The Sanders Trust, a national medical real estate investment conglomerate whose management team includes former Green Bay Packers star and coach Bart Starr, today announced it has acquired ThedaCare's medical office portfolio of properties in Appleton and Neenah.
Valued at more than $34 million, the acquisition is one of The Sanders Trust's largest to date.
The five on-campus buildings are affiliated with the largest health care system in the Fox Valley, with a solid growth history and future expansion plans.
The portfolio is 98-percent leased, and the majority is leased by a mix of prominent and established physicians' practices.
Starr is vice chairman of The Sanders Trust.
"ThedaCare's management team is first-rate in every respect and I am pleased that we now have a presence in Wisconsin. I loved my days with the Packers and continue to enjoy so many wonderful relationships here," said Starr, who has focused on health care real estate and was responsible for developing the ThedaCare acquisition for The Sanders Trust.
Rance Sanders, chief executive officer of The Sanders Trust, which is based in Birmingham, Ala., said, "ThedaCare's medical portfolio provides further geographic diversification and financial strength to The Sanders Trust. Each property is leased to strong tenants, which is a critical quality when acquiring any asset for investment purposes."
"This agreement makes the most sense for everyone concerned," said Dr. Omar Atassi of Urology Associates of Wisconsin, and a member of the ThedaCare board of trustees. "As a physician and tenant, I believe that The Sanders Trust's experience and expertise in the field of medical office building management will be a benefit to patients and physician practices alike."
The Sanders Trust's portfolio now consists of 20 properties valued at $135 million in 10 diverse states.

Brown Deer-based Metavante Technologies Inc. today reported second quarter revenue of $424.8 million, up 7 percent from $395.7 million in the same period a year ago.
The company reported quarterly net income of $36.9 million, or 31 cents per share. However, earnings comparisons with the prior year would be irrelevant, since the company's capital structure has changed since it was spun off from Marshall & Ilsley Corp. in November 2007.
Frank Martire, president and chief executive officer of Metavante, said, "Our second quarter results met our expectations and completed a good first half of the year. Organic growth was solid, and benefited from success in prior periods cross-selling our comprehensive product portfolio and capturing new business. The combination of operating leverage and cost productivity allowed us to continue to make additional investments in future growth while still improving current profitability."
Commenting on company's outlook, Martire said, "At the mid-point of our fiscal year, it is becoming increasingly apparent that 2008 will be another good year for Metavante. Continued strong execution, coupled with some stability in consumer spending behavior and customer investment during the second half, should enable us to deliver full year financial results consistent with our guidance. While we remain focused on closing a solid 2008, we also recognize that sustaining organic growth in 2009 and beyond requires us to work harder to sign new business in a challenging economic environment, and continue to make investments in technologies and capabilities that will drive future growth."

The slowdown in housing and construction in North America is taking a toll on Gehl Co., which today reported second quarter net income of $5.2 million, or 43 cents per share, down from $8.7 million, or 70 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The West Bend-based manufacturer of compact equipment used worldwide in construction and agricultural markets reported quarterly net sales of $111.1 million, down from $135.3 million a year earlier.
Continued market share gains, along with the strength of the company's international and agricultural markets, in the second quarter, partially offset the impact of the continued softness in the North American housing market and reductions in capital investments by equipment rental companies, the company said.
"While weakness in the U.S. residential construction market provided headwinds to our business in the first half of the year, the company maintained positive operating results, which reflects our diverse markets and effective cost savings initiatives," said William Gehl, chairman and chief executive officer. "As we work through these near-term challenges, the company will continue to position itself for long-term growth as evidenced by several efforts undertaken this year, including expanding our presence in international markets, broadening our product offering with the successful launch of new products and continuing to drive our performance in the markets we serve."
Based on the company's first half results, current backlog position, field inventory adjustments and management's expectation that the North American housing market will continue to experience weakness for the balance of 2008, the company adjusted its 2008 full year outlook. The company now expects net sales from continuing operations in the range of $390 million to $410 million and earnings per diluted share from continuing operations of 85 cents to $1.05.

QCR Holdings Inc., the Moline, Ill.-based parent company of First Wisconsin Bank & Trust and M2 Lease Funds LLC in Milwaukee, today reported second quarter earnings of $1.8 million, or 29 cents per share, which was up from $1.3 million, or 23 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
QCR also is the holding company for Quad City Bank and Trust Company, which is based in Bettendorf, Iowa; Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust Company, which is based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Rockford Bank and Trust Company in Rockford, Ill.
Brookfield-based First Wisconsin Bank & Trust, which began operations in 2006, had total assets of $96.2 million at June 30, 2008, which was an increase of $19.3 million from March 31, 2008. As of June 30, First Wisconsin Bank & Trust had net loans of $66.9 million, which was an increase of $12.2 million from March 31.
First Wisconsin Bank & Trust reported an after-tax net loss for the first six months of 2008 of $1.4 million, primarily due to a significant increase in provisions for loan losses related to the charge-off of a single commercial loan during the first quarter.
"The company, and all four subsidiary banks, remain well capitalized as of June 30, 2008, and have adequate access to liquidity. Our strategic focus on serving individuals and commercial clients that place a high value on personal relationships and exceptional service, and our lack of significant exposure to commercial and residential development lending, continues to serve us well as we have not experienced the asset quality problems that currently plague many financial institutions," said Todd Gipple, executive vice president, chief operating officer and chief financial officer.
"The local economies in the Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids, Rockford and Milwaukee communities continue to be relatively strong and are providing us with opportunities for additional growth in assets and earnings. We are disappointed that our stock was one of many bank stocks negatively impacted during the quarter as the banking sector experienced a broad sell-off in the financial markets due to the continued concerns over asset quality and capital for many banks in the country. However, we remain very optimistic regarding our future and management will continue to focus on growing EPS and maintaining solid asset quality to drive long-term shareholder value," Gipple said.

