Baltimore and International Business

[Itus]

Wednesday, July 15, 2009, 2:37pm EDT
Sylvan Learning Inc. opening new centers in Bahrain, Kuwait
Baltimore Business Journal - by Julekha Dash Staff

Sylvan Learning Inc. said it will expand its education franchise in the Middle East, with new centers to open in Bahrain this month and in Kuwait in August.

These centers are part of an agreement with Carnegie Mellon University Associate Professor Mohamed A. Dobashi to open seven franchises as the company tries to grow the brand in countries outside of North America.

Sylvan has signed 24 new franchise agreements in the U.S. since January, including in Greater Baltimore, Illinois, Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Nevada.

Sylvan also has identified more than 40 corporate-owned centers that the company is interested in converting to franchised centers. The company said that it is seeing growth in spite of the economy as education is still a priority for families.

Franchisees need to invest between $188,000 to $305,000 to open a new franchise, depending on the type of real estate purchase. Candidates need to possess a minimum net worth of $250,000. Sylvan currently operates nearly 1,100 centers in 49 states in the U.S. and six Canadian provides. Its teachers provide tutoring on reading, writing, math and preparation for college entrance exams.

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore...lfn&ana=tt3260

[rockin'.baltimorean]

very strategic move on sylvan's part. i hope it workd out..

[Itus]

Swedish bioenergy company to open office in Annapolis
O'Malley courted company on economic development mission overseas

By Hanah Cho | hanah.cho@baltsun.com

12:53 p.m. EDT, August 20, 2009

A Swedish bioenergy company plans to open its first U.S. office in Annapolis, two months after Gov. Martin O'Malley met with the company during an economic development mission to that country, state economic development officials announced Thursday.

Swebo Bioenergy, which manufactures equipment for heating and electricity production using clean technology, plans to open a Maryland office in the fall and hire three people to begin operations here, said Mattias Lindgren, a Swebo managing director who will head the company's U.S. operations.

Production operations will follow shortly and will result in hiring 15 to 20 more people, Lindgren said in a phone interview from Sweden.

Lindgren cited Annapolis' proximity to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Baltimore's harbor and port as factors that drove Swebo to Maryland.

"We were quite thrilled by the great support we feel from the state," he said. "We met with many people and we feel the support and we feel welcomed."

The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development said the state is not providing any incentives to Swebo.

State officials have been aggressively courting foreign investment and companies. Since April 2008, DBED has attracted 17 foreign companies to the state. Swebo will be the state's 18th.

The state also plans to launch its first international incubator later this year to attract international firms to College Park.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business...,6071622.story

[Itus]

Icelandair moves regional offices from Columbia

August 20, 2009

Icelandair, the national carrier of Iceland, said Wednesday it has relocated its North American headquarters from Columbia to Quincy, Mass. The move comes two years after the carrier announced it was canceling its flights from BWI Marshall Airport. The airline did not return calls so it is unclear how many jobs will be relocating.

- Andrea K. Walker

[bma83]

Originally Posted by Itus

Icelandair moves regional offices from Columbia

August 20, 2009

Icelandair, the national carrier of Iceland, said Wednesday it has relocated its North American headquarters from Columbia to Quincy, Mass. The move comes two years after the carrier announced it was canceling its flights from BWI Marshall Airport. The airline did not return calls so it is unclear how many jobs will be relocating.

- Andrea K. Walker

The reason why they left BWI was never clear to me. It couldn't be because they weren't getting any passengers. When I flew them on my way to Paris the flight was full, both ways.

[Itus]

Thursday, October 15, 2009, 2:52pm EDT
Maryland opens Chinese incubator
Baltimore Business Journal - by Sarah Krouse Contributor

The University of Maryland and the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development will open a new Maryland International Incubator on Friday.

Beijing Grandsoft Co., Beijing Oil Tec Petroleum Technology LLC, Beijing Sino-American Venture Capital LLC, Shandong Province Liaison Office, UK CommunityDNS, US-China Training Services, Inc. and Wuxi TocaTek have all signed leases for space in the 7,500-square-foot facility.

The space, formerly occupied by Fujitsu, is in an existing building at 8400 Baltimore Ave. in College Park and is the only Chinese research park in the United States.

The facility includes 12 pre-furnished rooms and 12 cubicle. Despite it’s relatively small size, it can host up to 24 companies and is phase one of what officials hope will eventually be a multi-location incubator.

The center would like to bring in tenants from areas such as Europe and Latin America.

Wan Gang, the Chinese Minister of Science and Technology will join University and Maryland officials at the opening ceremony.

