British Firm Buying Tampa-based PBSJ for $280 Million
WS Atkins has agreed to pay $17.137 per share of PBSJ in an all-cash transaction expected to close in early fall. PBSJ, founded in 1959 to build Sen. Graham's family's Miami Lakes development, has approximately 3,500 employees in 80 offices, including more than 350 in its Tampa headquarters as of March. [Source: St. Petersburg Times]
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MUST-KNOW FLORIDIAN |
Osteryoung's Advice: Profit Centers
One of the most basic tools available to entrepreneurs is a profit center. A concept originated in the 1940s by the great management guru, Peter Druker, profit centers divide a company into smaller entities allowing entrepreneurs to measure results more easily. These results can be used to hold each unit accountable for desired profit levels or simply to ensure that they are generating sufficient profits.
[Source: Florida Trend]
Charlotte County Working to Attract Business
Charlotte County uses the slogan "Open for Business" to promote economic development, and officials are exploring incentives to bring customers in the door. A tax exemption referendum and land swaps are among the tools the county is using to try to spur business and create jobs. Charlotte has one of the highest unemployment rates in the state at 12 percent.
[Source: Sarasota Herald-Tribune]
Power Co-op Seeks 1,000-megawatt Gilchrist Plant
Seminole Electric Cooperative is trying to line up a 520-acre site the company owns in rural Gilchrist County to build up to a 1,000-megawatt natural gas-fueled electric power plant to meet future energy needs when Florida starts to grow again.
[Source: Gainesville Sun]
Raul Castro Says State Will Reduce Economic Role
Raul Castro said Sunday that his government will scale back controls on small businesses, lay off unnecessary workers and allow more self-employment -- significant steps in a country where the state dominates nearly every facet of the economy. Cuba's president, however, squashed notions of a sweeping overhaul to the country's communist economic system in response to the financial crisis it faces.
[Source: Miami Herald]
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