For the Record – April 2015

HAMPTON ROADS

Bank of America announced the layoff of 202 workers in downtown Norfolk because the number of delinquent home loans the bank services has decreased to one-seventh of its peak level. March 29 was expected to be the last day for employees in the Legacy Asset Servicing division, which handles delinquent mortgages, said Jumana Bauwens, Bank of America’s senior vice president of communications, in an emailed statement. (The Virginian-Pilot)

Haulotte North America plans to move its North American headquarters from Frederick, Md., to Virginia Beach. The firm is a subsidiary of Haulotte Group based in L’Horme, France. It’s the third-largest manufacturer of aerial work platforms, such as industrial scaffolding and lift systems. The move is expected to create 66 jobs in Virginia Beach within 36 months, with average salaries of more than $70,000. Haulotte plans to open its new facility by mid-June.
(VirginiaBusiness.com)

The Navy awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries a $224 million modification to a previously awarded contract for advanced planning for the midlife overhaul of the carrier George Washington. The funds will allow for continued planning for the overhaul – known as a “refueling and complex overhaul” or “RCOH” – as well as the procurement of “long-lead materials” such as pumps, breakers, valves and steel for the fabrication of structural units. (The Virginian-Pilot)

Waltham, Mass.-based Raytheon confirmed in March that its “depot work” performed in Norfolk and Chula Vista, Calif., is being consolidated to the company’s operations in Indianapolis. According to Michael Doble, a Raytheon spokesman, about 250 jobs will be added in Indianapolis. The company will maintain a smaller operation in Chula Vista and Norfolk, where it reportedly has about 300 employees. How many of them will be affected is not known at this time, Doble said. (The Virginian-Pilot)

Recreational Equipment Inc. plans to open a store at Pembroke Mall in Virginia Beach in the spring 2016. The store will span more than 27,400 square feet, REI says. According to the company, the first REI in Virginia opened in 1990 at Bailey’s Crossroads. Today, the nearest REI is more than 100 miles away in the Richmond-Short Pump area. The store will feature gear for camping, climbing, cycling, fitness, hiking, paddling, snow sports and travel. (VirginiaBusiness.com) 

SHENANDOAH VALLEY
The Artisans Center of Virginia announced the development of the Artisan Trail Network program in Winchester‐Frederick County. The Artisans Center of Virginia, together with a management team of local artisan‐related hospitality and cultural businesses, will develop a new regional artisan trail that will highlight a wide range of visitor experience attractions in Winchester‐Frederick County. The trail system is a public‐private initiative to further strengthen the relationships and connectivity of local businesses while emphasizing unique experiences, special places and locally made products in the area. (News release)

Three wines in the Shenandoah Valley made the Virginia Wineries Association 2015 Governor’s Case: Cross Keys Vineyards’ 2013 Touriga; RockBridge Vineyards’ 2010 V d’or and Muse Vineyards’ 2009 Clio, which was awarded the Governor’s Cup. The Governor’s Cup award winner and the other 11 wines that make up the 2015 Governor’s Cup Case are the top 12 highest scoring wines chosen from 390 entries of both red and white wines, from 94 wineries. (News release)

Strasburg-based First Bank is one step closer to acquiring six bank branches in Virginia from Bank of America. First Bank received approval to acquire the branches from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and the Bureau of Financial Institutions, a regulatory division of the Virginia State Corporation Commission. The acquisition is expected to go through April 17. The bank plans to obtain retail branches in Woodstock, Staunton, Waynesboro, Elkton, Farmville and Dillwyn. First Bank expects to be the largest bank headquartered in the Shenandoah Valley after the transaction closes, with 16 branches and more than $750 million in total assets. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Lumos cut a total of 31 employees— 16 in West Virginia and the rest in Waynesboro. “We have products that are growing in the business and we are reducing the focus in resale business,” said James Nester, the spokesman for the Waynesboro-based telecommunications company. “This reflects the focus on our data segment.” The layoffs come in the wake of the news of Waynesboro-based Ntelos laying off 48 corporate employees. Ntelos said it needed to “streamline and right size the organization” in January. Lumos split off from NTelos in 2011. (The News Leader)

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA
Dan River Plants — a commercial venture in Ringgold launched by the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research — has suspended operations. Dan River Plants, formerly known as the Dan River Plant Propagation Center, moved from the institute to Ringgold East Industrial Park. The facility employed 11 people. Dan River Plants was a tissue culture business that “cloned” plants for a variety of clients throughout the U.S. (Work It, SoVa)

The former corporate headquarters building for the Peebles department store chain in South Hill has been sold for $1.5 million. S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co., a Norfolk-based commercial real estate firm, reported that the 29,600-square-foot office building on 7.87 acres was bought by WBS Investments LLC, owned by South Hill entrepreneur Willie Bob Smith. Houston-based Stage Stores bought Peebles in 2003 for $167 million. Stage Stores operates 850 stores in 40 states under the Bealls, Palais Royal, Peebles, Stage and Goody’s names. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

The Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to look into legal action against Duke Energy for reparations for last year’s coal ash spill on the Dan River. In February 2014, a metal pipe under a coal ash storage basin in Eden, N.C., failed, releasing 39,000 tons of ash into the river. Concerns about wildlife and drinking water quickly gave way to a publicity crisis for a city and county hoping to attract jobs and visitors to the area, said Westover Supervisor Coy Harville. (Danville Register & Bee)

