Corporate Report: November 16

California firm purchasing nFinanSe
San Ramon, Calif.-based reloadable prepaid card company AccountNow Inc. has reached a letter of intent to acquire Tampa-based nFinanSe Inc. The acquisition still requires a due diligence period and First California Bank approval.

The transaction is expected to close in phases starting later this month. As currently conceived, nFinanSe Inc. would become a wholly owned subsidiary of AccountNow Inc.

“We are very excited about the proposed acquisition of nFinanSe,” Jim Jones, CEO of AccountNow Inc., says in a news release. “We believe that combining our direct-to-consumer expertise and nFinanSe's knowledge of the retail store channel, we will become a truly integrated, multi-channel provider of GPR cards.”

The deal calls for holders of nFinanSe Series F Convertible Preferred Stock to receive funds from the purchase, but would not involve payouts to nFinanSe stockholders of any other level of stock.

As Seen On TV Inc. signs deal to buy eDiets.com
Clearwater-based As Seen On TV Inc. signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire eDiets.com Inc., a provider of at-home diet, fitness and healthy lifestyle products. The all-stock transaction is valued at $15 million based on the closing share price of As Seen On TV's common stock on Nov. 2.

Under the terms of the merger agreement, As Seen On TV will issue 19.08 million shares of its common stock in exchange for all of the issues and outstanding shares of eDiets.com.

The transaction is scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2013. Upon closing the merger, eDiets.com will become a wholly owned subsidiary of As Seen On TV and will continue to be operated by its current management, including Chairman Kevin Richardson and President and CEO Jennifer Hartnett.

eDiets.com has generated $22 million in revenue over the past 12 months. The company has primarily focused its marketing and customer acquisition efforts on print media, short-form TV spots and Internet.

American Graphic Design Awards recognizes ChappellRoberts
Tampa advertising agency ChappellRoberts received several national American Graphic Design Awards. This year, 11 of the agency's client creative projects were recognized in the top 15% of more than 8,000 national entries.

These awards include digital, video, website, print and logo design, as well as fully integrated marketing campaigns.

The firm received three awards for a television spot, launch campaign and advertising campaign for the Sarasota Conventions and Visitors Bureau. The newly introduced Florida Hospital Tampa Bay Division website design, advertising campaign series and internal poster campaign were also recognized. The company won awards for the PSCU's re-branding advertising series, digital annual report and corporate overview.

Logo design awards were issued to ChappellRoberts for the City Brix, a planned area restaurant, and InVision Tampa, developed in collaboration with The Leytham Group for a city of Tampa master planning initiative.

Walter Investment Management finishes Texas acquisition
Tampa-based Walter Investment Management Corp. has completed its purchase of Spring, Texas-based Reverse Mortgage Solutions Inc.

Reverse Mortgage Solutions provides a number of services to the reverse mortgage sector, including servicing, loan origination, securitization and technology. Ranked as the fourth-largest reverse mortgage servicer it currently services $12.4 billion in unpaid principal balance of reverse mortgages. It has issued $1.8 billion of reverse mortgage backed Government National Mortgage Association (HMBS) securities, making it the nation's largest HMBS issuer.

Walter Investment Management says the Texas company offered the Tampa firm an attractive extension to its high-margin fee for service business model.

“The acquisition of RMS creates a natural extension of our forward platform into the reverse mortgage space and will allow us to capitalize on the customer overlap between the two entities,” Mark O'Brien, chairman and CEO of Walter Investment, says in a news release. “We believe the reverse mortgage product has significant potential for future growth, and RMS is well positioned to capitalize on the coming opportunities.”

Eat Here restaurant heading to Siesta Key next year
Sean Murphy, owner of the Beach Bistro and Eat Here restaurants in Sarasota and on Anna Maria Island, is opening a third Eat Here location. It will be located on Siesta Key. The new restaurant is scheduled to open in January.

TECO senior executive announces Dec. 31 retirement
Clinton Childress, TECO Energy's senior vice president of corporate services and chief human resources officer, announced plans to retire from the company Dec. 31. Childress worked for the company and its Tampa Electric division for more than 40 years.

“Clint's legacy with our company is unparalleled,” John Ramil, president and CEO of TECO Energy, says in a press release. “His longtime leadership has been a shining example of TECO's values and culture. He has been a devoted champion of safety and a compassionate mentor to many. We will greatly miss him.”

Childress' duties will be split between two vice presidents. Phil Barringer will become vice president of corporate services and chief human resources officer. In addition to his regular duties, he will be responsible for the purchasing, contract services, facilities, real estate, corporate safety, security and emergency management functions.

Dee Brown will become vice president of business strategy, technology and compliance and will continue to be the company's chief ethics and compliance officer. In addition to her regular duties, she will be responsible for the information technology and telecommunications functions.

Childress began his career with Tampa Electric Co. in 1970 digging ditches as a laborer and advanced to a lineman in energy delivery operations. Through the years, Childress served in various leadership positions, including director of labor relations and director of compensation and benefits.