Caymas Boats has announced the boat manufacturing company will establish operations in Ashland City.

Caymas Boats plans to invest $30.3 million and create approximately 280 jobs during the next five years.

Caymas Boats is a new company founded by Nashville-based marine executive Earl Bentz.

Beginning in 2019, Caymas Boats will manufacture a new line of premium fiberglass saltwater and freshwater fishing boats in Ashland City.

Caymas Boats plans to renovate and upgrade two existing buildings on Highway 12 in Ashland City. The company anticipates that boat production will begin in February 2019. Caymas Boats’ models will be versatile for fishing and other recreational activities.

The new Caymas Boats plant will initially manufacture saltwater bay boats up to 27 feet in length and fiberglass bass boats up to 21 feet long. The company states it will add additional models in the future.

LifePoint finalizes merger, to remain in Brentwood

Brentwood-based LifePoint Health, Inc., has completed its merger with RCCH HealthCare Partners.

RCCH is owned by certain funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC. As a result of the merger, LifePoint’s common stock is no longer trading on NASDAQ and will be delisted.

LifePoint’s headquarters will remain in Brentwood and maintain both organizations’ existing strategic partnerships in patient safety and clinical quality.

The combined, privately held company will operate under the LifePoint Health name and includes a footprint of regional health systems, physician practices, outpatient centers and post-acute facilities in more than 85 non-urban communities.

As a result of the merger, LifePoint shareholders are receiving $65.00 per share in cash for each share of LifePoint’s common stock they owned, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes.

This represents a premium of approximately 36 percent to LifePoint’s closing share price on July 20, the last trading day prior to the announcement of the merger.

New concept hotel opens in Nashville

Bode, a hotel for group lifestyle travelers, has opened in Nashville, its first property in the city.

Located downtown at 401 2nd Ave. South, the hotel offers residence-style hotel accommodations in a former condo complex with common spaces for eating, drinking, working and playing.

Bode Nashville offers the option to book two- to five-bedroom units boasting spacious living rooms, chef-inspired kitchens, private balconies and, in some cases, backyards. Traditional one-bedroom hotel room options are also available.

“Bode aims to serve the group lifestyle traveler - travelers who, whatever the occasion, covet local experiences and connectivity above all else,” says Bode CEO, Philip Bates. “We could think of no better city to debut our brand in. Nashville is centered around community and craft culture, making it the epitome of everything Bode and the Bode guest value. We’re thrilled to call this electric city our first home.”

Bode Nashville was designed by Designed by Dryden Architecture. Other local artisans used in the design include Southern Lights Electric (lighting and lighting design), Emil Erwin (custom leather furniture pulls) and Kings Interiors (custom furniture).

Pinnacle Financial repurchasing stock

Pinnacle Financial Partners, Inc. has announced that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $100 million of the company’s common stock.

“Though we are announcing this repurchase program and will be opportunistic in its implementation, we remain committed to our strategy of aggressively hiring experienced bankers throughout our markets and growing our earning assets, particularly within our C&I lending operations in the Carolinas and Virginia,” says M. Terry Turner, Pinnacle’s president and chief executive officer.

Pinnacle is the No. 1 bank in the Nashville-Murfreesboro-Franklin MSA, according to 2018 deposit data from the FDIC. The firm began operations in a single location in downtown Nashville in October 2000 and has since grown to approximately $24.6 billion in assets as of Sept. 30.

As the second-largest bank holding company headquartered in Tennessee, Pinnacle operates in 11 primarily urban markets in Tennessee, the Carolinas and Virginia.

OMNIA Partners to host procurement conference

OMNIA Partners, based in Franklin, is hosting Connections 2019, a procurement conference and expo to take place in Nashville, July 21-25.

OMNIA is a purchasing organization in procurement and supply chain management. The event’s mission is to unite its entire purchasing organization – members, public and private sector supplier partners, subsidiaries and the OMNIA Partners team.

Attendees will meet with industry experts to share best practices, enhance their professional development and discover emerging procurement trends.

Members of OMNIA Partners will have the opportunity to gain unparalleled insights into sourcing solutions and strategies while supplier partners will have the chance to accelerate their sales growth through dedicated expo time.

