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City Securities aims to earn mega-deal: If approved, $450 million bond plan would pay off pre-1977 police, fire pensions

If Mayor Bart Peterson gets his wish, a $450 million bond issue finally will settle Indianapolis’ long-standing dilemma over underfunded police and firefighter pensions once and for all. It will also generate up to $9 million in professional fees. And locally based City Securities Corp. is laying the groundwork to earn a lion’s share-even though investment banking is dominated by giant companies in Manhattan. “I would assume that most of Wall Street has made a call,” said City Securities Vice…

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Buyout boom isn’t all bad for Hoosiers

Announcements that major Indiana companies have been acquired are traditionally met with trepidation. But a rash of recent
buyouts of Indiana companies shows they’re not always bad news.

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Successful software veteran forms investment firm: Mark Hill’s $5 million underwrites startup BlueLock

When local IT entrepreneur Mark Hill sold his banking software company in August 2005, he emphasized the potential upside for the area entrepreneurial community. Now he’s making good on his word. Not content to bask on a beach somewhere, Hill has organized an Indianapolisbased private investment company called Collina Ventures. With $10 million under management-all provided by Hill-Collina already has made its first investment. This month, it risked $5 million in startup cash to organize Indianapolis-based Blue-Lock LLC, a computer-hosting…

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Local sign makers enjoy brisk business thanks to bank mergers

Bank mergers have proven lucrative for local sign companies over the years. A string of mergers in the late 1980s and early
1990s wiped out the city’s three big national banks–American Fletcher, Merchants National and Indiana National. In the years
since, the industry has continued to consolidate, spawning a flurry of additional name changes.

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‘Old fashioned’ values manufacture Motionwear’s growth: Acquisition should fuel leotard-maker’s expansion

It might seem as though the low cost of labor overseas has shifted the entire U.S. textile industry to Asia, never to return. Indianapolis-based leotard-maker Motionwear Inc. proves otherwise. The 120-employee company was acquired this month by the Italian sportswear firm FILA for an undisclosed sum and, as a result, it’s poised to expand locally. Tom Wilson started the company in his attic in 1988 because his daughter Erin, an aspiring dancer, couldn’t find performance apparel she liked in retail…

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Old National slaps Durham with suit

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.

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Surveillance success: Greenwood-based security firm’s rapid growth draws national notice

They all have high-tech surveillance systems from Greenwood-based American Sentry Guard. The company specializes in building and distributing “intelligent video” systems capable of linking digital video with other computer-based information, such as sales transaction records. Clients include schools, banks, casinos, government agencies and small businesses. Founded in 1999 by father-son team Jack and Jeff Brummett, American Sentry has become one of the nation’s fastest-growing privately held companies. This year, Inc. magazine ranked the company 150th on its “Inc. 500” list,…

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Fast-growing Indy bank nearing $1B in assets: National Bank of Indianapolis credits service for climb

When cousins Michael and Morris Maurer decided to start a bank from scratch in 1993, they had several major issues to work through. There were regulatory approvals to win and federal deposit coverage to secure. They needed investors, bankers, office space and technology. But even the seemingly small details required time-consuming care. For one: selecting a name. It had to evoke a feeling of local control and continuity. It had to call to mind the company’s strategy of long-term relationships…

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BULLS & BEARS: Why investing in Kimball is paying huge dividends

Just more than a year ago in this column, I suggested Kimball International’s stock might be an attractive investment. At the time we felt that, here was a company in our own back yard-Jasper-that possessed the kind of favorable investment c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s investors should seek. The column noted that the company had “no long-term debt and holds $117 million, or $3 a share, in cash. The stock…

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Emmis’ landmark deal with Apple paying big dividends: Locally based radio group now No. 2 iTunes affiliate

Emmis Communications Corp. has a new mantra when it comes to emerging technology some say will kill the radio industry: If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. Emmis entered a relationship with California-based Apple Computer Inc. nine months ago that is paying big dividends. Since launching one of the radio industry’s first iTunes storefronts on its stations’ Internet sites, Emmis officials said they have become the No. 2 iTunes affiliate based on sales. Only Internet behemoth Yahoo Music sells more….

