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Replicating race cars of the past: Westfield firm plans to sell Ford GT40 reproductions

January 3, 2005

An upstart Westfield company’s reproduction of the 1966 Ford GT40 Mk1 race car turns heads wherever it goes. Whether it’s on the highway or in a showroom, people can’t help but gaze at the sleek, retro roadster built to emulate the original that dominated the 24 Hours of Le Mans races nearly 40 years ago. It dethroned Italian automaker Ferrari at the 1966 event, finishing first, second and third, and went on to win the race four consecutive times. Executives…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Setbacks smudge image of Obsidian CEO Durham Stock is down Snapping up firms

February 21, 2005

Tim Durham tells reporters he wants to be the richest man alive. His office sits atop the Bank One Tower, the state’s tallest building. For fun, he adds to his collection of four dozen collector cars. But behind the glitz, Durham is trying to untangle what’s become a real mess at Obsidian Enterprises Inc., the publicly traded manufacturing and transportation firm he controls and leads. In a regulatory filing last week, Obsidian’s independent accounting firm, Minnesota-based McGladrey & Pullen, expressed…

Locals seek $10M to lift Lampoon: Laikin seeks to ‘re-energize’ money-losing L.A. company

March 28, 2005

National Lampoon Inc.’s in the comedy business. Yet in recent years, anyone who perused the L.A.-based company’s financial statements would be more apt to grimace than crack a smile. A group of Indianapolis businessmen who own most of the stock think they can stem the company’s heavy losses and in the process breathe new life into a comedy brand best known for the 1978 classic “Animal House” and the 1980s “Vacation” films. Here’s the catch: They need more money to…

BEHIND THE NEWS: In scandals’ wake, firms endure financial wringer Process mapping Too high a cost

March 28, 2005

Last year was excruciating for executives at many of Indiana’s public companies, but not for the usual reasons, like a slumping economy or sliding stock market. Instead, it was because they had to devote thousands of employee hours and millions of dollars to comply with a controversial new rule, Section 404 of the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley corporate-accountability law. The rule requires companies to assess the internal accounting controls they have in place to ensure their financial reporting is accurate and reliable-and…

Y&L shoots for Lands’ End: Underdog Young & Laramore fights national advertising behemoths for $10 million account

June 13, 2005

The seemingly undersized, undermatched independent advertising agency Young & Laramore has found itself in the national spotlight competing for a multimillion-dollar account with some of the industry’s largest national players. The Indianapolis-based firm best known for its award-winning ad campaigns for Steak n Shake, Goodwill Industries and most recently Stanley Steemer, is one of four finalists vying for the lucrative Lands’ End broadcast creative contract. Young & Laramore’s competitors for the Lands’ End account are Omnicom Group’s BBDO and Downtown…

Ready to unify?: Danica’s impact puts IRL in driver’s seat

June 20, 2005

To nudge the idea along, executives of the Japanese automaker are becoming personally involved, marking the first time an IRL sponsor and major manufacturer has pushed this hard for unification talks. “It’s no small deal when a partner like Honda gets involved,” said Bob Basche, chairman of Millsport, a Stamford, Conn.-based sports and event marketing agency. “Not only do they supply engines [to the IRL], but Honda pumps in millions of dollars annually in sponsorship and advertising for the series.”…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Neither SEC, Dick in rush to bring fraud suit to trial

July 25, 2005

The Securities a n d E x c h a n g e Commission didn’t file its civil-fraud suit against former Conseco Inc. Chief Financial Officer Rollin Dick until 2004, four years after he resigned under pressure. Under a timetable approved by federal Magistrate Judge V. Sue Shields July 14, Dick won’t stand trial until May 2007 at the earliest. By then, he will have turned 75, and the transactions challenged by the SEC will be more than seven years…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Obstacles facing Marsh cast questions over Atlas project

August 15, 2005

Marsh Supermarkets Inc. ended rampant speculation when it announced last September that it was buying the former Atlas grocery site at 54th Street and College Avenue and would build an Arthur’s Fresh Market there. Or did it? Nearly a year after Marsh officials unveiled their plans, the former Atlas building slated for demolition remains standing, surrounded by a chain-link security fence. “We were pretty sure construction would have started by now,” said James Garrettson, president of the Meridian Kessler Neighborhood…

Fly by security – for a price: ‘Registered traveler’ program to let passengers pay to avoid long lines

September 26, 2005

Business fliers accustomed to first-class seating will soon be eligible for privileged security screening at Indianapolis International Airport. Airport operator BAA Indianapolis is about to seek proposals from firms to operate a “registered traveler” program. It will entitle any frequent travelers who pass a government background check to use special security checkpoints-bypassing long lines and trouserloosening “secondary screening” passengers must sometimes endure. No more suffering in line behind bubble-gum-popping teens headed for Aruba. Show your registered traveler ID card and…

Ringing up big returns: After near collapse in ’02, Brightpoint wows Wall St.

