January 2001
Features
2000 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT HIGHLIGHTS
Arlington economic development had a very successful year in 2000, working on projects resulting in more than 1 million square feet of occupied space and 2,950 jobs. Review a summary of the major Arlington successes of 2000.
DON'T MISS THE BUS!
The Arlington Bus Tour and Real Estate Colloquium will be held on March 30, 2001. The tour will be led by members of the Arlington Department of Economic Development. Here is your chance to see what's happening in Arlington, and what new projects are planned for the future. DEVELOPERS AND BROKERS - we are now accepting sponsorships and advertisements for the Real Estate Showcase tourbook that is distributed at the Bus Tour. Don't miss this great opportunity to reach a very targeted audience that is ready to do business. Sign up now by going to www.smartplace.org. See you in March!
BUSINESS NEWS
YellowBrix Sets Price For Proposed IPO
Bucking the downturn in the initial public offering (IPO) market, Arlington-based YellowBrix Inc. (www.yellowbrix.com), a provider of Internet content services, announced recently that it plans to move forward with its IPO by selling nearly 8.6 million shares at $7 a share. YellowBrix, which filed registration papers for an IPO in October, plans to raise $69 million through the public offering. The date of the offering has not been finalized, and could be delayed by the downturn in the Nasdaq. Quantum Industrial Partners, an investment fund backed by billionaire George Soros, will retain a 23% stake in YellowBrix after the IPO.OnScreen Interactive to Automatically Deliver Content-Rich Screensavers
Arlington-based OnScreen Interactive (www.onscreen.com), a developer of a rich-media content delivery platform for personal computers, announced on Friday the launch of a cobranded product created with Freeze.com, a content site that allows members to download clip-art, screensavers, and other free content. Under the deal, Freeze.com will use OnScreen's technology to automatically deliver full-screen, rich-media content to users' desktops in the form of screensavers. The content will include interactive advertisements, making the screensaver a new advertising revenue source for the company. OnScreen is backed by Draper Atlantic and San Francisco-based Venture Strategy Partners.Krawczyk Named Managing Director of MCG Capital Corporation
Arlington-based MCG Capital Corporation (www.mcgcapital.com/MCGCapital/mcgcapital.html), a financial services firm, announced that Nick Krawczyk has been named a managing director of the firm. Krawczyk comes to MCG from Quokka Sports. MCG said his expertise is in the area of new media technology and the content sector. MCG is backed by Goldman Sachs, Vestar Capital Partners and Soros Private Equity Partners.Applied Predictive Technologies Launches New Adaptive Marketing Suite to Enhance CRM
Arlington-based Applied Predictive Technologies (APT), the leading provider of adaptive Customer Relationship Management (CRM) marketing optimization software platforms for online and brick-and-mortar businesses, announced the launch of its Adaptive Marketing Suite v1.0. The first-of-its-kind product suite leverages a company's existing CRM system or data gathering efforts and accurately predicts customer behavior to help companies optimize marketing programs executed through multiple channels. Well-known retail and financial service brands such as Mrs. Fields, Sara Lee, LendingTree.com, Shell-Texaco, Royal Dutch Ahold and eBags have been using APT products to realize sales and marketing value in their online or brick-and-mortar channels.George Washington University Expands Arlington Campus Offerings
The Virginia Square/Ballston area continues to evolve as an education center with the enlarged programs at the George Washington University Graduate Education Center at Virginia Square. The new GW Graduate Education Center-Arlington offers double the amount of space of its former location in Crystal City.Several of the Arlington Center's programs should be of special interest to readers: Masters of Science in Information Systems, with a concentration in Management Information Systems; Master of Arts in Telecommunication; and a Computer Fraud Investigations track in the Master of Arts in Criminal Justice (briefings on this program will be held on Tuesday, January 16, 2000 at 6 PM and on Saturday, January 27 at 10 AM.)
For more information on these and other programs, call David L. Burt, Director of the Center, at 703-248-6200 or visit www.gwu.edu/~mastergw/locations/arlington.html on the web. This web address will provide a map and directions to the center, and at the bottom of the page, a listing of programs conducted at the Arlington Center.
