Wisconsin Energy completes acquisition of Integrys
Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Energy Corp. has completed its $9.1 billion acquisition of Integrys Energy Group.
The company has received final written approval from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission and the Illinois Commerce Commission, the last pieces in the puzzle for the acquisition to close. The deal needed the blessing of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, both companies’ shareholders, the Federal Communications Commission and utility oversight boards in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
Wisconsin Energy, parent company of We Energies, first announced last June that it planned to acquire Chicago-based Integrys, parent company of Green-Bay based Wisconsin Public Service Corp. The new company, WEC Energy Group, is the eighth largest natural gas distributor in the U.S. WEC will have its corporate headquarters in the “metropolitan Milwaukee area,” with operating headquarters in Green Bay and Chicago. It will serve 4.4 million electric and natural gas customers in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan and Minnesota.
WEC Energy Group has almost $29 billion in assets, 9,300 employees and about 60,000 stockholders of record. Its principal utilities are We Energies, Wisconsin Public Service, Peoples Gas, North Shore Gas, Michigan Gas Utilities and Minnesota Energy Resources. Its other major subsidiary, We Power, designs, builds and owns electric generating plants.
Gale Klappa will serve as chairman and chief executive officer of the new company. Allen Leverett will serve as president for Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. Charles Matthews will serve as president for Illinois. Jerry Franke will serve as president of Wispark.
Wisconsin Energy also added three of Integrys’ board members to its nine-member board: Retired A.O. Smith CEO Paul Jones, William Brodsky and Albert Budney, Jr. Jones also serves as a co-chair of Milwaukee-based water research, education and economic development organization The Water Council.
Report gives Wisconsin B+ for manufacturing, B for logistics
A report from Ball State University gave Wisconsin a B+ for manufacturing and a B for logistics.
The 2015 Manufacturing and Logistics Report, prepared by Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research for Conexus Indiana, the state’s advanced manufacturing initiative, shows how each state ranks among its peers in several areas of the economy that underlie the success of manufacturing and logistics.
These specific measures include the health of the manufacturing and logistics industries, the state of human capital, the cost of worker benefits, diversification of the industries, state-level productivity and innovation, expected fiscal liability, the state tax climate, and global reach.
In the other categories, Wisconsin earned a B+ for human capital and a B for sector diversification. Expected liability gap and productivity and innovation each received a C+, and global reach got a C. Worker benefit costs and tax climate received the worst grades of a D and D+, respectively.
According to the report, several of Wisconsin’s scores declined from last year.
Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan and South Carolina received A’s for manufacturing. Indiana, Pennsylvania and Texas earned A’s for logistics. Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Washington got A’s for human capital. Arkansas, Georgia, Nevada, Texas and Utah received A’s for worker benefit costs.
For tax climate, Florida, Indiana, Missouri, Montana and Utah earned A’s. The states that received A’s for expected fiscal liability gap were Delaware, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon and Texas. Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and South Carolina got A’s for global reach. Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Virginia and Washington earned A’s for sector diversification. Finally, California, Connecticut, Michigan, Texas and Washington got A’s for productivity and innovation.
In the report’s companion study, The Myth and the Reality of Manufacturing in America, Hicks also provided an analysis of why American manufacturing and logistics are in better shape than many believe.
The study notes that the Great Recession had lost its stranglehold by 2014, when U.S. manufacturers attained record levels of production.
LGBT Chamber applauds Supreme Court’s defense of gay marriage
The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce applauded the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that guarantees the right to marry for gay couples in all 50 states.
The historic decision was made with a 5-4 ruling in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges.
Jason Rae, executive director of the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber, today issued the following statement:
“Today love won. Not only did the US Supreme Court affirm the right of all of people to marry who they love, the court also paved the way to help strengthen our nation’s economy. At the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce, we are incredibly excited about the economic impact that this decision will have for our members, for our state, and for our nation’s economy as a whole.
“The immediate benefits of marriage equality provide millions of dollars of stimulus to local businesses, but the short-term benefits do not even begin to tell the whole story. These new marriages create families in Wisconsin, and now the entire country, that will have a lasting, observable impact on our economy.
“The Wisconsin LGBT Chamber was proud to file an amicus curiae in the Obergefell v. Hodges case discussing how marriage equality would positively impact the business community.
“We heard from our business members that the patchwork of inconsistent state marriage laws made it harder and more costly for them to recruit and retain talented employees, and to administer benefits systems. Quite simply, this burdened businesses by costing them both time and money. Today’s decision helps eliminate that burden on businesses and makes it easier for companies to recruit and retain diverse talent.
“As Wisconsin’s LGBT families continue to grow and prosper, so too will our state economy. We know that this decision today will translate into a positive force for our economy and local businesses.”
Milwaukee Catholic Archbishop Jerome Listecki issued the following statement: “Today is a sad day for the sacrament of marriage, when the United States Supreme Court redefines marriage to be something other than what God created. Marriage is between one man and one woman. This decision doesn’t change the Catholic Church’s teaching about the sanctity of this sacrament and the natural bond of marriage that is the very foundation of society. We are a Church founded on the loving relationship of God and the Catholic Church upholds that every person is created in the image and likeness of God with immeasurable dignity and worth. The Church opposes any and all harassment, violence and unjust treatment of any person, including those with same sex attraction.”
The decision drew applause from several Democratic politicians and was denounced by several Republican politicians.
The ruling was “a grave mistake,” said Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is believed to be a Republican presidential candidate. Walker touted his support for amending his state’s constitution “to protect the institution of marriage from exactly this type of judicial activism.”
In a statement, Walker said, “As a result of this decision, the only alternative left for the American people is to support an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to reaffirm the ability of the states to continue to define marriage.”
Fiserv adds chip card production capabilities to meet EMV demand
Brookfield-based Fiserv Inc. has added milling and embedding to its debit and credit card production capabilities in response to growing demand for EMV chip cards.
The company, which provides technology solutions for financial institutions, in March announced it would be offering its own chip cards, dubbed The Card Collection from Fiserv. The move was aimed at making it easier for banks to transition to EMV chip-enabled cards.
With the ability to mill cards and embed the chips, Fiserv can produce the entire EMV chip card in house, allowing it to more efficiently transition clients to the more secure cards, which are aimed at preventing fraud. The company has started plastic manufacturing, embedding, testing and initialization to establish a quality chip card production process.
Card issuers have been rapidly migrating to chip technology. After an October deadline set by Visa, MasterCard, Discover and American Express, liability for fraudulent transactions at the point-of-sale will shift to the company that is least EMV-compliant in a transaction.
Fiserv also offers EMV card personalization, transaction processing, real-time payments and funds access, risk management, staff and consumer education support, and strategic guidance.
FIRE awarded $35 million in new markets tax credits
First-ring Industrial Redevelopment Enterprise Inc., an affiliated entity of the City of West Allis, announced that it was chosen by the CDFI Fund of the U.S. Treasury Department to receive a $35 million new markets tax credit allocation.
FIRE was one of 76 organizations selected for 2015 new markets tax credits through a nationwide competitive application process.
FIRE was formed in 2007 to attract tax credit and other funding incentives for projects that can demonstrate significant and measurable community impact. FIRE provides below-market rates and terms for equity-equivalent, senior and subordinate loan products in health care, education, commercial, mixed-use and industrial projects in highly distressed communities in Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha counties.
This year’s award will bring the total new markets tax credit allocations received by FIRE to $193 million.
