Category: 3. Business

Orange has signed a binding agreement with Lorca to acquire full ownership of MasOrange, Spain’s leading operator in terms of customer base, through the acquisition of the remaining 50% stake in its Spanish joint venture for a price of 4.25 billion euros in cash. This announcement confirms the  non-binding agreement that was previously announced on 31 October.

This transaction will accelerate Orange’s strategic plan “Lead the Future” and further strengthen Orange’s position in Spain, the Group’s second-largest market in Europe. With full ownership, Orange confirms its long-term industrial commitment in Spain, and its confidence in MasOrange and its management to create value for all stakeholders.

The closing of the transaction is expected in the first half of 2026, subject to customary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions* recalled on 31 October. 

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For more information please refer to our 2024 Universal Registration Document filed with the French Autorité des marchés financiers available on our website, as well as the other risks, uncertainties and assumptions such as our ability to complete the acquisition, integrate the business and refinance the MasOrange debt at or after the closing.

*At closing, MasOrange will be fully consolidated in Orange’s accounts, including certain debt that is expected to be refinanced at or after the closing of the acquisition. Please refer to its website: https://masorange.es/en for more information on recent financial developments of MasOrange, including its financial statements for the nine months ended 30 September 2025 and presentation of 9M 2025 earnings, and press release MasOrange issued on 4 December 2025 on the new joint fiber optic network company PremiumFiber in which MasOrange holds 58%. 

The highly selective allosteric BCR-ABL1 inhibitor TERN-701 elicited a high response rate, including deep molecular responses, for a majority of heavily pretreated patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), according to findings from the phase 1 CARDINAL study (NCT06163430) presented at the 2025 ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition.^1,2

At the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) of TERN-701 of at least 320 mg once daily, the overall 24-week major molecular response (MMR) rate was 80% (95% CI, 61.4%-92.3%) for efficacy evaluable patients with more than 24 weeks of follow-up (n = 30). For those who entered the study without an existing MMR (n = 24), the MMR rate with TERN-701 was 75% (95% CI, 53.3%-90.2%). For those who entered with an existing MMR (n = 6), the MMR was maintained in 100% with TERN-701 (95% CI, 54.1%-100.0%).

The deep molecular response rate (MR4 or MR4.5) with TERN-701 in 28 efficacy-evaluable patients was 36% (95% CI, 18.6%-55.9%). Of those who entered the study not in a cytogenetic complete response (CCyR; n = 13), 62% achieved an MR2 response (<1% BCR-ABL1) or better with TERN-701.

“We see evidence of a dose-response relationship, with an increase in MMR achievement at the recommended phase 3 doses of 320 mg and above,” lead investigator Elias Jabbour, MD, a professor in the Department of Leukemia of the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said during a presentation of the results. “The majority of treatment-emergent adverse effects [TEAEs] were low grade with no apparent dose relationship. Rates of cytopenias were generally low, with less than 10% grade 3 thrombocytopenia and neutropenia. The majority of non-hematologic AEs were grade 2 or less.”

CARDINAL Study Design and Patient Characteristics

TERN-701 is active at the myristate pocket of BCR-ABL1, giving it 10,000 times greater selectivity than active site TKIs, Jabbour said. Given the site of activity, patients with resistance mutations at this location were excluded from the CARDINAL study.

The phase 1 trial consisted of up-front dose escalation followed by dose expansion. At the time of the presentation, which had a data cutoff of September 13, 2025, 63 patients had been enrolled in the initial dose escalation portion of the study. In this group, TERN-701 was administered at 4 once-daily doses starting at 160 mg and ending at 500 mg. Of these patients, 53 received the 320 or 500 mg once-daily doses of TERN-701.

A dose expansion arm of the study opened in April 2025 to explore the 2 larger doses from the escalation portion. In this portion of the study, patients are randomly assigned to received either 500 mg or 320 mg of TERN-701, with a goal of enrolling 40 patients at each dose. The dose expansion portion of the study continues to enroll patients, Jabbour noted.

TERN-701 in Heavily Pretreated CP-CML

• The highly selective allosteric BCR-ABL1 inhibitor TERN-701 generated deep molecular responses in patients with heavily pretreated CP-CML.

• At the RP2D range of at least 320 mg, TERN-701 yielded an MMR rate of 75% and a deep molecular response rate of 36%.

• Across all dose levels, these rates were 64% and 29%, respectively.

