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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 J U N E 1 1 , 2 0 1 8 fraud and tax evasion. e embez- zlement occurred in 2014 and 2015. He was arrested in September 2015. At that time, he was operating the Brooklin General Store. N O T E W O R T H Y M I D C O A S T & D O W N E A S T Mid-Coast Recovery Coalition relocated to 411 Main St., suite 205, in Rockland. Down East, a publisher in Camden, launched a new quarterly publication called Maine Homes by Down East. Restaurateur is Aroostook's 'Entrepreneur of the Year' A Caribou restaurateur is the 2018 Aroostook "Entrepreneur of the Year." Michelle Hanson of Frederick's Southside and Mascoto's restau- rants received the award from the Aroostook Partnership at a banquet held at Northern Maine Community College on May 24. Finishing as the MEMBER FDIC EQUAL HOUSING LENDER Building a business? TALK TO A NEIGHBOR. 1-800-447-4559 | bathsavings.com Our experienced lenders are more than bankers —they're problem solvers and will work with you to design a commercial loan that's right for you. We're proud to support local Maine businesses with products and services to help your business grow. Custom lending solutions are here for you — and so are we. Let's talk. Theresa Hodge Executive Vice President, Commercial Lending Katie Winglass Owner, Mae's Cafe and Bakery WEX and IDEXX bring home the bacon for investors B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n W hen WEX Inc. announced that it had signed a fl eet- card deal with Shell, Wall Street apparently liked what it heard. The day of the announcement, shares of South Portland- based WEX surged by 4.75%, to $186.59. WEX fi rst announced plans to work with Shell in 2014, and clearly the recent deal was an indication that Shell wanted to strengthen the business relationship. WEX, which is the second-largest publicly traded com- pany in Maine (behind IDEXX Laboratories), has seen its stock surge in the past year, from 52-week low of $100.17 per share to $187.28. Its market capitalization is close to $8 billion. If you'd invested $10,000 in WEX shares in December 2008, not long after the Lehman Brothers crash, when the stock market was at its low ebb in recent years, it would be worth $146,705 today. By comparison, $10,000 invested in IDEXX would be worth $139,651 now. (Since we're not using real money here, $10,000 invested in Amazon in December 2008 would now be worth $323,789, but that's what you might call a best-case scenario on the stock market.) Maine benefi ts from the growth of both IDEXX and WEX, with several hundred employees in Maine. WEX is building a new headquarters on Portland's East End, while IDEXX is investing $62 million to expand its campus in Westbrook. Seed capital focused on western Maine Opus Ventures and the Skowhegan Savings Charitable Foundation announced the formation of the Western Maine Venture Fund. Qualifi ed under the Finance Authority of Maine's seed capital tax credit program, the fund will focus on supporting early-stage companies in Maine with growth capital funding opportunities in western and central Maine. Opus Ventures, a Portland based private capital and investment fi rm, will manage the program. Opus Ventures is developing a $10 million pool of capital for general investments primarily in Maine and $10 million in targeted funds, like the Western Maine Venture Fund. Investors in both programs may be eligible for benefi ts from FAME's Maine seed capital tax credit program. B I Z M O N E Y If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 If you'd invested $10,000 in WEX shares in December in WEX shares in December in WEX shares in December in WEX shares in December in WEX shares in December in WEX shares in December in WEX shares in December in WEX shares in December in WEX shares in December in WEX shares in December in WEX shares in December in WEX shares in December 2008, it would be worth $146,705 today. N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N

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