Chicago is My Home

23
Jul

Former McDonald’s Executive Russ Smyth Named New CEO at H&R Block

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The tax services company H&R Block announced on Tuesday its board of directors has appointed former McDonald’s Corp. executive Russ Smyth as president and CEO. Smyth, who will take over on Aug. 1, 2008, replaces interim CEO Alan Bennett. Bennett has been heading the company since former CEO Mark Ernst left in Nov. 2007.

A 21-year veteran of McDonald’s, Smyth spent his first 13 years with the company in its finance department working in financial accounting and controller positions. He later held several international executive roles including president of McDonald’s European operations. Smyth left McDonald’s in 2005 and has since worked with private equity firms and private companies.

“Russ has excellent experience working with a powerful brand and delivering consistently high-quality performance across a vast retail network,” said H&R Block Chairman Richard Breeden in a Tuesday statement. “He also has extensive experience with finance and accounting and appreciates the critical importance of improving returns on capital.”

By Megan O’Neil

23
Jul

Capital Markets Unit of Harris Bankcorp Cuts 50 Investment Bankers, Lenders

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

CHICAGO – BMO Financial recently laid of roughly 50 Chicago-based employees within the capital markets unit of subsidiary Harris Bankcorp, according to a Wednesday report by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Those let go included investment bankers, lenders and other personnel serving large corporations. The cuts represented 8 percent of the financial institution’s 650-person Chicago staff. The Chicago layoffs were part of a larger reduction at Canada-based BMO Capital Markets.

“Over the last few weeks, we have been refocusing some low-potential business to better align with our strategy of focusing on core clients,” a Harris spokeswoman said in a Wednesday statement.

By Megan O’Neil

16
Jul

Deerfield, Ill.-Based Walgreen Co. Plans to Slow Down Growth of New Stores

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

CHICAGO – Walgreen Co. in Deerfield, Ill. has recently announced that it will slow down its decade-long push to open new drugstores by cutting new-store growth from the current rate of 9 percent to 5 percent a year by fiscal 2011. The company anticipates that the slowdown will save $500 million over the next three years.

Walgreen Co. is planning to put more resources into developing health care businesses such as on-site health clinics.

Forceful store openings have been a key component to the success of Walgreen Co., which is one of the largest U.S. drugstore chain operators, while it competes with other operators such as CVS. According to Walgreen Co. spokesman Michael Polzin, the company has increased its store count by more than 8 percent a year since 1998 and reached its peak growth of 12.2 percent by fiscal 2000.

In recent years, however, Walgreen Co. and its competitors have branched out into other areas to take advantage of the fast-rising spending on health care as Americans age. In addition to allowing Walgreen Co. to focus on expanding in the above-mentioned areas, the company says the cutback in store openings will also provide financial flexibility for potential acquisitions.

Walgreen Co. currently operates 6,297 stores. The company says it’s still on track to have more than 7,000 by 2010.

By Jenna Zizzo

09
Jul

Cargill in Minneapolis to Build New Soy Foam Plant on Chicago’s South Side

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

CHICAGO – Cargill, which is a Minneapolis food-ingredients producer, said on Tuesday it broke ground on a $22-million plant on an 80-acre site on South Torrence Aveneue on Chicago’s far south side. The plant will use soybeans instead of petroleum products to make an ingredient used in plastic foam for automotive, furniture and bedding products.

The south side location, which already houses Cargill’s existing operations, will make Cargill’s BIOH-branded and soybean-based polyols, which is used to make urethane products. Cargill wants to expand its production of environmentally friendly chemicals derived from renewable sources such as plants.

The company also stated in a Chicago Tribune article on Tuesday that Chicago is an “ideal site” for this type of a facility and the Chicago polyols factory “will be the first world-scale, bio-based polyols plant ever built”.

By Megan O’Neil

08
Jul

Tribune Co. Sets July 18 as Deadline For Bids For Chicago Cubs, Wrigley Field

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

CHICAGO – The Tribune Co. in Chicago has set July 18, 2008 as the date for the first round of bids for the Chicago Cubs baseball team, according to a Tuesday report by Crain’s Chicago Business.

Any sale must meet the approval of Major League Baseball (MLB) and bidders have been approved in advance by the league. The Tribune Co. said earlier in 2008 it would put the baseball team and its storied Wrigley Field up for sale in an effort to raise money and pay off the company’s hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

Tribune Co. CEO Sam Zell has explored options to sell the Cubs and Wrigley Field separately. Analysts estimate that the two assets – together with its stake in sports cable television – could bring in close to $1 billion.

By Megan O’Neil

07
Jul

Fresenius to Acquire APP Pharmaceuticals in Schaumburg, Ill. For $3.7 Billion

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – German health services company Fresenius announced on Monday it will acquire APP Pharmaceuticals in a $3.7 billion buyout.

