GRAND RAPIDS — A capital fund providing commercial real estate bridge loans raised more than $11 million from investors in its first few months and closed on transactions with three borrowers. Red Oak Capital GP LLC of Grand Rapids continues to close monthly on investments from new investors en route to a goal of raising $50 million through a bond offering by the end of 2019, with two six-month extensions if needed. The capital raised goes to a national fund that provides senior lines of credit for commercial real estate deals that do not yet qualify for bank financing.

GRAND RAPIDS — Nearly a year after closing on the acquisition of a community bank on Florida’s Gulf Coast, Lake Michigan Credit Union could extend its footprint further in the Sunshine State. By following members who are migrating south for the warmer climate in retirement, the Grand Rapids-based Lake Michigan Credit Union is presently looking at other community banks in Florida, said President and CEO Sandra Jelinski.

Grand Angels’ formation of an affiliate investment group in Detroit brings more capital and investors into the field to support startup companies in Michigan. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Steady growth led Mercantile Bank Corp. to proceed with an addition at its corporate headquarters. Rising on the south side of the headquarters building at Leonard Street and U.S. 131 in Grand Rapids, the three-story, 25,000-square-foot addition will enable Mercantile Bank to bring together commercial banking teams and support staff — lenders, treasury and credit analysts — at one location.

HOLLAND — The $6.7 million that ITB Packaging LLC raised from private investors will go to support developing new production equipment and expanding into markets outside of the U.S. In the years ahead, the company aims to accelerate growth, penetrate new product markets such as consumer goods, electronics and the beverage industry, and establish production for overseas customers in Mexico and Europe. The first step is to complete in-house development on the next generation of automated production equipment to produce the packaging dividers.

Acrisure LLC capped off its most active year for M&A with the acquisition of Milwaukee, Wis.-based HNI Risk Services at the end of 2018.

Chemical Financial Corp. would extend further across the Midwest with the proposed merger with Wayzata, Minn.-based TCF Financial Corp.

Macatawa Bank Corp. nearly tripled earnings for the fourth quarter.

Former Herman Miller Inc. President and CEO Brian Walker joined Detroit-based private equity firm Huron Capital as a partner in charge of strategic leadership for portfolio companies.

Mercantile Bank Corp. recorded strong earnings and loan growth to end 2018, a trend executives expect should continue into 2019.

Insurance broker First Agency Inc. has sold to Rolling Meadows, Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

The $8 million in capital West Michigan Community Bank just raised will go to support further growth and perhaps develop another branch location in the Grand Rapids area.

A small private equity firm started in Southern Michigan plans to invest in a niche area most investors ignore. In targeting small manufacturers in small towns and other rural markets across the state, Parma-based Fresh Water Ventures Fund LP seeks to acquire small businesses and maintain operations in their hometowns.

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.

Interest rates likely will rise again in 2019. How much and how often remains the question following the latest quarter-point increase in the federal funds rate last week by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which for two years has been raising interest rates from historic lows reached a decade ago during the Great Recession.

Volatility came back to the stock market in 2018 and Todd Harvey doesn’t see it going away in 2019. The director of Fifth Third Private Bank since 2012 and a wealth management professional for 16 years, Harvey believes the market next year will have to cope with rising interest rates amid a U.S. economy that will continue growing, although at a slower rate.

Krista Flynn joined Chemical Bank in July as regional president for West Michigan, leading a market that includes Grand Rapids and Holland. She previously spent seven years in corporate banking at PNC Bank and 15 years at JPMorgan before going to work at Chemical, the largest bank based in Michigan. Chemical Bank, with more than $20.9 billion in total assets, has been building its commercial banking and wealth management staff, and is presently building out a new regional headquarters in downtown Grand Rapids. Parent company Chemical Financial Corp. also plans to develop a new corporate headquarters in downtown Detroit.

Kalamazoo-based Consumers Credit Union surpassed a key milestone when it hit $1 billion in assets back in May 2018. By the end of the third quarter, the 92,000-member credit union had grown assets further to $1.07 billion, and President and CEO Kit Snyder expects assets to close the year at $1.1 billion. The growth during 2018 came as Consumers Credit Union settled into a new headquarters in The Groves Engineering Business Technology Park in Kalamazoo.

PARCHMENT — Advia Credit Union would gain a larger market presence in northern Illinois with the proposed acquisition of Golden Eagle Community Bank.

Michigan will maintain job growth through 2019, although at a slower rate than the past several years as employers have fewer people to hire.

GRAND RAPIDS — A lukewarm initial public stock offering by drinkware and cooler-maker Yeti Holdings Inc. spelled a smaller-than-expected payout for a prominent West Michigan family office. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Even when it first acquired Dickinson Press LLC more than three years ago, Blackford Capital saw Brainerd, Minn.-based CJK Group Inc. as a potential buyer.

MiBiz, in conjunction with the Association for Corporate Growth of Western Michigan, highlighted the winners and finalists of the 2018 M&A Deals and Dealmakers of the Year Awards on Oct. 28 at the Gerald  R. Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids. 

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Oct. 29, 2018.

The spring acquisition of TCSB Bancorp Inc. in Traverse City, combined with strong loan growth, drove earnings higher for Independent Bank Corp. in the third quarter.

Macatawa Bank Corp. grew earnings more than 40 percent in the third quarter.

Marijuana for recreational use by adults could become a $1.4 billion industry in Michigan in the years ahead.

A tribal-owned architecture and engineering firm in Southwest Michigan plans to relocate its headquarters to a new Kalamazoo commercial development.