Ideas

The Wisconsin Black Chamber of Commerce Inc. presents will present its 2013 Black Business & Technology Conference June 22-23 at the Wisconsin African American Women's Center and at the Milwaukee Brotherhood of Fire Fighters Hall.

In its 2012 financial statement, Sheboygan-based property and casualty insurance firm Acuity reported that its assets under management reached an all-time high of $2.75 billion and policyholders’ surplus finished the year at a record $1.125 billion.

ABC Supply Holding Corp., the parent company of Beloit-based American Builders & Contractors Supply Co. Inc., has entered into a definitive agreement to redeem all of the shares held by its minority shareholders, an investor group led by Advent International.
Upon the closing of the transaction, 100 percent of the shares of ABC Supply will be controlled by the company’s co-founder, Diane M. Hendricks.
 

Northern Trust Corp. announced it has received no objections from the Federal Reserve Board to its proposed 2013 capital plan.
 

Pewaukee-based Waterstone Mortgage Corp. has unveiled a new logo as part of a rebranding campaign.
 

Milwaukee-based ARI Network Services Inc., a provider of software and data solutions, announced it has entered into definitive agreements with investors in a private placement of $4.8 million of its common stock at a purchase price of $1.50 per share.

Company owners interested in learning more about the process and prospects of buying or selling businesses are invited to attend the annual BizTimes M&A Forum, which will take place Friday, May 3, at the Pfister Hotel in downtown Milwaukee from 7:30 to 11:30 a.m.

Krista McMasters, CEO of CliftonLarsonAllen, will retire effective April 1 after 35 years with the firm.

A little more than a year ago, Rebecca Blank visited the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery on the UW-Madison campus to listen to faculty members, entrepreneurs and business leaders. Her topic: What’s working and what’s not when it comes to the role of the university and the economy?

This week Wisconsin is expected to open its checkbook to anyone who wants to look. It’s called “OpenBook Wisconsin.”