After legal delay, First Merchants set to close Ameriana buyout
The Muncie-based bank, which agreed to purchase New Castle-based Ameriana in June, had faced two shareholder lawsuits opposing the deal. Those lawsuits have been dropped.
Jared Council
Articles
Trust fund manager that serves disabled entangled in lawsuits
The latest court action involving Special Needs Integrity Inc. is a class-action lawsuit filed against the little-known Indianapolis not-for-profit in November that claims it eroded clients’ account balances with undisclosed management fees and unjustified legal fees paid to the Indianapolis law firm Lewis & Kappes PC.
2015 TOP STORIES: Angie’s List’s new captain gets $512M buyout offer
CEO Bill Oesterle left Indianapolis-based Angie’s List so he could reengage in politics. The company hired former Best Buy executive Scott Durchslag in September to replace him.
2015 TOP STORIES: Tech companies scoop up tens of millions in funding
Through the end of the third quarter, Indiana firms landed $49 million in venture capital, just a hair under the figure for all of 2014.
FINRA disciplines investment broker, administrator
Financial industry regulators have barred a Fishers investment broker for life for refusing to cooperate with an investigation, and suspended a local compliance officer for 14 months.
Acquisition bug bites two Indy accounting firms
Two Indianapolis-area accounting firms are fusing with Cincinnati-based firms in the coming weeks, deals that participants said are just a sampling of the sizzling merger-and-acquisition activity across the industry.
Buck settlements cost Merrill Lynch $4.1M
Former Merrill Lynch broker Thomas J. Buck used to generate millions of dollars in annual revenue for the brokerage giant. But lately, he’s been costing it millions. Merrill Lynch has paid more than $4.1 million in settlements related to Buck’s alleged misconduct since firing him in March.
Startup for therapeutic gear raises $3M on way to market
Fishers-based Recovery Force LLC, which develops high-tech compression wearables for medical patients, athletes and military members, is working toward FDA approval.
Email-signature startup lands VC from Godfrey, LinkedIn exec
Sigstr, whose software helps companies market themselves through email signatures, raised about $1.5 million from prominent investors across the country.
Angie’s List rival HomeAdvisor plans to hire 50 in Indy
The Colorado-based firm, which connects homeowners to service providers, expects to open a downtown Indianapolis office in February.
Startup seeks $2M to help employers fill low-skill jobs
The Indianapolis tech firm founded by Internet job-board veterans is focusing on the proximity of job candidates to the workplace for high-turnover positions.
Return Path among outside tech firms bullish on Indy
Out-of-town technology companies are putting down roots here and growing fast. They’re looking to tap into relatively fresh talent pools and to capitalize on what cities like Indianapolis don’t have—a high cost of doing business and intense employee poaching.
Angie’s List activist spurns board-seat offer, urges merger
Major shareholder TCS Capital Management on Monday disclosed that it has rejected a board seat offered by Angie’s List and is still pushing the company toward a merger with rival firm HomeAdvisor.
Orr Fellowship’s first paid employee enhancing program
The organization earlier this year tapped Indiana native Karyn Smitson as its first employee and executive director, and she’s been working to formalize and enhance the high-demand program.
Pension Fund of the Christian Church president to retire
James P. Hamlett announced plans to step down from the $3 billion pension fund, which provides retirement benefits to clergy and lay church employees nationwide.
Veros investors out millions could recoup more than usual
The receiver appointed to recover investor losses from an alleged Ponzi scheme said he’s retrieved in five months about 20 percent of what investors were owed, a figure experts say is relatively high at this stage for such cases.
Marketing-tech startup draws big names for seed round
Carmel-based DemandJump LLC landed venture capital from local investment firms run by former Aprimo CEO Bill Godfrey and by former ExactTarget executive Tim Kopp.
Analysts expect IAC to sweeten Angie’s List bid
After seeing its offers to buy Angie’s List turned down in private and in public, New York-based IAC/InterActiveCorp has the next move in what is shaping up as a chess match between the two firms.
Outside banks nab deposits in Indy
Several out-of-town community banks have launched a full-court press on Indianapolis over the past decade and are seeing solid traction. Experts say they’re coming here because per-capita income and populations in their own back yards are growing more slowly and, in some cases, even declining.
Aggressive bidder has Angie’s List over a barrel, analysts say
Internet behemoth IAC appears bent on hashing out an acquisition and likely would stage a hostile takeover if Angie’s List resists, market analysts say.