After a 17-year run in Indianapolis, National City’s trademark green signs are set to be replaced with the blue of Pittsburgh-based PNC Financial. The $5.6 billion deal raises questions about the government’s growing involvement in banking.
OneAmerica Financial Partners Inc. has made no secret of its desire to acquire other companies. Well, if it wants to buy,
it could hardly find a better time.
Insurance giant Safeco Corp. is expected to either vacate or scale back its downtown operation next year–a move that could
deal a major blow to the office market. At stake are about 700 downtown jobs, some or all of which could be eliminated or
shifted to the suburbs. A final decision about the fate of Safeco’s five-building downtown office complex likely will come
after Boston-based Liberty Mutual completes its $6.2 billion acquisition of Seattle-based Safeco.
Domestic automakers were already scheming about new ways to chop dealers–cutting costs to service them–as their market share
drained to Toyota and other foreign competitors. Now, an economy standing on the brakes could drive another round of dealer
consolidations that might not be a good deal for family-owned peddlers of metal.
Indiana’s largest locally based bank, First Indiana Corp., decided to end 92 years of independence in 2007, agreeing in July
to sell itself to Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corp. for $529 million in cash, or $32 a share.
The fiercely competitive local telecommunications landscape should get even more heated, following Cincinnati Bell Inc.’s
$18 million acquisition of Carmel-based eGix Inc. eGix provides bundled voice and data services, as well as high-speed Internet
access and messaging products, to about 17,000 commercial customers.
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.
If First Indiana Corp. was looking to pull off a sale quickly, Milwaukee-based Marshall & Ilsley Corp. was a natural place
to turn. First Indiana CEO Robert B. Warrington had been doing deals with the bank since he took the helm from Marni McKinney
in 2006. Warrington also is a friend and golfing buddy of M&I CEO Mark Furlong.
Athletic retailer The Finish Line Inc. had cultivated a reputation for conservative play calling, keeping clean books with
minimal debt. Then on June 18, the Indianapolis-based retailer called a surprise audible. The $1.3 billion company agreed
to acquire Nashville, Tenn.-based Genesco Inc. for $1.5 billion.
On Feb. 20, Plainfield-based cell phone distributor Brightpoint Inc. announced a blockbuster deal to buy Dangaard, its largest
European rival, for $308 million, a reversal of fortunes from five years ago between the competitors.
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.
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.
City Securities Corp., one of the largest investment firms based in Indiana, has purchased Columbus, Ohio-based ReCasa Financial Group LLC, a specialty lender focused on rehabs of dilapidated houses.