The incubator is part of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Maryland International Growth Strategy that aims at helping foreign companies expand their operations in or move to Maryland.

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/bal...l?surround=lfn

[Itus]

(from Jay Hancock's blog)
November 2, 2009
After months of doubt, EDF, Constellation OK deal

After months of uncertainty and contention over the French EDF Group's plan to invest $4.5 billion in half of Constellation Energy's nuclear power business, the companies announced this morning that they would go through with the deal. Constellation CEO Mayo Shattuck said last week that they could complete it within a couple weeks.

"We have consulted with our Board and received its approval," Constellation said in a prepared statement this morning. "We are now moving to close the transaction as quickly as possible so that we can begin to deliver the many benefits of this investment to all stakeholders across the state."

In its statement, EDF said: "Through its investment in Constellation Energy’s nuclear business, EDF has chosen Maryland to be at the center of its growth efforts in the United States. EDF is eager to be a strong corporate citizen in Maryland, and looks forward to moving its U.S. headquarters to the State."

The decisions come after months of uncertainty and weeks of contentious hearings before the Maryland Public Service Commission, which asserted authority after EDF and Constellation agreed to the deal late last year. Gov. Martin O'Malley had sought several conditions from Constellation before he would agree to countenance the transaction, including protections for Constellation subsidiary Baltimore Gas & Electric, rate rebates for BGE customers and compensation reductions for Shattuck.

In approving the deal with conditions on Friday, the PSC agreed with O'Malley's desired protections for BGE and required a $100-per-household rebate for BGE customers -- about half of what O'Malley had suggested. But it said it has no jurisdiction over Shattuck's pay.

Late last week reports surfaced in the French press suggesting that EDF's incoming CEO, Henri Proglio, was unenthusiastic about the Constellation deal and was looking for a way out. However, Proglio doesn't take over until later this month. EDF's existing boss, Pierre Gadonneix, badly wanted the transaction to close so that the huge French utility could use the United States to demonstrate its nuclear expertise.

In deciding that the transaction can go forward, both companies agreed to the conditions that the PSC imposed.

EDF will own 49 percent of Constellation's nuclear business, and they will operate it together. The PSC decision was the last regulatory hurdle that the partnership needed, U.S. federal authorities having already given it their blessing. The deal's completion and the injection of the French cash strengthens Constellation's financial position after it was badly damaged by the 2008 financial meltdown and came close to seeking bankruptcy protection.

It also sets the stage for the construction of a third nuclear reactor at Calvert Cliffs, which both companies have pledged to pursue. The project would be one of the biggest construction projects ever in Maryland and bring new supplies of electricity to a state that hasn't seen significant generation capacity built in more than a decade. But first the companies need to secure financing for the reactor. And even if construction goes smoothly it would take years to complete.

. . .

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/busi..._edf_cons.html

[Itus]

Port of Baltimore to get multi-million-dollar upgrade
Public-private partnership would prepare port for super-size ships once Panama Canal is widened


Seagirt Marine Terminal
The state has been looking for a partner to dig a 50-footdeep birth at Seagirt Marine Terminal for super-large ships once the Panama Canal is widened, and to build four cranes similar to this one. (Baltimore Sun photo by Glenn Fawcett / August 5, 2008)

By Michael Dresser | michael.dresser@baltsun.com

November 20, 2009

Gov. Martin O'Malley is expected to announce today that a company will invest hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade the port of Baltimore - a project likely to bring thousands of jobs to the city.

The deal, part of a long-term lease agreement, is needed to prepare the port for the larger ships expected to dominate maritime commerce after the widening of the Panama Canal is completed, high-ranking administration officials said. They identified the company that will take over container operations at Seagirt Marine Terminal as Ports America Chesapeake, a newly chartered affiliate of Ports America Group - the terminal's current operator.

With the state's Transportation Trust Fund depleted, the Maryland Port Administration has been working for more than a year to find a private partner to build a 50-foot-deep berth and purchase four cranes so Seagirt could handle the oversize cargo ships that are expected to use the canal to sail from Asia to the East Coast after 2014.

Officials estimated the cost of building the expanded berth at $105 million, and said Ports America is expected to invest up to $500 million in capital projects at the port over the 50-year term of the agreement.

They predicted the agreement would directly create 5,700 new jobs in Maryland - 2,700 of them permanent positions at the port.

Rupert Denney, chairman of the Baltimore Port Alliance, a group representing maritime businesses, called the deal "a positive development," good for the Maryland Port Administration and the port community in general.

