Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vail Resorts, Inc. (NYSE: MTN) today announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire 100 percent of the outstanding stock of Peak Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKIS) at a purchase price of $11.00 per share, subject to certain conditions, including regulatory review and Peak Resorts’ shareholder approval. Through the acquisition, Vail Resorts will add 17 U.S. ski areas to its network of world-class resorts, including Mount Snow. Vail previously acquired Stowe Mountain Resort (2017) and Okemo (2018) in Vermont. Located near major metropolitan areas, including New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Columbus, St. Louis, Kansas City and Louisville

Vermont Business Magazine Vail Resorts, Inc (NYSE: MTN) and its famous Epic ski pass keep marching farther East. Today, the Colorado-based ski industry giant announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire 100 percent of the outstanding stock of Peak Resorts, Inc (NASDAQ: SKIS) at a purchase price of $11.00 per share ($264 million), subject to certain conditions, including regulatory review and Peak Resorts' shareholder approval. Included in the purchase is Peak's signature resort, Mount Snow in West Dover, Vermont. The purchase also includes three ski areas in New Hampshire. Last year Vail acquired Okemo in Ludlow and its sister resorts ($82 million) and in 2017 it bought Stowe Mountain Resort ($41 million). Mount Snow opened its $22 million Carinthia Base Lodge last January.

Vermont Business Magazine Attorney General TJ Donovan today announced that a coalition of 50 attorneys general have reached a settlement with Equifax as the result of an investigation into the largest-ever breach of consumer data. The investigation found that Equifax’s failure to maintain a reasonable security system enabled hackers to penetrate its systems, exposing the data of 56 percent of American adults, including more than 250,000 Vermonters in 2017. The attorneys general, in concert with the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, secured a settlement with Equifax that includes a Consumer Restitution Fund of up to $425 million, a $175 million payment to the states, and numerous required actions Equifax must take to better protect consumer data. The State of Vermont will receive $1.85 million.

Vermont Business Magazine This morning, Monday, July 22nd, 2019, well known Vermont journalist and profile writer, Joyce Marcel, of Brattleboro launched a Kickstarter campaign aimed at raising $45,000 - the funds necessary to complete a book chronicling the full behind-the-scenes story of Christine Hallquist's historic run for the Vermont governorship. After being included in all campaign team calls and events from the beginning of the campaign in March of 2018, Marcel has hundreds of hours of transcripts and materials needed to tell the true story of why Christine Hallquist's history-making campaign was a success despite the loss on election day. With the support of Christine and campaign manager, Cameron Russell, Joyce Marcel's forthcoming book, The Christine Chronicles, promises to be a story of interest to many across Vermont and the nation.

Vermont Business Magazine Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and John Cornyn (R-Texas) – all senior members of the Senate Judiciary Committee with exclusive jurisdiction over the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) – sent a bipartisan letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler raising serious concerns with the EPA’s recent “FOIA Regulations Update” final rule, asking him to reconsider the rule or provide sufficient opportunity for the American public to comment on it and additional transition time to ensure public awareness.

Vermont Business Magazine Ledyard Financial Group, Inc (ticker symbol LFGP), the holding company for Ledyard National Bank with a branch in Norwich, Vermont, today reported record quarterly and year-to-date earnings through June 30, 2019. Net income for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, was $1,563,045 or $0.50 per share compared to $1,341,896 or $0.43 per share for the same period in 2018, an increase of $221,149 or 16.5%. Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2019, was $2,870,804 or $0.91 per share compared to $2,549,200 or $0.82 per share for the same period in 2018, an increase of $321,604 or 12.6%. Strength in the Company’s core businesses and the ability to control operating expenses are the primary contributing factors to these record results.

Vermont Business Magazine Ward Group, an Aon Hewitt company, has again recognized Montpelier-based Vermont Mutual Insurance Group as one of the top 50 property and casualty insurers in the United States. This is the eleventh consecutive year Ward Group has affirmed Vermont Mutual’s place as a “Ward’s 50” insurer. Every year, Ward Group conducts a comprehensive financial analysis of approximately 3,000 U.S. property and casualty insurers. The “Ward’s 50” identifies the top 50 P&C carriers in the U.S. for their consistency, safety and superior financial performance.

Vermont Business Magazine The Brattleboro Area Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Brattleboro Alliance today issued an RFP soliciting proposals from marketing professionals to develop a marketing initiative for the town of Brattleboro, VT.  The purpose of the initiative is to support the growth of tourism in Brattleboro.

Vermont Business Magazine Food Connects in Brattleboro is set to begin construction of their 1,200 square-foot cooler and freezer space in mid-August. The expanded operational space triples the available volume of cold and frozen storage space available to Food Connects to aggregate and distribute local foods. In November of 2018, Food Connects moved to their new facility at the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation’s (BDCC) Business Park. This large space offers many benefits—access to a loading dock for their fleet, increased office and storage space, and most importantly, room to move and store more food. The latter is essential to Food Connects’ future as they work toward building more market opportunities for local producers of refrigerated, frozen, and shelf-stable foods. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission (TRORC) hosted its Annual Meeting at the King Farm, joined by Commissioners and guests from across the TRO Region. The event was hosted to celebrate and highlight some of the fantastic work being done by TRORC to enhance the region’s quality of life over the past year.

by Joyce Marcel, Vermont Business Magazine You may not know her name, but if you've ever watched your select board on public access television, you owe a debt of thanks to Lauren-Glenn Davitian. Or if you've watched Town Meeting, your fire department’s barbecue, your kid's dance recital or any other community event. Davitian, 58, is the co-founder and executive director of Burlington's CCTV/Center for Media and Democracy, otherwise known as Channel 17. She has been a vital leader in the world of Vermont public access television for over 35 years.

Public Assets Institute Half of Vermont counties lost workers last year, and the state’s labor force dropped overall. The total change was small—75 fewer people working or actively looking for work—and may have been a temporary dip. Two years of growth preceded it, and the latest figures from the Vermont Department of Labor show the state’s labor force grew again in the first half of 2019. Labor force numbers are based on workers’ places of residence; jobs are counted at the place of employment. So while the labor force of Vermont’s northwest counties fell, the region still accounted for more than half of Vermont’s job growth.