Displaying items tagged: finance

GRAND RAPIDS — The $1.4 million investment in Portage-based Micro Laser Assisted Machining Technologies LLC represents the largest single investment ever for Grand Angels and its affiliated angel groups and venture capital fund.

GRAND RAPIDS — Investor relations and public relations firm Lambert & Co. has expanded into the Southwest U.S. with the hiring and acquisition of a team of professionals based in Phoenix, Ariz.

GRAND RAPIDS — Grand Angels launched a new affiliate in Flint, further expanding its presence across Michigan.

Trade tariffs and the direction of the economy, coupled with concerns about the 2020 U.S. presidential election, weighed down expectations for mergers and acquisitions next year.

Business owners surveyed by PNC Bank remain optimistic about the local and national economies, despite worries about tariffs and pricing pressures and outlooks for slower growth ahead.

GRAND RAPIDS — Muskegon-based Conn Geneva & Robinson CPA and Consultants PC has merged with Grand Rapids-based accounting firm Hungerford Nichols CPAs + Advisors LLC.

SPARTA — Higher expenses mostly related to the Oct. 1 merger with County Bank Corp. cut into third quarter earnings for ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc.

A $500,000 grant from Wells Fargo Bank will enable Northern Initiatives to put a larger focus on diversifying its lending.

GRAND RAPIDS — Grand Ventures led an investment round in CRE Simple Inc., an Oakland, Calif.-based fintech firm focused on commercial real estate.

GRAND RAPIDS — Mercantile Bank Corp. maintained solid growth and earnings through the third quarter.

KALAMAZOO — A Grand Rapids mezzanine fund’s investment will enable Keystone Solutions Group to maintain its strong growth trajectory in the years ahead.

GRAND RAPIDS — Red Oak Capital Group LLC plans to raise another $50 million through a public bond offering for a third fund to offer bridge loans for commercial real estate.

Even if the U.S. Senate were to pass a bill to make it easier for banks and credit unions to serve the emerging cannabis industry, questions remain over just how many financial institutions will act quickly on the opportunity.

Investors initially wanted to up their ante and take their stake in Caledonia-based Acrisure LLC to several times their existing holdings.

Raising $25 million in capital and acquiring a mortgage company positioned Northpointe Bank for even more growth in the years ahead.

Charter Growth Capital Fund, a mezzanine fund formed this past summer by Grand Rapids-based Charter Capital Partners, made its first deal with an investment in Keystone Solutions Group.

GRAND RAPIDS — Greatland Corp., a provider of W-2, 1099 and 1095 solutions, has acquired JAT Software Inc. of Bridgewater Township, N.J.

GRAND RAPIDS — Venture capital fund Grand Ventures has closed on $28 million that was raised for its first fund.

PORTAGE — Kenneth Leonard and Ryan Reffitt originally set out to provide small banks and credit unions across Michigan with underwriting and other support services for writing business loans.

SPARTA — ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc. remains open to further acquisitions after the $89 million deal with Lapeer-based County Bank Corp. is completed next year.

The purchase of Ottawa Kent Insurance Agency Inc. comes as a Traverse City-based agency platform backed by private equity investors pursues a Midwest acquisition strategy.

CALEDONIA — Acrisure LLC has launched a joint venture to sell insurance coverage directly to consumers through a digital platform backed by artificial intelligence.

SPARTA — ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc.’s merger with Lapeer-based County Bank Corp. easily earned shareholder approvals this morning and now heads to a close next spring.

JENISON — Ottawa Kent Insurance Agency Inc. was acquired by Traverse City-based High Street Insurance Partners Inc., an insurance agency platform formed last year by Huron Capital Partners LLC, a Detroit-based private equity firm.

Here is the revised text of the “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation” issued by the Business Roundtable on Aug. 19:

Grand Ventures I LP’s lead investment in a Chicago digital health company typifies what’s occurring in venture capital in Michigan and neighboring states: Funds based in the region are backing Great Lakes-based startups.

As U.S. economic growth slows, so too does Michigan’s economy.

The Business Roundtable, an organization of leading U.S. corporate executives, last month issued a new version of its Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation. 

The latest version of the Business Roundtable’s Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation is intriguing, according to Tim Syfert, a clinical professor of business at Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business.

Steelcase Inc. President and CEO James Keane was among the 181 chief executives in the U.S. that signed the Business Roundtable’s “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.” He offered his perspective on the document in emailed responses to MiBiz.