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Around the State
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Tropicana entered the Southern European juice market in a deal with the Portuguese company Distribucao e Franchising to market and distribute its Pure Premium line of orange juice.
Fort Myers
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HomePlace of Valley View, Ohio, will build its seventh Florida housewares retail chain in Fort Myers. The 55,000-square-foot superstore will employ about 75.
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Lee County
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Colonial BancGroup agreed to acquire Bonita Springs-based South Florida Banking Corp. for approximately $51 million in stock. The purchase will give Montgomery, Ala.-based Colonial 12 offices and $250 million in assets in southwest Florida. The company has purchased six banks in Florida this year, adding 37 offices and $1.1 billion in assets.
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St. Petersburg
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Vicorp, of Denver, Colo., a division of St. Petersburg-based Precision Systems (Nasdaq-PNS), won a $1.3 million contract with Tandem Computers Canada to provide telecommunications services.
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Sarasota
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Coldwell Banker purchased 32-year-old St. Petersburg real estate firm Marie Powell & Associates. Coldwell is now the largest real estate broker in Tampa, with a 10% market share, surpassing longtime leader Prudential Florida Realty of Clearwater. Coldwell also acquired Don Saunders of Winter Park, making it the top residential real estate brokerage firm there, with a 16.45% market share. Coldwell now has 16 offices and about 500 associates in Tampa and 37 offices and about 1,300 associates in central Florida.
Citing low yields, measured by revenue per passenger mile, Trans World Airlines (TWA) will discontinue its flights from Sarasota Bradenton International Airport this month. TWA was the airport's sixth-largest carrier.
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Tampa
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By the end of 1999, Chase Manhattan will create more than 1,100 jobs to accommodate growth at its credit card, mortgage, auto finance and funds-transfer facility, which currently employs 1,420. Chase will receive $6.6 million in state and local funds. The average salary for the new jobs will be about $27,000.
Group Technologies (Nasdaq-GRTK) won a $6.6 million contract from the U.S. Defense Department to design and manufacture communications equipment. Add-on options are valued at an additional $3.8 million.
Medical Manager Corp. (Nasdaq-MMGR) will buy four of its independent dealerships in four states. Medical Manager develops and markets physician practice management systems.
Tampa-based Florida Institute of Health was purchased by Natural Health Trends (Nasdaq-NHTC) of Pompano Beach. Florida Institute, an alternative healthcare clinic, will operate as Natural Health Center, one of Natural Health's three Florida alternative medicine clinics.