Though he was not privy to the selection of Ports America as the winning bidder, Denney said upgrading the terminal likely would lead to more shipping business for the port and more employment.

"If Ports America are prepared to invest this amount of money in the port of Baltimore, they have every single incentive to make the operation work," he said. "That'll turn into probably higher volumes and more man-hours."

According to the administration sources, Ports America was the sole company to put in a bid. But they expressed confidence the state had negotiated a good deal.

State officials familiar with the deal asked not to be identified because it had not been formally approved. But they described it as a one-of-a-kind public-private partnership with no clear precedent in the port industry.

The contract comes up before the Maryland Port Commission Friday morning for what is expected to be easy approval. O'Malley and top transportation officials have called a news conference immediately afterward. The pact would still have to be reviewed by General Assembly budget committees and ratified by the Board of Public Works.

Under the agreement, sources said, the state will receive regular lease payments for the next 50 years. In addition, Ports America would provide the roughly $100 million necessary to transfer ownership of 201 acres at the terminal from the Maryland Transportation Authority to the port administration.

According to the sources, the state would also receive a payment for each container that moves across the Seagirt docks above a 500,000 annual threshold. The state would remain in charge of security at the terminal, with the Maryland Transportation Authority Police continuing their role as first responder.

Most container cargo that comes from Asia to the Eastern United States travels by ship to the West Coast and then moves across country by train. A high-ranking port official estimated that by sending mega-ships through the Panama Canal, shipping lines will be able to lower the cost per container from roughly $2,000 to about $200.

The canal's existing locks are limited in the size of the ships they can handle, but Panamanian authorities are midway through a $3 billion project to add a third set of locks - wider and deeper - to allow the largest vessels.

According to the high-ranking official, the port of Baltimore stood to lose significant business - including that of the giant Evergreen Line - had it not found a way to pay for the expanded berth at Seagirt. Evergreen accounts for about one-third of the 350,000 containers that come through the port of Baltimore annually.

With the agreement, port officials expect to be in an excellent position to gain container business because it will be one of the few East Coast ports with the 50-foot-deep channel needed to accommodate the larger ships.

According to administration officials, Ports America was one of two companies that responded to the state's original request for bidders. They said the other bidder, Ceres Marine Terminals, pulled out days before the deadline.

Baltimore Sun reporter Timothy B. Wheeler contributed to this article.

Highlights of the port deal
•Ports America Chesapeake would build 50-foot-deep berth and equip with four cranes.

•Maryland Port Administration would receive.lease payments from Ports America.

•Ports America would provide roughly $100 million to buy out Maryland Transportation Authority.

•Contract calls for capital investments up to $500 million over 50 years.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/mar...,5603102.story

[Itus]

Ciena Corp. wins bid for Nortel assets in bankruptcy auction

By Gus G. Sentementes | gus.sentementes@baltsun.com

8:23 a.m. EST, November 23, 2009

Ciena Corp., a Linthicum-based maker of fiber optic gear, said Monday that it won a bid for the optical-networking assets of Nortel Networks Corp. in a deal worth $769 million.

The company reportedly beat an unspecified competing bid from Nokia Siemens Networks, a joint venture between Finland's Nokia Corp. and Germany's Siemens AG, during a bankruptcy auction that started Friday and lasted through the weekend, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Ciena agreed to pay $530 million in cash and to issue $239 million in senior convertible notes to Nortel, a Canadian-based company that has filed for bankruptcy protection in both Canada and the United States.

The acquisition of Nortel's Metro Ethernet Networks subsidiary would position Ciena as North America's largest maker of network equipment and allow it compete more effectively on a global scale, according to analysts.

The acquisition would essentially double the size of Ciena's workforce, which currently stands at 2,100, with 700 in Maryland. The company has said it would offer jobs to about 2,000 Nortel employees.

Ciena said the assets the company is acquiring generated $1.36 billion in revenue for Nortel in 2008, and $556 million in revenue for the first six months of 2009. The company expects the purchase to close in the first quarter of next year.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business...,6322633.story

[Balmurfan]

BALTIMORE, MD - View Systems, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VSYM), a security and teledata solutions provider, announced that an initial order for 40 ViewScan units has been received from Belcom, a Belhasa company, based in the United Arab Emirates.

Belcom is an authorized international dealer and business partner of View Systems. Belcom represents View Systems' products in the Middle East, Africa, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Yemen. Belcom is a subsidiary of the Belhasa Group of Companies, a trusted security and services firm with proven performance throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Belcom is one of the fastest growing telecommunications, IT, and security services companies in the Middle East today. Belcom's corporate headquarters is based in Dubai, UAE with field offices located throughout the MENA region. The Belcom team has an impressive track record of successfully completing projects for clients regardless of location.