Across all patients in the study, the median age was 57 years (range, 29-86). The median number of prior TKIs was 3 (range, 1-6), with most (60%) having received 3 or more prior TKIs, including prior asciminib (38%; Scemblix) and ponatinib (22%; Iclusig). Baseline BCR-ABL1 transcript levels were above 1% for 57% of patients, with 44% having a transcript above 10%. Levels were between 0.1% to 1% were reported for an additional 25%, indicating that 82% of patients entered the study without having experienced MMR to prior therapy, Jabbour noted. The most common BCR-ABL1 resistance mutations were T315I (10%), F317L (3%), and E255K (2%). “No patients had compound mutations,” Jabbour noted.

The cause of prior TKI discontinuation was lack of efficacy by ELN 2020 criteria for 64% of patients, a lack of tolerability noted for 29%, and other reasons in 8%. “Those in the other category who were patients with multiple prior TKI failures who elected to discontinue their last TKI early to come on study,” said Jabbour. The primary causes of discontinuation for asciminib were lack of efficacy (75%) and tolerability (25%). For ponatinib, the causes were lack of efficacy (79%) and tolerability (21%).

For those treated with the RP2D, the median age was 57 years (range, 30-82). The baseline BCR-ABL1 levels were above 0.1% for 86% of patients, with 47% having a level above 10%. The primary causes of prior discontinuation were lack of efficacy (68%), lack of tolerability (23%), and other reasons (9%). The median number of prior therapies was 3 (range, 1-6), with 60% having received 3 or more prior treatments. Twenty-one percent had received prior ponatinib, and 38% had received prior asciminib. Fifteen percent of patients had a BCR-ABL1 resistance mutation.

Safety and tolerability were the primary end point of the study followed by efficacy and pharmacokinetics. A similar measure for MMR was used to assess efficacy as other studies, Jabbour noted. If MMR was present at baseline, TERN-701 had to maintain the MMR level for 24 weeks or longer. If an MMR was not present, it had to induce an MMR or better for 24 weeks.

Additional Efficacy Findings for TERN-701

In a pharmacokinetics examination of TERN-701 conducted in the study, linear dose-proportional increases were seen in plasma concentration across all dose levels examined in the dose escalation portion of the study. Additionally, target coverage exceeded the bar for efficacy across all doses in the KCL22 xenograft mouse model. The C-average exceeded the efficacious dose, Jabbour noted, which “supports robust pharmacokinetic effect,” he said. There were no clinical differences noted in exposure when the TKI was given with or without food.

At the follow-up, the median duration of treatment was 6.1 months (range, 0.2-19). All patients had an improvement in their response from baseline, with no patients experiencing a worsening of response, Jabbour noted.

In 38 efficacy evaluable patients without atypical transcripts across all dose levels, the overall MMR rate was 74% (95% CI, 56.9%-86.6%) with TERN-701. The MMR rate with TERN-701 was 64% (95% CI, 44.1%-81.4%) for those who entered the study without an existing MMR (n = 28). For those who entered with an existing MMR to prior therapy (n = 10), the MMR was maintained for 100% (95% CI, 69.2%-100.0%). The deep molecular response rate was 29% (95% CI, 15.1%-47.5%) by MR4 criteria and 27% (95% CI, 13.8%-44.1%) by MR4.5 criteria with TERN-701.

Across all dose levels for patients with BCR-ABL1 levels of more than 10% at baseline (n = 11), the MMR rate was 45%, with the remaining patients listed as stable. For those with a level between 1% and 10% (MR1; n = 6), the MMR rate was 83%. All patients with a BCR-ABL1 level greater than 0.1% but less than 1% (MR2; n = 11) had an MMR. For those who entered the study without a CCyR (n = 17), an MR2 response was experienced by 59% (95% CI, 32.9%-81.6%).

In those with a lack of efficacy to prior TKIs (n = 19), the MMR was 63% (95% CI, 38.4%-83.7%). For those with a lack of tolerability to prior TKIs (n = 7), the MMR rate was 71% (95% CI, 29.0%-96.3%). By prior TKI, those who received prior asciminib (n = 7) had an MMR rate of 43% with TERN-701 (95% CI, 9.9%-81.6%). In those who received prior asciminib, ponatinib, or an investigational TKI (ELVN-001; n = 8), the MMR rate was 50% (95% CI, 15.7%-84.3%).

