K9s for Warriors has opened a $5-million, 4,284-sq.-ft. vet clinic in Ponte Vedra Beach. Its service dogs help veterans who have conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Before the location opened, local volunteer vets would assist dogs who were in training.
FINTECH
Fintech company FIS of Jacksonville has completed the sale of its remaining minority stake in the company Worldpay to Global Payments of Atlanta. It also completed its acquisition of Global Payments' Issuer Solutions business. The acquisition had an enterprise value of $13.5 billion and a net purchase price of $12 billion. Offerings from the Issuer Solutions business will be marketed under the FIS Total Issuing Solutions portfolio brand.
MANUFACTURING
Anheuser-Busch has invested $30 million in its Jacksonville brewery and can plant, with the investment going toward an upgrade of brewing and packaging equipment to assist with the production of Michelob ULTRA. The company opened its Jacksonville brewery in 1969 and its metal container corporation facility in 1974.
NURSING
North Florida Technical College (NFTC) and Santa Fe College have partnered so students graduating from NFTC's practical nursing program can enroll in Santa Fe's associate degree nursing program. The program is supported by a $4-million state grant to the Bradford County School District and Santa Fe College.
STAFFING
Staffing company Adecco, which has its North American headquarters in Jacksonville, has acquired Advantis Medical Staffing of Dallas. Advantis specializes in travel nursing and allied health around the U.S.
CONSULTANTS
Business consultants Dun & Bradstreet of Jacksonville must pay nearly $4.8 million in a civil penalty and customer refunds for violation of a U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order. The FTC claims that Dun & Bradstreet sent many of its customers inaccurate pricing notices and omitted or misrepresented certain facts about its products during sales calls. Dun & Bradstreet leaders say they've worked with the FTC throughout the review and settlement process.
HEALTH CARE
Baptist Health has plans for a 226-room hotel on its Downtown Southbank campus. The hotel is slated to be 15 stories and cost about $110 million to build. The future hotel location is currently a parking lot. Although anyone can stay in the hotel, it would be especially geared toward families of patients at Baptist Health.
FOUR SEASONS
Four Seasons Hotel and Residences Jacksonville, set to open in downtown Jacksonville next year, has begun sales of its 26 private residences with prices starting at $4.7 million. Units will range in size from 1,930 to 7,936 square feet.
Lift Capacity
JAXPORT has added two 50-gauge ship-to-shore container cranes to its Blount Island Marine Terminal. The cranes have a lift height of 115 feet and can reach up to 19 containers across a ship's deck. The cranes also can move an average of 33 containers an hour and have a lift capacity of up to 65 long tons.
A third 50-gauge crane will be operational by the middle of this year. It has a 100-foot lift height and can reach across 17 containers wide.
The cranes are part of a $93-million initiative to upgrade JAXPORT's crane fleet; that includes $53 million in state funding.
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
"From not being able to groom themselves, to not being able to produce enough insulin, obese cats are at risk of a number of diseases, including diabetes. GLP-1s have the potential to make tens of millions of cats have a better, healthier, longer life." — Dr. Chen Gilor, veterinarian and professor at the UF College of Veterinary Medicine. He's helping to lead a pilot study testing a GLP-1 medication for cats with obesity.
Name Change
Southeastern Grocers of Jacksonville has changed its name to The Winn-Dixie Company to place a greater focus on the century-old grocery chain, particularly in Florida.
The name change comes along with a more modern logo, use of the tagline "Bring Home More Good" and business expansion. That includes opening a new location in Williston in December and converting two acquired Hitchcock's Markets that will open this year in Alachua and Keystone Heights. The company also remodeled a location in St. Cloud.
Aldi U.S. had acquired Southeastern Grocers and its 400 Winn-Dixie and Harvey's stores in early 2024. The company has since converted some of those locations to Aldi stores.