Fueled by strong wireless service sales and the launch of its new FiOS digital television service in New York, Verizon Communications Inc. today reported second quarter net income of $1.9 billion, or 66 cents per share, which was up from $1.7 billion, or 58 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The company's quarterly operating revenues increased to $24.1 million from $23.3 million.
"Verizon continued to grow in all key strategic areas in the second quarter, despite the economic headwinds. Recent investments in wireless spectrum and in our FiOS network will help drive future growth opportunities. We expect additional opportunities for FiOS growth as we add major cities, such as New York," said Verizon chairman and chief executive officer Ivan Seidenberg. "Our second quarter results were on track with our business plan, and top- and bottom-line growth remained solid. We remain focused on steady improvements in revenue growth and productivity that will increase profitability and cash flows and create future opportunities to enhance shareholder returns."
Verizon Wireless reported that its retail gross customer additions were strong, up 3.2 percent over the prior year. Wireless continued its double-digit revenue growth, with total revenues of $12.1 billion, up 11.8 percent from last year.

TCF Financial Corp.'s board of directors announced today that William Cooper will return to the company as chief executive officer.
Cooper was CEO of TCF from 1985 through 2005. He is replacing Lynn Nagorske, who is retiring.
"Lynn Nagorske has made great contributions to the success of TCF in his 22 years with the company and has successfully guided the bank in this most challenging economic environment. He has earned the respect and admiration of our board, our management team and our employees and we wish him well," Cooper said.
Cooper will continue to serve as chairman of the board, in addition to his new position.
Wayzata, Minn.-based TCF Financial is the parent company of TCF Bank, which has offices in Wisconsin.

Neenah-based Outlook Group Corp. announced plans to expand its contract packaging and contract manufacturing business lines by forming a new Contract Packaging Group. 
Outlook Group's contract packaging services include turnkey manufacturing programs, promotional packaging and sampling programs. Outlook Group offers a variety of in-house packaging solutions, including overwrapping and blister packaging capabilities, U.S. Post Office-approved polybagging and an FDA-certified clean room for repackaging and relabeling.
Additionally, Outlook has flexible packaging, folding carton and label manufacturing capabilities within its operations.
"As more and more companies consider the option of outsourcing all or part of their manufacturing operations, Outlook Group is well-positioned to meet their needs.  Forming our Contract Packaging Group highlights the emphasis we are placing on these services and establishes a team of experienced contract-packaging specialists to support our clients," said Joseph Baksha, president and chief executive officer of Outlook Group.
The Contract Packaging Group will be lead by Tom Grey, director of contract packaging, with support from Frank Dickson and Ted Heimerman.
Outlook Group is a subsidiary of Vista Group Holdings LLC.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 in Chicago has reached an agreement with Milwaukee-based Journal Holdings Inc. on alleged clean-air violations.
The EPA had alleged clean-air violations at the company's printing plant in Norway, Mich., at 512 Ninth Ave.
The agreement, which includes a $200,000 penalty, resolves EPA allegations that Journal Holdings violated national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants for the printing and chromium electroplating industries. EPA said testing, planning, monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements were violated.
Journal Holdings, which is based at 333 W. State St., was formerly known as NorthStar Print Group Inc. and is a subsidiary of Journal Communications Inc.

The Kansas City Chiefs are again holding training camp at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. Chiefs fans who come to watch the practices provide an economic boost to the area. A five-year-old study by UW-River Falls researchers measuring the economic impact of the camp estimated its tourism impact at $2 million. The study found the camp drew more than 10,000 people from 10 or more states. Read more in SBT's daily roundup of headlines from newspapers across the state at www.biztimes.com/#news.

Rexnord Industries LLC, the parent company of the Rexnord/Falk Geared Products Group, recently dedicated a memorial of the three employees killed and the 71 employees, suppliers and contractors who were injured in the December 2006 explosion at the company's Menomonee River Valley facility. Read more and see a photo of the memorial site in the latest edition of the BizTimes Manufacturing Weekly.

The BizTimes Stock Index recovered 2.54 points to close at 140.33 Friday, but stocks fell sharply in early morning trading today. The Dow Jones Industrials Average posted triple-digit declines. The largest local decliners this morning were Johnson Controls Inc. (down $1.42 to $29.63) and Manpower Inc. (down 85 cents to $46.67). The largest local advancers this morning were Badger Meter Inc. (up $2.54 to $55.69) and Bucyrus International Inc. (up $2.07 to $70.06). The BizTimes Stock Index was created by Small Business Times and is monitored by North Shore Bank. The index, which measures the stock values of publicly held companies based in southeastern Wisconsin, is updated daily and can be viewed at www.biztimes.com.

Congress should approve the Great Lakes Water Compact, according to Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.). Read more in today's Milwaukee Biz Blog.