Greg Andrews – Indianapolis Business Journal

BEHIND THE NEWS: Consumer spending spree gives spark to Simon stock

February 13, 2006

It’s becoming almost ho-hum for Simon Property Group Inc. Another year, another round of eye-popping returns for the company’s shareholders. The Indianapolis-based mall owner, by far the nation’s biggest real estate investment trust, just closed the book on 2005, a year when funds from operations-a key measure of REIT performance-zipped up another 13 percent. Simon shares last year rose 18 percent. Including reinvested dividends, the stock in 2005 returned 23 percent. It was the fifth year in a row the…

Boston Scientific’s offer not as sweet as it seems:

February 6, 2006

BEHIND THE NEWS Boston Scientific’s offer not as sweet as it seems Now that Guidant Corp. has agreed to be acquired by Boston Scientific Corp. for $27 billion, or $80 a share, investors in the Indianapolis company can rest easy, right? Not really, a close reading of the medical-device companies’ merger agreement shows. It turns out Guidant shareholders are entitled to $80 a share in cash and stock only if the average closing price of Boston Scientific’s stock in the…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Call puts Smulyan on spot; fellow execs know feeling

January 30, 2006

Emmis Communications Corp. didn’t have the best news to report when it rolled out fiscal third-quarter financial results Jan. 9. Expect radio revenue next quarter to increase just 1 percent to 2 percent, the company said, even as expenses climb more than 5 percent. Then, on the investor conference call that followed, Wachovia Securities analyst Marci Ryvicker didn’t think CEO Jeff Smulyan was his regular, upbeat self. “Jeff, your tone is less optimistic than it’s usually been,” she said on…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Call puts Smulyan on spot; fellow execs know feeling

January 23, 2006

Emmis Communications Corp. didn’t have the best news to report when it rolled out fiscal third-quarter financial results Jan. 9. Expect radio revenue next quarter to increase just 1 percent to 2 percent, the company said, even as expenses climb more than 5 percent. Then, on the investor conference call that followed, Wachovia Securities analyst Marci Ryvicker didn’t think CEO Jeff Smulyan was his regular, upbeat self. “Jeff, your tone is less optimistic than it’s usually been,” she said on…

BEHIND THE NEWS:

January 16, 2006

Two upcoming, high-profile business trials now are off the schedule, thanks to a guilty plea from wheelerdealer James T. O’Neal Jr. and a settlement by former Conseco Inc. executive Rollin Dick. O’Neal, 60, a Carmel native accused of swindling some of Indianapolis’ wealthiest investors out of millions of dollars, just before Christmas reached an agreement with prosecutors under which he pleaded guilty to two of the 82 felony counts against him. He could face up to six years in prison….

BEHIND THE NEWS: Big backer of Marsh cashes in millions in grocer’s shares

January 9, 2006

The Cincinnati investor that has helped back Marsh Supermarkets Inc. for more than two decades quietly unloaded a big chunk of its shares just before Christmas. American Financial Group Inc., an insurer controlled by the family of billionaire tycoon Carl Lindner, sold 255,686 Marsh shares for nearly $2.4 million Dec. 21 and Dec. 22, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows. American Financial officials did not return calls, but market observers say the move suggests the insurer thinks…

NEWSMAKER: Dealmaker Hilbert starts private equity firm:

December 26, 2005

NEWSMAKER Dealmaker Hilbert starts private equity firm Five years after his ouster as CEO of Conseco Inc., the acquisitive insurer he founded, Steve Hilbert is back in the deal-making game. IBJ reported in November that Hilbert has launched MH Private Equity Fund LLC, a private-equity firm that plans to buy firms in specific industries and consolidate them. Consolidation will bring economies of scale and cost savings, the thinking goes, and also will create marketleading companies positioned to thrive in their…

BEHIND THE NEWS: A peek inside Guidant-J&J-Boston Scientific drama

December 19, 2005

Corporate attorneys aren’t paid to write riveting prose. But the battle to buy Guidant Corp. is so drenched with drama that even the company’s normally bonedry regulatory filings make compelling reading these days. Here’s one gem in a recent filing: Just hours after Guidant sued Johnson & Johnson the morning of Nov. 7-an in-yourface tactic aimed at forcing J&J to close on its $25.4 billion purchase of the Indianapolis company-Guidant CEO Ron Dollens phoned a top J&J executive in an…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Another mark against Marsh: It has big pension shortfall

December 12, 2005

As if Marsh Supermarkets Inc. didn’t have enough problems, here’s another whopper: The company has a drastically underfunded employee pension plan-to the tune of $44 million. That figure is disclosed deep within a Securities and Exchange Commission filing the company submitted in June. It shows the pension plan had assets of $39 million, less than half its $83 million in projected obligations. It’s a big shortfall, and one analysts say is sure to draw the attention of potential suitors. An…

BEHIND THE NEWS: ATA’s new flight plan: Rely on military for bulk of revenue

December 5, 2005

ATA Holdings Corp. has been so busy in recent months slashing scheduled service and reducing costs in other ways that its comparatively problem-free militarycharter business has received almost no public attention. But new filings in bankruptcy court show that business is expected to generate nearly 52 percent of ATA’s revenue in 2006, providing stability and a steady profit as the airline tries to regain its footing in scheduled service. The company, which sought Chapter 11 protection in October 2004, hopes…

