Here is the MiBiz Growth Report for May 30, 2017:
• M&A: Grand Rapids-based FEDCom Credit Union, which has three offices in the Grand Rapids area with 7,654 members and assets of $67.6 million, proposed to merge into Midland-based Members First Credit Union. Members First has eight offices, 50,680 members and $480 million in assets. The deal was listed in a monthly activity report issued by state regulators.
• M&A: Kalamazoo Building Trades Credit Union, with one office, 620 members and $2.8 million in assets, plans to merge into Kalamazoo-based KALSEE Credit Union, which has five offices, 22,242 members and assets of $172.9 million. The deal was listed in a monthly activity report issued by state regulators.
• M&A: Honor Credit Union will expand its footprint in the Upper Peninsula with the acquisition of Citizens Bank of Ontonagon. Terms of the deal, which is pending shareholder and regulatory approval, were not disclosed. Citizens Bank of Ontonagon has three offices in the U.P. with total assets of $54.2 million as of March 31 and deposits of $46.0 million, according to a quarterly financial report filed with federal regulators. The Berrien Springs-based Honor Credit Union has $734.8 million in assets, 64,880 members and 17 offices. It has three offices in the U.P. cities of Marquette, Negaunee and Gwinn that were acquired in the 2014 merger with SIR Federal Credit Union. Honor Credit Union most recently acquired Battle Creek Area Community Federal Credit Union and Post Community Credit Union.
• M&A: The Grand Rapids-based Michigan Obstetrics & Gynecology P.C. became part of Metro Health – University of Michigan Health on May 1. The OB/GYN practice has been affiliated with Metro since its beginning in 1995. The move comes after Metro Health merged into the University of Michigan Health System last December. All physicians at Michigan OB/GYN remain with the practice.
• M&A: Grand Rapids-based Meritage Hospitality Group Inc. (OTCQX: MHGU) acquired 57 Wendy’s restaurants across Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi and Tennessee. Cumulatively, the restaurants employ 1,600 people, according to a statement from CEO Robert Schermer, Jr. The company plans to integrate the restaurants into its operating and accounting software before performing “extensive remodeling” to update the interior and exterior design of the locations “to enhance the overall guest experience,” Schermer said.
• M&A: Auto Spa Car Wash, which has four express locations in Grand Rapids, was acquired by Mister Car Wash of Tucson, Ariz., according to a statement. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The deal marks the third for Mister Car Wash in the region since the beginning of 2017. The company now operates 11 car washes in West Michigan.
• Expansion: Zoetis Inc. plans to expand production capacity in Kalamazoo and increase employment over the next few years. The Parsippany, N.J.-based Zoetis (NYSE: ZTS) will add two production lines for oral tablet and chewable medicines for pets at its Kilgore Road plant. The expansion will add 45 jobs in the Kalamazoo area, where Zoetis employs nearly 300 people in production positions, plus another 700 at its Veterinary Medicine Research and Development headquarters. The Michigan Economic Development Corp. provided Zoetis a $500,000 business development grant for the project. Plant renovations should begin this month. Zoetis targets completion for early 2019.
• Expansion: Bloomfield Hills-based civil engineering firm Hubbell, Roth & Clark Inc. opened a Kalamazoo office. The new location is the firm’s seventh in Michigan, along with Bloomfield Hills, Delhi Township, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Howell and Lansing. The firm’s clients locally include the Kalamazoo Road Commission and the City of Kalamazoo.
• Expansion: Compass Insurance plans to move to larger quarters on Ann Street in Grand Rapids. The move to the new 15,000-square-foot home represents a “tipping point” for the agency, CEO Jack Hoedeman said. Compass Insurance, which is moving from an office on Ottawa Avenue, has grown from three employees in 2013 to a staff of 26 today and has a goal to triple headcount in the new space. The agency sells auto, home, life, health and business policies.
• Expansion: Big Lake Brewing LLC of Holland plans to launch out-of-state distribution later this year. The microbrewery signed a deal with Cleveland-based Sixth City Distribution, which will begin carrying several of the company’s brands in the Ohio market. To start, Big Lake Brewing plans to send cans and draft kegs, and “we’ll see what comes next,” co-owner Nic Winsemius said in a statement. The company sold 634 barrels of beer in Michigan last year, up 39 percent from the 454.8 barrels it sold in 2015, according to filings with the Michigan Liquor Control Commission.
• Expansion: Boutique retailer Apothecary Off Main plans to expand its presence in downtown Grand Rapids. The seller of men’s grooming products, travel goods and other lifestyle items plans to vacate its 779 square feet of space in the MoDiv retail incubator at 40 Monroe Center and move to a 900-square-foot space on the ground floor of mixed-use building The Morton, located at 76 Monroe Center, according to a statement. Both properties are owned and managed by Grand Rapids-based Rockford Construction Company Inc.
• Investment: Grand Rapids-based Clark Brothers Capital Corp. said it raised $1 million in new equity and increased the size of its private placement from $1 million to $5 million in a round led by multiple existing and accredited investors. The new raise allowed the Grand Rapids-based real estate investment firm to acquire and renovate 15 properties totalling 21 housing units around Grand Rapids. The company also acquired an undisclosed multi-family property and two mixed-use properties as part of its recent acquisitions. The investment group’s properties are managed by Short South Realty Group Inc.