The event will link people, ideas and innovation together to strengthen partnerships and help businesses build to new heights.

Counsel on Call rebrands as Legility

Nashville-based Counsel on Call, along with DSicovery, which it acquired last year, has a new name.

The combined companies will be named Legility, reflecting a commitment to finding innovative and agile ways to improve efficiencies and outcomes for corporate legal departments and law firms.

“Legility, the portmanteau of ‘Legal’ and ‘Agility,’ is reflective of who we are and want to be: progressive, savvy, valued and trusted,” says Barry Dark, CEO of Legility. “We believe this name meets head-on the balance between innovative and established.

“We are one company transforming the way legal services are delivered through people, scalable work processes and technology.”

With the launch of Legility’s new website, the following offerings are highlighted: flexible talent, eDiscovery, data solutions, managed review, deal support, commercial contracts, regulatory and compliance, legal operations tools and consulting.

United Derm Partners adds Nevada practice

United Derm Partners, a Nashville-based physician services organization focused on dermatology, has announced a partnership with Sierra Skin Institute in the Reno area.

The addition of Sierra Skin is part of the expansion of Skin Cancer & Dermatology Institute, a United Derm affiliated group.

SCDI is a leading dermatology practice with 23 dermatologists and care providers across 8 locations.

The practice offers general dermatology, Mohs surgery, dermatopathology and aesthetic services to more than 80,000 patients annually.

“We are thrilled to welcome Sierra Skin Institute and its providers to SCDI and our growing family of practices,’’ says Jay Gunter, United Derm Partners’ chief executive officer. “Their addition allows the group to broaden its general and cosmetic dermatologic services offering along with SCDI’s existing full-service dermatological care.’’

Tech company audiobridge opens Nashville office

Software and mobile app technology start-up audiobridge has opened an office in downtown Nashville.

Created by veteran musician and software technology entrepreneur Matt Miller, audiobridge helps songwriters to collaborate, record and share their songs through its innovative platform.

“Our vision is to democratize songwriting and to help musicians everywhere make great music as easily as possible,” Miller says. “In Nashville, there is so much energy around songwriting that it was a clear fit for us to provide this tool directly to the musicians of this city.”

The company has found a strong user base among songwriters and musicians since it began in February. In its first six months, over 25,000 tracks were recorded from over 5,000 sessions. By circumventing recording costs and the need for expensive equipment, as well as creating an on-demand experience, audiobridge has established a solution to one of the biggest challenges facing songwriters and musicians, the ability to work on music together, in real time, regardless of schedule and location.

MedEquities Realty signs lease agreement

Nashville-based MedEquities Realty Trust, Inc., has signed a new, 15-year triple net lease with Creative Solutions in Healthcare, a regional skilled nursing and assisted living facility operator based in Fort Worth, Texas.

Creative Solutions will begin operating the facilities upon receipt of all outstanding regulatory approvals, which is expected to be on or about January 1, 2019, at which time the new lease will commence.

Initial annual base rent under the lease will be $7,700,000 with annual lease escalators of 2% and two, five-year tenant renewal options. The lease is guaranteed by Creative Solutions’ management company along with personal guarantees from its two co-founders.

Frists fund new autism center at Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt University’s School of Engineering has received a $10 million donation from alumna Jennifer R. Frist and husband William R. Frist to endow a new center focused on supporting and developing the neurodiverse talents of individuals with autism.

The Frist’s contribution continues the work of a Trans-Institutional Programs initiative launched last October with seed funding from the university and led by Keivan G. Stassun, Stevenson Professor of Physics and Astronomy and professor of computer science.

“The pilot program connecting autism, innovation, employment and technology is a perfect example of how the Vanderbilt community can come together to create positive change in the world,” Vanderbilt Chancellor Nicholas S. Zeppos says.

“The deep generosity of the Frists will play a vital role in powering new discoveries around this important topic while improving the quality of life for individuals on the autism spectrum and creating new opportunities for a host of industries and businesses that will benefit from these individuals’ unique talents and skills.”

The Frist Center for Autism and Innovation will combine academic research, commercial research and development and business innovations to identify and understand the capabilities of individuals with autism and to enhance the 21st-century workforce through engagement of autistic talent.

The Frists have a teenage son diagnosed with autism.