BEHIND THE NEWS: After bout of indigestion, Galyan’s buyer on the rebound

November 28, 2005

Just in time for Christmas, Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. finally has its arms around its biggest acquisition ever, last year’s $305 million purchase of Galyan’s Trading Co., the 48-store chain that was based in Plainfield. Pittsburgh-based Dick’s rattled investors in August, reporting Galyan’s stores had posted disappointing sales after adopting the Dick’s moniker and store merchandise. In a single day of trading, Dick’s shares plunged $6.33, or 16 percent, to close at $32.90. In the ensuing weeks, investors continued to…

BEHIND THE NEWS: If sales fall short, retailers will have explanations aplenty

November 21, 2005

Here’s the good news for Indianabased retailers: Even if the crucial holiday shopping season doesn’t go well, they’ll have plenty of excuses for the lackluster performance. High gas prices kept shoppers at home. High heating prices ate up their disposable income. And any extremes on the weather front could prove handy, too. Who wants to buy sweaters when it’s 60 degrees outside, or venture to the mall on ice-slickened roads? Indeed, it’s not all spin. Take the Indianapolis-based electronics and…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Hilbert’s next act: Jumping into private equity game

November 14, 2005

Stephen Hilbert suffered another legal defeat last week. But don’t bet the founder and ex-CEO of Conseco Inc. is sitting around feeling sorry for himself. In fact, this fall Hilbert, 59, is quietly launching a major new business, one that will get him back into the acquisition game, a field he savored during his two decades atop Conseco. Details are sketchy, because Hilbert isn’t talking. But here’s what a little snooping turned up: Attorneys in July filed papers with the…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Feds say exec pilfered passport, but judge isn’t convinced

November 7, 2005

Here’s a new twist in the already surreal saga of James T. O’Neal Jr., the Carmel native preparing to stand trial in Orlando on charges he swindled millions of dollars from executives here and in Florida. In late September, a new court filing charges, the 59-year-old Orlando resident swiped his passport and the Social Security cards for himself and his family from a repository of court records in Indianapolis. “It is a reasonable assumption that he will continue to take…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Zyprexa staggers, spurring worries over Eli Lilly’s future

October 31, 2005

Sure, Eli Lilly and Co. has a promising portfolio of new drugs and other potential blockbusters in the pipeline. But every time the Indianapolis drugmaker reports profits, Wall Street analysts spend much of their time slicing and dicing one number: Zyprexa sales. Their greatest fear: The schizophrenia medication will stop pulling its weight before other drugs pick up the slack, sapping sales and profits and further depressing the company’s already deflated stock. Indeed, the stakes are huge. Zyprexa sales in…

Guidant stock sales may fuel shareholder lawsuits: 4 insiders have cashed in more than $91M in shares

October 24, 2005

Top Guidant Corp. insiders have unloaded more than $100 million in company stock in recent months, a move that will blunt the financial impact they’ll feel if the Indianapolis company and Johnson & Johnson renegotiate the terms of their $25.4 billion merger. The sales also will serve as grist for class-action attorneys, who filed several lawsuits this summer charging insiders concealed from investors defects in the company’s heart devices. By not promptly disclosing defects publicly, one classaction suit filed in…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Ex-exec cuts guilty plea; Brightpoint says it’s not a target

October 24, 2005

One of two former Brightpoint Inc. employees charged this month in an accounting scandal has agreed to plead guilty in return for receiving a prison sentence of no more than 18 months. John Delaney, 40, former chief accounting officer of the wireless phone wholesaler, could end up spending far less time behind bars. In his nine-page plea agreement filed in federal court in Indianapolis, the U.S. Attorney’s Office says it will argue for a lesser sentence. Delaney on Oct. 13…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Another Smulyan surprise? Exec could take Emmis private

October 17, 2005

Emmis Communications Corp. CEO Jeff Smulyan has struggled to keep Wall Street happy the last few years. He might not have to worry about that much longer. At least three Wall Street analysts have said in recent reports that Smulyan, Emmis’ controlling shareholder, might take the radio-station company private. Asked about that scenario during an interview with IBJ, Smulyan said nothing to quiet the chatter. “Everything is under consideration,” he said. “There is nothing that’s not under consideration.” Key reasons…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Exec tries to rewrite baseball legacy, but boo-birds abound

October 10, 2005

Emmis Communications Corp. CEO Jeff Smulyan ended up black and blue the last time he owned a baseball team. This time around, he’s taking blows even before he finds out whether he gets the team. Smulyan wants both Emmis shareholders and residents of the Washington, D.C., region to be excited about his group’s bid to buy the Washington Nationals from Major League Baseball for at least $450 million. But already leading an anti-Smulyan charge is Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell,…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Is exec a fraud or just bad at business? A jury will decide

October 3, 2005

Forget Disneyworld. The real excitement in Orlando, Fla., this fall likely will be in a federal courtroom, where Carmel native James T. O’Neal Jr. is scheduled to stand trial on charges he swindled millions of dollars from the rich and famous, including high-profile Indianapolis businesspeople. A federal grand jury indicted O’Neal a year ago on 82 felony counts of money laundering, mail fraud and filing false tax returns. If the 12-person jury finds the 60-year-old Orlando resident guilty, he could…

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