BUSINESS DIGEST ||

YBI competition announcement

YOUNGSTOWN

The Youngstown Business Incubator will announce the winners of its second AMP3D competition today.

There were four winners selected. The entrepreneurs receive a portion of $105,000 to get their technology companies off the ground. The worldwide competition launched in July 2015.

At the end of 2015, three companies won the competition: JuggerBot, a company that has built a more user-friendly 3-D printer for manufacturers; Freshmade 3D, a 3-D printing company for car parts; and Smart 3D Solutions, a company that will produce a flexible pressure sensor to embed in running shoes.

Chemical Financial announces earnings

YOUNGSTOWN

Chemical Financial Corp. announced 2016 fourth-quarter net income of $47.2 million compared with 2016 third-quarter net income of $11.5 million and 2015 fourth-quarter net income of $25.5 million.

For the year ended Dec. 31 , net income was $108 million compared with net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2015, of $86.8 million.

The increase in net income in the fourth quarter, compared with both the third quarter of 2016 and the fourth quarter of 2015, was driven significantly by the reduction in merger and transaction-related expenses from the completion of the corporation’s merger with Talmer Bancorp Inc. and the inclusion of Talmer operations for the full quarter compared with one month’s inclusion of operations in the third quarter of 2016 and no inclusion during the fourth quarter of 2015.

Bob Evans to sell restaurants

NEW ALBANY, OHIO

Bob Evans Farms Inc. made two major announcements Wednesday.

The company entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of Bob Evans Restaurants to an affiliate of Golden Gate Capital for $565 million. The company also entered into a definitive agreement for the purchase of Pineland Farms Potato Co. of Maine for $115 million.

Both deals are to close by the end of the year.

The announcements will bring the company “to focus exclusively on realizing the full potential of its BEF Foods business.”

BEF Foods is the national market-share leader in refrigerated dinner side dishes, and it is also the market-share leader in sausage products in its core Midwest markets. These moves will position the company to have both higher profit and higher growth.

Mike Townsley, president, BEF Foods, will assume the role of president and CEO of Bob Evans Farms Inc. after the closing of the Bob Evans Restaurants transaction. Saed Mohseni, now company president and CEO, will continue leading the restaurants after the split. There are more than 500 restaurants in 18 states.

Bob Evans restaurants are in Boardman, Niles, Liberty, Austintown, Canfield, Salem and East Liverpool.

Staff/wire reports

Selected local stocks

STOCK, DIVIDENDCLOSECHANGE

Alcoa Inc., .1236.58-0.92

Aqua America, .71 30.040.47

Avalon Holdings,2.93-0.07

Chemical Bank, .2723.34-0.36Community Health Sys. 6.74 0.23

Cortland Bancorp, .2817.850.00

Farmers Nat., .1613.750.30

First Energy, 1.44 29.790.21

Fifth/Third, .5226.910.31

FirstMerit Corp.,21.610.37

First Niles Financial, .1210.250.00

FNB Corp., .4815.410.18

General Motors, 1.5238.261.26

General Electric, .9230.360.36

Huntington Bank, .28 14.020.77

iHeartMedia Inc.,1.150.01

JP Morgan Chase, 1.9286.041.32

Key Corp, .3418.390.34

LaFarge, .3417.570.00

Macy’s, 1.51 30.160.18

Parker Hannifin, 2.52 149.473.99

PNC, 2.20121.012.35

Simon Prop. Grp., 6.60182.38-1.76

Stoneridge 16.84-0.03

United Comm. Fin., .12 8.900.63

Selected prices from Wednesday’s 4 p.m. close.