Bellco to open branches in Erie, Timnath in 2025

Bellco Credit Union will continue its northward expansion with new free-standing branches planned to open in Erie and Timnath in 2025.

According to an announcement issued Wednesday by the credit union, the 3,300-square-foot branch at 680 Commons Drive in Erie and the 3,100-square-foot branch at 4625 Weitzel St. in Timnath will each have two drive-up teller lanes, one drive-up ATM lane and a 24-hour drop box. Both branches will be open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

“As we expand into these vibrant and growing communities, we are thrilled to bring our commitment to exceptional customer service and financial well-being to even more members,” John Rivera, the Greenwood Village-based credit union’s chief retail officer, said in a prepared statement. “Bellco is dedicated to being a lifelong financial partner, supporting our members through every stage of life. We look forward to becoming an integral part of these communities, helping to build strong, prosperous futures for all our members.”

Bellco has two other locations in Boulder County, which serve a total of 9,000 members. A Louisville branch opened in 2016, and a Longmont location opened in 2017.

Bellco opened in Fort Collins in 2023 and expanded its Northern Colorado footprint with a new branch in Greeley in April. It has 21,000 members in Larimer and Weld counties.

Bellco operates 29 branches in Colorado.

Left Hand Oktoberfest to return in September

Left Hand Brewing Co. will host Left Hand Oktoberfest, an annual tradition since 2012, on Sept. 27-28, at The Garden, the event space at the brewery’s Boston Avenue headquarters.

The event will include activities such as “live music, polka, stein-holding, brat-eating and costume contests,” Left Hand said in a news release.

Left Hand will also roll out its Oktoberfest Märzen Lager offering for the fall.

Arca Biopharma, Oruka Therapeutics merger complete

Boulder’s Arca Biopharma Inc. has completed its merger with Oruka Therapeutics Inc., and the combined company’s stock will begin trading this week on the Nasdaq exchange under the “ORKA” ticker symbol.

In conjunction with the merger, the combined company will effect a reverse-stock split under which “every 12 shares of the combined company’s common stock outstanding will be combined and reclassified into 1 share of the combined company’s common stock,” the parties said in a news release.

Massachusetts-based Oruka revealed to regulators in April its plan to absorb Arca in a reverse-merger deal in which the struggling Westminster-based cardiovascular therapies developer will serve as a vessel for taking Oruka public.

The company will focus its efforts on Oruka’s existing pipeline of drug candidates for the treatment of chronic skin diseases such as plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.

Oruka, which is the third pharmaceutical company to be spun out of Paragon Therapeutics Inc., following Spyre Therapeutics and Apogee Therapeutics, said that it has secured commitments for a $275 million private investment to support the merger, as well as pledges from a long line of investors to buy the now-publicly traded Oruka shares.

Arca, which spent the past two years searching for an M&A partner, told regulators in April that if Oruka were to have failed, Arca may have been forced to pursue “dissolution.”

— BizWest reports