People's Bank plans Waterford location
People's Bank, based in Elkhorn, has proposed a new stand-alone bank in Waterford at 4103 Buena Park Road. Tom Oehler, president and CEO of People's Bank, said the bank aims to break ground on the new branch in mid-summer and hopes that it is open by the end of the year.
"We're excited about the community and the business and consumer opportunities that present themselves to us," Oehler said.
The new full-service branch will have seven to 10 employees. Oehler declined to say how large the new bank will be.

First Business Capital finances Midwest firms
Madison-based First Business Capital Corp., a member of the First Business Financial Services Inc. family of companies, recently provided credit facilities to companies in Indiana and Missouri.
First Business Capital provided $8 million in acquisition financing to a specialty printing company in Indiana. It also First Business Capital Corp. provided $1.4 million in turnaround financing to a trucking company in Missouri.
First Business Capital Corp. is part of First Business Financial Services, whose companies include: First Business Bank-Madison; First Business Bank-Milwaukee; First Business Bank-Northeast; First Business Trust & Investments; First Business Equipment Finance, LLC; and First Business Capital Corp.

Merril Lynch selects Fiserv software for reconciliation
Merrill Lynch recently selected CheckFree Frontier 2.0 a software system produced by Brookfield-based Fiserv Inc., as its strategic reconciliation platform.
CheckFree Transfer Manager, a module of CheckFree Frontier, will also be used as part of the implementation to enable Merrill Lynch to seamlessly migrate from its current system to CheckFree Frontier. The module is a business rules transfer and system consolidation tool that is designed to significantly reduce the human intervention required to transition business rules and administrative configurations to a new production environment. By using an audited change control process that addresses the separation of duties required for regulatory compliance, CheckFree Transfer Manager is expected to enable Merrill Lynch to protect their sensitive financial data and ensure integrity of controls throughout the migration process.

Local computer repair companies merge
Quality Computer Service Inc. of Shorewood has acquired the client lists of Laser Graphics LLC of Milwaukee and D& M Office Supply of Waukesha.
QCS also plans to acquire CompuGeek of Brookfield later this month. QCS repairs computers and printers and is one of the leading local distributors of remanufactured and new toners and ink-jet cartridges. QCS has eight employees and is located at 4433 N. Oakland Ave.

Tomahawk steel manufacturer sold to Canadian company
Northland Stainless Inc., a Tomahawk manufacturer of custom stainless steel pressure vessels, tank heads and components for pharmaceutical, biotech, chemical, food, beverage, paper and ethanol applications, has been acquired by Silvan Industries, a division of Samuel Manu-Tech Inc. (Toronto Stock Exchange: SMT.TO), a Canadian industrial products and technology. Grace Matthews Inc., a Milwaukee investment banking and mergers and acquisitions advising firm, was retained by Northland Stainless' owner to sell the company. Samuel Manu-Tech paid about $11.5 million for Northland Stainless, said Tim Oleszczuk, managing director with Grace Matthews.

Baird Capital Partners acquires medical device manufacturer
Baird Capital Partners (BCP), the U.S.-based buyout fund of Baird Private Equity, recently acquired Oceanside, N.Y.-based Ellman International, Inc., a manufacturer of surgical devices used to perform medical, dental and veterinary procedures in the United States, Europe and Asia. Co-investors include Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Rick Epstein, Ellman International management, and CIT Healthcare, which provided senior debt for the deal.

Weston aviation firm sold to Green Bay investor group
Downwind Technology, LLC, a Weston, Wis.-based manufacturer of after-market aviation products, has been acquired by Hamilton Smith Capital, Inc., a private investment company located in Green Bay. Downwind Technology was formerly a division of Slipstream International, a manufacturer of experimental and light-sport aircraft. It was spun-off from the parent company in 2004 to focus on marketing its Shark Series line of straight and amphibious composite floats to other OEMs.  In addition, Downwind Technology is a distributor for Warp Drive Propellers and Falcon Gauges. 
Mike Puhl, president of Downwind Technology, will remain with the company as a technical advisor and board member. Current president Mike Puhl will remain with the company as a technical advisor and board member. Downwind Technology’s facilities will be moved to Green Bay.

