Southern Utah University broke ground yesterday for its planned two-story, 44,000-square-foot Music Center, with construction slated to start in June 2024 with completion targeted in time to host classes beginning with the fall 2026 semester. According to a university spokesman, costs for SUU's new Music Center are pegged at $37.5 million. SUU's announcement about the Music Center says it will feature Two spacious classrooms, A piano lab, A computer lab, A 510-seat concert hall, A dedicated recital space (which will also serve as a choral rehearsal room), Rehearsal space for instrumental ens ..read more

Coral Gables, Florida-based Driftwood Capital has secured $33 million in capital from Goldman Sachs to refinance the Sheraton Park City Hotel in Park City, Utah. Backed by over 1,200 active accredited investors, Driftwood specializes in acquiring and managing hospitality properties (primarily hotels). It currently owns over 85 properties with over 16,500 "keys" (aka, hotel rooms) for an AUM (Assets Under Management) total of over $3 billion. The Sheraton Park City has 200 rooms and was acquired by Driftwood in June 2017. It's one of at least two properties the firm owns in Utah, another being ..read more

This Wednesday, Kinect Capital will hold its annual Investors Choice conference, which will feature 23 startup companies, each of which will deliver vetted, 10-minute investor presentations in an effort to raise outside capital for their businesses. {NOTE: An outline of all 23 companies is shared below.] The theme for Investors Choice 2024 is "The Rising Tide Lifts All Boats," which will be held from 7am to 8pm MT on Wednesday, 24 April 2024 at Venue 6SIX9 in Salt Lake City at 669 So. West Temple Street. According to Kinect Capital, over 400 individuals have already made reservations to atten ..read more

As it turned out, it was one of the worst kept secrets of the sports world during the past decade. But early Thursday morning, the Board of Governors of the National Hockey League vote unanimously to approve the sale and relocation of the hockey assets of the Arizona Coyotes to Smith Entertainment Group for a reported $1.2 billion. According to the official NHL announcement, when the transaction is closed, an NHL franchise will be established in Utah that will be owned by SEG. Ashley & Ryan Smith, owners of Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), address the media during the press conference ann ..read more

A 75% ownership stake in the real estate of 1) Davis Hospital and Medical Center, 2) Jordan Valley Medical Center, 3) Jordan Valley Medical Center-West Valley Campus, 4) Mountain Point Medical Center, and 5) Salt Lake Regional Medical Center have been sold by Alabama's Medical Properties Trust to a newly formed, yet unnamed, Joint Venture for $886 million, a transaction that values the land and properties of the five healthcare providers at nearly $1.2 billion. Birmingham, Alabama-based Medical Properties Trust (NYSE:MPW) has sold 75% of its ownership of the property and buildings of five Utah ..read more

The critical thinking that led to the launch of Utah Money Watch in 2023. Plus, three items of note when it comes to Utah Money Watch — One: If there is not a specific Utah-focused angle to your announcement, don't bother contacting us. Two: If there is not also a financial / monetary aspect to your Utah-focused announcement, it is highly unlikely we will report about/on your "news." Three: We will NOT regurgitate news releases. Ever. A Letter to/for Anyone Interested in Utah Money Watch, including Subscribers, Readers, PR/Marketing People, and Corporate Executives: In my opinion, All the Pres ..read more

Yesterday evening, Farmington, Utah-based PACS Group (NYSE:PACS) announced that the underwriters of the company's just completed initial public offering have exercised their 30-day option to purchase ~3.21 million shares of PACS common stock from the firm's co-founders at the offering price of $21.00/share "less underwriting discounts and commissions." As noted in the company news release, "PACS did not receive any proceeds from any sale of shares by the selling stockholders." Even with the underwriters' purchase of these 3.21 million shares, the company co-founders, Jason Murray and&nb ..read more

Under the agreement, Boeing will continue to "operate, maintain and perform testing at the Little Mountain Test Facility at Hill Air Force Base (in westernmost Ogden) Utah. The state-of-the-art site is designed to test functionality of the nation’s current and future intercontinental ballistic missile force, nuclear modernization programs and other critical defense and deterrence capabilities in the most extreme environments." The United States Air Force has awarded The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) a new five-year contract valued at $559 million to continue to "operate, maintain, and perform testi ..read more

In a deal valued at $6.5 million, New York City-based The Cannabist Company (OTCQX:CBSTF) has sold its Springville, Utah-based medical marijuana pharmacy and cultivation facility to Standard Wellness, a Cleveland, Ohio-based retailer of recreational / medicinal marijuana products and accessories. According to its 2023 Annual Report (as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission), The Cannabist recently sold its Springville operations to Standard Wellness for $3.9 million in cash and a $2.6 million promissory note due no later than July 2025. Interestingly, in July 2019, Standard ..read more

Eleven-year-old PACS Group runs over 205 Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) in nine states, with over 32,000 employees serving upward of 23,000 patients and residents. Through today's planned Initial Public Offering, PACS expects to raise ~$450 million in gross proceeds (based upon a targeted price of $21.00/share). Following the IPO, PACS will be a "closely held" public company with ~148 million shares of common stock outstanding, giving the Utah-based healthcare provider an anticipated market capitalization of ~$3.1 billion. If you ask most Utahns what business pops into their head when they ..read more