Safety Results for TERN-701

At the cutoff, treatment was ongoing for 87% of patients. The primary cause for treatment discontinuation was treatment failure (n = 4), other (n = 2), physician decision (n = 1), and AEs (n = 1). “The AEs of grade 2 diarrhea, fatigue, and joint pain had also occurred on their prior TKIs,” said Jabbour.

Across all dose levels (n = 63), TEAEs of any grade were experienced by 81% of patients. A grade 3 or higher TEAE was seen in 32% of patients, regardless of causality. There were no dose-limiting toxicities seen in the dose-escalation phase, and the maximum tolerated dose was not yet reached.

The most reported all-grade AEs, regardless of causes, were diarrhea (21%), headache (19%), nausea (19%), thrombocytopenia (16%), fatigue (14%), neutropenia (13%), abdominal pain (13%), and myalgia (13%). The most seen grade 3 or higher AEs regardless of cause were thrombocytopenia (8%), neutropenia (8%), anemia (2%), fatigue (2%), abdominal pain (2%), and rash (2%). Jabbour noted that no clinical changes were seen in blood pressure, and there were no clinical cases of pancreatitis or symptomatic lipase elevations.

References

1. Jabbour E, Hughes T, Van Etten R, et al. CARDINAL: A phase 1 study of TERN-701, a novel investigational allosteric BCR::ABL1 inhibitor for patients with previously treated CML. Blood. 2025;146 (suppl 1):901. doi:10.1182/blood-2025-901
2. Terns highlights additional positive phase 1 clinical data supporting TERN-701’s best-in-disease potential in relapsed/refractory CML at the 67th ASH Annual Meeting. News release. Terns Pharmaceuticals. December 8, 2025. Accessed December 12, 2025. https://ir.ternspharma.com/news-releases/news-release-details/terns-highlights-additional-positive-phase-1-clinical-data

West Midlands Combined Authority

Workers’ compensation claims can significantly impact your organization’s bottom line. Understanding the trends, cost drivers, and effective mitigation strategies is essential to managing risk and controlling expenses.

Discover the latest trends and critical insights in workers’ compensation (WC) claims across various industries. Hosted by the Marsh WC Center of Excellence, in this informative session expert panelists will:

• Review comprehensive WC loss statistics by industry to help you understand the broader landscape.
• Provide insights so you can compare your company’s performance against industry benchmarks to see how you stack up.
• Identify the top cost drivers impacting WC claims and learn where to focus your efforts.
• Explore proven strategies to mitigate losses and improve your risk management approach.
• Gain valuable perspectives from leading industry experts who will share their knowledge and answer your questions.

Recall of all foods from EB Food Essentials due to production in, and/or sold from, an unregistered establishment

Friday, 12 December 2025

Alert Summary
Category 1:	For Action
Alert Notification:	2025.70
Product Identification:	All food products produced by and/or sold by EB Food Essentials, Coolanagh, Ballickmoyler, Co. Laois.  Please see table below for examples of some affected products, however, this is not an exhaustive list.  All pack sizes are implicated.
Batch Code	All batch numbers and all expiry dates.

Message:
All food products produced by and/or sold by EB Food Essentials, Coolanagh, Ballickmoyler, Co. Laois are subject to recall, as they were produced in and/or sold from an unregistered establishment, which is not subject to official controls. Recall notices should be displayed at point-of-sale.

 

Examples of implicated foods
Goat meat
Lamb meat (brisket, silverside flat etc.)
Snails
Catfish
Round catfish
Dried prawns
Naive bonga (dried fish)
Ribo fish
Ogbono
Melon egusi
Bitter leaf
Dried peppers/chillies
Locust bean
Uziza seed

Nature Of Danger:
The food was produced in and/or sold from an establishment that was not subject to official controls, and as such, it is not possible to confirm the food was manufactured in compliance with all relevant food safety legislation. Therefore, as a precaution, the implicated products are being recalled to ensure consumer safety.

Action Required:

Manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, caterers & retailers:
Retailers are requested to remove the implicated products from sale and should display recall notices at point-of-sale. 

Wholesalers/distributors are requested to contact their affected customers and recall the implicated products and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retailer customers.   

Consumers:
Consumers are advised not to eat any products from EB Food Essentials.  

