Displaying items tagged: Gun Lake Investments

West Michigan M&A professionals describe a market where deals today get closer scrutiny, particularly as lenders ask more questions as the economy slows with higher interest rates.

As tribally owned Gun Lake Investments dives into planning for a massive redevelopment project along U.S. 131 north of Gun Lake Casino, the non-gaming investment arm of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi, or Gun Lake Tribe, also is revisiting its overall strategic plan. CEO Monica King said emerging market forces could spur GLI to consider different kinds of deals in the years ahead. 

A trio of non-gaming tribal economic development entities has formed a rare real estate development, construction and property management joint venture that’s considered the first of its kind in the Midwest.

In his former role leading Grand Rapids-based Gun Lake Investments, Kurtis Trevan was a vocal critic of the inequities tribally owned firms face when applying for Minority Business Enterprise certifications at the regional level. 

Here is the MiBiz People in the news report for May 23, 2022 

After a seven-year career in tribal economic development at Waséyabek Development Co. LLC for his tribe, Jimmy TenBrink now finds himself heading up operations for a familiar tribal partner. 

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for April 11, 2022.

GRAND RAPIDS — Gun Lake Investments assumed full operating control through a new investment in Dallas, Texas-based Hall Technologies LLC, a designer and producer of professional audio/visual systems. 

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for January 31, 2022.

Gun Lake Investments — the non-gaming economic development arm of the Match-E-Be-NashShe-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, or Gun Lake Tribe — has named Monica King as permanent CEO of the organization effective Jan. 1.

Gun Lake Investments started 2022 with a permanent CEO in place and plans to become more active in the market.

The investment arms of two West Michigan tribes have partnered to acquire a pair of transportation companies in Holland.

GRAND RAPIDS — The CEO of Gun Lake Investments — the economic development arm of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians, or Gun Lake Tribe — has resigned after six years in the position.

As the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on tribal casino gaming revenue, officials with the non-gaming economic development arms of several Michigan tribes say their flow of capital and projects largely held steady.

The seeds for the joint purchase of the iconic McKay Tower building in downtown Grand Rapids took root years ago when the CEOs at Waséyabek Development Co. LLC and Gun Lake Investments started talking about doing deals together. 

In mid March of this year, all 24 of Michigan’s tribally operated casinos fell silent, their more than 22,280 slot machines spitting out their final paydays for lucky patrons or taking one last injection of cash for the house.

GRAND RAPIDS — A federal contracting firm owned by Waséyabek Development Co. LLC has begun work on a five-year, $161 million contract with the Department of Energy to provide site operations and support services at three National Energy Technology Laboratory locations. 

Call it the six stages of COVID-19 coping: Experiencing shock. Assessing. Recalibrating. Cash Flowing. Helping. Imagining. That seems to sum up an emotional and intellectual path many West Michigan business owners have travelled recently as their companies faced extraordinary circumstances brought on by the spread of coronavirus. 

More than a decade ago, Grand Rapids business leaders lobbied hard to block the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, known locally as the Gun Lake Tribe, from opening a casino near Wayland. 

Groups like 23 is Enough and MichGO drove the narrative that any casino development south of Grand Rapids would “siphon off” jobs and investment from the city’s then-rebuilding downtown, limiting growth in entertainment options and economic opportunity alike. They cited a study commissioned by the Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce in the early 2000s that estimated $880 million of “economic hemorrhaging” in the surrounding counties if Gun Lake Casino were ever allowed to move forward. 

Looking around downtown Grand Rapids today, it’s hard to find evidence that their worst fears were in any way realized. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Tribally owned Gun Lake Investments and Waséyabek Development Co. have jointly acquired McKay Tower in downtown Grand Rapids, MiBiz has learned.

ROUNDTABLE: The M&A market ended 2019 in good shape and professionals who work in the field expect dealmaking to remain strong in the new year. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Tribally-owned Gun Lake Investments is making an active push into the West Michigan commercial real estate market with an investment in a high-profile redevelopment and three property acquisitions so far this year, MiBiz has learned. 

Business entities owned by West Michigan-based Native American tribes face a surprising roadblock in gaining access to programs used to grow minority-owned businesses. While tribally-owned businesses often receive the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) disadvantaged business certification, they have not found similar success when it comes to getting “minority business enterprise” (MBE) certification through the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council (MMSDC).

West Michigan tribes may be relatively new to implementing economic development and diversification plans, but they’ve quickly established themselves as strategic partners for the local business community because of their focus on investing in companies and real estate. Moreover, many of the federally-recognized sovereign tribes are looking to engage with non-tribal businesses, spreading the opportunity beyond just tribal members into potentially powerful economic opportunities across the region.

GRAND RAPIDS — Even when it first acquired Dickinson Press LLC more than three years ago, Blackford Capital saw Brainerd, Minn.-based CJK Group Inc. as a potential buyer.

Blackford Capital’s latest deal brought a new investment partner to the table: Gun Lake Investments, the economic development arm of the Gun Lake Tribe.

Across West Michigan, Native American tribes have started to hang out their own shingle in enterprises that move them away from the familiar tribal-owned casino.

Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for March 6, 2017:

• M&A: American Grease Stick Co. of Muskegon was acquired last year by 3 Rivers Capital, a Pittsburgh, Pa.-based private equity firm. A manufacturer of branded automotive fluid transfer lines and related products for the automotive aftermarket industry, AGS has operations in Muskegon and the U.K. The company, which was founded in 1931, sells products through a variety of aftermarket retailers, including Advanced Auto Parts, AutoZone and Pep Boys, according to a statement. 3 Rivers purchased the company for $10 million from the Rosen family, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Business Times. The deal was backed by $9.75 million in subordinated debt and an equity co-investment from PNC Mezzanine Capital. JP Morgan Chase also provided debt financing for the transaction. Metz Lewis Brodman Must O’Keefe LLC of Pittsburgh served as legal counsel to 3 Rivers Capital. The sellers worked with investment banker Stout Risius Ross Inc. of Chicago.