Underhill Associates has opened a new shopping and dining development in east Louisville that is designed to resemble an open-air European village. The emphasis at Westport Village is “restaurants with specialty retail mixed in,” said Jeff Underhill, managing member of Underhill Associates. Napa River Grill, one of Louisville’s most popular upscale restaurants, is relocating to Westport Village and will join two new chain restaurants that are new to Kentucky: RJ Gators Seafood Grill and Indigo Joes. Other eateries include Bountiful Break Bakery, La Vida Java Coffeehouse and Qdoba. Among the tenants that have signed at Westport Village are Hubbach & Co., The Trail Store, Curves Fitness, Patina Interiors and Norton Healthcare ICC.
The Sullivan University System has acquired the Dale Carnegie Training franchise for Kentucky and Southern Indiana from Bill Lea, who has owned the franchise for 12 years. Dale Carnegie Training offers seminars to businesses and organizations interested in improving employee performance. The programs emphasize leadership, sales, team building, interpersonal relations, customer service, public speaking and management skills. Financial details of the transaction have not been disclosed. Lea has joined Sullivan and will manage the franchise for the university.
ResCare, Inc., a Louisville company that provides an array of services for the elderly and those with disabilities, has acquired 100 percent of the stock of Biscom Resource Management Limited, a United Kingdom company with six locations in the United Kingdom. Biscom is a private provider of government-funded job reintegration services that include job training and job placement assistance. Expected annual revenues from the acquisition are $25 million. ResCare President and CEO Ralph Gronefeld Jr. noted that the acquisition complements the company’s recent majority purchase of the Maatwerk Groep BV, a Netherlands company that has locations in the UK, Netherlands and Germany. “These two acquisitions extend ResCare’s core competencies into new territory for us at a time when the European Union is expected to spend more than 140 billion euros annually on training and employment programs for its citizens. It is an exciting time as we look forward to more growth opportunities internationally,” said Gronefeld.
The historic Seelbach Hilton Hotel in downtown Louisville has been purchased by Investcorp Real Estate and Interstate Hotels & Resorts for an undisclosed price. The 102-year-old hotel has been owned by The Blackstone Group, a New York investment firm, since February 2006.
The John Conti Coffee Co. has acquired the coffee division of Nashville-based Innotech LLC. Innotech President Nadine Simons said her company approached Conti about a potential sale because Innotech wants to focus its efforts on the water filtration business. Innotech represents the seventh acquisition by John Conti in the last 20 months. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Steel Technologies Inc. has announced that it will integrate Mi-Tech Steel Inc., a 50/50 joint venture with Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.) Inc., into Steel Technologies. Mitsui, the parent company of Steel Technologies, will contribute its 50 percent interest in Mi-Tech Steel to the company to facilitate the consolidation. The combination of Steel Technologies and Mi-Tech Steel pulls together two of the fastest-growing steel processing companies in North America. Following the merger, the combined company, which will continue to operate as Steel Technologies, will have a total network of 25 facilities and annual revenues of approximately $1.4 billion. Steel Technologies expects to complete the Mi-Tech merger by the end of the first calendar quarter of 2008.
DeVry University has announced plans to open its first Kentucky location in Louisville, with classes beginning in March. DeVry’s Louisville campus will offer bachelor’s degree programs in business administration, technical management and computer information systems and associate degree programs in network systems administration and Web graphic design.
Louisville-based Papa John’s International has formed a national partnership with Junior Achievement that is designed to help local JA offices teach entrepreneurship and financial literacy lessons to students. As part of the partnership, Papa John’s will donate $2 to JA for each customer who places a pizza order online using a coupon that displays the JA logo. In addition, Papa John’s franchises and corporate-owned restaurants will conduct job shadowing events that will enable JA students to experience first-hand what it is like to own and run a Papa John’s restaurant.
Genscape, Inc., a Louisville company that provides real-time energy generation and transmission data, has acquired EnvaPower, a Massachusetts company that supplies market information to the wholesale power industry. “This is a great strategic deal for both companies,” said Sean O’Leary, Genscape’s co-founder and CEO. “Enva’s tools and market insight reinforce Genscape’s position as the market’s leading provider of fundamental data and analysis.” Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
Add Comment