Next Generation Wealth Management Inc. will move from Mequon to a 1,750 square foot office in the Mayfair Woods office building, 10700 Research Dr., Wauwatosa, in the Milwaukee County Research Park, on Aug. 1. The move will make NGW's offices more convenient for its customer base, said David Massart, the company's president. "It's 25 minutes from anywhere in the metro area," he said. "It's got (access to) the whole I-94 and (Highway) 45 strip and it's centrally located."

NGW has three employees now – Massart, company founder David Braaten and Chief Operating Officer Jeffrey Kralovec. The new space will give the firm to grow over the next five years. NGW, founded in 2005, grew its assets under management by 50 percent in 2007 to $65 million. Despite challenging market conditions this year, the firm expects 30 to 35 percent in asset growth. The firm also registered with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) this April, Massart said, which provides NGW's clients with the highest level of compliance. "We're no longer just state regulated," he said. "It's another validation that our firm is growing – we're governed by the biggest agency in our industry."

In December, NGW finalized installation of a customized software platform that allows it to monitor its clients' investments no matter where they are invested. NGW does not sell any of its own financial products – instead it steers clients toward investments it feels are the best performing.

"This was the last piece of infrastructure in our business model," Massart said. "Installing it was a nine month process. It allows us to produce a consolidated performance report, regardless of where the assets are." The firm's move to its new offices in the Milwaukee County Research Park will be easy, Massart said, because its servers and systems are hosted off site. "The move should be simple – a handful of car trips and it's done," Massart said. For more information, visit www.ngwealth.com.

Green Bay-based Associated Banc-Corp reported net income of $47.4 million, or 37 cents per share, for the second quarter of 2008, down from $75.8 million, or 59 cents per share, for the second quarter of 2007 and down from net income of $66.5 million, or 52 cents per share, for the first quarter of 2008. For the first half of the year net income was $113.8 million, or 89 cents per share, down from net income of $149.2 million, or $1.16 per share for the first half of 2007.

The company said that its provision for loan losses increased to $59 million during the second quarter, up from $23 million during the first quarter. Net charge offs were $37 million for the second quarter, compared to $16 million for the first quarter.

Six housing-related commercial credits accounted for $21 million of the quarter's $37 million in net charge offs. Nonperforming loans increased $81 million during the second quarter to $289 million, attributable primarily to the six commercial credits related to the housing industry, the company said.

"The increase in allowance for loan losses was principally due to deterioration of collateral values in a number of commercial real estate and other commercial credits related to and affected by the downturn of the housing industry," said Associated Bank chairman and CEO Paul S. Beideman. "For the remainder of 2008, we expect nonperforming loans to stabilize at the quarter end levels and net charge offs to continue at levels experienced in the second quarter."

Anheuser-Busch accepts $52 billion InBev takeover offer
St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. has approved a $52 billion takeover offer by Leuven, Belgium-based InBev. The new company, to be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, would have had net sales of about $36.4 billion in 2007. It will be the world's largest beer maker. Anheuser-Busch and Belgian-based InBev together operate 300 brands, including Anheuser's Budweiser and Bud Light and InBev's Stella Artois and Beck's. Both companies' boards have approved the terms and InBev has arranged financing for the deal, which is expected to close by the end of the year. The companies said they expect the deal to generate cost savings of $1.5 billion a year by 2011. The move should be neutral to earnings in 2009 and add to profit in 2010, the companies said.

Harley acquires Italian motorcycle manufacturer
Harley-Davidson, Inc. will acquire MV Agusta Group, an Italian motorcycle manufacturer for about $109 million plus payment of about $70 million of the company's debt. The transaction is expected to close in several weeks. MV Agusta makes a line of high-performance sport motorcycles and a line of lightweight cycles under the Cagiva brand. It sells cycles through about 500 dealers, primarily in Europe. Last year, the company shipped about 5,800 motorcycles. Due to financial hardship, the company has significantly slowed production this year.

Harley will continue to operate MV Agusta from its Italian headquarters. MV Agusta's chairman, Claudio Castiglioni, will continue to lead the company and will assist in future product development. The acquisition will help expand Harley's European presence, said Harley-Davidson, Inc. CEO Jim Ziemer.

"Motorcycles are the heart, soul and passion of Harley-Davidson, Buell and MV Agusta," he said. "Both have great products and close connections with incredibly devoted customers. The MV Agusta and Cagiva brands are well-known and highly regarded in Europe. They are synonymous with beautiful, premium, Italian performance motorcycles."

Ladish acquires Connecticut machining firm
Cudahy-based Ladish Co. Inc. has acquired Aerex Manufacturing Inc., a South Windsor, Conn. precision machining manufacturer that serves the aerospace and commercial airline industries, for about $14 million cash and stock.

"The acquisition of Aerex, with projected 2008 sales of approximately $15 million, represents an excellent addition to our existing value-added, precision-machining capabilities," said Kerry L. Woody, president and CEO of Ladish. "Ladish and Aerex serve mutual customers in the aerospace supply chain and we have had a long-term relationship with Aerex, based on their providing finish machining of titanium forgings produced by Ladish Forging."

Aerex's founder Armund Ex and its management team will continue to lead the company's operations. Ladish is a producer of highly engineered technically advanced components for the jet engine, aerospace and general industrial markets. In addition to its headquarters and operations in Cudahy, it has plants in Wisconsin, Connecticut, Oregon and Poland.

Olympus Flag & Banner acquires Holzhauer Graphics
Olympus Flag and Banner, a Milwaukee based printing company, has acquired Holzhauer Graphics in Brown Deer. Holzhauer Graphics is now a division of Olympus Flag & Banner. Holzhauer specialized in large format printing of vehicle graphics, sponsor signage, custom printed tents and tent material, sports venue graphics, wall coverings and more since 1985.

"As we have grown over the years, we have continually evaluated options that would allow us to increase our product offerings, improve customer service, and exceed customer expectations. With that in mind, and after months of research and evaluations, we are excited to announce that Holzhauer Graphics has been acquired by Olympus Flag & Banner," said Ryan Holzhauer, who will continue working with the merged company. All eight Holzhauer employees will be retained.

"The additional capabilities will increase our abilities and allow us to address a wider spectrum of customers. The services we provide to our customers constantly take us to new levels. This purchase will allow us to continue to exceed our customers' expectations with even greater resources," said Brian Adam, vice president of sales and marketing at Olympus.