Aflac Inc. (NYSE: AFL) completed its $75 million acquisition of Argus Holdings LLC and its subsidiary Argus Dental & Vision Inc., a Tampa-based benefits organization and national network dental and vision company. Aflac, a supplemental insurer based in Columbus, Georgia, also agreed to to pay an additional $21 million over three years, based on achieving performance targets, the company said in a regulatory filing. Argus will continue under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Dr. Nicholas Kavouklis, according to a news release. Tampa will serve as the home for the Aflac U.S. Network Dental and Vision platform. The deal is expected to provide opportunities for sales growth, improved account penetration and distribution productivity, Aflac said.
Audax Private Equity, in partnership with management, has sold AAMP Global to The Halifax Group. The purchase price was not disclosed in a news release announcing the deal. AAMP, headquartered in Clearwater, is a market leader in the automotive aftermarket consumer technology space. Under Audax ownership, AAMP completed nine add-on acquisitions and significantly increased revenue, the news release said. The Halifax Group is a Washington, D.C.-based private equity firm that partners with managers and entrepreneurs to recapitalize and grow lower middle-market businesses with total enterprise values generally between $50 million and $300 million.
Two Tampa-St. Pete software firms, both focused on cybersecurity, are included in the new Deloitte 2019 Technology Fast 500. KnowBe4 in Clearwater ranked No. 55, with 2,337 percent revenue growth, while ReliaQuest in Tampa ranked No. 356 with 275 percent growth. Deloitte has been ranking the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America for 25 years. See the full report here.
Merrill Lynch, Raymond James & Associates and Raymond James Financial Services have agreed to pay a total of $12 million in restitution to customers who incurred excess fees on their investments in 529 savings plans. Those plans are tax-advantaged municipal securities that are designed to encourage saving for the future educational expenses of a designated beneficiary. FINRA, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to investor protection and market integrity, said in a news release that the firms failed to reasonably supervise 529 plan share-class recommendations. In settling the matter, Merrill Lynch, Raymond James & Associates and Raymond James Financial Services neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to the entry of FINRA’s findings. Merrill Lynch agreed to pay about $4 million, Raymond James & Associates will pay $3.8 million and Raymond James Financial Services will pay $4.2 million. The two Raymond James businesses are both part of St. Petersburg-based Raymond James Financial (NYSE: RJF).
Tampa ranked No. 1 in the United States and St. Petersburg ranked No. 9 in a survey by personal finance website WalletHub on best places for veterans to live. The study was based on 20 metrics. Tampa did well in terms of veteran job fairs, veteran income growth and retiree friendliness, but could do better in terms of housing affordability, WalletHub said in a video report. See the full WalletHub report here.
Bloomin' Brands, the Tampa-based parent company of Outback Steakhouse and other brands, is exploring and evaluating strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company. Bloomin' (Nasdaq: BLMN) "has made significant progress towards its long term objectives to elevate the customer experience, capitalize on the emerging off-premises segment, expand the rapidly growing international business, and improve operating margins," David Deno, CEO, said in a news release. While Bloomin' has gained market share and improved its profits, the current stock price does not reflect the value of the company, Deno said. "That is why the time is right to explore strategic alternatives that have the potential to maximize value for our shareholders," Deno said. Bloomin' has hired BofA Securities Inc. as its financial advisor. The company has not set a definitive timetable for completion of the process and said there's no assurance that the review would result in a transaction or other strategic alternative of any kind. In addition to Outback, Bloomin's other brands are Bonefish Grill, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, and Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.
The Cross-Bay Ferry carried a record 2,119 passengers in the first three days of its third season of operation, Nov. 1 – Nov. 3. Tickets sales were 52 percent higher than 2018’s first weekend, a news release said. The ferry sold 73.4 percent and 86 percent of available seats on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, compared to 58 percent of seats sold over the same days last year. Additionally, five of the six trips on Sunday’s schedule sold 92 percent of seats. Increased awareness and a dock at the Tampa Convention Center contributed to ticket sales, said Matt Miller, president of HMS Ferries. The ferry travels between downtown St. Petersburg and downtown Tampa Wednesdays through Sundays as well as days when the Tampa Bay Lightning have home games.
Dozens of Tampa General Hospital patients traveled to Tallahassee to celebrate the hospital’s 10,000th transplant milestone as part of the inaugural We Are TGH Day in the state’s Capitol Wednesday. The patients and their family members are part of a coalition of advocates from Tampa General who met with state leaders, state senators and state representatives throughout the day to demonstrate how TGH’s unique expertise helps Florida families, a news release. Tampa General gets some funding from the state, including about $7 million per year of the Florida’s $220 million annual Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital payments, Modern Healthcare reported.
Oracle Elevator in Tampa bought Duncan Entrance Systems, a South Florida company that provides automatic door installation, repair and modernization services. The deal expands Oracle’s service range beyond elevators and escalators and into automated building entrances, a news release said. Financial terms were not disclosed. A new division, Oracle Entrance, is a first step in the development of other future service offerings, said Paul Belliveau, Oracle's president and CEO. Oracle, founded in 2004, is the largest independent elevator in the United States. Oracle has completed 31 acquisitions to date and says mergers and acquisitions are a key part of its national expansion strategy.
Florida officials have launched ProtectingFloridaTogether.gov, the state's first ever comprehensive water quality dashboard. The dashboard provides real-time information on water restoration projects and water quality via an interactive state map. The initial version of the Protecting Florida Together water quality status map focuses on blue-green algae, red tide and nutrient concentrations in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers and their respective estuaries, and Lake Okeechobee. Additional features will include an expanded statewide map to be added over the next year, a news release said.
Falling sales cut into profit at the Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), a crop nutrient producer and marketer that recently relocated its headquarters to Tampa. Mosaic reported a net loss of $44 million, or 11 cents a share, for the third quarter of 2019, on sales of $2.75 billion. Sales dipped nearly 6 percent from the year-ago quarter, amid what Joc O’Rourke, president and CEO, called a "challenging market environment" in a news release.
The Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Host Committee, in conjunction with the National Football League, launched the Super Bowl LV Business Connect program. The program works to create opportunities for experienced, qualified and certified business owners from local, diverse communities to compete for contracting opportunities related to Super Bowl. The program also offers mentoring, networking, educational and business development opportunities to encourage greater business success for each participant, a news release said. LaKendria Robinson is the director of Business Connect and Community Outreach to the host committee. Joining Robinson will be Bemetra Simmons as the chair of the Tampa Bay Super Bowl LV Business Connect advisory board. The Tampa Bay area will host its fifth Super Bowl in 2021.