December 19, 2005

Three and a half years ago, Plainfield-based cell phone distributor Brightpoint Inc. was on the ropes. Shares were worth less than a dollar. The company had lost $53 million in 2001, and was on pace to lose another $42 million in 2002. Bankruptcy appeared imminent. But Brightpoint prevailed over the long odds against it. Today, company shares trade for about $30 each. Adjusted for stock splits, they’ve soared 125 percent in 2005, and nearly 8,000 percent since bottoming out in…

BEHIND THE NEWS Auditor jabs Obsidian as it prepares to go private:

March 13, 2006

If all goes as planned, a Tim Durham-led investment group will take publicly traded Obsidian Enterprises Inc. private by the end of the month. The Indianapolis company’s five-year run on Wall Street has been inglorious by any measure. Stock in the transportation and manufacturing firm has tumbled, from a split-adjusted $12 in 2001 to $1.80 today. Over the last three years, Obsidian has posted a combined $22 million in losses. As if that weren’t enough, now the company’s former outside…

BEHIND THE NEWS: When the rich turn poor: Bankruptcies offer unique peek

March 20, 2006

Ex-Conseco Inc. officers Max Bublitz and Jim Adams filed for bankruptcy last year. So, you might be thinking, they must have hit bottom, overwhelmed by millions of dollars in debt stemming from their former employer’s ill-fated insider-loan program. Yet a different picture emerges from a review of their court filings and transcripts of court hearings. Yes, they say their assets are a shadow of their debts. But no, that doesn’t mean they’re going to start living like most of us….

Car event ‘astonishing’: In 4th year, local show already one of nation’s largest

June 19, 2006

Economic development leaders and corporate executives thought Roger Brummett was spinning his wheels when he launched a classic car show in Indianapolis four years ago. But Brummett and partner Tim Durham find themselves at the wheel of such a fastgrowing enterprise that they hope to expand it into a multiday event, with an auction and classic-car race, that they believe would draw 100,000 attendees. The pair also plans to replicate the show in other markets, starting in Naples, Fla., in…

Jones’ ChaCha IT firm to have human touch

August 14, 2006

For the last eight months, Indiana’s resident high-tech guru has been quietly developing a new IT firm. Few details have been leaked to the public. But in September, a national media blitz will announce the launch of ChaCha Search Inc., Jones’ new human-assisted Internet search engine.

Old National slaps Durham with suit

December 11, 2006

Indianapolis entrepreneur Tim Durham has run into trouble with one of his lenders. Evansville-based Old National Bank says
in a Dec. 1 lawsuit that Durham’s Indianapolis-based holding company,Obsidian Enterprises Inc., is in default on $2.6 million
in loans that came due Nov. 1.

BEHIND THE NEWS: Ex-devotee of Brightpoint now on other side of table

January 15, 2007

Durham, who bet big on Brightpoint when it was near financial ruin, now is part of a group that is among the largest shareholders in Texas-based Cellstar Corp., a rival wireless phone distributor buffeted by nearly $200 million in losses from 2002 through 2005. In December, Cellstar announced plans to liquidate, with Brightpoint Inc. acquiring the bulk of its business-its U.S. and Latin American operations-for $88 million. Analysts say it’s a savvy deal for Brightpoint, which picks up $450 million…

UPDATE: High-flying Durham gets extension to repay loans

February 7, 2007

Old National Bank has given Indianapolis entrepreneur Tim Durham an additional 12 months to repay loans that went into default Nov. 1. If Durham repays the loans by Nov. 1 this year, Old National will drop a lawsuit it filed in December seeking $2.6 million, the Evansville-based bank said today. Earlier today, Durham issued a […]

Indy Men’s Magazine to fold

March 16, 2007

Shrinking advertising revenue has persuaded the owners of Indy Men’s Magazine to stop publishing the free, glossy monthly after five years. Publisher Todd Tobias said the final, May issue will be distributed in late April: “As a monthly print publication, we’re done,” he said. Magazine parent Table Moose Media LLC is owned by Tobias, his […]

BEHIND THE NEWS: Texas investment put Durham in middle of Brightpoint deal

March 26, 2007

I n d i a n a p o l i s businessman Tim Durham long has been dogged by speculation he had inside information when he scooped up shares five years ago in thenfoundering Brightpoint Inc.-a bet he figures made him more than $30 million when the company roared back. Here we go again. A new Securities and Exchange Commission filing shows that a Durham-led investment group was buying shares in Texas-based Cellstar Corp. in February 2006 just as…

Giuliani leads race for Indiana donations

May 21, 2007

Campaign finance records through the first quarter of 2007 show Rudy Giuliani, the former New York mayor, has raised $176,950
in Indiana. That’s more than twice as much as one-time Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, his closest Republican rival.

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