Comcast outage reports - mostly business phone service - continue coast to coast

Comcast is experiencing what appears to be a major nationwide outage. Most reports emphasize the word "phone".

#BREAKING It appears that #Comcast is suffering massive phone outages in S. Fla. and country https://t.co/291IyXIUuK pic.twitter.com/oHnYth0Bur

— WPLG Local 10 News (@WPLGLocal10) July 12, 2016

Looks pretty, all light up like a christmas tree.


Comcast phone outage hits business customers (The Boston Globe)

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Philadelphia-based Thomson Reuters Intellectual Property & Science acquired by PE firms for $3.55 billion

Tom Paine

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What's the biggest financial deal in Philadelphia so far this year?

Well,you could say Comcast's $4 billion acquisition of Dreamworks Animation. And I'm sure there have been others I'm not thinking of right now. But the $3.55 billion private equity acquisition of Thomson Reuters' Intellectual Property and Science business announced yesterday is close.

Though headquartered on Spring Garden Street in Philadelphia, Thomson Reuters IP & S is spread all over the country and indeed the world, a result of the acquisition strategy initiated by one of Thomson Reuters' predecessors, International Thomson, a Canadian outfit that grew out of a small newspaper.

Roy Thompson (The Lord Thomson of Fleet) later became a leading UK newspaper and media mogul, and further profited from a timely investment in North Sea oil. He needed a safe strategy to invest his wealth in. Besides newspapers (still considered attractive back then) and text books, Thomson's son and successor (he used the title in the UK, but not while in Canada) discovered specialized professional database publishing.

The Institute for Scientific Information, founded in Philadelphia by Eugene Garfield and a pioneer in citation indexing, was later acquired by Thomson.

Eugene Garfield / Wikipedia

People had collected and published professional information sources for centuries, but computerization opened up new methods of storing, manipulating and displaying information, making it more valuable. Thomson Reuters IP&S doesn't have any one single business that is huge. Rather they are in defensible niches that are difficult for anyone else to duplicate or disrupt. IP & S sold for approximately 3.5x revenue, a multiple justified only by its predictable cash flow for a low growth business.

International Thomson was later merged with other Thomson properties into Thomson Corporation, which acquired Reuters in 2008 to form Thomson Reuters. David Thomson, the 3rd Lord Thomson of Fleet and grandson of Roy, is chairman.

The information business - particularly medical and scientific,  has long been a mainstay of Philadelphia's commercial success. Some properties or titles date to back to colonial or early American times. Reed Elsevier (now RELX Group ) and Wolters Kluwer are other major owners with a Philadelphia presence. Europeans were often ahead of Americans in seeing the long-term value of these businesses. And now, Asian money and market potential were evidently keys to yesterday's transaction.

Merck’s Healthcare Services & Solutions Invests in Majority Stake in StayWell

Business Wire
Merck’s Healthcare Services & Solutions Invests in Majority Stake in StayWell
July 11, 2016 07:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

YARDLEY, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The StayWell Company LLC (“StayWell” or “the Company”), a portfolio company of Vestar Capital Partners (“Vestar”), today announced that Healthcare Services & Solutions, LLC (“HSS”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, U.S.A. (“Merck”), has invested in a majority stake in the Company.

“The StayWell organization offers several significant enhancements for the existing HSS businesses, particularly with its rich health care content, delivered across multiple channels”


StayWell will continue to operate as an independent entity after the transaction. Vestar will retain a significant minority stake in the Company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

HSS offers services and solutions that help patients, providers, and payors around the world achieve improved health care outcomes more efficiently and at a lower cost, through cutting-edge illness prevention and wellness programs and care management offerings. HSS operates as a separate business unit, independent from Merck’s pharmaceutical products business. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada.

“Allying StayWell with a Fortune ‘100’ global leader in health care provides access to increased resources that will propel StayWell’s product development and innovation. We look forward to offering our clients improved services and solutions to address their health care challenges, business objectives, and organizational needs,” said Bill Goldberg, Chief Executive Officer, StayWell.

“In addition, HSS’s existing portfolio of services and solutions has the potential to grow StayWell’s offerings and client base,” said Goldberg. “Longer term, HSS’s global reach and network will enable StayWell to offer expanded support to its global customers. StayWell will be better positioned to respond to industry trends and changing client needs.”

