Greg Andrews – Indianapolis Business Journal

Knall accepts suspension in unusual SEC case

December 10, 2007

Newly public records suggest that securities investigators had far from an airtight insider-trading case against David Knall,
the star Indianapolis investment broker who nonetheless agreed to settle the 3-year-old inquiry by agreeing to a one-year
suspension. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the pact Dec. 4. In addition to consenting to the suspension,
Knall, a managing partner of Stifel Nicolaus & Co., agreed to pay $123,865.

BREAKING: Knall deal includes 1-year suspension

December 4, 2007

Star money manager David Knall has agreed to a one-year suspension to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that he committed insider trading in Galyan’s Trading Co. stock three years ago. Under the settlement, which the SEC announced today, Knall, 63, did not admit or deny wrongdoing. The deal also calls for him to make […]

BEHIND THE NEWS: Steak n Shake troubles may cut chance of sale

December 3, 2007

Here’s a silver lining to The Steak n Shake Co.’s deepening woes: They might scare off potential buyers, keeping the locally based diner chain independent for the foreseeable future. “While Steak n Shake continues to look at alternatives to increase shareholder value, we believe the business will need to be stabilized to attract any meaningful interest,” CL King & Associates analyst Michael Gallo wrote in a new report. Indeed, getting the 491-restaurant chain back on track could take a long…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Founding family tossed from slumping Man Alive

November 19, 2007

Embattled Finish Line Inc. has quietly sent the family that founded and ran its Man Alive chain packing. The company on Nov. 12 announced the appointment of former Haggar Clothing Co. executive Lou Spagna as president of the struggling 96-store urban apparel chain. Tucked in the press release was a quote from Finish Line President Glenn Lyon expressing “our appreciation to the Bublick family for the service they have provided.” It was a major overhaul. Gone are Jeff Bublick, 47,…

Steak n Shake critics buy billboards

November 9, 2007

A Texas investment group that thinks The Steak n Shake Co. has been mismanaged is taking its discontent to the masses by buying billboard space in the Indianapolis area. The Lion Fund, which owns more than 5 percent of Steak n Shake, plans to say on the billboards that it wants shareholders to elect two […]

BEHIND THE NEWS: Smooth sailing for Simon, despite economic squall?

November 5, 2007

Retail pundits are trotting out all the downbeat analogies these days, as they fret that high gas prices and the slumping housing market will crimp consumer spending the rest of the year. As Carl Steidtmann, chief economist at Deloitte Research, put it, “The holiday season will be somewhat Grinch-like.” So it may come as a surprise that some analysts are almost gushing about the prospects for Simon Property Group Inc., the nation’s largest mall owner. As Rich Moore, managing director…

Emmis’ higher leverage ups pressure on Smulyan:

October 29, 2007

Jeff Smulyan can do almost whatever he wants with Emmis Communications Corp., since the supercharged shares he holds give him voting control, right? That’s the conventional thinking, but there’s a growing crack in his armor. Because of the company’s poor results of late, debt ratios are creeping up, raising the specter that Emmis will be close to violating covenants with its lenders by next May. That won’t happen, Smulyan, Emmis’ founder, chairman and CEO, told IBJ. “We are very, very…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Deal-making buzz follows Cornelius to Bristol-Myers

September 10, 2007

Jim Cornelius had such success selling Guidant Corp. last year that analysts can’t stop speculating when he’ll pull off a mega-merger at B r i s t o l – M y e r s Squibb, the firm he now leads. How about pairing it, for instance, with Eli Lilly and Co., where Cornelius used to be chief financial officer? “We’re about the same size. Both Sidney Taurel and John Lechleiter are former colleagues and good friends. You can never…

BEHIND THE NEWS: David Marsh settles with grocer after bruising battle

September 3, 2007

David Marsh’s legal battle with Marsh Supermarkets Inc. was so contentious that it seemed the parties never would make peace. But that’s what just happened, and both sides are keeping the terms of their deal under wraps. Court records show David Marsh and the company his grandfather founded reached a settlement in late August, after weeks of discussions. To be sure, David Marsh-the former president of Marsh Supermarkets who now serves as president of the locally based Crystal Flash convenience-store…

BEHIND THE NEWS: 29-year-old investor stirring the pot at Steak n Shake

August 27, 2007

A Texas hedge fund manager young enough to be the grandson of several Steak n Shake Co. board members might cause the board a lot of headaches in the months to come. Twenty-nine-year-old Sardar Biglari, who runs the San Antonio-based Lion Fund, is leading a group that recently amassed a 5.8-percent stake in the struggling Indianapolis restaurant company. Biglari isn’t the passive investor type-just ask the folks at Applebee’s, Friendly Ice Cream Corp. and Western Sizzlin Corp., three other chains…

First Indiana Bank’s sale timing paid off

August 27, 2007

First Indiana Corp.’s announcement that it would be sold to Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corp. for $529 million in cash
came just 17 days after sale discussions began. Banking observers have speculated for weeks that First Indiana acted fast
to cut a deal before it would have to report second-quarter results.

