor of the FTC. May 11: Staples and Office Depot call off the merger. Staples must pay Office Depot $250 million as part of the failed agree- ment. The Framingham company says it will close 50 stores. n

• Cover