Corporate Report

Corporate Report

by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

New York's NeoStem buys Utek subsidiary

New York adult stem-cell biotechnology company NeoStem Inc. has acquired Stem Cell Technologies Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tampa tech-transfer company UTEK, in exchange for NeoStem stock.

Stem Cell Technologies owns an exclusive license to a technology developed by researchers at the University of Louisville to identify and isolate rare stem cells from adult human bone marrow, called VSELs (very small embryonic-like) stem cells.

VSELs have been shown to have several physical characteristics that are generally found in embryonic stem cells. They also have been shown to grow in the laboratory and multiply into clusters of cells that then can differentiate into specialized cells found in different types of tissue including cardiac, neural, endothelial and muscle cells.

"I am enthusiastic about working with NeoStem, Inc. to further develop the potential of VSELs," Mariusz Z. Ratajczak, M.D., Ph.D., a co-inventor of the VSEL technology and head of the Stem Cell Biology Program at the James Graham Brown Cancer Center at the University of Louisville, said in a press release. "We have both purified and identified at a single cell level an adult counterpart of embryonic stem cells that is present in adult bone marrow. We believe these cells are a real alternative to embryonic stem cells for obtaining a population of histocompatible, pluripotent stem cells for regenerative purposes."

Concurrent with the Stem Cell Technologies acquisition, NeoStem entered into a sponsored research agreement with the University of Louisville under which NeoStem will support further research in the University of Louisville laboratory of Dr. Ratajczak, a portion of which will be covered by the acquisition.

In other news, Utek this week also announced a new technology acquisition alliance agreement with EntreMed Inc. EntreMed is a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company working to develop therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer and inflammation. UTEK is focused on technology transfer and allowing companies to acquire technologies from universities and research laboratories.

Southern DataComm

buys Ingenico's eN-Concert line

Largo-based Southern DataComm Inc. has completed its acquisition of eN-Concert, a suite of products from Ingenico Inc., a global provider of secure transaction and payment solutions.

The acquisition represents a strategic move by Southern DataComm into the tier-one, multi-lane retail market and company officials say the move marks the company's planned long-term commitment to expanding its product line. The eN-Concert team will continue to manage, deliver and support its current suite of products and customers, while at the same time using Southern DataComm's payment delivery and managed payment services.

"Bringing eN-Concert together with SDC creates an exclusive end-to-end solution from the latest in-lane payment devices with high speed, managed payment solutions; delivering merchant payments securely to the major processors/acquiring banks in the business," Gary Eng, president of Southern DataComm Inc., said in a press release.

The move also brings Ingenico in as a Southern DataComm strategic partner for ongoing terminal and hardware initiatives.

eN-Concert, with offices in California and Georgia, develops, maintains and services proprietary electronic payment transaction processing software and back-office applications.

Southern DataComm Inc., the creators of ProtoBase Software, provides integrated electronic transaction processing solutions to the lodging, travel, restaurant, e-commerce, retail, ticketing, government and cable TV industries.

CarBiz begins Kentucky sales,

also selling in Ohio

CarBiz Inc. of Sarasota has started sales and collections in Kentucky. The Kentucky announcement follows close on the heals of CarBiz receiving its first state dealership license in Ohio. The company began sales in Springfield, Ohio, on Nov. 9.

"Things are moving fast; we expect all 26 stores will be in operation before the end of the year," Carl Ritter, CEO, said in a press release. "It's a very exciting time for CarBiz. Springfield is one of our larger facilities and we look forward to a great start."

CarBiz owns and operates the nation's fourth-largest chain of "buy-here, pay-here" dealerships through its CarBiz Auto Credit division. The company is also a provider of software, training and consulting services to the automotive industry.

Private Capital Management

opposes TierOne merger

Naples-based investment firm Private Capital Management LP is trying to stop the proposed merger of TierOne Corp. with CapitalSource Inc.

Private Capital, which currently owns more than 9% of TierOne stock, has told the board of directors of TierOne that it plans to vote against the merger.

In a letter from the Naples investment firm CEO, Bruce Sherman, the firm says the deal offers a "totally inadequate deal price for TierOne shareholders" particularly because of the falling market value of CapitalSource stock. Sherman says he has watched the value of CapitalSource stock fall from more than $25 to less than $16 a share, which also drove down the company's merger price to TierOne stockholders.

At the same time, Private Capital Management acknowledged that the board is barred from failing to recommend the transaction to shareholders because of a $24 million termination fee over the deal.