Name: Linda Mertz
Title: Managing director
Company: Mertz Associates
Village of Residence: Rubicon
Family: Alan, my husband, and Socks, my cat.
How does the market look to you? "The market looks good for Mertz, and I project multiple closings the first half of 2008. From a bigger picture perspective, the lower middle market ($5 million to $100 million in value) has always been more stable than the larger-deal market. I expect that to continue with the outlook for the larger-deal market being far more hazy."
What are you working on now? "We're finalizing a non-core divestiture for a large public company client, wrapping up a sale of a local manufacturer and an acquisition of a product line. There are multiple other projects in the pipeline."
What was the best deal you've been involved in? "While not a single deal, our continuing work helping Lab Safety Supply (a division of W.W. Grainger) make multiple strategic acquisitions is very interesting and rewarding."
What was the funniest or most interesting moment of your career? "By far, right now is the most interesting because by working with and personally knowing M&A professionals from around the world, we have greatly added to the skills and knowledge of the local team. For example, I have been able to bring quality buyers to the table with personal relationships from India, Poland, The Netherlands, among many others and we are doing this kind of work more as a matter of routine. We are currently teaming with a firm in China to sell a company with operations in China and the U.S., and we are working together seamlessly. We are also developing international pipelines for our buy-side clients. We are able to do all of this and more because of  IMAP (International Network of M&A Partners). What is really great is that our IMAP partners offer not only great geographical reach but also provide incredibly deep industry knowledge. For example, Mertz teamed with a U.S. banking industry expert to help Acuity Insurance divest their bank. We teamed with a leasing expert when we helped We Energies divest of its leasing operations. We are currently exploring teaming with an IT expert to sell a local Milwaukee company that has very special qualities. We absolutely love it, because we know our IMAP partners well and are able to provide outstanding service almost anywhere in the world while maintaining the personal touch and local commitment.  And while yes, this is all extremely interesting, the real bottom line is that our clients benefit and in the end that’s all that matters."

Todd Manderfield has joined Spire Capital Advisors LLC, a recently formed investment banking and mergers and acquisitions advisory firm with offices in Milwaukee, Madison and a planned office in Wausau. Manderfield has been named a vice president of the firm.

Brookfield-based acquisitions Business Advisors LLC recently hired Jerry Hegy as merger and acquisition specialist. Hegy, with more than 25 years experience in accounting, human resources and merger and acquisitions, joined ABA after the firm help him sell his local staffing franchise.

MGIC hires advisor to explore options
MGIC Investment Corp., the nation's leading provider of private mortgage insurance coverage, recently reported a net loss of $1.47 billion, or $18.17 per share, in the fourth quarter, compared with net income of $121.5 million, or $1.47 per share, in the same period a year ago. Curt Culver, chairman and chief executive officer of the Milwaukee-based company, said MGIC incurred low loan cure rates, higher loss severities and higher delinquencies. Culver said the company does not foresee net income for 2008. He added that, despite the difficult operating environment, the company has adequate capital to meet its claim obligations. To strengthen the company's ability to capitalize on its strong business fundamentals, the company has retained an advisor to assist it in exploring alternatives for increasing its capital. MGIC's net loss for the full year of 2007 was $1.67 billion, compared with net income of $564.7 million for 2006. Diluted loss per share for the full year was $20.54 compared with diluted earnings per share of $6.65 in 2006

Milwaukee law firm is first in British Credit Services Association
Milwaukee-based Kohner, Mann & Kailas S.C. recently became the first American law firm to be accepted as a member of the British Credit Services Association (CSA). 
In Britain, the CSA is a self-regulatory industry body, the only national association for companies active in relation to unpaid credit accounts. Members handle more than 20 million debt cases annually, representing claims of $30 billion (£15 billion) in value. Today the CSA has members in many countries, including China, India and South Africa and is a member of the 15 nation Federation of European National Collection Associations (FENCA). 
More information about the British Credit Services Association can be found at www.csa-uk.com/csa/about.php.

