Clean Harbors to acquire Safety-Kleen for $1.25B

Clean Harbors Inc. of Norwell said today it will acquire Safety-Kleen, a North American re-refiner and recycler of used oil and provider of parts cleaning and environmental services, in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.25 billion.

The acquisition, which is subject to approval by U.S. and Canadian regulators, as well as other customary closing conditions, is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Clean Harbors, which provides environmental, energy and industrial services throughout the nation, said the transaction will enable the company to broaden its waste treatment capabilities to include re-refining waste oil and expanded solvent recycling capabilities and leverage operating efficiencies through the combined company.

Based in Richardson, Texas, Safety-Kleen currently employs nearly 4,200 workers and operates a fleet of more than 2,300 vehicles and 1,000 rail cars. The company said it collects nearly 200 million gallons of used oil annually, the majority of which it returns to the marketplace as reusable motor oil.

Clean Harbors, which has more than 200 locations, including over 50 waste management facilities, throughout North America in 38 states, seven Canadian provinces, Mexico and Puerto Rico, will report its quarterly financial earnings on Nov. 7.

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State police picks Morpho's biometric ID system

Morpho, a security division of Safran S.A., said today the Massachusetts State Police has selected its U.S. subsidiary, MorphoTrak, to provide MorphoBIS, its next-generation biometric identification system, for the Commonwealth's new statewide system.

The crime-solving tool fully integrates fingerprints and palm prints to identify suspects and criminals, and provides high-volume searches throughout Massachusetts by federal, state and municipal agencies, the company said.

MorphoTrak, which is based near Washington, D.C., with facilities in Anaheim and Concord, Calif., Albany, N.Y., and Federal Way, Wash., designs, manufactures and integrates large fingerprint identification, facial and iris recognition systems, as well as rapid DNA identification and secure credentials.

Morpho products are used by more than 450 government agencies in over 100 countries, the company said.

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Brooks Automation to acquire California firm for $63M

Brooks Automation Inc. of Chelmsford said today it will acquire Fremont, Calif.-based Crossing Automation Inc. for $63 million in cash.

Crossing provides automation products primarily to global semiconductor front-end markets.

Brooks said it expects to complete the acquisition by the end of this month upon satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The company added further details related to the acquisition and integration goals will be provided during a regularly scheduled earnings call on Nov. 8.

"Crossing's leading linear atmospheric solutions combined with Brooks' existing systems will allow us to develop best of breed systems that address our customers' cost and productivity requirements," said Brooks president and CEO Steve Schwartz. "This transaction furthers our strategy of gaining share in semi-conductor markets as we at the same time expand our presence in adjacent markets and life science systems markets."

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Clean Harbors buying Safety-Kleen for $1.25B

NORWELL — Clean Harbors is buying Safety-Kleen for $1.25 billion in cash as it looks to enter smaller markets and expand its waste treatment capabilities.

Safety-Kleen Inc. is a re-refiner and recycler of used oil and provides parts cleaning and environmental services. It collects approximately 200 million gallons of used oil annually, the majority of which it returns to the marketplace as reusable motor oil.

Clean Harbors Inc., based in Norwell, Mass., provides environmental, energy and industrial services. It said Monday it will be better able to penetrate small quantity waste generator markets after the acquisition.

The company expects the acquisition to immediately add to its results, excluding one-time fees and acquisition-related expenses.

The deal, expected to close by year's end, still needs approval from U.S. and Canadian regulators.

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Former UBS trader says he was no rogue

LONDON — A former UBS trader accused of fraud says he wasn't acting as a rogue trader when he lost $2.3 billion.

Kweku Adoboli took the stand for a second day in his trial at London's Southwark Crown Court, telling the jury the losses came after senior traders persuaded him to change from a bearish to a bullish point of view in July 2011.

He testified Monday that he studied the market to "reduce the number of things that are going to be surprises." But he says that "if that is just a calculated gamble, then all investment banking is a calculated gamble."

Prosecutors say Adoboli lied, invented clients and breached safeguards against high-risk trading to make money for the Swiss bank and boost his bonus. He denies the charges.

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Deloitte acquires Recombinant Data Corp. of Newton

Recombinant Data Corp., a Newton-based provider of health-care information technology solutions for clinical and research data management and analytics, said today it has been acquired by Deloitte LLP.

Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

"Joining forces with Recombinant represents a bold move around innovation that will open new horizons for Deloitte in the life sciences and health-care sectors," said Andrew Vaz, principal and chief innovation officer at Deloitte. "It will extend the Deloitte brand into hybrid business models in which world-class services are combined with advanced intellectual property assets."