Tech Data releases

free Web invoice service

Tech Data Corp., a Clearwater-based IT product distributor, has introduced its TDDirect Pay free online invoice presentation and payment service for resellers. TDDirect Pay is available to all Tech Data customers free of charge.

"TDDirect Pay offers our customers much more than the convenience of paying their invoices online and eliminating the need for writing checks with secure, electronic funds transfers," Scott Tillesen, Tech Data's director of SMB Credit, said in a press release. "With TDDirect Pay, resellers can speed up their own billing cycles and more accurately manage their financing. By choosing TDDirect Pay, resellers can schedule payments for a future date according to the terms of sale, which offers them greater control and forecasting of their cash flow and enables them to maximize their available credit through Tech Data."

TDDirect Pay provides access to a secure Web site, where resellers can review and pay Tech Data invoices within 24 hours of shipment and arrange for payment at a future date. Resellers can also view all open invoices, schedule payments, download account information for use in financial management applications and more quickly and accurately begin their own billing process.

At much the same time, Tech Data introduced new capabilities to its e-business tool MyOpportunityTracker. The product, which already allowed resellers to track their manufacturer service and warranty renewals, will now provide software-license renewal notification and warranty add-on suggestions for hardware sales

Tech Data has more than 90,000 customers in more than 100 countries.

Brown & Brown

buys Wittner National Group

A subsidiary of Daytona Beach- and Tampa-based Brown & Brown Inc. acquired the assets of Wittner National Group, Inc.

Founded by Ted P. Wittner, Wittner National Group, which generates revenues of about $1.6 million, specializes in providing employee benefits to companies in Florida. The company will be rolled into Brown & Brown's Pinellas County operation headed by Bill Evans.

"We are pleased to have this fine group of insurance professionals join our expanding Pinellas County operation," C. Roy Bridges, regional executive vice president, said in a press release. "They provide us with a new dimension in the group benefits market, along with new resources and service capabilities."

Brown & Brown, Inc. and its subsidiaries offer a range of insurance and reinsurance products and services, as well as risk management, third-party administration, managed health care and Medicare set-aside services and programs.

GeoPharma generic

approved by FDA

Largo's pharmaceutical company GeoPharma Inc. received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to begin producing the generic drug Carprofen.

Marketed by Pfizer as Rimadyl, Carprofen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used by veterinarians to relieve pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis in dogs. Carprofen is also often used in the treatment of postoperative pain associated with soft tissue and orthopedic surgeries in dogs.

"This is a major step forward in the company's tactical plans to offer generic drugs," GeoPharma CEO Mihir K. Taneja said in a press release. "We continue to be enthusiastic about our drug pipeline which holds 12 ANDAs and other drug products in various stages of development and the approval process. It is our hope to receive additional approvals by the end of our fiscal year on other drugs, as well as a production approval of our dedicated 100,000-square-foot Beta Lactam manufacturing facility located in Baltimore..."

The company plans to produce Carprofen in 25 mg, 75 mg and 100 mg caplets.

MoneyShow.com survey uncovers market worries

A new survey produced by Sarasota's MoneyShow.com suggests market pessimism among investment traders.

MoneyShow.com's new Economic Sentiment Indicator, which polled 149 active traders across the country, found that 55% of traders expect the Standard & Poor's 500 index to decline or remain the same through the end of the year.

In addition, 40% of traders expect 26% or more of their trades through the end of the year to be short sales. However, another 22% of respondents felt that none of their trades would be short sales.

MoneyShow.com's full Traders Sentiment Indicator will be revealed at the Traders Expo 2007 at Mandalay Bay Resort in Las Vegas.

"With the volatility of the worldwide markets the past few weeks and the continued weakening of the U.S. dollar, the MoneyShow.com Traders Sentiment Indicator shows that traders are proceeding with cautious optimism with their trades for the remainder of the year," MoneyShow.com market commentator Tim Bourquin, co-founder of The Traders Expo and Forex Traders, said in a press release.

Traders were nearly even in their opinion of the hard-to-predict Federal Reserve board. Fifty-one percent of traders didn't expect the Federal Reserve to change interest rates while 43% expect it to lower interest rates. Only 6% expect the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.

Overall investments traders, predict the most profitable investments to be options (27%) and stocks (30%). The results were also close between commodities (10%) and futures & commodities (12%) as well as foreign currency (15%) and ETF's (6%).

MoneyShow.com offers member 24-hour access to investment advice from Wall Street and trading experts.