March 28, 2024

Around the State

| 6/1/1997
BOCA RATON

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Data Resource Group expanded to a 6,500-square-foot facility and created 30 jobs. The IBM business partner for systems, and service received $36,500 in job growth and training incentive funds from the Business Development Board of Palm Beach County.

U.S. Plastic Lumber (OTC Bulletin Board-ECPL) completed the acquisition of three companies: Custom Pac Extrusions, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio; Environmental Specialty Products, near Los Angeles; and Remediation and Disposal Technologies, located near Philadelphia. The acquisitions collectively generated $5 million in 1996 sales.

Gimelstob Realty acquired Florida Intracoastal Realty of Jensen Beach. Gimelstob now operates more than 32 offices throughout Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties.

FORT LAUDERDALE

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ProxyMed (Nasdaq-PILL) agreed to acquire certain assets of privately held Hayes Computer Systems. Hayes, an 11-year-old Tallahassee-based information technology services company, will provide Proxy-Med with its base of healthcare-related customers.

CyberGuard Corp. (Nasdaq-CYBG) purchased the assets of TradeWave from SunRiver Corp. of Austin, Texas, for $340,000 in cash, assumption of debt and other considerations.

Interim Services (NYSE-IS) acquired or received tenders for 79% of the outstanding shares of U.K.-based staffing company Michael Page Group. The transaction is valued at $574 million.

MIAMI

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Continucare (AMEX-CNU) acquired three south Florida arthritis rehab centers from Sheridan Healthcorp (Nasdaq-SCHR) of Hollywood, Fla., for approximately $3.6 million. The centers, located in Dade and Broward counties, earned approximately $4 million in revenues in 1996 and employ 33.

OPA LOCKA

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Med/Waste (Nasdaq-MWDS) agreed to acquire privately held Bonham Environmental Services and its three medical waste subsidiaries located in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. With the acquisitions Med/Waste becomes the second largest medical waste management company in the U.S.

WEST PALM BEACH

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Paxson Communications (AMEX-PXN) agreed to acquire WBSX TV-31 of Detroit, WPCB TV-40 of Pittsburgh, and KKAG TV-61 of Fresno, Calif., the nation's ninth, 19th, and 55th largest markets, respectively. The acquisitions give Paxson a total of 48 TV stations, a presence in 24 of hte 30 largest national markets and a potential audience of mroe than 54.5 million households.

HOTELS

Miami Will Finally ...

... get its first black-owned hotel. Four years after the agreement that ended Dade's black tourism boycott, work will begin in Miami Beach on a key piece of the agreement - the 425-room, $59.9 million Royal Palm Crowne Plaza Resort. When completed at the end of 1998, it will be the largest black-owned hotel in the country and only the second hotel built in Miami Beach in more than 20 years. The 830-room Loews already under construction will be the first.

The two hotels address much needed lodging to complement Miami Beach's new convention center. But the Royal Palm has additional significance, says R. Donahue Peebles, developer and majority owner in the hotel.

"By having the first African-American convention-quality hotel, it places Miami on the cutting edge of providing economic opportunity for all Americans," he says. "It's a symbol that African-American business people can produce high quality and that the same level of expectations and opportunities ought to be placed on them."

The Royal Palm will employ more than 200, and efforts will be made to hire at least 50% minorities, Peebles says, adding that the hotel also will create opportunities for minority contractors and vendors.

The three-year black tourism boycott began in 1990 after the city government failed to give Nelson Mandela, who was being honored by American cities on a national tour, the keys to the city.

Tags: Florida Small Business, Politics & Law, Southeast, Business Florida

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