Corporate Report

Corporate Report

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

PGT trims workforce, cites residential downturn

Venice-based impact-resistant window and door manufacturer PGT Inc. has laid out a significant restructuring for the company that will result in an 8% reduction of its workforce.

"This restructuring is especially difficult because it affects so many of our loyal, talented, and hard-working employees, Rod Hershberger, PGT's president and CEO, said in a press release. "However, faced with unprecedented declines in the housing market, and as difficult as it is, this restructuring is essential to streamline the company and eliminate organizational redundancies as well as improve processes to drive new product development and sales."

The company reports that through things such as attrition, the company has reduced its workforce at its Florida and North Carolina facilities by 23%.

In addition to savings attributed to this reduction in workforce, the company expects significant savings resulting from, among other things, a reduction from three manufacturing shifts to two. In total, the company expects to realize annualized savings of more than $16 million.

Mangrove Employer Service

buys Las Vegas client

Mangrove Employer Services, a human resource management, payroll and benefits administration services firm in Tampa, purchased Access1Source Nevada, a web-based payroll and human resource service company in Las Vegas.

Access1Source has been using the Mangrove application for six years. The acquisition will add six additional branch offices, 258 customers to Mangrove's current client base and will expand the organization's presence on the West Coast.

As part of the acquisition, Access1Source will operating under the Mangrove Employer Service name. Current Access1Source employees are being retained. Ron Drylie, owner of Access1Source, will continue to manage the Las Vegas office as president of west coast facilities and vice president of service bureau operations.

"Access1Source is one of Mangrove's most seasoned clients," Richard Cangemi, CEO of Mangrove Employer Services, said in a press release. "The acquisition is exciting news for us. It will strengthen Mangrove's West Coast presence with a regional operations center and add additional sales offices at the same time."

Sarasota's Bonecrunch Fighting

lands SunSports broadcast deal

Mixed martial arts fighting league Bonecrunch Fighting, founded by Sarasota's Andrew Neitlich, has reached an agreement with FightZone TV to broadcast Bonecrunch Fightings' 2008 season on the Fox Sports-owned SunSports Network to more than six million Florida homes and more than two million national subscribers of Direct TV and the Dish Network. Randy Harris of Talking Sports Network will be the lead commentator, assisted by Benjamin Glossip and Joe Marquis.

SunSports Network will broadcast at least four battles between the eight Bonecrunch Fighting teams. The quarterfinals will take place Jan. 12 at the Lakeland Center and Feb. 9 at Robarts Arena in Sarasota.

"The majority of our teams are located in major Florida markets, making it a great fit for us to air on FightZone TV," Andrew Neitlich, Bonecrunch Fighting CEO, said in a press release. "Each broadcast will air at least four times, giving our sponsors great visibility at a very affordable price."

FightZone TV, a MMA video producer and distributor, is now entering its second year of exclusive MMA Airings on SunSports.

Sirion Therapeutics

plans new drug filing

Tampa biopharmaceutical company Sirion Therapeutics Inc., says its received positive preliminary results from its phase III difluprednate program, which looked at the steroid's potential to relieve inflammation in the eye following ocular surgery.

"We are very pleased with the data that demonstrate difluprednate's potential as a potent, well-tolerated steroid treatment for post-operative inflammation," Dr. Roger Vogel, Sirion's chief medical officer, said in a press release.. "Based on these data, Sirion is moving forward with its plans to submit a new drug application to the FDA."

The phase III program consisted of two multi-center, randomized, double-masked studies that compared the safety and effectiveness of the difluprednate versus a placebo based on a dosage given four times a day, 24 hours after surgery. The studies included 439 subjects who presented with an elevated level of inflammation cells in the eye.

Both difluprednate dosing regimens have so far shown to yield better result than the placebo by the eighth day. As of the 15th day, 56% of subjects on the regimen had zero inflammation cells in their eye compared to 16% in the placebo group. The treatment is targeted at the more than 3.5 million eye surgeries performed each year in the United States.

First Advantage's DealerTracksells stock for $98 million

First Advantage Corp., a St. Petersburg-based risk mitigation and business solutions provider, has sold 2.875 million shares of DealerTrack Holdings Inc. common stock. The sale generated a pretax gain of $97.7 million or 96 cents per diluted share.

"The sale of DealerTrack stock will fortify First Advantage's financial position and provides us with additional means to pursue strategic growth opportunities in our core businesses," Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of First Advantage, said in a press release.

After the sale, First Advantage's subsidiary, Credit Management Solutions Inc., will continue to own 2.5 million shares of DealerTrack common stock, or 6% of the outstanding shares.

DealerTrack Holdings is a provider of software and data products for the automotive industry.