Grace to Purchase Dow’s UNIPOLTech Licensing and Catalysts Business
Columbia-based W. R. Grace & Co. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of the UNIPOL Polypropylene Licensing and Catalysts business of The Dow Chemical Co. for a cash purchase price of $500 million. The transaction is expected to close by year end, pending regulatory approvals.
Dow’s UNIPOL licensing and catalysts systems business offers industry-leading UNIPOL Polypropylene Process Technology, which includes the advanced process control UNIPOL UNIPPAC Process Control software, SHAC Catalysts Systems and sixth-generation non-phthalate CONSISTA Catalysts Systems.
Grace is a leading supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and has the broadest portfolio of polyolefin catalyst technologies of any independent polyethylene/polypropylene catalyst producer.
“The addition of Dow’s world-class polypropylene products and process technology is a significant enhancement of Grace’s market-leading catalysts franchise,” said Grace Chairman and CEO Fred Festa. “The agreement reflects Grace’s continuing commitment to invest in our catalyst businesses, particularly in technology. This acquisition strengthens our ability to provide polypropylene catalyst solutions to our customers around the world.”
State Casinos Report Annual Boost Due to Table Games
Gambling activity in September in Maryland dropped from August figures, but September’s month-to-month revenue from casinos was still up 59% from a year ago, due again to the introduction of table games.
Led by Maryland Live! Casino, at Arundel Mills in Hanover, total revenues from Maryland’s four casinos reached $65.33 million for September; while that figure dropped from $71 million in August, it’s a significant rise from the $41 million figure in September of 2012, when the state was operating three casinos and had not yet introduced table games.
Maryland Live! reported revenues of $32.2 million from slots and $18 million from table games in September. The casino added table games in April and opened a 52-table poker room in August; in addition, Hollywood Casino, in Perryville, brought in $5.6 million from slots and about $1 million from table games; Ocean Downs Casino, in Ocean City, recorded $5.1 million from slots; while the new Rocky Gap Casino reported $2.7 million in slots revenue and $425,392 from table games.
Money from the casinos is distributed to operators and to the state’s education trust fund, as well as the horse racing industry, local impact grants and small and minority-owned businesses.
Distribution of September Revenue:
● Education Trust Fund: $21.79 million from slots, $3.93 million from table games
● Casinos: $16.04 million from slots, $15.72 million from table games
● Horse Racing Purse Account: $3.075 million from slots
● Local Impact Grants: $2.43 million from slots
● Racetrack Facility Renewal: $752,103 from slots
● Maryland Lottery: $913,644 from slots
● Small, Minority and Women-owned Business: $664,946 from slots
Osiris Announces Agreement Worth Up to $100M-Plus in Royalties
Columbia-based Osiris Therapeutics has entered into an agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mesoblast Limited for the sale of Osiris’s culture-expanded mesenchymal stem cell (ceMSC) business, including Prochymal, in a transaction worth up to $100 million in initial consideration and milestone payments.
Additionally, Osiris will receive royalty payments on sales of Prochymal and other products utilizing the acquired ceMSC technology. The transaction also calls for Mesoblast, which is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, to acquire the assets related to Osiris’s ceMSC business, Osiris to receive $50 million in consideration for closing and delivery of its ceMSC assets, and Osiris to be eligible to receive up to an additional $50 million in payments upon Mesoblast achieving certain clinical and regulatory milestones, among other terms.
“With this transaction, we will focus our business on those areas that are of greatest commercial value to Osiris moving forward,” said Peter Friedli, chairman of Osiris Therapeutics. “Furthermore, we have substantially strengthened our balance sheet, reduced [research and development] expense and preserved future value from Prochymal through a series of milestone and royalty payments.”
Osiris expects to record the closing and asset transfer consideration of $51 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.
Construction Begins on Monarch Global Academy in Laurel
The Children’s Guild closed on the purchase of 8.5 acres of land on Brock Bridge Road in Laurel and construction has started on the property for Monarch Global Academy, with the groundbreaking ceremony set for Nov. 4.
This new contract school is planned as an International Baccalaureate School for students from kindergarten to fifth grade, and there will be an Information Technology curriculum with an international focus for students in grades six to eight. The school will open in the fall of 2014 with 474 students and grow to serve 740 students in 2015.
The $12 million building is The Children’s Guild’s third Monarch Academy, with Monarch Academy Public Charter Schools in Glen Burnie and in Baltimore City. Students from Jessup Elementary, Brock Bridge Elementary and Maryland City Elementary are eligible to attend Monarch Global Academy.
Following the IB model, Monarch Global Academy believes student learning is best done when it is authentic – relevant to the “real world”; and is transdisciplinary – where learning is not confined within the boundaries of traditional subject areas but is supported and enriched by them. The IB model will promote international-mindedness as a key cultural feature to the Monarch Global Academy School, where teaching and learning will address human commonality, diversity and multiple perspectives.