Madison biotech firm receives funding
Nerites Corp., a Madison company that develops novel tissue repair products and coatings for medical devices, has completed a $5.7 million Series A round of funding. Venture Investors LLC of Madison, Wisconsin, with participation by Black Mountain Ventures of Foster City, California, led the investment. Previously, Nerites had raised $3 million from private investors. The company will use the funding to refine product development plans, begin product development and expand its business development plan for bringing the first tissue adhesive products on to the market.

Acuity caps record year
Acuity Insurance in Sheboygan reported a record financial year in 2007. In 2007, Acuity's policyholders' surplus grew to an all-time high of $761 million, up 11.4 percent from the previous year and more than 40 higher than the industry standard, the company said. The company's combined loss and expense ratio, where 100.0 is considered break-even for operations, and lower ratios are more profitable, was 97.5. Acuity is a property and casualty insurer that operates in 17 states, writes $810 million in premium through more than 800 independent agencies and manages more than $2 billion in assets.

Choppy housing market doesn't stop Mortgagebot
Mortgagebot LLC, a Mequon-based provider of consumer-direct online and enterprise-wide point-of-sale mortgage-origination solutions, posted a record year in 2007, despite the housing bubble and the subprime market meltdown
The company has reported a record number of clients, record volume of its Mortgagebot PowerSite solution and record market penetration among commercial banks, savings institutions and credit unions. Mortgagebot said its "same-store" mortgage originations were up an average of 22 percent and its client base grew 20 percent in 2007.

SBT to present "The Next Stage" M&A Forum
Small Business Times will conduct an M&A Forum, titled "The Next Stage," on March 27, from 7:30 to 11 a.m. at The Pfister Hotel, 424 E. Wisconsin Ave.
Thousands of Wisconsin businesses are owned and managed by baby boomers who will soon be reaching the age of retirement. What then? What will be the "Next Stage" for their business?
The event will examine different exit strategies, including recapitalizations, employee stock ownership programs, management buyouts, sale to private equity firms, mergers with strategic partners and more.
The keynote speaker will be Mark Herndon, president of Dallas-based Parkwood Advisors LLC, a diversified professional services firm focused on M&A, investment banking and private equity investing. Herndon also is the co-author of "The Complete Guide to Mergers and Acquisitions: Process Tools to support M&A Integration at Every Level."
The event will include breakout sessions from 9:15 to 10 a.m. and from 10:15 to 11 a.m., presented by Emory & Co., The PrivateBank and Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren S.C., sponsors of the event.
The cost to attend is $95 per person or $760 for tables of eight and includes breakfast.
For information or to register, call Sarah Wilson at (414) 336-7129 or email Sarah.Wilson@biztimes.com.

Information security training event to be held in Madison
The SANS Institute, one of the largest and most respected sources for information security training, certification and research in the world, is partnering with Johnson Bank to bring one of The SANS Institute's most popular classes to Madison. 
Kevin Bong, vice president of network and data security for Johnson Bank, will be teaching the SANS's six-day "Hacker Techniques, Exploits, and Incident Handling" course at the Sheraton Hotel in Madison from April 28-May 3. The hands-on class will teach students the tools and methods that are used to break into computer systems, and how to prevent and react to computer attacks.
Interested individuals can contact Kevin Bong at kbong@johnsonbank.com for more information and a discount on registration.
The SANS Institute was established in 1989 as a cooperative research and education organization. Its programs now reach more than 165,000 security professionals around the world.  For more information on SANS or the class, visit www.sans.org.

Wisconsin companies invited to Midwest Venture Summit
Wisconsin companies hoping to present at the 2008 Midwest Venture Summit in Chicago, held March 17-18, must submit their business plans by Jan. 30 for a chance to join companies that have raised more than $222 million in private equity funding in past years.
Opportunities are available for companies in various stages of growth, from early-stage start-up firms to series A+.  The fee for submission is $175
To learn more about the summit and to apply to present, visit www.midwestventuresummit.com.

Financial Executives International Milwaukee Chapter, second Tuesdays, 5:30 p.m., University Club, 924 E. Wells St., Milwaukee; call Mary at 414-226-6975.