BEHIND THE NEWS: Tightening credit markets cast shadow over megadeals

August 6, 2007

Almost overnight, the nation’s lending climate has tightened dramatically, and the timing couldn’t be worse for two Indianapolis companies. A pair of private equity firms are trying to line up billions of dollars in debt financing to complete their $5.6 billion purchase of locally based Allison Transmission from General Motors Corp. Meanwhile, locally based Finish Line Inc. plans to rely on debt to pay nearly the entire cost of its $1.5 billion acquisition of Tennessee-based Genesco Inc. Those deals still…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Now it’s time for Hhgregg to prove itself-again

July 30, 2007

Hhgregg Inc. has been around for 52 years. Forget about all that. To Wall Street, the company is an upstart that’s yet to prove itself. Such is the reality for the Indianapolis-based retailer of consumer electronics and appliances, which staged its initial public offering July 19. It raised $48 million by selling shares at $13 apiece. Three institutional investors collected another $74 million by scaling back their holdings. Now, Hhgregg’s considerable accomplishments-including more than $1 billion in annual sales and…

BEHIND THE NEWS: How Finish Line outdueled its archrival to win Genesco

July 23, 2007

Finish Line Inc. and Foot Locker Inc. aren’t just in the same business; they’re bitter rivals. So you can bet Finish Line executives are savoring the fact that they outmaneuvered the New York company in the battle to buy Genesco Inc. To be sure, we’re a long way from knowing whether the deal Finish Line negotiated last month to purchase Tennessee-based Genesco for $1.5 billion in cash was a wise one for the Indianapolis-based company. Investors aren’t exactly slapping CEO…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Why diner chain whets the appetite of the buyout crowd

July 16, 2007

The Steak n Shake Co. may not be delighting diners these days, if slumping sales are any indication. But you can bet the privateequity crowd is salivating. Investment pros say the Dallas-based investment group that recently amassed a big stake in Steak n Shake surely isn’t alone in hungering to take the Indianapolis-based diner chain private. “Some … funds make their money by identifying underperforming companies that have intrinsic value which can be unlocked,” Motley Fool columnist Timothy Otte wrote…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Judge in fraud case fines Brightpoint defendant $50,000

July 9, 2007

A federal judge in a high-profile fraud case has slapped a former Brightpoint Inc. manager with a $50,000 fine-a relatively modest sum, but one the manager says he lacks the resources to pay. Judge Harold Baer of U.S. District Court in Manhattan late last month assessed the fine against Tim Harcharik, the former director of risk management for the wireless phone wholesaler. Harcharik, 53, was the sole remaining defendant in a securities fraud lawsuit the SEC brought in 2003 against…

BEHIND THE NEWS: Why Finish Line is betting company on Genesco buyout

July 2, 2007

Here’s a paradox: If Finish Line Inc. CEO Alan Cohen hadn’t run his company with such a conservative hand through the years, he wouldn’t have been in a position to launch the audacious acquisition of Genesco Corp.-a retailer with nearly twice the stock-market value. The fact that Finish Line carried no debt-a strategy that irked some shareholders as overly cautious-meant the Indianapolis firm had the financial wherewithal to pull off the $1.5 billion buyout. In a report, BB&T Capital Markets…

Smulyan keeps poker face as analysts buzz about future:

June 18, 2007

Never has there been more static around Emmis Communications Corp. The big challenge these days is handicapping Jeff Smulyan’s next move. Will Emmis’ founder and CEO make another run at taking the radio station operator private? Largely on speculation of a deal, the company’s long-slumping stock (which trades under the ticker EMMS) is up 20 percent for the year. “Buy EMMS now before it’s bought,” CL King & Associates analyst James Boyle wrote in a recent report. Added Wachovia Capital…

Ex-Marsh exec says ousted president asked him to inflate profit

June 11, 2007

By now, David Marsh might be regretting he ever decided to take on former employer Marsh Supermarkets Inc. in court. Since
he filed his lawsuit last fall charging the company his grandfather founded had shortchanged him on severance, the company
has stormed back with a blizzard of allegations.

BEHIND THE NEWS: Hhgregg IPO filing tells good story, but can retailer deliver?

June 4, 2007

Hhgregg Inc. has blasted past the $1 billion-in-sales barrier. Next stop, $5 billion? Such a colossal number might sound far-fetched for the Indianapolis-based electronics and appliance retailer, which remains minuscule compared with rivals like Best Buy and Sears. But not to the retail veterans plotting the company’s growth strategy. They’re not talking publicly these days, because the company is in a so-called quiet period as it readies for its $172 million initial public offering. But a 102-page prospectus for the…

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