Business news in brief

In the Region

Report: Tourism up sharply since 1997

The five-county Philadelphia area was visited by 33.1 million leisure travelers last year, 10 million more than in 1997, the nonprofit Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. said Tuesday. Its report showed that Center City leisure hotel bookings had more than tripled in that same span - to 827,000 rooms in 2010 from 254,000 in 1997 - and that overall visitor spending was $24 million a day last year. - AP

Sunoco Logistics buys Ohio pipeline

Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P., Philadelphia, said it bought a majority interest in Inland Corp., an Ohio oil-pipeline company, for $100 million. Inland, which is privately held and is based in West Salem, Ohio, operates a 350-mile pipeline for refined oil products. The deal gives Sunoco Logistics an 84 percent economic stake in Inland and a 70 percent voting interest. Sunoco operates 2,200 miles of pipelines in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southwest. - Paul Schweizer

Shire buys Advanced BioHealing for $750M

Shire P.L.C., a specialty biopharmaceutical company with North American headquarters in Wayne, said it agreed to pay $750 million for Advanced BioHealing Inc. Advanced BioHealing's key product is Dermagraft, which is designed to be used to treat diabetic foot ulcers. Shire is based in Dublin, Ireland. Advanced BioHealing is part of Safeguard Scientific Inc.'s portfolio. Safeguard, a Wayne investor in life-sciences companies, said it would receive $140 million from the sale. - David Sell

Triumph Group wins business-jet contract

Triumph Group Inc., a Wayne maker of aircraft structures and components, said it was awarded a contract to design and build the wing for Bombardier Inc.'s ultra-long-range business jets. The wing will be designed to maximize aerodynamic efficiency and be built at Triumph's Dallas plant. The contract's value was not disclosed, but Triumph said it would be among the company's 10 largest programs by 2016, when the first delivery is expected. Currently, Triumph's largest program is the Boeing 747 jet, and the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner also is among the top 10. - Paul Schweizer

RAIT increases dividend for 2011