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Southeast Florida Business Briefs - Feb. 2008
BOCA RATON —
» The town of Highland Beach is selling its abandoned water treatment facility and well field in Boca Raton.
» Penthouse Media Group has acquired Various Inc., a social networking firm that owns adultfriendfinder.com and other sites, for $500 million in cash and securities.
BROWARD COUNTY —
» Less than two years into reforming Broward County’s hospital system as its CEO, Alan Levine has left for Louisiana, where he will be secretary of health and hospitals under Gov. Bobby Jindal [“Healthcare Challenge,” January, FloridaTrend.com].
FORT LAUDERDALE —
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The Air and Sea Show, a 13-year-old event held in conjunction with Fleet Week, was canceled after its title sponsor pulled out. Producer MDM Limited said rising fuel costs and downward economic trends hurt the show.
» Fort Lauderdale Water Taxi has been sold to Water Transportation Alternatives of Quincy, Mass., for an undisclosed sum. The new owners plan to add staff and a new route to South Beach and increase frequency of service.
» Antillean Marine Shipping Co., a Miami-based cargo firm, will expand its operations to Port Everglades, with regular liner service to Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Panama.
» Holy Cross Hospital will get an epilepsy monitoring unit, run by Dr. Eduardo Locatelli, who was previously at Cleveland Clinic Florida in Weston.
» Regent Seven Seas Cruises has been acquired by Apollo Management, a New York private-equity firm run by Leon Black, for about $1 billion. The company was previously owned by Carlson, the Minneapolis-based travel services company.
» Broward County received 14 project grants totaling more than $7 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2007 Homeless Continuum of Care awards.
HOLLYWOOD —
» Atlas Pen & Pencil will close its facility here and move production to Shelbyville, Tenn., and Tijuana, Mexico, in April, reversing an earlier decision to keep the facility open. The company was bought by San Diego-based National Pen last April.
MIRAMAR —
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A Michigan court ordered Millenium Trading Group and Cedric Stanton, as well as Worldwide Clearing of Fort Lauderdale, to pay more than $6 million in restitution and penalties for committing foreign currency futures and options fraud.
PALM BEACH GARDENS —
» Florida’s Blood Centers and the Enterprise Development Corp. of South Florida will offer lab incubator space for life science companies at FBC’s Northlake Boulevard facility in Lake Park.
POMPANO BEACH —
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Point Blank Solutions has sued its former CEO, David H. Brooks, for the return of millions in cash and company assets, including a Bentley Continental Flying Spur and three flat-screen televisions. Brooks was charged with financial wrongdoing in October.
PORT ST. LUCIE —
»
Core Communities says that BBL Development Group and Equinox Cos., based in Albany, N.Y., will co-develop and co-own a 111-room Homewood Suites by Hilton at the Tradition development, near the future Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies headquarters.
SUNRISE —
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Pediatrix Medical Group (NYSE-PDX) plans to buy back up to $100 million of its shares on the open market, using cash on hand and proceeds from the expected sale of its newborn metabolic screening laboratory to PerkinElmer.
WEST PALM BEACH —
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A jury trial in March will determine compensation for Palm Beach County homeowners whose citrus trees were destroyed by the state between 2002 and 2006.