To our immune system, a potentially lifesaving gene therapy can look a lot like a dangerous infection. That’s because most genetic medicine uses viruses or double-stranded DNA to deliver genetic information to target cells. DNA in its traditional double helix form can lead to toxic immune stimulation and be difficult to package into cellular delivery vehicles. As a result, the reach of genetic medicine is limited today.

Kano Therapeutics is taking a different approach to genetic therapies. The company is developing gene-editing technologies using circular single-stranded DNA (cssDNA), a biomolecule that is less toxic than double stranded DNA and more stable than RNA, and could be delivered more efficiently to many parts of the body to treat genetic diseases, cancers, and more.

The company, which was founded by former MIT postdoc Floris Engelhardt, professor of biological engineering Mark Bathe, and John Vroom MBA ’22, is developing a platform for manufacturing cssDNA of customized lengths and sequences, which could deliver genetic material to fix or replace faulty genes.

“We can work with CRISPR and other gene-editing technologies,” Engelhardt says. “CRISPR finds a location in a genome, binds to it, and cuts at that location. That allows you to edit a gene or stop a gene from functioning. But what if you have a loss-of-function disease where you need to insert a new piece of genetic code? Our approach allows you to replace whole genes or add genetic information.”

Making DNA flexible

Around 2019, Bathe’s lab published research describing ways to engineer the sequence and length of cssDNA molecules, which have been used in labs for decades but have increasingly drawn interest for improving gene therapies. Several pharmaceutical companies immediately reached out.

“Single-stranded DNA is a little like messenger RNA, which can code for any protein in any cell, tumor, or organ,” Bathe says. “It fundamentally encodes for a protein, so it can be used across diseases, including rare diseases that may only affect a few people in the country.”

Engelhardt had also worked on cssDNA as a PhD student in Munich. She met Bathe at a conference.

“We were considering collaborating on research,” Engelhardt recalls. “Then Mark heard I was finishing my PhD and said, ‘Wait a minute. Instead of collaborating, I should hire you.’”

Within 48 hours of submitting her PhD thesis, Engelhardt received an email asking her to apply to Bathe’s lab as a postdoc. She was drawn to the position because she would be focusing on research that had the potential to help patients.

“MIT is very good at creating industry-focused postdocs,” Engelhardt says. “I was inspired by the idea of doing postdoc work with the goal of spinning out a company, as opposed to doing solely academic-focused research.”

Bathe and Engelhardt learned from members of the pharmaceutical industry how single-stranded DNA could help overcome limitations in gene and cell therapies. Although CRISPR-based treatments have recently been approved for a few genetic diseases, CRISPR’s effectiveness has been limited by its potential toxicity and inefficient delivery to specific sites in the body. Also, those treatments can only be administered once because CRISPR often gets labeled as foreign by our immune systems and rejected from the body.

Engelhardt began exploring MIT’s resources to help commercialize her research. She met Vroom through an online “founder speed dating” event at MIT. She also received support from the Venture Mentoring Service, took classes at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, and worked with MIT’s Industrial Liaison Program. Early on, Bathe suggested Engelhardt work with MIT’s Technology License Office, something she says she tells every founder to do the moment they start thinking about commercializing their research.

In 2021, Kano won the $20,000 first place prize at the MIT Sloan Healthcare Innovation Prize (SHIP) to commercialize a new way to design and manufacture single-stranded DNA. Kano uses fermentation to produce its cssDNA less expensively than approaches based on chemical DNA synthesis.

“No one had the ability to access this type of genetic material, and so a lot of our work was around creating the highest-quality, economically scalable process to allow circular single-stranded DNA to be commercially viable,” Engelhardt says.

Engelhardt and Vroom began meeting with investors as soon as Engelhardt finished her postdoc work in 2021. The founders worked to raise money over the next year while Vroom finished his MBA.

Today, Kano’s circular ssDNA can be used to insert entire genes, up to 10,000 nucleotides long, into the body. Kano is planning to partner with pharmaceutical companies to make their gene therapies more targeted and potent. For instance, pharmaceutical partners could use Kano’s platform to join the CD19 and CD20 genes, which are expressed in certain tumor cells, and stipulate that only if both genes bind to a cell receptor do they enter that cell’s genome and make edits.

Overall, Engelhardt says working with circular single-stranded DNA makes Kano’s approach more flexible than platforms like CRISPR.

