The PNC Financial Services Group (NYSE: PNC) has agreed to buy BBVA USA Bancshares, including its U.S. banking subsidiary, BBVA USA, for $11.6 billion in cash. Both banking companies have a presence locally. PNC Bank had 20 offices and $1.7 billion in deposits in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metro area as of June 30, the most recent date for which information is available, while BBVA had two offices in the metro area and $349 million in deposits, according to the FDIC. The deal is expected to close in mid-2021. After it closes, PNC intends to merge BBVA USA into PNC Bank and convert BBVA USA customers to the PNC platform with BBVA USA branches assuming the PNC Bank name, a news release said.
Two major shopping mall owners have agreed to revised terms on a deal that includes the sale of International Plaza in Tampa. Taubman Centers (NYSE: TCO), which owns International Plaza and 25 other malls, agreed to sell the malls to Simon Property Group (NYSE: SPC) for a lower price of $43 a share, a news release said. The two companies also settled a pending court battle, and the deal now is expected to close in late 2020 or early 2021. In February, Simon announced what was a $3.6 billion deal, but called off the purchase in June, after the Covid-19 pandemic hit. The revised deal signal there is hope in the retail real estate industry that traffic will rebound at America’s best malls, CNBC reported.
Quality Thin Films, an optical components company in Oldsmar, has been acquired by Edmund Optics, an optics technology company in Barrington, New Jersey. Financial terms were not disclosed in a news release announcing the deal. The acquisition includes Quality Thin Films' 14,000 square foot facility. Karl George Sr., president and CEO of Quality Thin Films, will retire and his son, Karl George Jr., will continue to oversee the facility and its 30 employees, the news release said.
Three more deaths attributed to Covid-19 have been reported in Pinellas County. The county's death toll from the virus since the pandemic began in March now stands at 853, according to a Saturday report from the Florida Department of Health. There have been a total of 28,865 cases reported in Pinellas County, an increase of 119 cases overnight. The percent of people who tested positive for Covid-19 on Friday was 7.6 percent and has averaged 6.7 percent over the past two weeks. There were 162 people hospitalized in Pinellas County with a primary diagnosis of Covid-19 as of mid-day Saturday, according to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Pinellas County hospitals reported 28.4 percent of hospital beds are available, and 21.6 percent of adult intensive care unit beds are available.
Pinellas County business owners whose companies sustained damage from Tropical Storm Eta are asked to complete the Florida Business Damage Assessment Survey, available here. The information helps to assess the damage and begin the recovery process, Pinellas County Economic Development said. The county also has tips for post-storm insurance claims and contractors for Pinellas County residents, available here. Separately, Pinellas County Schools said students will not need to make up the day missed for the storm.
Nine BayCare Urgent Care Centers will offer a rapid test that can detect both Covid-19 and the flu, starting Monday, Nov. 16. The test is available to asymptomatic people who want to confirm they are negative for Covid before traveling or visiting loved ones for the holidays, BayCare Health System said in a news release. Patients can get test results in 30 minutes. There's a limited supply, so patients are asked to make reservations using Save Your Spot. The tests will not be billed to insurance but will be available as a self-pay service costing $150.
AM Best has placed the credit ratings of Vault Reciprocal Exchange under review, after the St. Petersburg-based insurer said it would be acquired by Cornell Capital and Hudson Structured Capital Management. AM Best said in a news release that it expects plans for reinsurance and capitalization to improve Vault’s quality of capital, financial leverage and capital flexibility, but it would keep the ratings under review until the deal closes in the first quarter of 2021 and the agency evaluates post-transaction details. AM Best currently rates Vault's financial strength as "A- (excellent)" and its long-term issuer credit rating it "a-." Vault provides coverage to the high-net worth homeowners market and writes business in Florida, South Carolina, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
Pinellas County reported one additional death Friday attributed to Covid-19, bringing the county's death toll from the virus to 850 since the pandemic began in March. The Florida Department of Health updated the total case count in Pinellas County to 28,746 as of Friday, an increase of 260 cases since Thursday. The percent of people who tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday was 5.92 percent, and the positivity rate has averaged 6.49 percent over the past two weeks. Pinellas County hospitals report 162 Covid-19 patients as of Friday, with 28.4 percent of the hospital beds available in the county, and nearly 17 percent of the intensive care unit beds available.
Isle of Gateway, a 212-unit apartment complex in north St. Petersburg, has a new owner. TPAF VII Isles of Gateway LLC, an entity associated with Timberland Partners Investments in Minneapolis, Minnesota, acquired Isle of Gateway for $30.75 million, according to a deed filed Friday in Pinellas County. The seller was DHPI Gateway, affiliated with Pebb Capital in Boca Raton. DHPI bought the property in 2016 for $23.5 million, Pinellas County property records show. Isle of Gateway, at 10600 4th St. N., has 11 buildings on 18 acres. It was built in 1986 and has apartments ranging from one bedroom to three bedrooms; most of them were recently updated,Timberland Partners said on its website. Timberland Partners generally targets garden style or midrise apartments with a minimum of 100 units, built in the 1980s, 1990s, or early 2000s vintage, its website said.
The Green Book of Tampa Bay, an online guide to Black-owned businesses, has teamed up with One Community and Deuces Live to create a community holiday shopping guide. Visit https://greenbooktb.org and click the Holiday Shopping Guide tab on the menu. To have your business, service, or product listed, complete the info and steps at this link.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to a potential treatment of melanoma being developed by Morphogenesis, a privately held, clinical stage biotechnology company in Tampa. The designation is for medications that are intended for use in diseases which affect fewer than 200,000 persons in the U.S., and provides sponsors with eligibility for a seven-year period of market exclusivity in the U.S. following product approval, as well as FDA assistance in clinical trial design and an exemption from FDA user fees. Morphogenesis' drug candidate is for the treatment of stage IIB to stage IV melanoma. Late stage melanoma is among the deadliest forms of skin cancer, affecting as many as 62,748 Americans.
Beginning this semester, Eckerd College students interested in learning how to look at data, ask it meaningful questions and gain useful information can minor in data science. The minor was approved by faculty in October after a three-year vetting process. Data Science minors will be required to complete five courses including Intermediate Programming, Fundamentals of Data Science, one statistics course and two other computer science-focused classes.
