Dec 16, 2021

Tacoma Creates

Tacoma Creates issued its Annual Report to the Development Committee of the Tacoma City Council. Fifty-seven organizations whose missions are to advance arts, culture, heritage and/or science were funded in the inaugural year in Washington's first and only cultural access program. Designed to support and nurture Tacoma's cultural sector, Tacoma Creates distributed $4.7 million of voter-approved tax revenues to organizations through a competitive funding cycle in early 2020 just as the pandemic forced cultural organizations to reinvent regular programming. Funding during the 2020-2021 program year provided essential support for organizations to develop engaging programming, continue to serve and uplift the community, and keep creatives and cultural workers employed in Tacoma. The funded organizations produced a total of 412 programs, approximately two-thirds of which were produced for the general public and the remaining one-third were youth education programs. With a focus on equity and access as a guiding principle, the vast majority of programming was free for participants. More information is available at http://www.tacomacreates.org.

Itron

Itron, headquartered in Liberty Lake, announced that it is collaborating with EQUANS to bring smart city capabilities to cities in Belgium. Sibelga, distribution network operator in Brussels, will deploy Itron's intelligent street lighting solution as a service to meet their energy savings goals and improve citizen safety. Beyond the energy savings of the LED streetlight, smart street lighting offers improved network resiliency, enhanced safety and increased customer satisfaction. Sibelga is the only distribution network operator for electricity in the 19 municipalities of the Brussels Capital Region. EQUANS is ENGIE Solutions' new name in Belgium. Created in July 2021, EQUANS operates as a new separate entity within ENGIE worldwide. EQUANS is a global leader in multi-technical services with an international presence and a strong position in key European markets. Itron enables utilities and cities to safely and securely deliver critical infrastructure solutions to communities in more than 100 countries.

Columbia Pacific

CI Financial and Columbia Pacific of Seattle announced a strategic relationship in which CI will invest in the continued growth of Columbia Pacific's wealth management and alternative asset management firms. Under the agreements, CI will acquire Columbia Pacific Wealth Management (CPWM), which provides a full range of wealth management solutions to high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients. Additionally, CI will acquire a minority stake in Columbia Pacific Advisors (CPA), an alternative asset management firm that manages assets across a broad selection of institutional-caliber real estate private equity, direct lending, opportunistic and hedged strategies. CPWM has offices in Seattle and San Francisco and is led by managing partners Alex Washburn and Peder Schmitz, president Derek Crump, and Tyler Gaspard. The company was founded by Washburn, Schmitz, Stan Baty, and Dan Baty. As part of the transaction, CPWM owners will become equity partners in CI Private Wealth, the private partnership that holds CI's broader U.S. wealth management business. CPA was founded in 2006 by Alex Washburn, Stan Baty and Dan Baty. Following the completion of the Columbia Pacific transactions, the leadership teams at CPWM and CPA will remain in place. Berkshire Global Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor to CPWM and CPA, and Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young acted as legal advisor. CI's legal advisor was Hogan Lovells US. The transactions are expected to close later this month. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Dec 15, 2021

olive.com

olive.com, a leader in payment services and online vehicle protection plans, announced it will expand its mechanical breakdown coverage services to the state of Washington. Vehicle protection plans cover mechanical failure after the auto manufacturer's warranty has expired. olive.com's digital platform lets consumers buy direct and 100% online, giving them access to an assortment of coverage and deductible options that are operable in minutes with no inspection or waiting period. As part of this expansion, olive.com will offer its “Powered by olive” platform to local and national insurance agents, agencies, dealer groups and retailers in Washington, allowing for a co-branded olive.com product offering. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, olive.com now offers its services in 49 states.

Ascensus Specialties

Ascensus Specialties, a provider of specialty materials for life sciences and advanced technology markets, has acquired Wychem Limited, a UK-based manufacturer of fine chemicals for pharmaceutical and specialty applications. This transaction complements Ascensus' existing capabilities and reinforces the company's focus on servicing the pharmaceutical sector. Using its own process technology, Wychem manufactures starting materials and multi-step intermediates for the synthesis of pharmaceutical APIs and other advanced technology applications. Wychem manufactures over 1,000 products and specializes in the production of aromatic compounds and halogenation. Ascensus will continue to support Wychem's manufacturing facility and offices in the UK. Financial terms were not disclosed. Ascensus Specialties is headquartered in Bellevue, and has production plants in Elma, Washington, Evans City, Pennsylvania, and Newburyport, Massachusetts.

Lattice Semiconductor

Lattice Semiconductor was selected as the winner of the Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) 2021 Most Respected Public Semiconductor Company Award for the second year in a row. The award recognizes companies that have demonstrated excellence through their vision, innovation, execution, and future opportunity, as determined by votes from GSA members. The annual GSA Awards celebrate the accomplishments of the semiconductor industry and honor the best performing companies and top leaders. Members of the GSA represent 70 percent of the $450B+ semiconductor industry. Lattice Semiconductor, based in Hillsboro, OR, is a low power programmable leader that solves customer problems in the communications, computing, industrial, automotive, and consumer markets. GSA is a leading industry organization that represents more than 25 countries and 250 corporate members, including 100 public companies, and provides a platform for collaboration, where global executives interface and innovate with peers, partners and customers to accelerate industry growth and maximize return on invested and intellectual capital.

Dec 14, 2021

Standard Insurance

Ijaz

Beaulieu

Hibbs

Portland-based Standard Insurance (The Standard) announced that Scott Hibbs, vice president and chief investment officer, will retire at the end of December. The company also announced additional leadership team and organizational changes. Hibbs joined The Standard in 2000 as assistant vice president of Investor Relations and Financial Planning. He has served as vice president of the company's asset management businesses since 2009 and became chief investment officer in 2013. Chris Beaulieu, currently vice president of Individual Annuities and Investments, will join The Standard's senior leadership team and has been promoted to vice president and chief investment officer. Beaulieu will lead enterprise Investment Management, Fixed Income, the Commercial Mortgage Division and Real Estate. AJ Ijaz, currently vice president of Retirement Plans, has been promoted to vice president of the Asset Management Group. His new role will include responsibility for Retirement Plans, Institutional Products and Individual Annuities.

Taiyo Pacific Partners

Taiyo Pacific Partners announced that it has accumulated in excess of 9% in Raccoon Holdings. Raccoon has built an online ecosystem for Japanese small and medium enterprises with their e-commerce platform and fintech business. Michael King, chief investment officer and managing partner of Taiyo Pacific Partners, said, “We are excited to see Raccoon has been able to continuously grow their EC business user base with both repeat purchasers and sellers on the Super Delivery platform consistently increasing over the past 4 years. With recent success expanding sales rapidly in Taiwan and North America, we are also looking forward to strong growth as Raccoon helps Japanese manufacturers reach overseas markets efficiently.” Taiyo Pacific Partners, located in Kirkland, was founded in 2003, and firm currently manages over $3.7 billion in Japan-focused funds.

Valkyrie Entertainment

Sony Interactive Entertainment has entered into an agreement to acquire Seattle-based videogame developer, Valkyrie Entertainment. Best known for providing content and co-development services for several studios, Valkyrie Entertainment will join PlayStation Studios as the 17th studio and will aid in the development of key PlayStation Studios franchises. The day-to-day operations post-acquisition will continue to be run by Valkyrie Entertainment's current management team. Terms were not disclosed. Valkyrie Entertainment has been providing the video games industry with art production services and co-development since 2002.