GTCR, one of Chicago’s biggest private equity firms, today announced the closing of its tenth buyout fund, with more than $3.25 billion of investor commitments.
The fund had an initial target of $3 billion.
“Fund X is the largest in our firm’s 30-year history, and one of our quickest to raise,” GTCR Principal Phil Canfield said in a statement. Get the full story »
Huron Consulting Group Inc., the Chicago-based company formed by partners from collapsed accounting firm Arthur Andersen, said Tuesday that it will rearrange its executive suite this morning, with the goal of “supporting the company’s long-term growth plan.” Get the full story »
Amazon.com Inc. on Tuesday added a streaming-video service offering for its $79-a-year Amazon Prime members, an expected move by the online retailer as it looks to more directly compete with Netflix Inc. Get the full story »
Macy’s Inc. posted a higher-than-expected profit after sales surged during the holiday quarter, and the department store chain forecast continued gains this year.
For its new fiscal year, Macy’s expects sales at stores open at least a year to rise 3 percent. It forecast earnings of between $2.25 and $2.30 a share, which would be an increase from the just-ended year. Get the full story »
Dunkin’ Donuts and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters are hooking up to make Dunkin’s coffee available in K-cups for Keurig machines.
Beginning this summer, at participating Dunkin’ cafes in the U.S. and Canada, the K-cups will be sold in 14-packs, available in original, decaf, French vanilla, hazelnut, and Dunkin’ dark. Some cafes will also be selling Keurig brewers. Get the full story »
Humana Inc. said it will set up a joint venture to provide employers and health plan members with new wellness programs and services that reward workers for staying healthy.
Louisville-based Humana, one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies, said it will create a new company, based in Chicago, with Discovery Holdings of South Africa. Discovery owns the Vitality brand of wellness programs and services which work somewhat like airline miles in how they reward workers to stay healthy. Get the full story »
One of the nation’s largest owners of trailer parks has quietly entered Long Island with the purchase of a 328-lot property near the Hamptons and the Long Island Sound.
Hometown America Corp., of Chicago, paid nearly $22 million for the 101-acre Thurm’s Estates community in Calverton, about $66,000 per lot. That’s more than double the national average, says Buddy Martin, one of the deal’s brokers. Get the full story »
Shoppers wait in line to pay for their purchases at a Wal-Mart store. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is in the midst of its worst U.S. sales slump ever. The world’s largest retailer said today sales at its U.S. discount stores open at least a year fell 1.8 percent during the chain’s most important quarter.
The world’s largest retailer earned $5.02 billion, or $1.41 per share, up from $4.82 billion, or $1.26 per share, a year earlier.
Wal-Mart’s struggles are the result of a misstep: To jump-start lethargic growth and counter the rise of competitors such as cheap-chic rival Target Corp., executives veered away from the winning formula of late founder Sam Walton to provide “every day low prices” to the American working class. Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer by sales, instead raised prices on some items while promoting deals on others. Get the full story »
From Crain’s Chicago Business | The former Montgomery Ward & Co. catalog building on the edge of River North is set to be sold for $390 million, sources say, four years after a group of New York investors paid $290 million for it, at the peak of the real estate cycle. Get the full story>>
Credit card holders are facing fewer interest rate hikes and forking over sharply less in late fees.
A year after new regulations curbed a spate of questionable billing practices, federal officials say over-the-limit penalty charges have also been dramatically curtailed. The findings come from the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which will assume responsibility for administering the regulations once it’s officially up and running this summer. Get the full story »
Global mining giant BHP Billiton has agreed to buy shale gas interests from Chesapeake Energy Corp. for $4.75 billion in its first move into shale gas as it looks to beef up its oil and gas business.
In BHP’s first big acquisition since a string of failed deals, the global miner said it was buying Chesapeake’s holdings in Arkansas’ Fayetteville shale natural gas field. Get the full story »
Chicago-based Huron Consulting Group reported a drop in its fourth-quarter earnings on Monday.
In the final three months of 2010, the company reported a net loss of $3.8 million, or a loss of $0.18 per share, compared to earnings of $14.4 million, or $0.71 per share, a year earlier. Get the full story »
Home video chain Blockbuster Inc., in bankruptcy, has opted to put itself up for sale after creditors were unable to agree on a recapitalization plan.
The Dallas-based company said Monday that it has submitted a plan for an auction process to U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York. A holding company formed by four if its largest creditors — Monarch Alternative Capital, Owl Creek Asset Management, Stonehill Capital Management and Varde Partners — has submitted an opening “stalking horse” bid of $290 million. Get the full story »
The 2011 Chicago Auto Show reported a 10 percent increase in attendance over last year. The 10-day show closed Sunday. The Chicago Automobile Trade Association, which represents the area’s new-car dealer franchises and produces the auto show, did not provide exact figures.
“Our manufacturers and dealers had hoped to see a bump in interest this year, and they weren’t disappointed,” Dave Sloan, the auto show’s general manager said in a statement. He added that the “heightened interest in a recovering auto industry, coupled with a warmer-than-normal February and strong buzz in the community helped achieve the show’s gains.” Get the full story »
Former Bears player Dave Duerson in 2007. (David Trotman-Wilkins/Chicago Tribune)
Former Chicago Bears safety Dave Duerson, who committed suicide last Thursday in Sunny Isles Beach, Fla., had filed for voluntary personal bankruptcy last September in a case that was still pending.
But his Fort Lauderdale lawyer said he was “shocked” when he learned that his client had shot himself. Get the full story »
