Business

A six-building office complex in Columbia has sold for $37 million and is poised to be converted into a medical hub. Baltimore-based Goodier Properties acquired the Old Dobbin Lane at Columbia Crossing property off Old Dobbin Road and Route 175 in Howard County in June and already has four leases signed, said Jon Selfridge, vice president at Goodier, on Wednesday.

Some of Baltimore’s most exciting dining experiences can’t be found in a restaurant. pop-up dinners and supper clubs are flourishing in the city, where diners in the know pounce on tickets for meals that feature one-night-only menus and are limited to a handful of guests. Pop-ups aren’t a new concept: There’s a long history of chefs organizing dinners to showcase their skills or highlight a particular ingredient or theme.

Sinclair Broadcast Group took a loss on the value of its regional sports networks for the second time since buying the package for $10.6 billion from The Walt Disney Co., this time writing off an additional $1 billion of its book value. Sinclair’s subsidiary, Diamond Sports Group, took an impairment loss on the rebranded Bally Sports networks in the recent third quarter. Diamond, which owns the 19 networks, now reports financial results separately from Hunt Valley-based Sinclair as part of a deconsolidation earlier this year.

Many Freedom Federal Credit Union members noticed fraudulent charges on their cards over the weekend, and some aren’t happy with how the situation was handled. The Bel-Air-based credit union, which as of June had more than 33,000 members and more than $420 million in total assets, announced on Friday that many of its members were experiencing unauthorized charges on their debit cards due to issues at Freedom’s third-party card services provider. The credit union has been working with impacted members to shut down accounts and issue refunds by the end of the day on Tuesday. The mass instances of fraud led to long lines at Freedom’s branches, and long waits for customers who called.

Annapolis residents in search of live music have a new venue to visit with the opening of Vibe, a 10,000-square-foot nightclub in the bustling Annapolis Town Center shopping complex. The standalone club opened quietly on Nov. 23 after its owner, Fivestar Restaurant Development & Consulting, secured a liquor license from Anne Arundel County the day before. The club can fit 500 people standing and 250 seated. The property features two bars and a menu that offers “finger foods” and “shareables” like ahi tuna bites and tacos. In terms of size, Vibe comes in between two of Anne Arundel County’s popular music venues. The county is home to Rams Head on Stage, a 300-seat capacity music club in the city’s historic downtown, and the Hall at Live Resort, a 4,000-seat venue at the Live Casino & Hotel in Hanover.

The Federal Trade Commission and a handful of states announced settlements Monday with Google and iHeartMedia related to misleading radio advertisements about a Google cellphone. The settlements stem from complaints alleging Google paid to have radio personalities endorse and talk about their personal experiences using the Pixel 4, one of the company’s cellphones, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta. At the time, the phone wasn’t available and many of the radio DJs had not used it, Bonta said. The ads ran more than 23,000 times across 10 media markets, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, Bonta’s office said.

A veteran local marketing executive has jumped from The Sun to the rival Baltimore Banner to help the nonprofit news startup grow its advertising sales and events next year. Sharon Nevins started as the Banner’s chief revenue officer last week and will help expand its advertising and marketing staff beginning in January. She recently left her post as vice president for advertising at The Sun and is the latest in a stream of Sun journalists and editors to migrate to the online startup Banner, which launched five months ago as a nonprofit news source covering the city. Nevins said Monday that her advertising and marketing team at the Banner will focus on boosting online ad sales as well as plan and hold Banner-sponsored events in Greater Baltimore next year.

Lorton defense contractor QinetiQ U.S. said Wednesday it has closed its deal to buy Ashburn cybersecurity contractor Avantus Federal from Pennsylvania private equity firm NewSpring Holdings for $590 million. QinetiQ U.S., a subsidiary of the U.K. defense tech company QinetiQ Group PLC, specializes in robotics and autonomous vehicles. It said the deal “creates a unique platform to offer comprehensive mission-led innovation for the most sensitive and complex challenges intelligence, defense, homeland, civilian, and other government customers face today.”