Displaying items tagged: finance

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.

WYOMING — My Personal Credit Union of Wyoming changed its name to Bloom Credit Union.

GRAND RAPIDS TOWNSHIP — Grand River Bank plans to open a new office on the east side of Grand Rapids by the middle of next year.

The legalization of cannabis in Michigan offers an emerging economic sector for banks and credit unions, but only if Congress enacts legislation to change existing federal law and allow them into the market.

GRAND RAPIDS — Brandon Kanitz walks through a cavernous area of a former auto-parts manufacturing plant, pointing out areas that in the months ahead will become growing rooms for marijuana plants.

Kalamazoo area-based Consumers Credit Union recently began construction on a new branch on 54th Street SW in Wyoming, its sixth office in the Grand Rapids area.

ALLEGAN — Perrigo Co. plc reaffirmed its 2019 earnings guidance and reported a slight decline in net sales resulting from unfavorable currency translations and exited businesses.

TRAVERSE CITY — Markel Corp., the Richmond, Va.-based holding company for various insurance, reinsurance, and investment operations, has acquired a minority stake in The Hagerty Group LLC, a Traverse City-based insurer of classic cars and high-end automobiles.

GRAND RAPIDS — A new mezzanine fund based in Grand Rapids seeks to raise $100 million to invest in growing companies, MiBiz has learned.

As one bank merger affecting the West Michigan marketplace focuses on integration, another much smaller deal heads toward shareholder votes next month.

GRAND RAPIDS — After closing on fundraising for one real estate investment fund for bridge loans, Red Oak Capital Group has begun preparing for another.

KALAMAZOO — Stryker Corp. raised its sales and earnings guidance for 2019 after what President and CEO Kevin Lobo called a “robust” second quarter.

Michigan retailers reported a dip in sales during June, although they remain optimistic that business will pick up over the next few months, according to a monthly index released last week.

GRANDVILLE — Shares of Grand River Commerce Inc., the parent company of Grand River Bank, began trading today on a financial market operated by OTC Markets Group Inc.

HOLLAND — Macatawa Bank Corp. grew earnings by nearly 20 percent in the second quarter, maintaining the company’s strong financial performance.

GRAND RAPIDS — Independent Bank Corp. recorded higher net income for the second quarter with double-digit loan growth.

SPARTA — Costs from a proposed merger cut into ChoiceOne Financial Services Inc.’s quarterly earnings.

GRAND RAPIDS — West Michigan Community Bank plans to open a new regional office in Grand Rapids Township.

GRAND RAPIDS — Joe Manica’s first job at United Bank was building shelves in the basement as a teenager.

KALAMAZOO — When Anna Rath signed on as CEO of Vestaron Corp. 15 months ago, the company was preparing to transition from a focus on R&D to commercializing a line of new environmentally friendly insecticides. 

Chemical Financial Corp.’s $3.6 billion acquisition of Wayzata, Minn.-based TCF Financial Corp. heads to a close Aug. 1 after receiving final federal regulatory approval.