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Utah's Top 19 Monetary, Financial and/or Business News Nuggets from the First Half of July 2024 that You Might have Missed

Utah's Top 19 Monetary, Financial and/or Business News Nuggets from the First Half of July 2024 that You Might have Missed

{AUTHOR'S NOTE: Clearly, not every news announcement deserves to be the top story of the day. Nevertheless, many news items are significant and should be acknowledged as such. So in this writeup, you'll find info about 27 Utah-based organizations and 14 separate executives that we feel are "newsworthy." This being the case, welcome to this writeup on Utah's Top 19 Monetary, Financial and Business News Nuggets from the First Half of July 2024.}

Enclosed below (in no particular order), are Utah's 19 Top Monetary, Financial and Business News Nuggets from the First Half of July 2024 that may not have hit your radar ... yet.

For example:

  • Lehi, Utah-based Lion Energy made two C-Level executive changes at the beginning of July 2024. According to the company news release, Lion Energy has named Tyler Horton as CEO, following the death of company CEO and founder Frank Davis who died earlier this year at age 77 after battling leukemia. Additionally, the company also announced it has hired Brady Hoggan as its Chief Revenue Officer. In its news release, Lion Energy says it "... provides the broadest and most innovative suite of energy storage solutions on the market today, from hand-held portable device charging and portable solar generators to home, commercial and industrial battery systems."
  • Salt Lake City, Utah-based J.T. Thorpe & Son has "... acquired the assets of Thermal Solutions and its affiliated company, Structsure Scaffold Solutions." As per its website, JT Thorpe is "... the nation’s leading industrial service provider of refractory, fireproofing, scaffolding, insulation, and coatings services." According to the acquisition news release, JT Thorpe is "... a Terra Millennium Corporation subsidiary ..." which itself is " ... backed by H.I.G. Capital ..." a Miami, Florida-based "... global alternative assets investment firm with over $64 billion of equity capital under management." Unfortunately, erms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
  • As of 01 July 2024, Salt Lake City-based Sera Prognostics (NASDAQ:SERA) has been named to the the Russell Small-Cap 2000 and Russell 3000 indexes. According to the company news release, "The annual Russell US Indexes reconstitution captures the 4,000 largest U.S. stocks as of Tuesday, April 30th, 2024, (and ranks) them by total market capitalization." Sera is a health diagnostics company focused on precision pregnancy care, especially for women, and their babies, at risk for "... preterm birth risk and other complications of pregnancy."
  • Lehi-based Banner Capital Management has invested in Salt Lake City-based Vision Graphics to recapitalize the company and provide it with growth capital. According to the Banner news release, Vision Graphics is a 59-year-old, regional "... large format commercial printing services, including technical printing equipment and the design, production, and installation of large-format content." Vision Graphics' forte ranges from the creation/production of vehicle window/wall graphics of all sizes to banners/signs and rigid signage.

In fact, during its storied history, Vision Graphics has produced printed graphics for
— 4 NFL Pro Bowls,
— 5 NFL Super Bowls,
— An NHL All-Star Game,
— The FedEx Orange Bowl,
— Multiple BCS Championship Games, and
— 3 Tours of Utah cycling competition.

Additionally, Vision Graphics was the largest supplier of graphics, signs and décor for the 2002 Winter Olympics.

Even with this all being true, because Banner did not disclose the size or type of its investment in Vision Graphics, this news is relegated to inclusion in this semi-monthly roundup of "News Nuggets" for the first half of July 2024.

  • The effort for Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kroger to acquire Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons for some $25 billion has been going on since October 2022, nearly two full years. And with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filing a lawsuit in February 2024 about this transaction, there is still no guarantee it will ever be consummated. Neverthess, in their efforts to mollify antitrust regulators, Wall Street, and the public, the firms have now disclosed the nearly 600 stores/locations they plan to sell/divest

And, as it turns out, five of those locations are in Utah, specifically,
— There is a North Salt Lake, Utah-based Distribution Center that would be sold, along with four separate stores sold-off,
— An Albertsons in St. George, Utah,
— An Albertsons in Washington City, Utah,
— A Lucky Store in Salt Lake City, and
— A Lucky Store in West Jordan, Utah.

Personally, I'd be shocked if this deal is closed before 2025 rolls around, but we shall see.

  • It was probably inevitable, especially five years after he came on board as its Executive Director, but Alan Matheson is leaving The Point of the Mountain State Land Authority to join Rio Tinto Kennecott as its General Manager of Land and Water Development. According to the Land Authority, it has launched a nationwide search to identify a replacement candidate that "... must possess extensive experience managing large-scale development projects, a sound understanding of the state and local policy-making process, and an in-depth knowledge of the region's economy." For those not familiar with The Point, it is envisioned as a 600-acre high-tech/medtech multi-use economic development project that would be built on the Draper, Utah land that previously housed the prison at "the Point of the Mountain," a project not without controversy. Interesting times, for the Land Authority, Rio Tinto Kennecott, and Matheson.
  • Utah Valley University has promoted native Utahn Nate Rasmussen to become Head Coach of the Wolverine's Baseball Team. According to the UVU news release, Rasmussen was most recently the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the Wolverines. For those unaware, UVU rocketed to a 34—24 record during the 2023 season, up from a 19—37 season in 2022, a 15-win turnaround.
  • West Jordan, Utah-based Sportsman's Warehouse (NASDAQ:SPWH) has hired Susan Sanderson as its new Senior Vice President of Marketing, Ecommerce & Loyalty, effective immediately. According to the news release announcing her hiring, most recently Sanderson was with Party City Holding (as its SVP Enterprise Marketing), The Vitamin Shoppe (as its Chief Brand & Customer Experience Officer), and Walgreens Boots Alliance (as Acting DVP Brand Experience).
  • Logan, Utah-based Core Energy, a solar engineering, procurement and construction firm, has been acquired by Complete Solar. Also known as Complete Solaria (NASDAQ:CSLR, CSLRW), a Fremont, California-headquartered firm, Complete Solar has an office in Lehi, Utah. Unfortunately, financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE

In case you're not aware of Utah Money Watch, our goal is to publish Utah-focused monetary, financial, and/or business news, context, and analysis on a timely/regular basis, ideally information NOT available through any other source.

[You might think of us at the opposite of Bloomberg, CNBC, and/or The Wall Street Journal, each of which focus on international/national news first and rarely report on local happenings. Conversely, we are passionately focused on uncovering the most important monetary, financial, and/or business news and information that impact the organizations and people of Utah.]

Here again, the intent is to publish news, information, context, and analysis NOT available through any other source.

To that end, this article was originally published and distributed to our Subscribers at approximately 6:30am (MT) on Tuesday, 23 July 2024.

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