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.

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.

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.

Macatawa Bank Corp. grew earnings nearly 20 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

A subsidiary of RDV Corp., the family office for the DeVos family, has acquired a stake in Swedish-based private equity firm Nordic Capital.

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.

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

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

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.

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. 

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

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

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.

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.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for Aug. 5, 2019:

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

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.