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Dutch diagnostics and assay company Qiagen said Thursday it plans to spend about $52 million to expand its North American headquarters in Germantown, adding 117,000 square feet of new manufacturing and office space to accommodate at least 90 new full-time jobs by 2015.

Montgomery County, with a $300,000 conditional grant, and the state Department of Business and Economic Development, with a $700,000 conditional loan, are pitching in to help.

Qiagen, with $1.0 billion in sales last year, also is eligible for the state's job creation tax credit, as well as local property tax credits and work force and training programs, according to county information. Qiagen currently has 580 workers in Montgomery County and almost 700 statewide. Overall, the company employs 1,150 in the U.S. and 3,500 employees worldwide.

The Qiagen expansion "illustrates both their leading role in the biotech community and the county's continuing prominence as a destination of choice for new and growing biotech companies," said Steven A. Silverman, the county's economic development director.

Linthicum dialysis firm sold for $112 million

Dialysis Corporation of America of Linthicum, which operates 26 dialysis facilities in seven states, agreed to be acquired by privately-held U.S. Renal Care of Plano, Texas, for about $112 million. The offer price of $11.25 per share is 72 percent over Tuesday's closing stock price.

"We believe this transaction will be beneficial to both companies' physicians, patients, and employees," said Thomas K. Langbein, chairman of Dialysis Corporation of America, in a statement.

Upon closing, U.S. Renal Care will provide dialysis services to about 5,500 patients through 84 outpatient dialysis facilities in nine states.

Union protests Sodexo's pay, working conditions

The Service Employees International Union plans to rally today at the headquarters of food and hospitality services provider Sodexo in Gaithersburg. Among those scheduled to attend are union President Andy Stern, actor Danny Glover and a delegation of French and British union representatives.

The event follows a week of rallies in seven other states to "secure a global guarantee from Sodexo to improve pay and working conditions and guarantee the right of Sodexo workers to be able to join a union without opposition," according to SEIU information. The union said there are 16 unfair labor practice charges against Sodexo pending before the National Labor Relations Board.

Sodexo spokeswoman Jaya Bohlman said in an e-mail: "The activity planned against Sodexo is part of an ongoing SEIU smear campaign that spreads misinformation about the company's labor practices, misrepresents its record on a variety of issues, and attempts to force the company into dealing with the SEIU to the exclusion of UNITE HERE and other unions."

Bohlmann said Sodexo respects "the rights of our employees to unionize or not unionize, as they choose." She added SEIU's allegations that Sodexo interferes with workers' rights to unionize are false, and "Sodexo will stand by the results of any valid secret ballot election that is monitored by the National Labor Relations Board and is free of objectionable conduct."

Foreclosure rate drops by more than 11 percent from 4th quarter

Maryland's home foreclosure rate in the first quarter dipped 11.5 percent from the fourth quarter, but was up a whopping 59.9 percent from the first quarter of 2009, according to new data from RealtyTrac of Irvine, Calif.

With one filing per 157 households, the state had the 14th highest rate in the U.S. The national average, of one filing per 138 households, was up 7.2 percent from the fourth quarter and 16.0 percent from the prior-year quarter.

Prince George's had the highest rate in the state in the first quarter, one filing per 84 households. That was down 25.5 percent from the fourth quarter, but up 24.3 percent from a year earlier.

Publisher loses suit, files for Chapter 11

Alter Communications of Baltimore, publisher of the Baltimore Jewish Times, Style magazine, Chesapeake Life magazine and custom publications, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday, following a $362,000 legal judgment awarded to a former printing vendor, H.G. Roebuck & Son of White Marsh, which printed the Baltimore Jewish Times for almost 50 years.

"Here's the headline: We're not going anywhere," said Andrew A. Buerger, president, publisher and CEO of 91-year-old Alter Communications, in a statement. "Our family and our company have been deep in the fabric of this community for five generations, and we are committed to continuing that relationship."

Buerger said the dispute with H.G. Roebuck started in 2008, when the economic downturn and changes in the media industry forced Alter to cut its operating costs by shifting printers. But Alter lost Roebuck's $1.6 million lawsuit and faces a $362,000 judgment.