“The StayWell organization offers several significant enhancements for the existing HSS businesses, particularly with its rich health care content, delivered across multiple channels,” said Guy Eiferman, Managing Director, HSS. “StayWell also brings a large customer base, particularly in its domestic U.S. commercial footprint which includes hospitals, health care providers, health plans, major employers, and leading health advocacy organizations. Our shared emphasis on improving health outcomes, combined with our strong foundations in data, science, and evidence-based offerings, will provide new opportunities for both organizations as a result of this transaction.”

“Partnering with HSS will take StayWell to the next level of growth,” said Andrew Cavanna, Managing Director, Vestar. “We believe that our investment will be greatly enhanced by HSS’s market knowledge, suite of products, and executive leadership.”

Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Wells Fargo Securities advised Vestar. Covington & Burling LLP, Piper Jaffray & Co., and Accenture advised HSS.

About HSS
Healthcare Services & Solutions, LLC (HSS) is a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, New Jersey, U.S.A. that operates independently from the pharmaceutical business as a separate business unit, enabling HSS to build on a rich legacy and to explore new opportunities in human health care while leveraging its parent company's corporate capabilities in the health care industry, science, regulatory affairs, and outcomes research. Doing so allows HSS to develop and commercialize global value-added services and solutions with an evidence-based approach. For more information, please visit www.healthcareservicesandsolutions.com

About StayWell
StayWell is a health engagement company that helps its clients engage and educate people to improve health and business results. StayWell brings decades of experience working across the health care industry to design solutions that address its clients’ evolving needs. We fuse expertise in health engagement and the science of behavior change with an integrated portfolio of solutions and robust content assets to effectively engage people to make positive health care decisions. StayWell programs have received numerous top industry honors, including the C. Everett Koop National Health Award and the Web Health Award for health engagement programs. StayWell also has received URAC and NCQA accreditation for several of its programs. StayWell is headquartered in Yardley, Pennsylvania, and also has major locations in Salt Lake City, Utah and St. Paul, Minnesota. To learn more, visit www.staywell.com

About Vestar Capital Partners
Vestar Capital Partners is a leading U.S. middle-market private equity firm currently managing approximately $5 billion in capital. Specializing in management buyouts and growth capital investments, Vestar invests and collaborates with incumbent management teams and private owners to build long-term enterprise value, with a focus on Consumer, Healthcare, and Business and Financial Services. Since Vestar’s founding in 1988, Vestar funds have completed 75 investments in companies with a total value of more than $40 billion. For more information, please visit www.vestarcapital.com

About Merck
For 125 years, Merck has been a global health care leader working to help the world be well. Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, and animal health products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our commitment to increasing access to health care through far-reaching policies, programs, and partnerships. For more information, visit www.merck.com

Forward-looking statement of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA
This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, N.J., USA (the “company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of pharmaceutical industry regulation and health care legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward health care cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the companies’ patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s 2015 Annual Report on Form 10-K and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).

Links 7/11: Democrats add IT deals with Philly's Curalate, Comcast, others; The joyful death of the Philly Game Forge

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Links 7/10: Universal's ‘Secret Life of Pets’ opens strong; The Salesforce / roundCorner split

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Philly Tech People News 7/9/2016: QVC Chief earns $19.7M in 2015; EY Announces Winners for Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 Greater Philadelphia

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QVC CEO Mike George

QVC Chief Rakes in $19.7M in 2015 (Multichannel News)

EY Announces Winners for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Greater Philadelphia Award

SevOne Founders Vess and Tanya Bakalov Named EY Entrepreneur of the Year® 2016 Regional Winner in Infrastructure Software
SevOne founders named for New England.

Temple names Cindy Leavitt as vice president for computer services and chief information officer (Temple Now)


Talking with New Jersey CTO Dave Weinstein (Politico)


Fieldglass founder: After $1 billion sale, no job but plenty of work (Chicago Tribune)

Will your next meeting be on the holodeck? SAP's new CIO wants to make it so (CNBC)

WHYY taps former Yahoo! employee for senior position (Philadelphia Business Journal)

Archer Announces Addition of COO (Archer website)


Dominic Moffa named Geisinger Health System Chief Strategy Officer

VMware Just Hired This Industry Vet for Its Cloud Business (Fortune)

EY Announces Winners for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Greater Philadelphia Award

Celebrating 30 years of ingenuity in America

PHILADELPHIA, June 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- EY is pleased to announce the winners of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in Greater Philadelphia. This year, 2016, marks the award's 30th anniversary. This group of leading entrepreneurs were selected by an independent judging panel made up of previous winners of the award, leading CEOs, private capital investors and other regional business leaders. The winners were unveiled at a special gala on June 9, 2016 at the Terrace Ballroom, Pennsylvania Convention Center. In addition, John C. Bogle, Founder and F. William McNabb III, Chairman and CEO of The Vanguard Group, Inc. received the Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award.