Howard to Assist Nonprofits, Religious Facilities With Water Quality Improvement
Howard County has launched the Watershed Protection Partnership Program, which allows nonprofit organizations and religious institutions to develop and implement plans for greater water quality improvement on their property while reducing or eliminating the impact of the Watershed Protection and Restoration Fee.
The program creates a credit for up to 100% of the local stormwater fee for tax-exempt properties that partner with the county to identify and establish best management practices. The county will offer assistance in developing those plans, and grants to implement those practices and projects.
The county has distributed notices to the owners of 181 properties, notifying them about how the program will operate. Property owners who choose to participate must submit a Notice of Intent by Thursday, Oct. 31. Those that do will receive a credit on the initial Watershed Protection and Restoration bill, to be issued later this year. The county will then develop a best-practices treatment plan for each property that treats stormwater on-site to the maximum extent practicable.
Applications for the program will be accepted until Dec. 31. For applications submitted after the Notice of Intent deadline, a refund of the initial fee will be provided. The program has a second option, allowing property owners to receive credits based on the percentage of stormwater treated on-site, after the work is in place and documented.
The credit program was created as part of the fee plan adopted by the Howard County Council in June. Fees for non-residential properties are based on the amount of impervious surface on the property. Additional information and application forms are available at www.cleanwaterhoward.com.
Howard Suspends Water Account Disconnections During Federal Shutdown
Howard County Executive Ken Ulman has announced that the county’s Department of Finance is suspending water service disconnections until the federal government shutdown is over.
In the past week, the Department of Finance has been contacted by at least two-dozen water customers who say they are unable to bring their water and sewer bill accounts up to date because of the government shutdown. In response, Ulman has decided to postpone all disconnections until Congress can reach an agreement to provide funding to restore federal government operations.
“Furloughed employees and contractors, and the businesses that rely on them, are having a hard time right now,” Ulman said. “We don’t need to make their situation any harder.”
Howard County has nearly 74,000 water and sewer customers, about 68,000 of which are residential and the remainder commercial. The county bills customers for water and sewer service four times a year, with 30 days to pay. Shutoffs occur after two additional notices. There are about 10 to 60 disconnections a month, which take place only on residential accounts with more than $250 past due. The average county water and sewer bill is about $150.
MLK Jr. Holiday Commission Seeks Nominees for ‘Living the Dream’ Award
The Howard County Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday Commission has announced that its accepting nominations for its annual “Living the Dream” Award. The award recognizes an outstanding individual or organization (community, civic or religious) that has promoted the teachings and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., through community involvement in Howard County.
The award and a $300 cash prize will be presented at the commission’s 29th Annual Celebration on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2014, at Howard Community College’s Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center Smith Theatre, in Columbia.
To be eligible for this award, nominees must be either residents of Howard County or an organization located in the county; have demonstrated the life, work, teachings or legacy of Dr. King; promoted community involvement among all ethnic groups, regardless of social, economic or religious background; and be committed to nonviolence and humanitarian services.
To apply, nominators must submit a typed narrative that describes why this individual or organization deserves to win the 2013 “Living the Dream” Award. Nomination forms can be obtained by visiting www.howardcountymd.gov/mlkholidaycommission.htm
or by calling the Office of Human Rights at 410-313-6430. All completed nomination forms must be postmarked, hand-delivered, faxed or e-mailed by 5 p.m., Friday, Nov. 15, to Howard County Office of Human Rights, Attn: MLK 2013 Living the Dream Award, 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Suite 239, Columbia, MD 21046; faxed to 410-313-6468; or e-mailed to SubmissionsMLK@howardcountymd.gov.
For more information or questions, contact Mary Toth at 410-313-6430 or e-mail mtoth@howardcountymd.gov.
From MarylandReporter.com …
Western Md. health exchange finds paper trail around Obamacare glitches:
One of Maryland’s six health care groups contracted to enroll Marylanders in Obamacare health insurance plans has found a way around computer glitches the state has been experiencing since the health insurance exchange opened Oct. 1 – they’re going back to paper. Healthy Howard, which services residents of six Western Maryland counties, has only been able to complete enrollment on the computer system for five people since the exchange opened. After being open one week, the state had enrolled only 326 people through its site. Read more: http://marylandreporter.com/category/news/#ixzz2hiLtoqpQ
Some Maryland members of Congress keeping their pay, others are not:
Members of Congress are still being paid during the government shutdown. Some have decided to donate their pay to charities or keep their paychecks. See how Maryland lawmakers are handling their salary in this interactive graphic. Read more: http://marylandreporter.com/category/news/#ixzz2hhsBCvBF
Off to the Races: Stewart in, Hyatt out in District 12; geezer ceiling at State House; Cohen vs. Pantelides in Naptown; vying for teacher support; and Kittleman of Columbia:
On the campaign trail: announcements, debate, endorsement and picnicking. Read more: http://marylandreporter.com/category/news/#ixzz2hhsXCnn5
MarylandReporter.com is a news site for government and politics in Maryland that is published and edited by Len Lazarick. For more information or to sign up for the daily e-news, go to marylandreporter.com.