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2025 Ningbo Spring Festival Gala: Where International Flair Meets Cutting-Edge Technology

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NINGBO, China, Jan. 23, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The 2025 Ningbo Spring Festival Gala, a spectacular event blending tradition and innovation, captivated audiences on the evening of January 23 at Studio One of the Ningbo Radio and Television Group.

Featuring a diverse array of original programs that celebrated Ningbo’s unique character, local traditions, and impressive development, the gala offered a cultural feast for Ningbo natives both at home and abroad. Highlights included the symphonic recitation “Seeing You Through Words,” the dazzling fashion show “Oriental Splendor,” and the specially designed performance “At the Heart of the Sea.”

Iconic Ningbo cultural elements, such as the historic Tianyi Pavilion, the ancient Hemudu Culture, the exquisite Yue Celadon, and the renowned Hongbang (red band) tailors, were featured. This year’s gala presented a reimagined version of the celadon music performance “Rhythm of Water,” while the male group dance “Moonlight Shines Over the Siming Mountain” drew inspiration from revered historical figures like Wang Anshi (1021-1086), Wang Yangming (1472-1529), and Huang Zongxi (1610-1695). The dancers, portraying “scholars” in flowing, wide-sleeved robes, moved with grace and precision, embodying both youthful vigor and a deep-seated patriotic commitment to serving the nation.

The 2025 gala also seamlessly integrated cutting-edge digital stage technology with live performance. The female group dance “Like a Lotus” employed a combination of immersive surround-screen digital displays, a dynamic mechanical stage, wirework, and virtual technology to create captivating effects, showing delicate “lotus flowers” emerging from the water with roots, stems, and tendrils. The innovative human-machine performance “AI on the Spring Festival Gala” showcased multiple robots and robotic dogs, which, after sophisticated programming, took to the stage, performing fluid dance moves and successfully interacting with the audience through heart gestures.

Reflecting Ningbo’s status as a vibrant international coastal city, numerous foreign residents and international students who live and work there participated in the gala. Some of them donned traditional opera costumes, joining over 20 young local performers dressed as Mu Guiying, a legendary ancient Chinese heroine, in a captivating Chinese opera showcase. Notably, Sime Nkemeni Darrin from Cameroon portrayed the upright official Baogong in Henan Opera; Haines Phoebe Georgina from the UK embodied the iconic imperial concubine Yang Yuhuan, singing a section from the Peking Opera’s “Ode to Pear Blossom”; and Nweke Chioma Precious from Nigeria delivered a performance from the Huangmei Opera “Emperor’s Female Son-in-Law.” These performances highlighted the allure of traditional Chinese culture.

Further enriching the event’s global tapestry, musicians from Austria presented a unique performance, skillfully blending Western string instruments with the exquisite poetry of China. Composed by local artist Robert, the piece drew its inspiration from “Zi Jin,” a poem from the Book of Songs, creating a harmonious fusion of cultures.

Adding a human dimension, the gala’s special program, “At the Heart of the Sea,” brought frontline workers involved in the construction of the Hangzhou Bay Railway Bridge to the stage. This remarkable feat of engineering, a key component of the Nantong-Suzhou-Jiaxing-Ningbo High-speed Railway and set to be the world’s longest cross-sea railway bridge upon completion, exemplifies the pioneering and innovative spirit of Ningbo people.

This year marked the third consecutive year that Ningbo has hosted its own Spring Festival Gala. Over the past three years, this pre-Chinese New Year tradition has proven invaluable in showcasing Ningbo’s rich cultural heritage, summarizing the year’s key cultural highlights, bringing people together from all walks of life, and inspiring a shared sense of enthusiasm and energy throughout the community.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2604865/Ningbo_Fashion_Splendor.jpg
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2604866/Ningbo_Chinese_Opera.jpg
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2604864/Ningbo_Logo.jpg 

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SOURCE Ningbo International Communication Center

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XLCS Partners advises Concurrent Utility Services on sale to UniTek Global Services

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July 23, 2026

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NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — XLCS Partners, Inc., a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce that it served as exclusive M&A advisor to Concurrent Utility Services LLC on its acquisition by UniTek Global Services, Inc., a portfolio company of New Mountain Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: NMFC) and its affiliates, and BTG Pactual Strategic Capital.

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Concurrent is a licensed general and electrical contractor providing infrastructure development and maintenance services to electric utilities, telecom providers, and land developers throughout the Southeast United States. The company’s capabilities span overhead and underground utility construction, professional telecom services, emergency service restoration, in-building networks, environmental services, and data center development. Backed by a safety-first culture and an experienced workforce, Concurrent has built a strong regional platform and a reputation for quality across the markets it serves.

UniTek is a leading digital infrastructure services provider supporting the expansion of fiber and data center connectivity across the U.S. and Canada. With over 600 employees and 60 locations, UniTek delivers a full suite of infrastructure services. The acquisition of Concurrent accelerates UniTek’s Power Services Division, which launched in July 2025 to broaden the company’s maintenance, repair, upgrade, and new infrastructure development services for the power sector. Concurrent’s established Southeast footprint and power capabilities directly complement UniTek’s existing broadband and data center infrastructure platform, positioning the combined company to capitalize on growing demand for resilient, modernized power infrastructure. Concurrent will continue to operate under its established brand, maintaining uninterrupted service for its customers.

“Selling Concurrent was one of the biggest decisions of my career, and Anthony, Jay, and the XLCS team guided us through every step with professionalism and genuine care for our people,” said Steve Sarno, CEO of Concurrent. “They stayed fully engaged throughout, gave us honest and thoughtful advice, kept our best interests front and center, and delivered an outcome that exceeded our expectations. I would recommend them without hesitation to any owner considering a transaction.”

