Solutia Inc. said today it will buy Southwall Technologies Inc., which makes films and glass products for automotive, electronic and architectural markets, including screens for smartphones and e-readers, for $113 million. The deal to acquire Palo Alto, Calif.-based Southwall for $13.60 per share of Southwall common stock will be funded by Solutia from existing cash on hand, the St. Louis-based company said. ... Read More
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center said today it won a $5.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop the oilseed plant camelina as a sustainable source of biofuel and an alternative to oil. Investigators at the Danforth Center’s Enterprise Rent-A-Car Institute for Renewable Fuels will work to develop an enhanced variety of camelina that produces more oil per acre. ... Read More
Abbott Laboratories is spinning off its branded drug business and will become two separate medical companies, the Chicago Tribune reports. The spinoff will exclusively sell Abbott's branded pharmaceuticals. Abbott CEO Miles White will continue to lead the rest of the medical device company. ... Read More
Investments in startups by venture capitalists increased in Missouri in the third quarter but declined in Kansas, the Kansas City Business Journal reports. Venture capitalists signed five deals for a total of $92.1 million in the third quarter, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and the National Venture Capital Association. That compared with three deals worth $7.7 million during the second quarter. ... Read More
Gov. Jay Nixon today signed Senate Bill 7, the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA), passed by the General Assembly during the special session. Passage of the MOSIRA bill was ... Read More
Emerson’s new Industrial Energy Group plans to convert huge power plants used in manufacturing facilities, refineries and foundries into bio-mass-burning hybrids to produce the needed energy to run these giant plants ... Read More
Procter & Gamble and Teva unveiled details of a joint venture to develop branded generic medicines. P&G also boosted its full-year earnings guidance to include contributions from the venture, as well as a gain from the planned divestiture of Pringles. ... Read More
Just a few months into the development of its miscanthus-growing Biomass Crop Assistance Program project areas, solid biofuels producer Aloterra Energy LLC sees the BCAP program’s job creation goal rapidly coming ... Read More
Missouri's once robust auto industry is making a comeback, with more good news Thursday: General Motors will add pickup trucks to its line of products made in Wentzville, creating more than 1,200 new jobs. ... Read More
Union Pacific unveiled today its new AutoFlex rail car, built and designed at the company’s De Soto plant. The 90-foot-long AutoFlex, which carries vehicles, can be transformed from two to three ... Read More