Supply Resources, a custom packaging and logistics company, has moved its headquarters to a new location in Danville’s River District. The 21,000-square-foot historic building at 554 Craghead St. has been redeveloped to house office space. The second and third floors, totaling 14,000 square feet, will be available for redevelopment and lease as office space. The building also will house administrative and sales work of Supply Resources and its affiliated companies, which are SRI Global, Lynchburg Public Warehouse and Ricker Barker Properties. (Work It, SoVa)

NORTHERN VIRGINIA
San Francisco-based Bechtel Corp. will invest $10 million to move its Frederick, Md., operation to Northern Virginia. The move is expected to bring 700 new jobs to Fairfax County. Bechtel, a major engineering, construction and project management company, said the decision to relocate is due to global restructuring. Gov. Terry McAuliffe approved a $500,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund for the project. He also permitted the use of $4 million in funds from the Virginia Economic Development Incentive Grant. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Arlington-based Graham Holdings, the former owner of The Washington Post, is selling the physical campuses that comprise Kaplan College, a division of its Kaplan education business. Birmingham, Ala.-based Education Corporation of America, an operator of private U.S.-accredited colleges, will buy all 38 campuses in an all-stock transaction, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Financial terms were not disclosed. When announced in February, the deal was expected to close within 180 days. (Washington Business Journal)

Florida-based government contractor Harris agreed to purchase McLean-based Exelis Inc. in a $4.75 billion deal. The agreement, subject to regulatory approvals and approval by Exelis shareholders, is expected to close in June. Executives have not said where the firm will be headquartered after the acquisition. Harris is a communications and information technology company that serves both government and commercial markets. Exelis is a global aerospace, defense and information and services company. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

U.S. Federal Communications Commission staff recommended that the agency drop Sterling-based Neustar Inc. in favor of Ericsson AB subsidiary Telcordia Technologies as a contractor that helps telephone carriers route calls and text messages. The exclusive government contract, which expires on June 30, accounts for about half of the company’s revenues. Since 1997, Neustar has managed the world’s largest local number portability registry that allows consumers and businesses to keep their telephone numbers when switching among providers. (Reuters)

The University of Mary Washington’s unique approach to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing has been approved by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and will begin this fall. In the program, students will be able to live on UMW’s Fredericksburg campus while taking courses at both the university and Germanna Community College campuses. The academic partnership recently received approval from SACS, the accreditation body for degree-granting higher education institutions in the southern United States. (The Free Lance-Star)

Arlington-based Accenture Federal Services plans to acquire digital solutions company Agilex Technologies Inc. Accenture said the acquisition of the privately held company will boost its digital capabilities in analytics, cloud and mobility for federal agencies. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Chantilly-based Agilex focuses on the IT requirements of federal agencies. Accenture Federal Services is a subsidiary of Accenture LLP, a management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 319,000 employees in more than 120 countries. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

McLean-based Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) is acquiring intelligence services provider Scitor Corp. for $790 million in cash. The seller is the Los Angeles-based private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners. The SAIC board of directors has approved the deal, which is expected to close in May and is subject to customary closing conditions. Founded in 1979, Scitor is based in Reston and operates in Herndon, Chantilly, Charlottesville, Hampton and Arlington. Scitor has annual revenue of about $600 million and has 1,500 employees. SAIC has about 13,000 employees and annual revenues of about $4 billion. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

CENTRAL VIRGINIA
Henrico County-based used-car retailer CarMax Inc. announced plans in February to hire more than 2,500 employees at dealerships across the country. The majority of open positions are in sales, with additional positions in service, purchasing and the business office. Openings include full- and part-time permanent positions. Some of the areas with a large number of sales job openings include Denver, Cincinnati, Salt Lake City, Miami and Atlanta. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Dominion Virginia Power plans to build solar power plants generating 400 megawatts of electricity in the state, with the energy coming online by 2020. The Richmond-based company expects to invest $700 million in the large-scale solar photovoltaic projects in a number of locations. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Henrico County-based GPM Investments LLC agreed to buy the Midwestern division of VPS Convenience Store Group LLC. In 2013, GPM acquired VPS’ Southeast operations. The acquisition of VPS Midwest division adds 116 stores in Indiana; the remaining stores are in Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. The stores operate under the Village Pantry and Next Door Store names. GPM owns Fas Mart stores and hundreds of other convenience stores. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Henrico County-based PBMares LLP, one of the largest Virginia-based accounting firms, is merging with TMDG LLC, an accounting firm based in Baltimore. TMDG will become a subsidiary of PBMares, which will retain Alan S. Witt as its CEO. TMDG will continue to be run by Matt Dubnansky, the firm’s managing director. The combined company will have about 220 full-time employees. That number should grow to about 250 people during tax preparation season. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

Richmond-based Union Bankshares Corp. changed its bank’s legal name from Union First Market Bank to Union Bank & Trust. The bank has 131 branches and more than 200 ATMs throughout Virginia. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

James C. Justice II, a billionaire coal and agriculture magnate, has sold Nelson County’s Wintergreen Resort. EPR Properties, a real estate investment trust based in Kansas City, Mo., purchased the property from James C. Justice Cos. Inc. The financial terms of the deal, which closed in February, were not disclosed. Justice, who also owns the Greenbrier Resort in West Virginia, acquired the financially troubled property in 2012 for $16.5 million. (The Daily Progress)