Schaumburg, Ill.-based APP specializes in manufacturing and marketing injectable pharmaceutical products. The firm employs some 1,400 people in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. If completed, the deal would give Fresenius (which is already operating across Europe) a strong presence in the world’s largest drug market.

Under the terms of the deal, Fresenius will pay $23 in cash per share for outstanding APP common stock. An additional $6 per share could be added depending on company performance in 2008.

“The combined company will allow for the rapid globalization of APP’s portfolio with the same high levels of quality and patient commitment for which we have become known,” APP founder Patrick Soon-Shiong said in a Monday statement.

By Megan O’Neil

07
Jul

Former LaSalle Executive Norman Bobins Named to PrivateBancorp Board

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

CHICAGO – PrivateBancorp announced on Monday it has named former LaSalle Bank CEO Norman Bobins to its board of directors as well as chairman of its PrivateBank-Chicago subsidiary.

Bobins retired from LaSalle Bank on Jan. 1, 2008 as was planned following a $21 billion buyout of the bank by Bank of America last fall. Bobins must honor his contract with Bank of America, which prohibits him from recruiting LaSalle customers or employees until Jan. 1, 2009.

PrivateBancorp CEO Larry Richman describes Bobins as a trusted advisor and friend. Richman and Bobins worked closely with each another at LaSalle Bank and Richman briefly replaced Bobins as CEO of LaSalle Bank just before the Bank of America buyout.

“I am honored that he has accepted my invitation to become chairman of PrivateBank-Chicago in addition to his seat on the holding company,” Richman said in a Monday statement. “Our clients, communities, company and our stockholders will benefit from his knowledge, insight and experience.”

Bobins sits on numerous boards including WTTW Communications, The Field Museum in Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Board of Education, the Newberry Library and Spertus College.

By Megan O’Neil

02
Jul

Enesco to Buy Soft-Toy Maker Gund, Adds New Brand to Increasing Portfolio

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

ITASCA, Ill. – Enesco, which is an Itasca, Ill.-based distributor of some of the world’s most recognizable brands (including the Walt Disney Classics Collection), said on Tuesday it has acquired stuffed-animal maker Gund. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 1898 by German immigrant Adoplh Gund, the Edison, N.J.-based company made a name for itself as a leading soft-toy manufacturer in the U.S. Gund introduced the understuffed technique that gave its products an extra squeezable feel.

Gund CEO Bruce Raiffe said in a Tuesday statement that it was a difficult decision to sell the family run business but he is confident the company will continue to build upon its strong heritage. Gund will be added to Enesco’s already extensive portfolio. Enesco sells a wide range of giftware and décor.

“We continue to focus on building Enesco’s portfolio of strong, consumer-driven brands and look forward to the addition of more great artists and brands to the Enesco family in the future,” Enesco executive chairman Matthew Bousquette said in a Tuesday statement.

By Megan O’Neil

01
Jul

Chicago Sales Tax Spikes; 10.25 Percent Tax Highest in Any Major U.S. City

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

CHICAGO – Previously at 0.75 percent for Chicagoans, the Cook County sales tax will jump to 1.75 percent on Tuesday as an increase voted by the county board takes effect.

Combined with the state sales tax and the city sales tax, consumers in Chicago will pay 10.25 percent tax on some items. This is the highest for any metropolitan area in the country. The tax increase will apply to purchases of clothes, furniture, alcohol and restaurant food. It does not apply to cars, boats, groceries or medicine.

Sales taxes vary from county to county. Shoppers in Schaumburg, Ill. and Skokie, Ill. pay 10 percent while shoppers in Orland Park, Ill. pay 9.75 percent. The Cook County board voted to increase the sales tax after its president (Todd Stroger) called for increased funding to cover a $3 billion deficit in the county budget.

By Megan O’Neil

01
Jul

Executive Ranks at Motorola in Schaumburg, Ill. Seeing Global Renovation

Author: Adam Fendelman, Category: Business

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. – Motorola has named new regional executives for its cell phone businesses in China, India, Europe and North America as the company tries to regain its footing in the wake of plunging international sales.

According to a Monday report by Crain’s Chicago Business, Motorola senior vice president Bruce Brda (who heads Motorola’s cell phone unit) circulated an internal memo last week announcing the changes.

The newly appointed executives will carry the heavy load of reversing Motorola’s dramatic losses in the cell phone market over the last 18 months. The Schaumburg, Ill.-based company has seen its global market share shrink to just 9.7 percent.

Its cell phone unit has been losing money since early 2007. Analysts say its United States market share could dip to 20 percent in 2008.

By Megan O’Neil