New Majority Shareholder for Targacept

 

The Baupost Group LLC, a Boston, MA based hedge-fund became the largest shareholder in Targacept after purchasing 5.65 million shares giving it a 16.9% stake in the company.  Targacept's stock was trading between $6.89 and $7.79 during the time the transaction would have occurred putting the value of the transaction somewhere between $38.9 million and $44 million.  As with all smaller pharmaceutical companies, Targacept's stock price fluctuates dramatically based on the results of the clinical trials of its drugs:  the stock price has been as high as $30.42.  The investment by the Baupost Group LLC is vote a strong vote of confidence by a professional investment group.    

W-S 2nd Most Digitalized City by Size; Rana Loca's New Look; Wake Forest Biotech Place Update

 
In the 2011 results of its 10th Anniversary Digital Cities Survey, the Center for Digital Government  found Winston-Salem to be the 2nd most digitalized for cities with a population between 125,000 and 249,000.  According to their website, "[t]he survey focused on results achieved by cities, via the use of technology, in operating efficiencies and realizing strategic objectives despite current fiscal constraints."

Rana Loca, the popular 4th Street restaurant, will be closing; its owners will be opening Encore! in the same space with a menu catering to a wider, more American taste.

Finally, work on Building 91 of Piedmont Triad Research Park has been completed and will open next month as Wake Forest Biotech Place.  Pictures of the renovations can be found here.

City Leverages $180K to get $1.2 Million to finish Greenway; Spends $600K on Parks

The City Council voted unanimously to approve $180,000 to finish the Brushy Fork Greenway which will connect Winston Lake with Salem Lake and its existing 12-mile greenway.  The real beauty of the deal is that the greenway is expected to cost $1.2 million so the approval of the funds leverages over a $1 million in state transportation funds.

The City Council also approved $600,000 to spend on parks around the city including a new boathouse and pier at Salem Lake.