Utah's Top 9 Business "News Nuggets" from the Past Week: 1—7 October 2023

Enclosed below (in no particular order), are Utah's Top 9 Business "News Nuggets" from 1—7 October 2023 that may not have hit your radar:

• Heber, Utah-based Summit Engineering Group has been acquired by Atwell, a Southfield, Michigan-based consulting, engineering, and construction services firm with over 1,500 employees. According to the acquisition announcement, Summit is the eighth firm Atwell has acquired in 2023, but the first in Utah. Terms of the aqcuisition were not disclosed.
• Austin, Texas-based AMBA has acquired the assets of South Jordan, Utah-based Oozle Media. According to the AMBA news release, financial terms of the transaction was not disclosed. Founded in 2007, Oozle describes itself as digital marketing agency that focuses on dentistry, post-secondary education, home services, and Utah-based businesses.
• Additionally, in the same news release from AMBA, the Texas firm announced it had also acquired Beauty as a Business, a sister company of Oozle. Beauty as a Business is said to have developed an "interactive, online digital marketing curriculum designed specifically for beauty schools." Here again, financial details were not disclosed.
• Salt Lake City-based Slipstream Medical, a manufacturer of guidewire-free extended dwell catheters, has closed a Series A round of funding led by SLC-based MedVenture Health. However, no terms of the investment were disclosed in the company news release.
• Carson, California-based Lakeshore Learning has broken ground in Garland, Utah on a 1.2-million-square-foot distribution center which "is expected to be fully operational in January 2025" and "which is expected to bring approximately 550 new jobs to the community." According to the company news release, Lakeshore Learning is "a leading developer and retailer of educational materials for teachers, children and families." Earlier this year, the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity of Utah announced that Lakeshore Learning will receive a post-performance tax credit of nearly $5.7 million over a 10-year-period if the company does bring 540 jobs to its planned operations in Garland.
• Rye, New York-based LICT Corporation (OTC Pink:LICT) has announced its plans to acquire Manti, Utah-based Manti Telephone Company (MTC) via LICT's subsidiary, CentraCom (which is headquartered in Fairview, Utah). According to the LICT news release, the transaction is expected to close on 31 October 2023. However, no details about the financial aspects of this acquisition were included in the release or on LICT's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
• The Utah Department of Transportation has awarded Watsonville, California-based Granite Construction (NYSE:GVA) a $45 million contract to "widen and improve State Route 108 (SR-108) in Davis County, Utah." According to the Granite news release, the project will "extend SR-108 from 300 North to 1800 North" (approximately 1.5-miles in length), while expanding it to five lanes from three. The project is slated to begin in October 2023, with completion expected in November 2025. {NOTE: Granite generated over $3.25 billion in revenue over the past 12 months.}
• Salt Lake City-based University of Utah Health has named Peter Weir, MD, MPH as Chief Population Health Officer, a new position for the health care system. According to the news announcement, Dr. Weir most recetly served as executive medical director of the Population Health Program for UofU Health.
• Ogden, Utah-based TAB Bank has promoted Austin Strong to Chief Strategy Officer. According to the company news release, Strong has been with TAB for 11 years in a variety of positions, most recently as its Executive Vice President of Digital Banking. TAB Bank is a 25-year-old financial institution that "offers custom banking solutions to consumers and commercial businesses across various industries throughout the country."

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  If there is a Utah-based/related company, product, service, person, program, policy, and/or event you believe we should look into, please let us know at David.Politis@UtahMoneyWatch.com. Thank you.