Daily Record Financial News &
Monday, July 11, 2016
Vol. 103, No. 171 • Two Sections
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
ABOTA honors Boyer, Coxes
File photo
By David Chapman Staff Writer
Pogopalooza drew about 400 spectators to Hemming Park but lost $18,273 for Friends of Hemming Park.
Longtime financial crisis Hemming group under fire for how it handles money
By Marilyn Young Editor More than a year ago, the Friends of Hemming Park board talked about the nonprofit’s dire financial situation. Treasurer Bill Prescott said in May 2015 cash was “precariously low,” with only $14,000 on hand, according to minutes from the meeting. Friends received $150,000 from the city the next month that could address the immediate crisis. In July, though, the executive director had to loan the group $7,000 to make payroll. Prescott’s May report included another bit of tough financial news: Revenue
Prescott
Circuit Judge Tyrie Boyer was a founding member of the Jacksonville chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. That was 1988, a time “when I was actually kind of young,” said Boyer, with a laugh. Since then he was a county judge, then a circuit judge and has continued to preserve and improve the jury trial system. Hank Coxe is one of Jacksonville’s most well-known attorneys. His wife, Mary, is a retired lawyer. They’re both at the forefront when it comes to children’s issues, one shining example being their efforts for Cristian Fernandez, who at age 12 was the youngest person charged with first-degree murder in Jacksonville. Coxe was part of a collection of highpowered attorneys who defended Fernandez. After Fernandez pleaded guilty as a juvenile, Mary Coxe became a staple in his life. She’s visited Fernandez every Saturday since he was incarcerated near Tampa. Fernandez will be released in 2018, when he turns 19. Trial advocacy issues have been a huge part of Boyer and the Coxes’ lives. Over the weekend, their efforts were recognized at the state level. Awards
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would run out in February 2016, a month after receiving the final payment in the $1 million contract with the city. At that point, Prescott said, Friends would “no longer be sustainable.” The message was even stronger this May, when Friends said it would have to close if City Council did not transfer $250,000 that had been set-aside for the remainder of the fiscal year. That revelation drew the ire of council members, who agreed to give the nonprofit $100,000 of that money as a stop-gap. Many were frustrated by what they saw as a lack of communication. Hemming
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Boyer
Danone buying WhiteWave in $12.5B deal
French yogurt-maker Danone last week announced a $12.5 billion deal to buy The WhiteWave Foods Co., a Denver-based producer of plant-based foods and beverages that has a manufacturing facility in Jacksonville. Danone is paying $56.25 a share to buy WhiteWave, a 24 percent premium to its average closing price of $45.43 in the 30 days prior to the deal. It’s a huge premium for investors who got in on WhiteWave’s October 2012 initial public offering at $17 a share. WhiteWave was spun off from
Public
Dean Foods Co. in the IPO. The company has grown sales by 19 percent a year since the IPO, reaching $4 billion last year with a line of products it describes as “plant-based alternatives to milk and yogurt, fresh foods, and coffee creamers.” Its products are sold under several brands including Silk, So Delicious and International Delight. WhiteWave operates 11 food and beverage plants in the U.S. and three in Europe. The company in January began a $2.3 million expansion
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of its Westside Jacksonville plant, which employs about 100 people. In a memo to employees Thursday after the acquisition was announced, WhiteWave CEO Gregg Engles said the deal should be a positive for them. “Danone has a meaningful manifesto that embodies its commitment to support people to
adopt healthier choices and lifestyles, and care about the health and wellness of its employees, its communities and the planet for current and future generations,” he said. In a news release, Engles said shareholders should also be happy. “We believe this is a compelling transaction that delivers significant cash value to our shareholders. Danone is a unique company with distinctive capabilities that will enable WhiteWave to reach its next phase of growth,” he said. Danone said the deal allows
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the company to expand its North American footprint, where it offers yogurt products under the “Dannon” label and also sells other food and beverage products such as Evian bottled water. The acquisition, expected to close by the end of the year, will increase North American sales from 12 percent to 22 percent of Danone’s business. The company’s total sales were 22.4 billion euros (about $25 billion) last year. “We believe WhiteWave’s size, positioning and geographical footprint fit perfectly with Basch continued on Page A-7
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