Best Doctors and Federated Life Insurance of Canada Partner to Provide Medical Decision Support to Critical-Illness Policyholders in Canada
Arlington-based Best Doctors Inc. (www.bestdoctors.com), the world leader in medical decision-support services for patients, announced a partnership with Federated Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited, to provide its nurse-assisted physician search service, AcuMatch, to Federated's critically ill policyholders. "In general, consumers are searching for greater information to make healthcare decisions. This is particularly true when they are facing a serious illness," said Todd Farha, CEO of Best Doctors. "We are very pleased that Federated has chosen to offer their policyholders a higher level of benefit that includes the information support of Best Doctors."Best Doctors has been the premier independent medical decision support provider for patients since 1992. The company conducts in-depth annual surveys of the medical profession asking leading doctors in more than 40 specialties and 400 subspecialties to evaluate their peers. From the final selection of doctors, Best Doctors develops and leases its high quality medical condition summaries, and distributes web-based and nurse-assisted searches to consumers, insurers, and multi-national corporations. Currently, there are about 50,000 doctors worldwide who have been named by their peers as the "best" in their specialties.
AES Corporation Purchases Additional 39% Ownership Interest in Hydroelectrica Alicura
Alicura is a hydroelectric plant with four 250-megawatt turbines on the Limay River near Bariloche, Argentina. Naveed Ismail, Group Manager of AES Andes, said, "We are very excited about consolidating our ownership position in Alicura at a very attractive price. Our expanded participation in Alicura will make it possible for us to make it a true AES business in every sense. This addition of hydroelectric capacity provides AES with a better hydro/thermal balance in Argentina."Dennis W. Bakke, President and Chief Executive Officer of AES, stated, "We are pleased to add another business development accomplishment to another very successful year of expanding our global business. We are grateful to have this ownership stake in this extraordinary hydroelectric facility."
AGI Completes First Plant Genome Sequence
An international research team, called the Arabidopsis Genome Initiative (AGI; www.arabidopsis.org/agi.html), announced that they have completed the first plant genome sequence. The Arlington-based National Science Foundation (NSF) provided substantial funding for the international project.Champions Sports Signs Agreement With Online Marketplace
Arlington-based Champions Sports (www.championsinc.com), a restaurant company that has moved into the technology incubation business, announced that its Champions Tech Ventures subsidiary has signed an agreement with Arlington-based AllSoldOut (www.allsoldout.com) to assist in business development and capital formation. AllSoldOut runs an online marketplace for event tickets, in addition to developing web-based database software and email applications.PricewaterhouseCoopers To Develop Online University For Army
PricewaterhouseCoopers (www.pw.com) announced that it has been awarded a contract by the Department of the Army to develop and operate the Army University Access Online Program, an educational web site that will provide distance learning opportunities to U.S. soldiers stationed around the world. PricewaterhouseCoopers' government consulting offices in Arlington and Fairfax will handle the five-year contract. The firm said that it will lead a consortium of hardware and software companies -- along with 29 higher education institutions -- to create a complete online university serving Army soldiers. The program will enable U.S. enlisted soldiers to use the Internet to take distance learning courses and earn certificates, associate's degrees, bachelor's degrees, and master's degrees while they continue to serve. The Army estimates that 12,000 to 15,000 soldiers will participate in the program in 2001, the first year the online university will be in operation. Participating soldiers will be issued laptop computers and provided Internet access at no cost.Brivo Systems Raises $20 Million in Second Round of Financing
Arlington-based Brivo Systems (www.brivo.com), a developer of integrated systems that connect Internet-enabled devices, announced that it has raised $20 million in its latest round of financing. The round was closed in October but was announced on Monday. The lead investor was Duchossois Technology Partners. IDEO Ventures and other investors also participated in the round. Brivo's main software connects specially designed boxes that can receive mailed packages in a secure fashion when the recipient is not at home. "We are not a hardware firm," said Carter Griffin, co-founder of the company, who said Brivo Systems develops the technology for the boxes, but not the boxes themselves.Greenfield To Serve Second Term as Chairman of ITAA
The Arlington-based Information Technology Association of America (ITAA; www.itaa.org) announced that Gary Greenfield, president and CEO of Rockville-based MERANT, was unanimously chosen to serve for a second term as chairman of the association.
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