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3/5/2010
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$1.50/MARCH 8 - 14, 2010
Vol. 31, No. 3
Plastics firms play chess in recession Stronger outfits emerge through acquisitions, while weak lose out By DAN SHINGLER dshingler@crain.com
INDIANS MAKE THEIR PITCH As the team employs its marketing muscle ahead of its April 12 home opener against Texas, it faces the dueling issues of a poor 2009 season and little optimism for 2010. Add in last summer’s trades of marketable faces Cliff Lee, a Cy Young winner, and Victor Martinez, an All-Star catcher, plus ownership’s reputation among fans for being thrifty, and there’s a host of issues with which to deal. “They’re hurt by the Browns and
Mergers and acquisitions are not the hot topic they once were, but in Northeast Ohio’s plastics industry, they’re a chief tool for companies to enter new markets, gain customers and expand capacity. The activity is resulting in stronger players taking out weak ones in an industry realignment that is driven by the recession, but which some observers say has been needed. “I want to stay “It’s a shakeout I think was in automotive, long overdue. We’ve had some but I want to weak suppliers and too many suppliers,” said Bill Ridenour, reduce my CEO of Polymer Transactions, dependency a mergers and acquisition firm on it.” in Newbury that finds both buyers and sellers for clients in – Joseph Gingo, the plastics industry. CEO, A. Schulman Mr. Ridenour and others say Inc. some companies are buying weakened competitors because they want the same customers they’ve been fighting to get for years. In other cases, they are buying into new geographies, such as Europe, or new industries, such as medical device manufacturing or aerospace. Or, they are diluting their dependence on troubled sectors such as automotive with acquisitions that diversify their customer bases.
See INDIANS Page 7
See PLASTICS Page 6
Ball club’s front office winds up marketing efforts to attract frustrated fans and overcome some bad PR By JOEL HAMMOND jmhammond@crain.com
F
ormer Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino famously once said, in discussing the Celtics’ struggles, that “(Boston legend) Larry Bird’s not walking through that door, fans. Kevin McHale’s not walking through that door.” It’s a pantheon-worthy quotation, and one to which the Cleveland Indians definitely can relate.
Region’s angels in favor of pursuing new funds North Coast, Akron groups seek to capitalize on startups By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com
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Northeast Ohio’s only angel fund is about to deplete the cash it reserves for new investments, but the region could end up with two new funds to replace it.
The North Coast Angel Fund plans to finance three more early stage technology companies over the next three months, which would leave the group with no more money for new deals. Startups looking for capital shouldn’t fret, though. While the group of angels — a term for wealthy individual investors — has yet to decide if it will raise a second fund, managing member Clay Rankin said he would like the group to do so. They plan to make the decision over the next three months.
Plus, an informal network of angels in Akron, known as the ArchAngels, aims to raise its own formal fund over the next six months, according to Barry Rosenbaum, a senior fellow with the University of Akron Research Foundation, which oversees the Akron investors group. Loose networks such as the ArchAngels allow individual investors to get together regularly to view presentations by startups looking for capital and to collaborate
INSIDE For-profit colleges get booked up Institutions such as the University of Phoenix, Stautzenberger College and DeVry University are bolstering enrollment levels because of their flexible methods of delivering instruction. While some nonprofit colleges say they are not worried about losing market share, or students, to their for-profit counterparts, their attraction has prompted nonprofits to be more creative in attracting students. Read Shannon Mortland’s story on Page 3.
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SMALL BUSINESS Immigrant entrepreneurs say being in U.S. opens up new opportunities, possibilities ■ Page 13 PLUS: ACQUISITIONS ■ GRAND OPENINGS ■ TAX TIPS ■ & MORE
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