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Lights, camera, Internet-More Web sites using video: Vodcast clips catching on as a way for organizations to deliver their message in a new, more exciting way

The terms for emerging Internet technology are enough to make the less savvy long for the days when e-mail seemed cutting-edge. The communication tool, especially among teens, has given way to instant messaging, of course. So it’s no wonder colleges and companies alike are starting to shun standard e- mail and Web-page marketing efforts in favor of video-on-demand clips, known as vodcasts. “The computer was meant to be watched; it wasn’t meant to be read,” said Jon DiGregory, who founded…

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BEHIND THE NEWS: Another daunting challenge for veteran exec Cornelius

Anyone surprised that at age 62, Jim Cornelius would take on the bruising job of leading embattled drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb shouldn’t be. After all, the Zionsville businessman has surprised observers before. This is an executive who 12 years ago gave up one of the top jobs in corporate America-chief financial officer of Eli Lilly and Co.-to become chairman of Guidant Corp., then a much-maligned collection of medical-device firms that Lilly was spinning off into a stand-alone company. A risky move,…

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INVESTING: For investors, a world of opportunity awaits in Singapore

Westerners have been dreaming about the riches of the Far East for centuries. Christopher Columbus didn’t set out to discover America. He was looking for a faster route to India and China. More than 500 years later, the dream is not completely fulfilled, but riches can still be had, as long as you have some to begin with. I just returned from Singapore. This tiny nation-state is the most densely populated country on earth, and it is smack dab in…

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First Internet’s acquisition is no run-of-the-mill bank:

BEHIND THE NEWS First Internet’s acquisition is no run-of-the-mill bank Bank mergers happen all the time in Indiana, but this one is about as unique as they come. The buyer, Indianapolis-based First Internet Bancorp, was one of the nation’s first Web-only banks when it opened its doors in 1999. Today, it’s among the top five in that field, with assets topping $445 million. The seller is Indianapolis-based Landmark Financial Corp., parent of Landmark Savings Bank. Landmark Financial, with assets of…

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Credit union ordered to pay ex-executive $3.4M

A Marion County judge has ordered an Indianapolis credit union to pay its former CEO $3.4 million, saying it wrongly froze the executive’s accounts after accusing him of financial improprieties three years ago.

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Dispute clouds Sky buyout of Union Federal

Union Federal Bank’s Fort Wayne-based parent is locked in a dispute that could put in peril the Indianapolis financial institution’s $330 million sale to Bowling Green, Ohio-based Sky Financial Group Inc.

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INVESTING: Here’s what I’d say if strategist Abby Cohen came by

Abby Joseph Cohen, chief equity strategist at Goldman Sachs, stopped by my office last week after a brief stint on CNBC. I took advantage of the opportunity and sat her down for a good, oldfashioned interview. This is a rare treat, so let’s enjoy, tongue planted firmly in cheek. HAUKE: Abby, thank you for paying us a visit. You have climbed to the peak of Wall Street and it is an honor to speak with you. COHEN: Well, I am…

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VOICES FROM THE INDUSTRY: Consumers rarely raise banks above commodity status

Toothpaste. Laundry bleach. Cat food. Banking services. Despite the hopes of many bank executives, vast numbers of consumers rarely elevate their banks beyond everyday commodity status. Through traditional advertising and marketing, many banks attempt to differenti ate themselves as the bank of choice or the bank that makes a difference. Repeat the tag line often enough and hopefully potential customers will start to believe it. One fact underscores this unfortunate commodity service status: According to recent market research, the No….

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MainSource grabs opportunities for growth: Greensburg-based bank not shy about acquisitions

Honda Motor Co.’s decision to build a massive auto manufacturing plant near Greensburg has the small Decatur County town abuzz with excitement. But a company already entrenched there is making some noise of its own. MainSource Financial Group Inc. has increased assets an impressive 50 percent during the past year largely due to four acquisitions made by the publicly traded bank holding company. “We’re a little opportunistic,” admitted MainSource President and CEO James Saner. “We really want to grow, give…

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