Displaying items tagged: Varnum LLP

ROUNDTABLE: The M&A market ended 2019 in good shape and professionals who work in the field expect dealmaking to remain strong in the new year. 

MiBiz Growth Report for Oct. 26, 2019.

GRAND RAPIDS — Carroll Capital LLC, a Greenwich, Conn.-based family office, has acquired Grand Rapids-based Elevator Service LLC from owner Nate McFadden.

Here is the growth report for September 14, 2019.

CHARLOTTE — Spartan Motors Inc. continues to build its presence on the West Coast with its second acquisition of a California company in three months. 

A decade into the economic recovery, the region’s automotive suppliers continue to ride the wave of vehicle sales volume in the North Amercian and global auto market. Yet, many are bracing for an impending downturn, which analysts predict will occur somewhere in the early 2020s. Primarily, suppliers are planning on weathering any upcoming downturn by banking on investments in new technologies, including electric vehicles and automation, whether through increased R&D spending or through acquisitions. 

Northpointe Bancshare Inc. raised $25 million in capital through a private placement of common stock with Castle Creek Capital LLC, a private equity firm based in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., north of San Diego.

GRAND RAPIDS — More than seven years, $2 million and 500 companies later, Varnum LLP signed on for a third round of providing free legal services to help new companies get off the ground. The Grand Rapids-based law firm will give away another $1 million in legal services through the MiSpringboard program that launched in 2011 under a push by then-Gov. Rick Snyder to support entrepreneurism as Michigan’s economy began recovering from the Great Recession.

As more generations become exposed over time to the craft beer industry, brewers will face new opportunities to find growth and challenges to their existing business models. Add in a healthy dose of regulatory uncertainty and shifting market dynamics that could easily catch breweries off guard financially if they scaled up too large, too soon and it’s easy to see that the craft brewing industry remains in a state of constant flux.

Until a couple of years ago, environmental assessments for property transactions did not include checking for PFAS contamination. Now, it has become standard practice in areas that have confirmed contamination with the family of industrial chemicals. According to legal experts who work in the real estate industry, both buyers and sellers need to complete due diligence when it comes to properties contaminated with PFAS.

West Michigan tribes may be relatively new to implementing economic development and diversification plans, but they’ve quickly established themselves as strategic partners for the local business community because of their focus on investing in companies and real estate. Moreover, many of the federally-recognized sovereign tribes are looking to engage with non-tribal businesses, spreading the opportunity beyond just tribal members into potentially powerful economic opportunities across the region.

Like more than half of Michigan’s manufacturers, business runs in the family at Grand Rapids-based Pridgeon & Clay Inc.

MUSKEGON — A West Michigan solar energy developer is pursuing new projects and job-training in low-income communities across the state that qualify for tax relief under recent federal tax reforms. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 created qualified Opportunity Zones that allow investors to defer taxes on capital gains meant to spur development in low-income areas. While most projects involve real estate development, some developers across the U.S. are beginning to explore the potential for renewable energy in Opportunity Zones.

NORTON SHORES — A company that moved out of Norton Shores before its tax abatements expired is now suing the lakeshore community and fighting the city’s demands for repayment of nearly $1 million.

M&A professionals expect the dealmaking market to remain healthy in 2019. That’s one of the conclusions from a panel of executives MiBiz assembled to talk about West Michigan’s mergers and acquisitions sector.

A turbulent period full of major disruptions for the automotive industry has translated into business doubling for Conway MacKenzie Inc., a Birmingham, Mich.-based turnaround firm.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Sept. 4, 2018.

So far this year, West Michigan-based automotive suppliers have endured the fallout from supply chain disruptions, wrestled with rising costs related to steel and aluminum tariffs and struggled to fill open positions at their factories.

Before Landscape Forms Inc. acquired Kornegay Design last year, the Kalamazoo-based designer and manufacturer of site furniture, accessories and lighting mulled several acquisition targets that shared its design culture and core beliefs.

It’s been a tumultuous time for large retailers as consumers gravitate to the convenience of e-commerce and consciously shift their buying habits to local options. As these shifts continue to drive change and stress in the retail industry, many stakeholders still believe it offers significant opportunity. In separate interviews, MiBiz connected with retail advisers to gather their thoughts on the state of the industry, why it’s changing and where it’s going. They were:

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling expected this summer could either clarify or bring further uncertainty to the debate over when states can force online retailers to collect sales taxes.

GRAND RAPIDS — The pending acquisition of TCSB Bancorp Inc. gives Independent Bank Corp. a position in an attractive banking market in Northwestern Michigan.

Kruger Plastic Products of Bridgman has been acquired by a Chicago-based private equity firm. 

M&A activity should remain strong in 2018 and perhaps get a push from federal tax reform.

Physicians considering their next steps in the business have an emerging alternative to consider that would allow them to remain independent.

GRAND RAPIDS — A West Michigan real estate firm has moved to settle a federal civil lawsuit alleging it engaged in racketeering and other fraudulent activities by charging higher rents at properties once intended for affordable housing.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Oct. 30, 2017:

• M&A: Stryker Corp. acquired a majority interest in French medical device company Vexim SA and plans to make a tender offer to buy out its remaining shareholders. The Kalamazoo-based Stryker (NYSE: SYK) acquired 50.7 percent of shares and 50.3 percent of voting rights to Vexim, based in Balma, near Toulouse, France. Stryker paid 20 euros per share to funds managed by Truffle Capital, Bpifrance and Kreaxi, as well as Vexim managers. Vexim said the acquisition of the majority stake by Stryker has an equity value of 183 million euros, which equates to about $216 million. Vexim specializes in devices for minimally invasive procedures to treat traumatic spinal pathologies.

After steering Spartan Motors Inc. through a series of changes that helped the manufacturer return to profitability, Daryl Adams knew the timing worked to take the next step in the company’s growth strategy.

With availability of talent at a premium, many manufacturers are attempting to lure away key workers from their competitors. 

When two former executives of Pitsch Holding Company Inc. filed a lawsuit against three of their siblings in 2007, they probably didn’t know they’d be starting a 10-year war.