Recombinant said it helps academic medical centers, federal agencies and life sciences companies conduct translational research and analyze phenomic, genomic and bio banking data in evidence-based medicine.

A spokesman for Recombinant said the company, which has 89 employees who have all been offered positions with Deloitte, was founded seven years ago and has seen revenue growth double each of the last five years.

Deloitte reported $13 billion in revenue during its last fiscal year.

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Some firms delay earnings reports due to Sandy

Several U.S. companies said today they will postpone releasing their quarterly financial reports as Hurricane Sandy prepares to wreak havoc on the East Coast.

Cambridge-based Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc. will now announce its third quarter 2012 results on Thursday, Nov. 1, after the financial markets close, with a conference call scheduled for 5 p.m. While Natick-based machine vision technology company Cognex Corp. still intends to issue its third quarter 2012 earnings release tonight, an earnings conference call has also been rescheduled to 5 p.m. Thursday.

Other companies delaying their earnings releases until later this week include Thomson Reuters Corp., Pfizer Inc. and NRG Energy Inc.

Liberty Mutual Holding Company Inc., parent of Liberty Mutual Insurance, cancelled its third quarter earnings conference call, which was scheduled for tomorrow, but will make the release available on its website as soon as possible.

Burger King Worldwide, which released its earnings as scheduled today, saw its third quarter year-over-year net income drop 83 percent to $6.6 million. The company's third quarter year-over-year revenues fell nearly 26 percent to $451 million.

Meanwhile U.S. stock and options markets are closed today and possibly tomorrow in the wake of Sandy's potential trajectory.

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Massachusetts gas prices drop by a dime

Bay State gas prices are down 10 cents this week, according to AAA Southern New England.

Self-serve, regular unleaded gas is currently averaging $3.66 a gallon, 12 cents above the national average of $3.54. Prices locally are down 18 cents over the past month.

A year ago at this time, the Massachusetts average price was $3.40.

Midgrade unleaded gas is down 11 cents to $3.85 a gallon, while premium unleaded gas dropped nine cents to $3.98 a gallon. Diesel remains the same at $4.09 a gallon.

The range in prices in the latest AAA survey for unleaded regular is 44 cents, from a low of $3.45 to a high of 3.89.

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Some area malls closing early due to Sandy

Simon Property Group is closing some area malls early today due to the anticipated impact of Hurricane Sandy.

The Burlington Mall will close at noon as a precautionary measure to help ensure the safety of shoppers, retailers and employees, while the Arsenal Mall in Watertown and the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis will close at 12:30 p.m.

Copley Place in Boston, the Mall at Chestnut Hill, South Shore Plaza in Braintree and Peabody's Northshore Mall will close at 1 p.m.

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UPS sees delivery of 527 million holiday packages

NEW YORK — UPS expects to deliver 527 million packages between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, surpassing last year's record high by 10 percent.

The world's largest package delivery company estimates 28 million of those will be delivered on Thursday, Dec. 20 — projected to be the busiest day of the year. That's nearly double what the Atlanta company moves on an average day.

The busiest day of the year has moved close to Christmas because more Americans are ordering gifts online and using expedited shipping. Most packages will arrive within three days. Last-minute shoppers who ship packages by Friday, Dec. 21, can get their goods by Christmas Eve via next day air.

To handle the big jump in package volume, UPS plans to hire 55,000 seasonal workers to sort, load and deliver packages, the same number it hired last year, but 10 percent higher than in 2010.

UPS' smaller rival FedEx expects to handle 280 million shipments between Thanksgiving and Christmas, up 13 percent from the same stretch last year.

On FedEx's busiest day this year, projected to be Dec. 10, it forecasts 19 million packages will move through its network, up 10 percent from 2011.

FedEx's busiest day is much earlier because its peak time shipments are comprised of fewer priority packages. The company is based in Memphis, Tenn.

Overall holiday sales are projected to rise 4.1 percent, according to The National Retail Federation. That would be the smallest increase since 2009, but still higher than the 10-year average of 3.5 percent.

But online holiday sales will grow 16.8 percent, excluding travel purchases, according to research firm eMarketer. Online shopping accounts for about $1 in every $10 spent over the holidays.

FedEx Corp. and UPS Inc. can benefit twice when consumers shop online: They ship the gift to the receiver, and they also ship the unwanted presents that are later returned.

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