"EY has had a tremendous history in honoring outstanding entrepreneurs over the past 30 years," said Mike Nichols. EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Program Director for Greater Philadelphia. "This year's winners have not only taken their companies to the top, but they have also acted as mentors to their employees and made impressive contributions to their communities."

The winners for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2016 Greater Philadelphia Award include:

Dr. Neal Walker, CEO, Aclaris Therapeutics
Brent Alderfer, Founder and CEO, Community Energy, Inc.
Jay Sidhu, Chairman and CEO, Customers Bancorp Inc., Customers Bank, BankMobile
Robert Radie, CEO, Egalet Corporation
John Hillman, President and CEO, Lombard International
Sidney Brown, CEO, NFI Industries
Aaron Krause, President and CEO, Scrub Daddy, Inc.
Lawrence Miller, President and CEO, StoneMor Partners L.P.
Joseph Callahan, CEO, The Ciright Companies
Dr. Christopher Di Lascia, President and CEO, Transition Patient Services
Stephen Somers, President, Vigon International, Inc.

These companies now join the ranks of 30 years of winners. In 2015, EY named a total of 266 winners from 224 companies. As a group, these entrepreneurs made a significant mark on innovation and the economy. They employ more than 406,000 people, and are a major source of economic stability, adding 81,000 jobs in the past two years – a 29 percent boost in headcount. They have an aggregate revenue of more than $169 billion, and an impressive revenue growth rate of 34 percent over the past two years. Over the past 30 years, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in over 145 cities in more than 60 countries throughout the world.

Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year national program. Award winners in several national categories, as well as the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall National Award winner, will be announced at the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year National Awards gala in Palm Springs, California on November 19, 2016. The awards are the culminating event of the Strategic Growth Forum™, the nation's most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies.

The US Entrepreneur Of The Year Overall Award winner then moves on to compete for the World Entrepreneur Of The Year Award in Monaco, June 2017.

Sponsors

Founded and produced by EY, Entrepreneur Of The Year is nationally sponsored nationally by SAP America, Merrill Corporation and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. In addition, Merrill Corporation is the official and preferred data partner of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Awards as a global leader in secure content sharing, regulated communications and compliance services. Merrill Corporation's DataSite is used to facilitate the judges' independent review of nominations. In Greater Philadelphia, sponsors also include PNC Bank, Pine Hill Group, LLP, SolomonEdwards Group, Ballard Spahr LLP, Morgan Lewis, Pepper Hamilton LLP, Simkiss & Block and Philadelphia Business Journal.

About EY Entrepreneur Of The Year®

Entrepreneur Of The Year is the world's most prestigious business award for entrepreneurs. The unique award makes a difference through the way it encourages entrepreneurial activity among those with potential and recognizes the contribution of people who inspire others with their vision, leadership and achievement. As the first and only truly global award of its kind, Entrepreneur Of The Year celebrates those who are building and leading successful, growing and dynamic businesses, recognizing them through regional, national and global awards programs in more than 145 cities in more than 60 countries.

About EY's Strategic Growth Markets practice

EY's Strategic Growth Markets (SGM) practice guides leading high-growth companies. Our multidisciplinary teams of elite professionals provide perspective and advice to help our clients accelerate market leadership. SGM delivers assurance, tax, transactions and advisory services to thousands of companies spanning all industries. EY is the undisputed leader in taking companies public, advising key government agencies on the issues impacting high-growth companies and convening the experts who shape the business climate. For more information, please visit us at ey.com/us/strategicgrowthmarkets, or follow news on Twitter @EY_Growth.

About EY

EY is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. The insights and quality services we deliver help build trust and confidence in the capital markets and in economies the world over. We develop outstanding leaders who team to deliver on our promises to all of our stakeholders. In so doing, we play a critical role in building a better working world for our people, for our clients and for our communities.

EY refers to the global organization and may refer to one or more of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

This news release has been issued by Ernst & Young LLP, an EY member firm serving clients in the US.