(Source: www.belcom.ae). ViewScan units are currently placed in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, India and Pakistan.

View is currently procuring the parts necessary to complete a build of more than 100 units. The 40 units purchased under this contract are expected to ship by the 2009 year end.

ViewScan is fast becoming the choice screening system, both domestically and internationally. It's a computer-based system that can scan up to 1200 people per hour. As a person passes through the portal, a photograph is taken and stored on the laptop computer that comes with the unit. Threat objects are visually located on the computer screen and an audible alert can be set to sound. The ViewScan produces no harmful emissions so it's safe for everyone.

Gunther Than, CEO of View Systems, states, "We have always maintained great enthusiasm for international product sales. Substantial orders from our international dealers are a testament to the reliability and value of the ViewScan product. Belcom has proven itself as a strong representative by successfully marketing our products to their target areas and bringing in orders. We are confident that international interest will steadily rise, and that Belcom will continue to increase our sales abroad."

About View Systems: View Systems, Inc. manufactures and installs weapons detection identification systems, video management platforms and tele-data communication networks targeted towards correctional facilities, schools, courthouses, government agencies, event and sports venues, and commercial businesses. More information can be found on the website at www.viewsystems.com.

[Itus]

good to see local companies i've never heard of establishing themselves abroad. a lot of them sounds like hi-tech companies too

[Itus]

Thursday, December 3, 2009, 10:08am EST
Ciena's Nortel bid gets bankruptcy court OK
Baltimore Business Journal - by Tucker Echols Contributor

Ciena Corp.'s planned $769 million acquisition of most of Nortel's optical business has been approved by bankruptcy courts in the U.S. and Canada. Ciena has also come to terms on acquiring other Nortel businesses not included in the initial agreement.

Ciena, based in Linthicum, said that its newly negotiated deal to acquire substantially all of the optical networking and carrier ethernet assets of Nortel's Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa will complement the previously announced deal for Nortel's MEN business in North America, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia.

The transaction for the North American, Caribbean, Latin American and Asian businesses is still waiting for some regional regulatory clearances, and is also subject to customary closing conditions.

The European, Middle Eastern and African businesses transaction is subject to statutory information-sharing and consultation processes with the relevant employee representatives, as well as approval of the courts in France and Israel.

Ciena (NASDAQ: CIEN) said that both transaction are expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2010.

http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/bal...l?surround=lfn

[Balmurfan]

Salesgen, a Swedish, a sales and marketing company, has chosen to set up shop in Maryland. The company has received $425,000 (SEK 3 Million)i n external financing to establish the House of GreenTech with offices and registered corporations in the U.S. and Sweden. Salesgen will also act as the formal representative of the State of Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development in Sweden and Finland.

"Salesgen's decision to set up a U.S. headquarters is another great win from our economic development mission to Sweden in June and further evidence that Maryland is well positioned to attract clean energy and green technology enterprises," says Gov. Martin O'Malley. "Maryland and Sweden share common interests in green technology and energy solutions and we look forward to learning from our European partner's ways to create a smarter and greener Maryland."

A large number of Swedish companies have developed green technologies and products that have tremendous potential in the U.S. market. But they rarely have the resources to take their offerings to the U.S. market. Even fewer have the financial muscle, knowhow and network to successfully establish U.S. subsidiaries and offer project financing. That's where Salesgen's House of GreenTech adds value, with registered corporations in the US and Sweden and vast experience from sales and marketing of technologies, products, and solutions.

"The capital infusion allows us to establish House of GreenTech and further emphasize the advantages of Salesgen; to be able to market Swedish GreenTech in the U.S. from U.S. offices, do business as a company incorporated in the U.S., and to add project financing to the equation. We have senior advisors and members of the board of directors on both sides of the Atlantic, providing Nordic GreenTech companies with a unique interface to the U.S. market", says Peter Selemark, Executive VP SALESGEN and CEO of the U.S. based Salesgen House of GreenTech, a subsidiary of Salesgen.

"The market for GreenTech is roughly where the IT market was in the nineties. Dynamics are strong and the market is largely uncharted territory. But this time there is a great window of opportunity to bring technology from Sweden to U.S. instead of just importing to Sweden", continues Peter Selemark.

