April 17, 2015

Briefcase – April 17, 2015

CLOSINGS

Advertising technology firm Trada Inc. shuttered its operations because of an inability to pay creditors. The company, founded in 2008, aided advertisers with pay-per-click marketing campaigns.

CONTRACTS

Platte River Power Authority and Boulder-based solar developer juwi Inc. signed an agreement to build a 22-megawatt solar-energy facility near the utility’s coal-fired power plant near Wellington. The project will use photovoltaic panels and may be expanded to 30 megawatts depending on the final design. The 185-acre site selected for the project is on Platte River’s Rawhide Energy Station power plant property north of Wellington. Juwi, owned by German renewable energy company juwi AG, will develop, design, build and operate the facility. The design phase will begin in early summer, followed by construction. Completion of the project is scheduled for late summer 2016. The solar array will provide energy equivalent to the average annual use of more than 7,000 homes in the towns and cities Platte River serves. Platte River serves Estes Park, Fort Collins, Longmont and Loveland.

EARNINGS

Platteville-based Synergy Resources Corp. (NYSE MKT: SYRG) earned $4.6 million during its fiscal second quarter, down from $5.2 million during the same period a year earlier. The company posted $23.7 million in revenue during the fiscal second quarter ended Feb. 28, a 3 percent increase from $23 million during the same quarter a year earlier. The higher revenue stemmed from a 98-percent increase in production from Synergy’s horizontal wells and production related to its acquisition of Denver-based Bayswater Exploration & Production’s Wattenberg field assets Dec. 15. As of Feb. 28, the company had cash and equivalents of $218.5 million and had borrowed $146 million under its credit facility.

SPONSORED CONTENT

Real Goods Solar Inc. (Nasdaq: RGSE), which does business as RGS Energy, lost $57.1 million last year versus a loss of $11.3 million the year before. RGS, the embattled, Louisville-based rooftop solar installer, based in Louisville, posted revenue of $70.8 million in 2014 compared with $57.7 million during the same period a year earlier. During the fourth quarter, RGS lost $16.2 million vs. $2.5 million during the same period a year earlier. Fourth-quarter revenue remained essentially flat at $18.4 million vs. $18.2 million the same quarter a year earlier.

KUDOS

Business and Professional Women of Boulder will hold a “Celebration of Women” from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 17, at the Elks Lodge, 525 Main Sr. in Louisville. Award recipients for 2015 include: Lifetime Achievement, Ruth Wright; Woman of the Year, Cynda Arsenault; Man of the Year, Brad Feld; Organization of the Year, Mother House; Member of the Year, Michele Guarino; and New Member of the Year, Joann Evans. Registration is open to the public at bpwboulder.org

Three Northern Colorado facilities earned top honors at Phoenix-based Banner Health’s annual awards ceremony April 8. McKee Medical Center in Loveland, Banner Health Clinic specializing in general surgery in Loveland, and Banner Health Clinic specializing in pediatrics in Greeley each received Banner’s Best of the Best awards, which recognize the health-care organization’s hospitals, health centers and clinics that demonstrate consistent and overall high performance.

Mike and Marie Edwards, Vicky Rath, Ken Banwart, Sarah Goodyear, David Timm, Kara LeMay, John Weiss, Sandi Godbey, Ben Cornali, Kirstin Ruehlen, Kevin Weimer and Mary Baldwin of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage’s Fort Collins office and Dawn Mathis of the firm’s Devonshire Fort Collins office were awarded membership in the Coldwell Banker International Sterling Society, an honor bestowed on the top Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage sales associates worldwide. Pam Collier of the Devonshire office received the company’s President’s Elite award. Robert Crow of that office and Ben Woodrum of the Fort Collins office became members of the President’s Circle. Lloyd Smith, a sales associate in the Loveland office, earned membership in the Diamond Society, as did Elizabeth Montoya, Duff Knott and Jennifer Stewart of the Colorado Home Pros in the Fort Collins office and Kim Choi of that office.

Boulder Housing Partners’ High Mar community won a statewide award for “Best Built Project” from the nonprofit Congress for New Urbanism Colorado Chapter. Opened in June 2014, High Mar offers 59 affordable apartments for seniors – the first fully affordable senior housing to be built in Boulder since 1982. Located on Moorhead Avenue near Table Mesa Drive and U.S. Highway 36, the community is fully occupied with a waiting list.

Kyle K. Rank, chief compliance officer at Alliant National Title Insurance Co. in Longmont, passed an exam to meet the requirements of the American Society of Quality and become a Certified Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Regulators from Colorado and the National Credit Union Association approved the merger of Premier Members Federal Credit Union and Boulder Valley Credit Union. If Premier’s membership votes to approve, the new credit union will launch May 1. The two Boulder-based credit unions will operate as Premier Members Credit, but the new organization will use BVCU’s state charter and will continue to have its corporate office in Boulder.