“We realized working with pharmaceutical companies early on in my postdoc there was a lack of design understanding because of the lack of access to these molecules,” Engelhardt says. “When it comes to gene or cell therapies, people just think of the gene itself, not the flanking sequences or anything else that goes around the gene. Now that the DNA isn’t stuck in a double helix all the time, I can create small, three-dimensional structures — think loops or hairpins — that work, for example, as a binding protein that pulls it into the nucleus. That unlocks a completely new path for DNA because it makes it engineerable — not only on a structural level but also a sequence level.”

Partnering for impact

To facilitate more partnerships, Kano is signing agreements with partners that give it a smaller percentage of eventual drug royalties but allow it to work with many companies at the same time. In a recent collaboration with Merck KGaA, Kano combined its circular cssDNA platform with the company’s lipid nanoparticles solutions for delivering gene therapies. Kano is also in discussions with other large pharmaceutical companies to jointly bring cancer drugs into the clinic over the next two years.

“That’s exciting because we’ll be implementing our DNA into partners’ drug system, so when they file their new drug and dose their first patients, our DNA is going to be the therapeutic information carrier for efficacy,” Engelhardt says. “As a first-time founder, this is where you want to go. We talk about patient impact all the time, and this is how we’re going to get it.”

Kano is also developing the first databank mapping cssDNA designs to activity, to speed up the development of new treatments.

“Right now, there is no understanding of how to design DNA for these therapies,” Engelhardt says. “Everyone who wants to differentiate needs to come up with a new editing tool, a new delivery tool, and there’s no connecting company that can enable those areas of expertise. When partners come to us, we can say, ‘The gene sequence is all yours.’ But often it’s not just about the sequence. It’s also about the promoter or flanking sequence that allows you to insert your DNA into the genome, or that makes DNA package well into your delivery nanoparticle. At Kano, we’re building the best knowledgebase to use DNA material to treat diseases.”

RICHMOND, VA — Governor Glenn Youngkin announced today that LS Cable & System Ltd. (“LS C&S”), a global leader in power and communication cable and system solutions, announced today plans for a significant additional investment in Chesapeake, Virginia. Undertaken through three LS C&S subsidiaries, the $689 million project is expected to be the single largest capital investment in the history of the Hampton Roads region and create over 430 new jobs.  

In addition to job creation, this project will create a new and growing domestic supply chain for magnetic copper wire and rare earth magnets that bypasses the monopoly of Chinese suppliers. This is a strategic investment by one of America’s most ardent allies to ensure reliable and consistent production of our national defense munitions. These products are used in America’s most advanced weapons systems like the Javelin missile, F-35 fighter jet, nuclear submarines and unmanned aerial systems (UAV). Alongside increased national security, this investment ensures Americans are able to benefit from the increased demand for these materials from the energy and manufacturing sectors. LS C&S’s new manufacturing complex, which will feature advanced manufacturing capabilities across three key business lines:

• Copper rod production utilizing copper recycling and smelting,
• Magnet wire manufacturing to support automotive and industrial markets, and
• Rare-earth magnet production, essential for electric motors and advanced weapons systems 

“Thank you to LS Cable & System for choosing Virginia again. Today’s announcement demonstrates that Virginia is leading the nation in reshoring American manufacturing and securing the critical supply chains that power and protect our country,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “LS GreenLink has already brought hundreds of millions of dollars to Hampton Roads, and these three projects from LS Cable & System will build on that momentum. Now more than ever on the geopolitical stage, access to copper smelting and rare earth minerals tied to our targeting systems that our military uses need to be made here in this country. I’m proud that Virginia is partnering with LS C&S to strengthen American manufacturing, create great jobs, and build a stronger, more secure future for the Commonwealth and our nation.”

This investment builds on the previously announced first phase of LS GreenLink USA’s state-of-the-art cable manufacturing and pier facility project, which broke ground in April 2025. While separate from the LS GreenLink project, the new initiative expands the company’s overall presence in the United States and reinforces LS C&S’s long-term commitment to the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City of Chesapeake, and the Hampton Roads region. Together, these efforts strengthen U.S. energy infrastructure, enhance supply chain resilience, and support national security priorities.

“With three exciting projects in Chesapeake, LS Cable & System is poised to transform America’s tech manufacturing supply chain,” said Secretary of Commerce and Trade Juan Pablo Segura. “Securing these supply chains does more than ensure smooth manufacturing timelines; it helps safeguard our national security. LS C&S’s continued investment in the Commonwealth shows that when government moves at the speed of business, big things can happen quickly.”

