Jan. 5 at 3:51 p.m.
Filed under:
Investing,
M&A
By Reuters
A Moen Single Handle Bath Faucet at a Home Depot in New York, July 27, 2007. Fortune Brands Inc. is the holding company for Moen faucets, among other products. (Andrew Burton/Bloomberg News)
Several major private equity firms are considering buying Fortune Brands’ home products unit after the company announced plans to spin off the $3 billion division, five people familiar with the matter said.
Some of the large buyout firms, including Blackstone Group and Bain Capital, are studying the potential of either making offers for the entire unit or acquiring a stake in the business as part of the planned spin-off, the people said.
Such considerations are at a preliminary stage and it is unclear if Fortune would be interested in selling to buyout firms, which would incur heavy taxes, as opposed to a tax-free spinoff, the people said. Get the full story »
Jan. 4 at 11:58 a.m.
Filed under:
M&A
By Associated Press
Printing services company R. R. Donnelley & Sons has bought 8-touches, a provider of online tools that help real estate brokers and other marketers create direct mail, flyers and brochures.
Jan. 4 at 11:31 a.m.
Filed under:
Agriculture/Farming,
Food,
M&A
By Zoe Galland
Archer Daniels Midland Co., the world’s largest corn processor and one of the largest U.S. ethanol producers, said in a statement Tuesday that it had acquired the outstanding capital stock of Alimenta (USA) Inc. to control 100 percent of Golden Peanut Co. LLC. Golden Peanut, which processes and exports peanuts, peanut oil and peanut-derived ingredients, is based in Alpharetta, Ga. Get the full story »
Jan. 4 at 9:32 a.m.
Filed under:
Insurance,
M&A
By Tribune staff report
Chicago-based Hub International Ltd. is expanding its California operations with the Tuesday acquisition of Sander A. Kessler & Associates, Inc., a Santa Monica, California-based insurance brokerage firm.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Founded in 1956, Kessler is one of the largest, independent full-service insurance agencies in California.
The transaction will significantly expand Hub California’s presence in the Los Angeles area. Kessler currently arranges insurance programs for a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, seafood, meat processing, security guards, recycling, and the solar industry. Get the full story »
Jan. 3 at 11:29 a.m.
Filed under:
Investing,
M&A,
Management
By Becky Yerak
Chicago-based Nuveen Investments, which serves the wealthy and institutions, has completed its acquisition of U.S. Bancorp’s FAF Advisors.
The deal, announced in July, called for U.S. Bancorp to get a 9.5 percent stake in Nuveen as well as an $80 million cash payment.
Nuveen is a portfolio company of Madison Dearborn Partners, a Chicago-based private equity firm. Get the full story »
Dec. 23, 2010 at 5:34 a.m.
Filed under:
M&A,
Technology
From The Des Moines Register | Telephone and Data Systems Inc., the parent company of TDS Telecommunications Corp., has purchased the Iowa data center company TEAM Technologies, which has centers in Cedar Falls, the Des Moines metro area and Madison, Wis., for $47 million.
Dec. 7, 2010 at 2:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Exchanges,
M&A
By Reuters
CBOE CEO William J. Brodsky (center), facing camera, kicks off CBOE's first day as a publicly-traded company on the NASDAQ on June 15, 2010. (José M. Osorio/Chicago Tribune)
CBOE Holdings Inc. CEO William Brodsky said he is open to growth by acquisition, but added that the exchange operator’s tendency to build its own systems rather than buy them has saved shareholders money.
Asked at a conference hosted by Goldman Sachs if he would consider making acquisitions, Brodsky said, “We are certainly open to that. We are looking at things strategically in ways we couldn’t have six months ago.” Get the full story »
Nov. 17, 2010 at 5:59 p.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Investing,
Jobs/employment,
M&A
By Becky Yerak
Denver-based investment bank Headwaters MB has created a financial institutions practice that’ll be headquartered in Chicago and focus on mergers and acquisitions and capital raising for banks with assets of up to $3 billion.
“There’s a significant opportunity to participate in the impending wave of industry consolidation,” said Managing Director Eliot Stark, who before joining Headwaters worked for Chicago-based investment bank Capital Insight Partners. Stark also once served as a corporate development, finance and planning executive for Comerica Bank, where he was involved with dozens of M&A transactions. Get the full story »
Nov. 16, 2010 at 4:10 p.m.
Filed under:
M&A,
Manufacturing
By Associated Press
Reynolds Group Holdings Ltd., maker of aluminum foil and other packaging products, announced Tuesday that it has completed its acquisition of rival Pactiv Corp., paying shareholders $4.6 billion.
Nov. 4, 2010 at 3:07 p.m.
Filed under:
Investing,
M&A
By Ameet Sachdev
A Lake Forest shell company has agreed to acquire a Cogility Software Corp. that will allow the privately held software company to become publicly traded.
Acquired Sales Corp., which is controlled by Lake Forest investor Gerard Jacobs, plans to acquire Cogility, based in San Jose, in a stock transaction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Closing of the deal is contingent on several conditions, including the completion of a 1-for-20 reverse split of Acquired Sales’ stock. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 5:06 p.m.
Filed under:
Bank failures,
Banking
By Becky Yerak
FirstMerit, the Akron-based bank that has become a Top 20 player in the Chicago area through three recent acquisitions, said it expects the pace of Illinois bank failures to pick up again. Get the full story »
Oct. 26, 2010 at 10:46 a.m.
Filed under:
Banking,
Chicago executives,
Investing
By Reuters
Shares of Northern Trust Corp. jumped 4.4 percent on Tuesday as talk swirled that HSBC, Europe’s biggest bank, may be planning to make a bid for the U.S. trust bank and investment manager. Get the full story »
Oct. 18, 2010 at 10:56 a.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Investing,
Retail,
Stock activity
By Reuters
J.C. Penney’s board approved a “poison pill” designed to fend off potential takeover threats after hedge fund manager William Ackman acquired one-sixth of the retailer. The company’s shares fell 3 percent on the news. Get the full story »
Oct. 8, 2010 at 11:20 a.m.
Filed under:
Agriculture/Farming,
M&A,
Stock activity
By Reuters
Shares of Potash Corp. and other leading fertilizer makers jumped on Friday after the U.S. government estimated a smaller-than-expected U.S. corn harvest, driving up prices of the nutrient-intensive crop.
Shares of Agrium, Mosaic Co. and CF Industries also rose on the data. Get the full story »
Oct. 6, 2010 at 9:54 a.m.
Filed under:
Energy,
M&A
By Associated Press
General Electric Co. on Wednesday signed a deal to buy Dresser Inc. for about $3 billion, its latest deal to expand its product offerings in gas and other energy markets.