T-Rex Oil Inc. (OTCB: TRXO), a Broomfield-based energy company, acquired Western Interior Oil & Gas Inc. of Casper, Wyo. for about $30 million through a share exchange. T-Rex will take possession of Western’s property and leases, including more than 8,600 net acres in Big Horn, Carbon and Park counties in Wyoming.

Boston-based tax-compliance software firm Sovos Compliance acquired Boulder-based ShipCompliant for an undisclosed sum. ShipCompliant, officially Six88 Solutions Inc., is a software-as-a-service company that provides compliance and transaction platforms for the alcoholic-beverage industry, helping clients such as wineries and breweries navigate a broad patchwork of federal and state regulations around things such as registration, tax-rate determination and reporting. ShipCompliant will continue to function as its own company within Sovos and retain its own branding.

Boston-based private equity firm M/C Partners purchased a majority stake in Niwot-based Denovo Ventures LLC, providing the local company an infusion of cash that it hopes will help fuel an aggressive growth strategy. Denovo is a multi-faceted technology and consulting firm that provides cloud computing and managed services for businesses. It has about 200 employees spread throughout the country, including about 80 at its Niwot headquarters at 6328 Monarch Park Place. Co-founder Mark Goedde will remain as president and chief operating officer. Marty Snella, a former Zayo Group executive, takes the helm as chief executive officer.

Patrick Clowes, owner of Boulder-based Think Real Estate, affiliated the business with STEPS Real Estate at 1500 28th St. in Boulder.

OPENINGS

Banner Fort Collins Medical Center opened April 6 at East Harmony Road and Lady Moon Drive in Fort Collins.

Savory Cuisines, a catering company in Boulder, launched Savory Burgers & Pies, a New York-style pizza, sandwich and burger take-out and delivery service. Owner Bob Sargent recently purchased two suites at 5741 Arapahoe Road totaling 7,390 square feet, which it had been leasing for the past 12 years, from Burr Co. based in Denver. The purchase price was $750,000.

Peak Form Physical Therapy, which has an office at 805 S. Btoadway, Suite 201, in Boulder, will open a physical therapy office May 4 at 1093 E. Bridge St. in Brighton and an occupational medicine office there on June 1.

Michael Sherman, former president of Boulder-based Crestone Capital Advisors, launched Schoolcraft Capital LLC, a wealth-management firm that will serve a limited number of high-wealth families and their foundations. Schoolcraft Capital’s office is at 820 Pearl St., Suite F, in Boulder.

American Recreation Products LLC, a Boulder-based company that makes and sells outdoor equipment and apparel, was sold to Los Angeles-based Exxel Outdoors LLC. The combined company, under the name Exxel Outdoors LLC, will be headquartered in Boulder and led by Exxel’s co-founders, chief executive Harry Kazazian and board chairman Armen Kouleyan. Brett Jordan, who has served as CEO of American Rec since July 2011, will serve as president of Exxel Outdoors.

Real estate entrepreneurs Eric Mallon and Seth Halpern formed Heartwood Properties Inc., a property-management and brokerage firm, and Heartwood Capital LLC, an affiliate real estate investment firm. Heartwood Properties and Heartwood Capital are headquartered at 1539 Pearl St. in Boulder and also maintain an office in Chicago. Heartwood Properties was formed as the result of Mallon and Halpern acquiring the property-management division of Boulder-based developer Element Properties and merging it with their Chicago-based South Shore Partners LLC. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

SnapLogic, a San Mateo, Calif.-based cloud software company, has opened an office in Boulder that will serve as the company’s inside sales headquarters, supporting all North American field sales activities. SnapLogic is recruiting a team of Boulder-area sales development associates to launch the operation, which will be led by Jack Kudale, senior vice president for global field operations.

Lillies opened April 6 next to Pedestrian Shops in the former Indochine space in The Village Shopping Center, 2525 Arapahoe Ave., Suite E-31, in Boulder. The shop features sustainable, hand-crafted, reusable and green products including clothing, jewelry, household and garden items.

CLOSINGS

Advertising technology firm Trada Inc. shuttered its operations because of an inability to pay creditors. The company, founded in 2008, aided advertisers with pay-per-click marketing campaigns.

CONTRACTS

Platte River Power Authority and Boulder-based solar developer juwi Inc. signed an agreement to build a 22-megawatt solar-energy facility near the utility’s coal-fired power plant near Wellington. The project will use photovoltaic panels and may be expanded to 30 megawatts depending on the final design. The 185-acre site selected for the project is on Platte River’s Rawhide Energy Station power plant property north of Wellington. Juwi, owned by German…

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