Banking & Finance

Menomonee Falls-based Actuant Corp. today reported fiscal second quarter net earnings of $28.4 million, or 38 cents per share, down from $32.2 million, or 43 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

The State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) and Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) are creating an early-stage venture capital fund focused on information technology.

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.

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