Vertex pays $14m to cancel Kendall Square leases
Biomed Realty Trust is taking back about 313,000 square feet of office and lab space on three Cambridge sites it had leased to Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. and will redevelop them for other biotech companies. Vertex, which consolidated most of its local operations on the South Boston Waterfront last year, will pay San Diego-based Biomed a termination fee of $14 million. Vertex moved to the waterfront in stages, but now the Cambridge sites are vacant. The deal will let Biomed begin renovating the buildings, including 200 Sidney St. and 40 Erie St., with a total of 239,000 square feet, which were leased to Vertex through this December, and 21,000 square feet at 21 Erie St., leased to Vertex through May 2017. —
Debt investor Sankaty gets ready for next downturn
Sankaty Advisors, Bain Capital’s debt-investment arm, is seeking as much as $3.5 billion for a global credit fund as it positions itself for the next wave of company defaults. The Boston firm sees several sectors undergoing a downturn, including energy, shipping, media, metals, and mining, according to a letter sent to investors. Sankaty joins Oaktree Capital Group, Fortress Investment Group, Apollo Global Management, and others after years of low defaults and triggered record borrowing. Companies have sold more than $3.6 trillion of junk-rated loans and bonds in the past three years, according to Bloomberg data. “It has been six years since the last default cycle, and default cycles typically follow peaks in new issuance by 12 to 24 months,” Sankaty’s letter say. —
Akamai investigating its overseas sales practices
NEW YORK — Akamai Technologies Inc. is conducting an internal investigation of its operations in a foreign country. In its annual report, released Monday, the Cambridge Internet data-delivery company said the probe relates to sales practices. It did not name the country but said it is reviewing "compliance with the requirements of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act." The company has notified the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice of the investigation. The 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act bars US companies from paying foreign officials to win business deals. Akamai's statement said the country in question represented less than 1 percent of its 2012-2014 revenues. Akamai declined to comment further. The company also said it has acquired Xerocole Inc., a Boulder, Colo., provider of advanced Internet routing services, for an undisclosed sum. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
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Saugus man alleges Beneful pet food killed his dog
A Saugus man has sued Nestle Purina, alleging its Beneful food kills dogs — the second potential class-action lawsuit against the pet food maker in less than a month. Rumors about the dog food line have swirled since at least 2007, according to Snopes.com. Nestle Purina has consistently said its products are safe. A Feb. 27 lawsuit filed in federal court in Boston says Paul Malcolm suffered “severe physical and emotional distress” after his Rotweiler-bulldog mix, Ben, died Feb. 26 after collapsing several times while en route to Saugus Animal Hospital. The dog had been fed Beneful Healthy Weight for three to four years; the complaint says that had a “direct and proximate” role in the death. Attorneys offered 11 reports from pet owners culled from the Internet, and studies that they claim prove the food is toxic. Malcolm’s attorneys are seeking over $5 million in damages affected dog owners if the suit is certified as a class action. —
Rhode Island project leaps ahead of Cape Wind
With financial problems mounting for Cape Wind’s proposed 130-turbine installation, a smaller developer may be stealing its thunder. Deepwater Wind of Providence says its Block Island wind farm plan is fully financed. The $250 million, five-turbine project is on track to put “steel in the water” in Rhode Island state waters this summer and begin generating 30 megawatts of power in 2016. Deepwater Wind also has plans for a 200-turbine wind farm in federal waters farther south. Federal and state officials and environmental groups had promoted Cape Wind as the nation’s “first offshore wind farm.”
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Cigarette smuggling demands tough action, report says
Massachusetts should spend more on law enforcement and use harsher penalties to reduce illegal cigarette sales, the state Department of Revenue says. A commission convened in 2013 to study tobacco smuggling released its final report Sunday. It did not recommend reducing the cigarette tax, the second-highest in the nation, but suggested the state could save money by giving law enforcement agencies more money and threatening smugglers and retailers with harsher penalties. The 12 recommendations included confiscating lottery licenses from retailers who buy illegal cigarettes and banning stores from using cash to buy cigarettes from wholesalers. —
Lumber Liquidators’ flooring from China may be toxic, ‘60 Minutes’ says
Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. sold flooring from China that contained more formaldehyde than California health and safety standards allow, CBS’s “60 Minutes” reported. Its investigation used undercover reporters and hidden cameras to show that managers at three factories admitted to using false labeling to make it look like flooring produced for Lumber Liquidators met regulations. The flooring was sold in California, Virginia, Florida, Texas, and New York. Of 31 products tested, one would have been legal in California. The company’s stock slumped 25 percent Monday after falling 26 percent on Wednesday, when chief executive Robert Lynch disclosed “60 Minutes” was investigating. —
University chief tapped for Philadelphia Fed
WASHINGTON — The University of Delaware's president has been selected to be president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. The bank's board said Patrick T. Harker (left) will succeed Charles Plosser, who retired March 1. Harker was also a professor of business administration and a professor of engineering. Plosser had announced last year that he would retire. He had been a leading ''hawk'' at the Fed — expressing concerns that the central bank has been too slow to raise interest rates, which could trigger unwanted inflation. — ASSOCIATED PRESS
Stop & Shop regional president resigns
Joe Kelley, president of Stop & Shop in New England, resigned Monday, according to Ahold USA, the parent company. A press release said he will “pursue other career opportunities.” Kelley joined Stop & Shop, the largest grocery chain in Massachusetts, in May 2012. His interim replacement is Don Sussman (right), president of the New York metro division. He joined Stop & Shop in 1995. Stop & Shop New England, based in Quincy, has 220 stores in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut with 34,000 workers. Ahold is a Dutch chain; its US business operates more than 770 Stop & Shop and Giant markets. —
Santander names Scott Powell to be its new US head
Banco Santander SA has created a separate position to oversee US operations and hired an outsider to take charge. Santander Holdings USA named Scott Powell as chief executive, effective immediately. The Boston-based holding company is a subsidiary of the Spanish financial giant. Traditionally, the head of Santander Bank in the United States has also led the holding company, which includes one of the largest auto-lending businesses. Roman Blanco, in that post since 2013, remains chief executive of the bank, but Powell will be his boss. Last year, the Federal Reserve faulted Santander during stress tests of which banks could weather a financial crisis. Federal and state investigators have also been reviewing its subprime auto lending. Powell's expertise in consumer finance and risk management was a key factor in his hiring, Santander Group said. — DIERDRE FERNANDES
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