A high-tech firm that bought a SUNY-Polytechnic facility in Canandaigua lists in its regulatory filing that New York State was motivated to sell the plant at a discount “for political reasons.”
According to the Albany Times-Union which dug up the paperwork, Akoustis Technologies bought SUNY’s Poly Smart System Technology and Commercialization Center for $2.85 million. That’s roughly $5 million under the appraised value of the facility and its 50 acres of land. Akoustis wrote down on its Security and Exchange Commission filing that they were able to get a great deal because they had a “motivated seller” in the State of New York that didn’t want to liquidate assets and lay off employees “in the current political climate.”
The deal was made when SUNY Poly and the state were trying to stabilize the school’s finances and weather the political storm following the arrest of SUNY Polytechnic founder Alain Kaloyeros on federal bid rigging charges. The center is a former Xerox facility the state bought in 2002. They spent some $100 million dollars to set up the R&D facility on the site.
At the time of the sale, Akoustis promised to keep the 30 employees on the job and to invest in expanding the plant for their cell phone software business.