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Thoma Bravo Completes Acquisition of Elemica

Thoma Bravo Completes Acquisition of Elemica

New Investor Partnership Accelerates Time to Market for Next-Gen Supply Chain Solutions

Jul 07, 2016, 10:00 ET from Thoma Bravo

SAN FRANCISCO and WAYNE, Pa., July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Thoma Bravo, LLC, a leading private equity investment firm, and Elemica, the leading Supply Chain Operating Network for the process industries, announce the completion of their merger agreement. As new owners of Elemica, Thoma Bravo's software and technology expertise perfectly complements the supply chain and business network expertise of Elemica, enabling the company to expand their solution portfolio and accelerate the time to market for new products.

"We admire what Elemica's experienced team has created and achieved with their patented business network, saving companies billions," said A.J. Rohde, Partner at Thoma Bravo. "Elemica is the clear leader in the global industrial manufacturing community, and we wanted to partner with this world-class organization to help further transform the supply chains of their customers."

"Today begins a new chapter in the Elemica story, allowing us to focus our execution on our long-term strategy of building the most robust next-generation supply chain network," said John Blyzinskyj, CEO of Elemica. "The resources and flexibility provided by this acquisition makes us very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead."

The new investor partnership will accelerate the company's time to market for creating leading-edge solutions that give customers better business outcomes with more streamlined operations and a competitive advantage. Elemica is now poised to help clients sustain growth and profitability with more robust solutions that connect trading partners for improved collaboration and quicker return on investment.

Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor to Thoma Bravo. Houlihan Lokey served as financial advisor and Pepper Hamilton served as legal advisor to Elemica.

About Thoma Bravo, LLC
Thoma Bravo is a leading private equity investment firm building on a 30+ year history of providing equity and strategic support to experienced management teams and growing companies. The firm seeks to create value by collaborating with company management to improve business operations and provide capital to support growth initiatives. Thoma Bravo invests with a particular focus on application and infrastructure software and technology enabled services. The firm currently manages a series of private equity funds representing more than $12 billion of equity commitments. For more information, visit www.thomabravo.com.

About Elemica
Elemica is the leading Supply Chain Operating Network for the process industries. Elemica transforms supply chains by replacing manual and complex approaches with efficient and reliable ones. Launched in 2000, customers like Arkema, BASF, Continental, The Dow Chemical Company, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Michelin, and Shell, and more process nearly $400B in commerce value annually on the network. Elemica drives bottom line results by promoting reduced cost of operations, faster process execution, automation of key business processes, removal of transactional barriers, and seamless information flow between trading partners. For more information, visit www.elemica.com.

Links 7/8: Comcast’s Netflix deal could open new front in Net Neutrality War; New Jersey turns to technology to keep offenders out of jail

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Lux Research: Is GE too dependent on ThingWorx? (Update: GE partners with Microsoft on cloud services for Predix)

Tom Paine

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Update 6/11: GE Partners with Microsoft on Azure Cloud for Predix.

Fortune has an item this morning about a report by an outfit named Lux Research knocking GE's IoT software strategy and questioning the market readiness of its Predix software.

I have no firm basis for either dismissing or accepting Lux' conclusions. But I have often rolled my eyes at GE's projections for Predix. Perhaps much like IBM's Watson, GE is trying soften up the turf ahead with a heavy dose of PR artillery.

What's interesting is that report acknowledges and questions GE's dependence on PTC (primarily ThingWorx) for its go to market IoT platform.

"Predix is not as fully developed as GE represents it to be, has minimal market penetration, and has not been battle-tested at scale," said Isaac Brown, Lux Research Analyst and lead author of the report titled, "A Tale of Two IoT Titans: The Curious Case of the GE-PTC Partnership," in a statement.

"In contrast, the PTC solution has millions of connected devices across hundreds of scale customers", Brown added.

GE responded, saying claims in the report “are not based on fact or objective research,” and contain “numerous factual errors.”



It seems to me that if GE decides that the ThingWorx IoT platform is suitable for a longer term relationship, then the acquisition of all or part of PTC (NASDAQ:PTC) might be in order. PTC, which made its name by selling CAD/CAM software on workstations back when that was a novel concept, has declining revenue, and IoT constitutes only a small portion of that. But PTC has a market capitalization of only $4.3 billion, and GE could swallow it like a minnow if it wanted to. ThingWorx is headquartered in Boston now, closer to both GE and PTC.