Johnson Insurance acquires agency
Johnson Insurance Services LLC announced it has acquired the Kaufman/Haumersen-Johnson Agency.
The Kaufman/Haumersen-Johnson Agency had offices in Racine and Whitefish Bay. The agency’s associates will continue to serve their clients in those communities and will be located at Johnson Insurance, 1111 Commerce Drive in Racine. Members of the team also will work from Johnson Bank’s Whitefish Bay location.
Johnson Insurance Services is a member of Johnson Financial Group, which is a $4 billion financial services holding company of Johnson Bank in Racine.
“Our shared values of exceptional service, local decision-making and commitment to the communities we serve make this an excellent partnership,” said Christian Lie, president and chief executive officer of Johnson Insurance Services. “Strengthening our insurance presence in areas where we have an established bank presence allows us to offer more comprehensive services to our clients.”
The principal owners of Johnson Financial Group are members of the Samuel C. Johnson family.
MGIC to acquire Radian for $4.9 billion
Milwaukee-based MGIC Investment Corp. announced it will acquire Radian Group Inc., combining two of the largest mortgage insurers in the United States.
MGIC will pay about $4.9 billion in stock to buy Radian, which is based in Philadelphia.
The combined company, to be called MGIC Radian Financial Group Inc., will have nearly $15 billion in assets. The combined company’s headquarters will remain in Milwaukee, and the firm will have operations in New York, Philadelphia and internationally.
Mortgage insurance protects lenders from default by homebuyers who cannot make down payments of 20 percent of a home’s value at the time of purchase.
MGIC will exchange 0.9658 of a share for each of Radian’s 80.54 million shares of outstanding stock.
Curt Culver, current chairman and chief executive officer of MGIC, will serve as chairman and CEO of the combined company. S.A. Ibrahim, current CEO of Radian, will serve as the president and chief operating officer of the combined company. Ibrahim will succeed Culver as CEO of MGIC Radian Financial Group Inc. in 2009 and as chairman in 2010.
The combined company’s board of directors will initially be comprised of six members designated by MGIC and five members designated by Radian, but promptly following the consummation of the merger, MGIC Radian Financial Group Inc. will nominate for director an additional Radian director to stand for election by the combined company’s shareholders.
The combined company expects to realize aggregate cost savings of $128 million, pre-tax. The transaction has been unanimously approved by each company’s board of directors and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2007, subject to regulatory and shareholder approvals.
Brady Corp. receives award for M&A growth
Brady Corp., a Milwaukee-based provider of identification solutions, has been named Corporate Strategic Acquiror of the Year by M&A Advisor, a national organization serving merger and acquisition professionals.
The organization’s fifth annual awards ceremony was held in New York City.
The competition recognizes outstanding achievements in the middle-market M&A industry. Winners were selected from more than 130 nominations by a panel of judges from business schools and the financial press.
Brady was nominated by Milwaukee-based Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc., which cited Brady’s “focused and well-defined strategy to increase growth through acquisitions,” which resulted in 10 successful acquisitions totaling more than $260 million in revenues from Oct. 1, 2005, to Sept. 31, 2006.
“The competition this year was intense, as was the job of selecting the winners. Brady’s creativity, persistence and professionalism in making successful acquisitions are admired and applauded by their peers, and we’re proud to shine a well-deserved spotlight on Brady Corp.,” said Barry Kaplan, managing editor of the M&A Advisor and chair of the awards nominations committee.
“Our strategy for making acquisitions is clear and consistent,” said Dan Johnson, Brady vice president for corporate and business development. “We focus on acquiring companies that will yield sustainable shareholder value by providing adjacent market opportunities, geographic expansion, new technologies or operating capabilities, new customers or new products that move Brady closer to our goal of being the global leader in the markets we serve.”
Most recently, Brady acquired Clement Communications Inc. of Concordville, Penn.
Clement is a direct marketer of posters, newsletters, guides and handbooks that address safety, quality, teamwork, sales, employment practices, customer service and Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. Clement products are designed to enhance employee communications for business, government and scholastic markets. The company, founded in 1919, had 2006 sales of approximately $12 million, and employs 85 people.
Lycon expands concrete services in Wisconsin
Lycon Inc., a Janesville-based provider of concrete and aggregate products, has completed the integration of the ready-mix concrete, mortar and contractor supply divisions of M&M Concrete.
Lycon had purchased the divisions from Michels Corp. of Brownsville, Wis.
The acquisition enables the company to serve concrete pavers, commercial construction contractors and homeowners in the rapidly growing U.S. Highway 41 corridor between Milwaukee and the Fox Valley.
“The completion of Lycon’s expansion into one of the fastest-growing areas of the Upper Midwest significantly enhances our ability to serve Wisconsin’s construction community,” said G.R. Lyons, executive vice president of Lycon. “We look forward to continuing the company’s tradition of delivering the highest quality products with the very best people as we work with new customers in the Fox River Valley and the Milwaukee suburbs.”
Lycon also operates a new building products division in Slinger.
Rockwell sells off motor businesses
Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation Inc. announced it has completed the sale of its Dodge mechanical and Reliance Electric motors and motor repair services businesses to Baldor Electric Co. of Fort Smith, Ark.
Rockwell Automation received $1.75 billion in cash and approximately 1.6 million shares of Baldor common stock in the transaction.
Keith Nosbusch, chairman and chief executive officer of Rockwell Automation, said, “We are pleased this transaction enables us to sharpen our focus on architecture, software and intelligent motor control businesses which provide world-class industrial automation control and information solutions for our customers.”
Rockwell also announced it has acquired ProsCon Holdings Ltd., a privately held engineering firm headquartered in Cork, Ireland.
ProsCon Holdings provides design solutions to the process industry. The company’s areas of expertise include process technology, control systems and information technology. ProsCon also provides modular solutions for faster implementation of new facilities and retrofits for existing plants.
ARI closes on acquisition
Milwaukee-based ARI Network Services Inc. announced that it has closed on the acquisition of Cypress, Calif.-based OC-Net Inc.
ARI is a provider of technology-enabled business solutions for equipment dealers, distributors and manufacturers. OC-Net provides Web site development and hosting services to the power sports market, which includes motorcycles, all terrain vehicles (ATV’s), snowmobiles, and personal watercraft.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