A group of European investors with ties to Sweden provided the first round of external financing with $425,000 (SEK 3 Million). Additional investors may enter in the next two quarters, after which an IPO for about $1 – 1.2 Million (SEK 7-9 Million ) and a listing on one of the smaller stock exchanges in Sweden is planned. The target is to reach$ 70 Million (SEK 500 Million) in revenues from GreenTech in five years.

Source: Salesgen
Writer: Walaika Haskins

[Itus]

woohoo! i had to do some digging but it looks like they're setting up shop in Baltimore according to this http://www.salesgen.se/docs/DI_091007.pdf

I had to use a translator, but it seems like he slightly disses Baltimore but thinks the city's location is useful because of how close it is to DC.

[Balmurfan]

His opinion of the city will change once he's here!

[Ty Doggie]

This should be interesting to see how the companies will try to leverage the local HR here. Hopefully it'll put a case of serious 3R in the city's underskilled and dwindling workforce (looking at it overall and not in pockets of neighborhoods and institutions).

[Itus]

Canadian company buys Baltimore software firm

Gus G. Sentementes | gus.sentementes@baltsun.com

January 5, 2010

A Canadian software giant has paid an undisclosed sum for G.1440 LLC, a Baltimore-based consulting, software and marketing firm that has been part of the area's technology industry since the late 1990s.

A subsidiary of Constellation Software Inc., a publicly traded company in Toronto, bought the assets of G.1440 in an all-cash deal from its majority stakeholder, Sinclair Broadcast Group, which owns and operates nearly 60 television stations across the United States. Officials for both companies expected G.1440's strategy and management team to stay in place, without job cuts in Baltimore.

"I think this is going to be good for Baltimore," said Larry Fiorino, G.1440's founder, president and CEO. "We have a large software company that now has an interest in Baltimore."

Fiorino started G.1440 in 1998 out of his Reisterstown home and sold a majority stake to a subsidiary of Sinclair a year later. The company, which has 75 employees, had offices in Columbia, downtown Baltimore and Hampden before moving to its current office in the Clipper Mill complex.

The software product that attracted the attention of Canada's Constellation involves an online customer-relation management tool called Builder1440. That software, which G.1440 started building in 2000, is now a significant part of the business, according to Fiorino. Partnering with Constellation would give G.1440's team potential access to thousands of new customers in the United States and Canada, he said.

Fiorino declined to release G.1440's profit and sales figures. But he said over the past five years, the company has grown about 16 percent a year. Sinclair officials could not be reached for comment.

Dexter Salna, president of the subsidiary Constellation Homebuilder Systems, said his company likes to buy and hold strong companies. In the past 15 years, he said, Constellation has bought more than 100 companies, but sold only three.

"I think we have a good management team [at G.1440] and I'm directing them to see how we can grow," Salna said. "We're more of a buy and hold investor."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business...,7833367.story

[Ty Doggie]

Hopefully more international business hits Baltimore.

[Itus]

Friday, April 2, 2010, 10:46am EDT
FTI Consulting acquires Asian firm Baker Tilly Hong Kong Business Recovery Ltd.
Baltimore Business Journal - by Scott Dance Staff

FTI Consulting Inc. has acquired Asian firm Baker Tilly Hong Kong Business Recovery Ltd. to significantly expand its business on that continent.

Baker Tilly will become FTI Consulting (Asia) Ltd. once the sale closes.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal gets FTI (NYSE: FCN) into the fast-growing Chinese market.

“The acquisition of BTHKBR is in line with our strategy to deploy our full range of services in all of our important global markets,” FTI CEO Jack Dunn said in a statement.

The company will be merged into FTI’s existing forensic and litigation consulting business in Asia. Baker Tilly specializes in forensic accounting, litigation support, business valuation and financial due diligence.

FTI was No. 9 on the Baltimore Business Journal’s List of fastest growing public companies in Greater Baltimore in 2009, based on its revenue growth in the first half of that year compared with the first half of 2008.

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore...l?surround=lfn

[Itus]

Thursday, April 8, 2010, 2:24pm EDT
GP Strategies buys British software company
Baltimore Business Journal - by Scott Dance Staff

GP Strategies Corp. has acquired Marton House PLC, a British developer of job training software.

Elkridge-based GP (NYSE: GPX) did not disclose the terms of the deal. But it said the acquisition is expected to boost GP revenue. Marton House pulled in $4 million in revenue in 2009.

GP Strategies ranks 18th on the Baltimore Business Journal’s List of largest public companies, with $107 million in revenue in the first half of 2009.

Like Marton House, it focuses on job training and education services and consulting.

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore...l?surround=lfn