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| Millions of small business owners across the U.S. rely on credit lines and loans to fund expansion or help them recover from setbacks. In a National Small Business Association survey, 67 percent of business owners polled reported being affected by the credit crunch in August, up from 55 percent in February. |
| (Source: CNNMoney.com, 2008-09-25) |
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| The worsening financial crisis has hampered large buyouts for well over a year. For the year-to-date, global buyout activity plummeted 74 percent from a year ago to a four-year low of $180 billion, Thomson Reuters data showed. |
| (Source: Reuters, 2008-09-29) |
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| The Senate's 14 women members are demanding the Small Business Administration broaden a proposed rule to allow women-owned businesses to get preferential treatment for government contracts or withdraw the rule completely. In a letter to acting SBA Administrator Sandy Baruah, the bipartisan group of senators said the rule proposed earlier this year to comply with a 2000 law was defective because it identified only four industries where women businesses are underrepresented and, therefore, eligible for set-aside and sole-source government contracts. |
| (Source: FederalTimes.com, 2008-09-23) |
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| Since it first appeared in the late '90s, speed-dating has caught on quickly as a way to forge business connections as well as romantic pairings. Around the country, Chambers of Commerce hold sessions that allow members to meet and greet at warp speed. The Small Business Administration runs a program that introduces businesses to procurement officers who can offer lucrative government contracts. |
| (Source: CNNMoney.com, 2008-09-24) |
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| Even before mayhem consumed Wall Street, many U.S. companies had been forced to reduce spending, pigeonhole projects or cut jobs and there is little to suggest that will improve before late 2009. Caught between the credit crunch that has made loans harder to get and more expensive on one hand, plus a weakening economy on the other, much of Corporate America is expected to spend frugally in the coming quarters even though many companies have built a hefty cushion of cash to see them through lean times. |
| (Source: Reuters, 2008-09-23) |
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| Private equity dealmakers' pay may drop by 75 percent after the credit crunch as firms take longer to invest their funds, British financier Guy Hands said. Hands based his prediction on an assumption that private equity firms will own the assets they buy for an average of eight years, twice as long as before. |
| (Source: Bloomberg, 2008-09-24) |
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| The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would significantly increase penalties for copyright infringement and create a new office of intellectual-property enforcement coordinator in the White House. The bill, which passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent, was stripped of one of its most controversial provisions, which would allow the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute civil lawsuits on behalf of copyright owners. |
| (Source: The New York Times (free reg. req'd), 2008-09-29) |
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| The majority of the venture capital community expect investment in clean technology to significantly increase next year and are not worried about a potential investment bubble in the clean, or "green," technology sector, according to a survey by KPMG LLP. Sixty-seven percent of respondents to the survey say the clean-tech focus among venture capital companies is a sustainable investment cycle rather than an investment bubble. |
| (Source: Austin Business Journal, 2008-09-25) |
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| The National Venture Capital Association has produced its first online video. The video spoofs the fund-raising process, following the desperate protagonist to an Entrepreneurs Anonymous meeting, but it also serves the more serious purpose of educating the public about what exactly venture capital is, said Emily Mendell, the association's vice president of strategic affairs. |
| (Source: The New York Times (free reg. req'd), 2008-09-25) |
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Survey Highlights CEO Challenges and Issues
Butler University, Ice Miller and Inside INdiana Business announced the results of the second annual statewide survey of Indiana's chief executive officers and senior executives. The survey, "The State of Our Business – A Perspective from Indiana Executives," provides insight and understanding with respect to significant issues facing CEOs, the state's role in attracting and retaining business, specific state initiatives and employment related issues.
The project partners identified over 1,187 CEOs and other executive officers as potential respondents. Of those contacted, 227 responded to a comprehensive online survey designed by Butler University.
The partners addressed several themes to examine in greater detail including: CEO challenges and issues, the state's economic stability, the state's role in economic development, human resources and diversity issues, education, technology and general interest.
Read the results and blog discussing the 2008 survey. |
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One expert estimates that VC firms fund only one of every hundred proposals they get. And certain industries have a statistical advantage.
The possibility of landing a venture capital deal entices many aspiring entrepreneurs, but the reality is harsh. Although VCs invest significant amounts of money, the number of companies that get funded is small. In 2007 there were 3,813 deals that totaled $29.4 billion, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers/National Venture Capital Assn. MoneyTree Report, which measures VC activity in the U.S. Data are scarce on what proportion of companies that seek venture funding actually receive it. But anecdotally, National Venture Capital Assn. spokeswoman Emily Mendell estimates that of every 100 business plans a venture firm receives, 10 get a serious look, and one gets funded.
Does your company have a shot at being that one? First ask yourself whether your business can deliver the expected returns. "It's incredibly rare for a company to hit the sales targets that venture capitalists have," says Scott Shane, professor of entrepreneurial studies at Case Western University and author of The Illusions of Entrepreneurship (BusinessWeek.com, 1/23/08). He suggests that most VCs want businesses to hit $100 million in sales within six years (a goal only 200 companies each year reach), though Mendell says the expectations vary from firm to firm.
Source: BusinessWeek
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October
October 7 - ADA Amendments Webinar
October 23 - Indiana Lawyer's 2008 Diversity in Practice Conference
October 28 - Gerry Dick Roundtable: Indiana Trailblazers
November
November 5 - Council for Resource Development's 2008 Annual Conference
November 6 - Indiana Chamber of Commerce's 19th Annual Awards Dinner
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Ice Miller has been active in the private equity industry for over 25 years, representing both management teams building great companies and the private equity firms and individuals that invest in them. We have extensive experience with all types of funds (formations and operations); mezzanine and senior secured financings; leveraged buyouts, roll-ups, build-ups, and consolidations; divestitures and exits; and complex litigation on behalf of investors and privately financed companies.
Read the complete profile of the Private Equity and Venture Services Practice Group.
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