Major Vermont companies sold
Seventh Generation, the Burlington-based company that is known for making plant-based cleaning products, was sold for an undisclosed price to the publicly traded multinational Unilever. That’s the same company that bought Ben and Jerry’s more than 15 years ago.
Merchant’s Bank — Vermont’s only remaining state-chartered, statewide bank — announced it would be sold to Community Bank System, based in upstate New York. The sale price was $304 million, or $44 per share.
The family-owned Barre-based company Bond Auto Parts sold to O’Reilly Auto Parts, a publicly traded company was bought out. The sale affects 24 stores in the Northeast and about 600 employees. The price of the sale was not disclosed.
Okemo’s assets were sold as part of an $830 million deal between CNL Lifestyle Properties and Och-Ziff Real Estate. Tim and Diane Mueller still own and operate Triple Peaks, the resort’s management company.
The children’s clothing company Zutano was bought by a Massachusetts-based owner last summer, and the founders stayed on as brand advocates and designers. After originally announcing it would close its retail sales operation on Main Street in Montpelier, the company turned the location into an outlet store.
Keurig, FairPoint lay off employees
Keurig Green Mountain, which went private in December 2015, laid off 108 people in June when poor sales caused it to discontinue its cold-beverage machine, Keurig Kold. The layoffs were on top of 200 more layoffs in 2015.
FairPoint Communications announced in November would lay off 110 people, including 20 in Vermont. In December, the company announced it was bought by Consolidated Communications Holdings, Inc. for $1.5 billion. Two members of Vermont’s congressional delegation asked for the layoffs to be reversed in light of the sale. The jobs were eliminated anyway.
FairPoint’s enhanced 911 system has had service problems. The system missed calls from 44 people in June and went out again in August, causing the state to temporarily turn off the text-to-911 feature. The Public Service Department sought to open an investigation on the company’s 911 technology. The petition is still pending.
Meanwhile, the company continues to seek less regulation for its landline telephone service under Vermont laws. The Public Service Department says it will only support less regulation in one area in exchange for tighter regulation in others.
Vermont rejects settlement, sues Volkswagen
In response to the 2015 fraud that rocked the international auto market, Vermont became the first state in the nation to sue Volkswagen for violations of both environmental laws and consumer protection laws.
The Vermont Attorney General rejected $2.9 million from a federal consumer protection settlement he called “wholly inadequate.” The state alleged in its lawsuit that the company should be forced to pay up to $10,000 for each individual sticker it placed on cars in Vermont claiming they were environmentally friendly.
The state remains eligible to accept up to $17.8 million for certain environmental initiatives. The Agency of Natural Resources is seeking changes that would allow Vermont to use the settlement money to lower diesel emissions from sawmills and farm equipment.
Dairy settlement finalized
Seven years later, a federal judge in Burlington approved the $50 million settlement in Allen v. Dairy Farmers of America. That brought a major class-action antitrust lawsuit affecting the Northeast region’s dairy industry to an end.
Dairy farmers struggled throughout the year with milk prices that were lower than the cost of production. A coalition of dairy farmers and their supporters suggested a new dairy model to get Vermont farmers a better price.