“This investment represents an exciting step in our continuing growth in the United States,” said LS C&S President and CEO Bon-Kyu Koo. “We’re not only expanding our manufacturing capabilities, we’re strengthening the U.S. domestic supply chains and supporting America’s leadership in energy and technology. By continuing partnerships with the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City of Chesapeake, and the Hampton Roads region, we’re creating opportunities for the local community while helping to ensure secure, reliable infrastructure that supports national security and the nation’s energy future.”

“The LS GreenLink project has been a major commitment for LS C&S, and this new investment builds directly on that foundation,” said LS C&S Regional President of North America Gisu Kim. “It strengthens domestic production of critical components such as copper rod, magnet wire, and rare-earth magnets, vital to reinforcing supply chain resilience and advancing U.S. energy independence.”

“This investment represents much more than expanding our manufacturing footprint in Chesapeake,” said LS C&S Managing Director Patrick Shim. “We are deepening our partnership with the Commonwealth of Virginia, the City of Chesapeake, and the Hampton Roads region as we build capabilities that strengthen U.S. energy leadership, secure critical supply chains, and support industries essential to the nation’s security and future.”

Founded in 1962, LS Cable & System Ltd. is a global leader in power and communication cables and systems. With over 6,500 employees and 40 subsidiaries in 17 countries, LS Cable & System continues to drive innovation in energy transmission and distribution.

“Congratulations to LS Cable & System and the entire LS Group on another major investment in Chesapeake,” said Hampton Roads Alliance President and CEO Douglas L. Smith. “The Hampton Roads Alliance is proud to support LS Group and to work alongside the City of Chesapeake as the company advances its commitment to expand U.S. power grid infrastructure. This investment aligns directly with the Hampton Roads Playbook, which prioritizes defense, energy, aerospace, and logistics. Energy security is national security, and projects like this further solidify Hampton Roads as a global energy leader.”

“Today’s announcement marks a major milestone for Chesapeake, the Commonwealth, and the nation in advancing domestic manufacturing,” said Chesapeake Mayor Rick West. “The decision by LS Cable & System to build its new facilities in our community demonstrates the confidence they have not only in Chesapeake’s talented workforce and strong business environment, but also in our commitment to helping businesses succeed here. This investment is LS Cable’s second major project in Chesapeake and elevates our city’s status as a leader in the nation’s clean energy and electrification future, bringing $689 million in new investment and more than 400 high-paying jobs. We value LS Cable’s ongoing partnership and friendship with the City of Chesapeake, and we look forward to building on that relationship in the years ahead.” 

“LS Cable’s $689 million investment solidifies Chesapeake’s position as a premier destination for advanced manufacturing,” said Chesapeake Economic Development Director Steven Wright. “The establishment of new facilities for magnet wire and sintered rare-earth magnets production will provide much-needed support for U.S. supply chains for emerging mobility technologies and modern energy systems. This project will bring skilled jobs to Chesapeake and will strengthen the long-term industrial competitiveness of our region.”

“The Port of Virginia is ready to support LS Cable & System’s strategic investment in Chesapeake,” said Port of Virginia CEO and Executive Director Stephen A. Edwards. “Advanced manufacturing facilities like LS Cable not only strengthen Virginia’s role in global trade but will help accelerate innovation in the electric vehicle industry. The Port of Virginia is a 21st-century port complex that will provide LS Cable the supply chain efficiency, consistency and connectivity needed to succeed in today’s competitive marketplace.”

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the City of Chesapeake, the Hampton Roads Alliance, and The Port of Virginia to secure the project for Virginia. Governor Youngkin approved a $7.3 million grant from the Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund to assist Chesapeake with the project. The Governor also approved a performance-based grant of $1.5 million from the Virginia Investment Performance Grant, an incentive that encourages continued capital investment by existing Virginia companies. The company is eligible to receive benefits from The Port of Virginia Economic and Infrastructure Development Zone Grant Program.

Support for LS C&S’s job creation will be provided through the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program, ranked the No. 1 workforce training program in the United States by Business Facilities for the third consecutive year and by Area Development in 2025. The program, created by VEDP in collaboration with higher education partners, provides world-class training and recruitment solutions that are customized to a company’s unique operations, equipment, standards and culture. All program services are provided at no cost to qualified new and expanding companies as an incentive for job creation.