XLCS acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to Concurrent, and the transaction was led by Anthony Contaldo, Partner, and Jay Cremer, Vice President. The transaction was completed on July 1, 2026.

About XLCS Partners, Inc.

XLCS Partners is a leading global investment banking firm providing M&A advisory services. Visit www.xlcspartners.com for more information.

Media Contact: 
Kendra Span 
kspan@xlcspartners.com
615-379-7783

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xlcs-partners-advises-concurrent-utility-services-on-sale-to-unitek-global-services-302833542.html

SOURCE XLCS Partners, Inc.

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XLCS Partners advises Concurrent Utility Services on sale to UniTek Global Services

Published

7 minutes ago

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July 23, 2026

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NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — XLCS Partners, Inc., a leading middle market investment bank, is pleased to announce that it served as exclusive M&A advisor to Concurrent Utility Services LLC on its acquisition by UniTek Global Services, Inc., a portfolio company of New Mountain Finance Corporation (Nasdaq: NMFC) and its affiliates, and BTG Pactual Strategic Capital.

Headquartered in Miami, Florida, Concurrent is a licensed general and electrical contractor providing infrastructure development and maintenance services to electric utilities, telecom providers, and land developers throughout the Southeast United States. The company’s capabilities span overhead and underground utility construction, professional telecom services, emergency service restoration, in-building networks, environmental services, and data center development. Backed by a safety-first culture and an experienced workforce, Concurrent has built a strong regional platform and a reputation for quality across the markets it serves.

UniTek is a leading digital infrastructure services provider supporting the expansion of fiber and data center connectivity across the U.S. and Canada. With over 600 employees and 60 locations, UniTek delivers a full suite of infrastructure services. The acquisition of Concurrent accelerates UniTek’s Power Services Division, which launched in July 2025 to broaden the company’s maintenance, repair, upgrade, and new infrastructure development services for the power sector. Concurrent’s established Southeast footprint and power capabilities directly complement UniTek’s existing broadband and data center infrastructure platform, positioning the combined company to capitalize on growing demand for resilient, modernized power infrastructure. Concurrent will continue to operate under its established brand, maintaining uninterrupted service for its customers.

“Selling Concurrent was one of the biggest decisions of my career, and Anthony, Jay, and the XLCS team guided us through every step with professionalism and genuine care for our people,” said Steve Sarno, CEO of Concurrent. “They stayed fully engaged throughout, gave us honest and thoughtful advice, kept our best interests front and center, and delivered an outcome that exceeded our expectations. I would recommend them without hesitation to any owner considering a transaction.”

XLCS acted as the exclusive M&A advisor to Concurrent, and the transaction was led by Anthony Contaldo, Partner, and Jay Cremer, Vice President. The transaction was completed on July 1, 2026.

About XLCS Partners, Inc.

XLCS Partners is a leading global investment banking firm providing M&A advisory services. Visit www.xlcspartners.com for more information.

Media Contact: 
Kendra Span 
kspan@xlcspartners.com
615-379-7783

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/xlcs-partners-advises-concurrent-utility-services-on-sale-to-unitek-global-services-302833542.html

SOURCE XLCS Partners, Inc.

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Fathom Applauds Introduction of the FRONTIER Act, the First Federal Blueprint for Independent AI Verification

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July 23, 2026

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Reps. Lori Trahan (D-MA-03) and Jay Obernolte (R-CA-23) introduce a bill to build a competitive marketplace of independent verifiers for frontier AI models.

WASHINGTON, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Fathom welcomes the introduction of the FRONTIER Act, the most complete federal framework yet for independent, third-party verification of frontier AI. The legislation is built to earn public trust as AI technology continues to accelerate. As frontier systems begin to take autonomous action in the world, the gap between what these models can do and our ability to keep them in check is widening. FRONTIER is the starting point to close that gap.

“AI governance keeps running into the same wall. The technology is hard to measure and it moves faster than any law can keep up with,” said Andrew Freedman, Co-Founder and CEO of Fathom. “Trying to write the perfect rules and freezing them in place won’t work. What will work is a competitive market of independent verifiers who are accountable for real-world outcomes and who the government can actually count on. The FRONTIER Act shows we can move fast and still get this right.”

The bill gets the fundamentals correct. It sets one public standard – the adequate mitigation of catastrophic risk – and holds both the AI companies and their independent verifiers accountable to it. FRONTIER does not freeze a single testing method into statute. Instead, it licenses competing verification organizations, allows them to sharpen their methods, and gives the government the power to revoke a license when a verifier’s work does not hold up in the field. That is how you build a system that keeps pace with the science instead of falling behind it.

Fathom thanks Reps. Trahan and Obernolte for their leadership, and for their courage in releasing a discussion draft, inviting scrutiny, and incorporating substantive improvements from across the field. One priority improvement as the bill advances: giving the government a fuller range of tools to act upstream – for pushing companies to close identified gaps in risk mitigation early, rather than only once a catastrophe is imminent. We are committed to working with these sponsors, committees of jurisdiction, and Congressional leadership to continue refining the bill in the weeks and months ahead.

About Fathom
Fathom is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to build a governance architecture that helps society navigate the transition to a world with AI by fostering trust, safety, and innovation. Fathom has developed and championed the independent verification model for AI and works with policymakers across the country to put it into practice. Learn more at http://fathom.org.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fathom-applauds-introduction-of-the-frontier-act-the-first-federal-blueprint-for-independent-ai-verification-302833546.html

SOURCE Fathom AI Inc.

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