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JANUARY 30, 2017
Volume 25, Number 7
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G R E AT E R H A R T F O R D ' S B U S I N E S S N E W S w w w. H a r t f o rd B u s i n e s s . c o m
Index
■ Week in Review: PG. 6
■ The List: PG. 9
■ Deal Watch: PG. 12
■ Capitol Biz: PG. 12
■ Nonprofit Notebook: PG. 18
■ Movers & Shakers: PG. 18
■ Opinion & Commentary: PG. 20
Wage Dichotomy
Connecticut added 1,000 manufacturing jobs in
2016, representing the first time the industry grew
its annual workforce since the 1980s, but workers'
hourly wages fell by 8.2 percent. Find out what's
driving down hourly pay. PG. 5
Budget Prep
Gov. Malloy is setting expectations for a lean state
budget that avoids tax hikes. PG. 12
FOCUS: MEDIA &
ADVERTING
Visitor Attraction
A move is afoot to restore regional tourism district
funding, but in Connecticut's uncertain fiscal
climate attraction owners and tourism officials
have devised other ways to draw visitors. PG. 8
Slow-selling 'jumbo'
homes drag Hartford's
housing values
By Gregory Seay
gseay@HartfordBusiness.com
R
ecent news indicating signif-
icant growth in Hartford's
overall grand list masks a
disheartening reality for one of the
city's property segments: Sluggish
sales and declining values of larger
houses and mansions.
Area brokers specializing in
the marketing and sales of "jumbo"
UNEASY
TRANSITION
More sellers, fewer buyers
threaten CT's M&A market
By Gregory Seay
gseay@HartfordBusiness.com
W
ith the calendar's turn to a new year,
aging heads of family-owned and other
small businesses in Connecticut are
looking forward to cashing out to retirement.
Some area banks say they are seeing a
flood of credit applications from individual
and institutional borrowers eager to buy out
all or part of an owner's business stake. Many
of the loans come with guarantees from the
U.S. Small Business Administration.
However, an unusual wrinkle is emerging
that, over time, threatens to delay or dislodge
those sale ambitions: The pool of willing busi-
ness buyers is the lowest in at least two gen-
erations — and getting smaller every year as
Connecticut's population ages and shrinks.
According to the Connecticut State Data
Center, the state is home to an estimated
84,472 business owners, of which 47 percent
will be age 55 and older by 2025. Another
27 percent will be age 45 to 54 in the next
eight years.
The widening gap between Baby Boom-
er business owners — those born from
1946 to 1964 — seeking to sell and eligible
Broker John Lepore has seen sales slow for larger homes in Hartford's West End.
Continued on page 14
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Continued on page 16
Capri Frank (left) second-
generation family owner of Avon's
Miller Foods, and her cousin,
Tanner, who represents the third
generation and oversees operations.
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