Business news in brief

The city is seeking a broker to manage the sale of Philadelphia Gas Works, the latest step in Mayor Nutter's exploration of the privatization of the nation's largest municipal gas utility. The city and PGW issued a formal request for proposals for a broker, who will identify potential buyers. The broker's fee is a percentage of the sale price, to be negotiated upon the broker's selection. The broker will be paid from proceeds only if a sale is consummated. The city expects the broker to begin work by Jan. 21. Nutter in August selected a large team of professional firms, led by investment banker Lazard Ltd., to guide the city through the potential sale. - Andrew Maykuth

The final three SuperFresh stores in the South Jersey suburbs of Philadelphia are being shut down by corporate parent Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., the union representing 155 clerks who will lose their jobs said. Supermarkets in Marlton, Westmont, and Plainsboro will be shuttered, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1360 president Sam Ferraino said. A&P, of Montvale, N.J., said it would close the "underperforming" stores Jan. 11. - Maria Panaritis

The head of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission told a state Senate panel that the efforts of utilities to restore service following Hurricane Sandy were well coordinated and showed improvement over the response to several big storms in 2011. PUC Chairman Robert F. Powelson told the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee that 90 percent of the state's 1.5 million outages were restored four days after the storm hit. "Given the number of outages and the extent of the damage, this was an impressive feat," he said. Powelson said there was still room for improvement and said the PUC would continue a deeper examination of the storm response in the coming months. - Andrew Maykuth

Aqua America Inc., the Bryn Mawr water purveyor, said its Pennsylvania subsidiary closed on three issues of first-mortgage bonds totaling $80 million at an average rate of 3.81 percent. Proceeds from the transaction will be used to refinance higher-coupon first-mortgage bonds and pay down Aqua's revolving credit facility. - Andrew Maykuth

NBC replaced the executive producer of Today, which has slipped from the top TV rating in its morning time slot after 16 years. Don Nash, senior broadcast producer at Today, was named to the post, replacing Jim Bell. Bell will become the full-time executive producer of NBC's Olympics coverage and report to the head of NBC Sports Group, Mark Lazarus. Comcast Corp., of Philadelphia, controls NBC through NBCUniversal, which it owns with General Electric. Today has fallen behind archrival Good Morning America. - Bob Fernandez

While employee health benefits cost more in 2012, Philadelphia regional costs did not rise as fast as those for the nation overall, according to a survey from Mercer L.L.C., a national benefits and consulting company. In the region, health-care benefit costs rose 2.9 percent to $11,876 per employee. Nationally, costs rose 4.1 percent to $10,558 per employee. Mercer said the companies predict their 2013 costs will go up 5 percent nationally and 5.2 percent regionally. However, to achieve those costs, companies will have to trim their offerings. - Jane M. Von Bergen

The Williams Co. of Tulsa, Okla., received permission from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to replace a portion of its existing Transco natural gas pipeline in East Brandywine and East Caln Townships, Chester County. The company will be allowed to use an open-trench method to replace a 30-inch pipeline that crosses the East Branch of the Brandywine Creek and Ludwig's Run with a 42-inch pipeline. The permit addresses runoff and the effects of stream encroachment. - Sandy Bauers

Carter Validus Mission Critical REIT Inc., of Tampa, Fla., paid $65 million, or $540 a square foot, to acquire a data center occupied by Vanguard Group Inc. in the Byberry Industrial Park in Northeast Philadelphia. The seller was CSX Corp., which was represented in the deal by broker CBRE Group Inc. - Inquirer staff

California began auctioning permits for greenhouse gas emissions, launching one of the world's most ambitious efforts to cut heat-trapping gases from industrial sources. The California Air Resources Board said it began selling the pollution "allowances" in a closed online auction expected to create the world's second-largest marketplace for carbon emissions. Under the program, the state sets a limit, or cap, on emissions from individual polluters. Businesses are required to either cut emissions to cap levels or buy allowances through the auction. - AP

Facebook Inc. had its second-largest stock-price gain since going public as investors - undeterred by a surge in the number of tradable shares - bet on the company's potential to boost advertising revenue. The stock advanced 13 percent to $22.36 at the close in New York. Restrictions lifted Wednesday on 804 million shares held by former employees and those who sold at the initial public offering, almost doubling the total publicly available, according to a regulatory filing. - Bloomberg News