Lauth moving HQ to North Meridian office building

Lauth Group Inc. will relocate its headquarters to a North Meridian Street office building as part of a bankruptcy court
settlement, the company announced Thursday afternoon.

As IBJ.com reported
July 27, the real estate developer was looking for new space after its largest investor took control of the building it now
calls home.

LIP Holdings LLC, an affiliate of Chicago-based Inland American Real Estate Trust, now owns two of the three buildings in
Meridian Corporate Plaza, a Lauth-developed complex just north of Interstate 465 between Meridian Street and College Avenue.

In 2007, Inland invested $228 million to get an ownership stake in dozens of Lauth properties. But Lauth defaulted on its
agreement to pay dividends to Inland in late 2008, and multiple Lauth subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization
in May 2009.

Inland in April dropped a federal lawsuit against Lauth and a request for a judge to appoint a Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee
after Lauth ceded control of some properties where ownership was in dispute. Both sides also agreed to the appointment of
a special mediator, Chicago attorney Robert M. Fishman.

Lauth Investment Properties LLC and LIP Holdings have settled the matter, Fishman said in a prepared statement Lauth issued
on Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed pending the court’s approval, which is expected within 30 days.

Earlier, CEO Bob Lauth told IBJ in an e-mail that Lauth agreed not to contest Inland's ownership of Meridian
Corporate Plaza Two and Meridian Corporate Plaza One, where it has its headquarters, but the company retained control of Meridian
Corporate Plaza Three.

Lauth Group also still controls local office space at Intech Park, Clay Terrace and Meridian Corporate Park, where it's
moving its headquarters. The release said the company expects to move into 11595 N. Meridian St. in October.