In its bankruptcy filing, Alter listed assets and debts of $1 million to $10 million.

Computer group merges into tech council

The Tech Council of Maryland and Maryland Computer Services Association have merged to form a more unified lobbying voice for high-tech businesses, officials said this week.

The organization will operate under the tech council's name, with Renée M. Winsky as CEO. The group's headquarters will remain in Rockville, Winsky said.

The computer services group has proved to be an important grass-roots organization that was key to getting a sales tax on computer services repealed in 2008, she said.

"We share the same vision for Maryland technology businesses," Winsky said. "The union of our two organizations makes very good sense."

Thomas W. Loveland, co-founder of the computer services organization in 2007, said Winsky and others with the tech council have done an outstanding job representing the industry in Annapolis.

"They are doing a much better job than I could do," he said.

The computer group is not a membership organization, but dozens of companies have contributed financially, Loveland said. Its e-mail list has several thousand people. "I tell people that we either have no members or as many as we need when an issue comes up," he said.

The tech council has about 500 high-tech company members, representing more than 250,000 professionals.

First Mariner completes $10.9M stock sale

First Mariner Bancorp of Baltimore, parent of First Mariner Bank, reported completing a stock sale of $10.9 million.

Recently, First Mariner completed the exchange of $20 million of outstanding trust preferred debt securities for common stock valued at $2 million and a warrant to acquire common stock. The company was required to raise at least $10 million in aggregate proceeds before completing the rights offering and the public offering, according to First Mariner information. It sold $3.9 million of common stock in connection with the rights offering and the remaining $7 million with the public offering.

Telecom company wins $7.1M more from Army

TeleCommunication Systems of Annapolis has won an additional $7.1 million from the Army to maintain router and terminal satellite systems deployed outside the U.S.

"It is imperative that we keep these systems functioning smoothly and operational at all times," said Michael Bristol, senior vice president of government solutions, in a statement. "With our forward depots and our support engineers in the field, we are doing just that."

The award is part of an Army order announced in August 2008.

Bethesda IT firm wins university deal

Intelliworks of Bethesda has won a contract with Colorado State University to help the school increase its responsiveness when connecting with prospective students.

Intelliworks will provide the service for the school's division of continuing education, which serves mostly working professionals. The new program will help the admissions office quickly access information about applicants to persuade them to accept admission offers, according to company information.

Clean Currents opens office in Catonsville

Clean Currents of Rockville, which arranges electricity supplies for residential and commercial customers from renewable sources, announced it will open a new office with two employees in Catonsville.

The company, with 20 workers in Rockville, has since 2006 helped almost 7,000 accounts in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., switch power sources, according to company information. 

UMBC's Activate licensed to help more entrepreneurs

The nonprofit Path Forward Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Damascus and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County have announced an exclusive license agreement for UMBC's Activate program that will allow the center to expand the program internationally.

Activate, which was started by UMBC in 2005 with a grant from the National Science Foundation and was later supported by the Maryland Technology Development Corp. and others, is an entrepreneurship program and community for mid-career women to start and grow technology companies.

"As one of the program's inaugural instructors, I have seen over 100 women go through the program to launch dozens of companies in Maryland when other programs struggled to spin out one or two," said Path center co-founder and CEO Julie Lenzer Kirk, in a statement. "... and now with the launch of the Center, we will be able to support partners across the county and the globe."

The program's first successful launch has already taken place at Texas State University, led by former UMBC instructor Terry Chase Hazell, according to UMBC information.

REDI hosts 50 and older entrepreneurship expo

Rockville Economic Development Inc. is staging an entrepreneurship expo and panel discussion for people 50 and older from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today at the Montgomery County Conference Center in North Bethesda.

Panelists will include Larry Connick, CEO of Biocon of Rockville. The event is presented by the Jewish Council on Aging and is designed to help older workers find new jobs, with workshops on interviewing skills, resumé writing, online job searches, volunteering and entrepreneurship.

Information: Alicia Moran, 703-739-2424, ext. 110, or alicia@brightlinemedia.com.