Heartland Bank of Little Rock recorded a nearly $7.9 million loss for 2016. The lion's share of that loss occurred in the fourth quarter.

"In the last quarter, we took an additional provision to our loan loss reserves," said Joe Gregory, general counsel for Heartland Bank. "It was a prudent thing for the board to do, to guard against potential losses in the future."

The $205 million-asset lender added $7.3 million to its loan loss reserve in the fourth quarter. All told, Heartland increased its reserve against future losses by nearly $10 million during 2016.

"We would've made $2.3 million (without the additional funding to loan loss reserves)," Gregory said. "Our core earnings are still there, and we'll continue to work to build our capital."

The bank's parent company, Rock Bancshares Inc., is in the midst of $3 million stock offering to raise additional capital.

Total equity capital dropped from $29 million to $20 million during 2016. After the capital erosion, the bank's tier one capital ratio stood at 8.9 percent with a total capital ratio of 10.2 percent.

As reported first in Arkansas Business on Dec. 20, Heartland and Rock Bancshares entered a written agreement with the Federal Reserve to improve their financial soundness.

The agreement came weeks after the disclosure of the bank's $7 million delinquent loan in the Chapter 15 bankruptcy of Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage Fund Ltd. of New York.

According to court filings in the provisional liquidation case, Heartland entered into an August 2015 funding agreement of $7 million with a Cayman Islands fund associated with Platinum Partners.

The hedge fund has been described by federal prosecutors in New York as a $1 billion fraud and a "Ponzi-esque" scheme.

Five top executives of the fund were charged in December with securities fraud, conspiracy and other crimes in an eight-count indictment. The Securities & Exchange Commission also launched a civil case against the men.

NEW YORK — A rare double shot of encouraging news on retirement savings: Workers are contributing more to their 401(k) accounts, and they're taking out fewer loans from them.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is taking his first steps aimed at scaling back financial services regulations, and the Republican-run Congress cast a vote early Friday signaling that it's eager to help.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Karen Shaw and Pam Jones have been promoted to executive vice presidents at Citizens Bank of Batesville.

Shaw will serve as chief financial officer and Jones will serve as the senior loan operations officer. Prior to joining Citizens Bank in 2003, Shaw spent eight years with the public accounting firm of Ernst & Young, managing a diverse range of clients, including public and private banking institutions.

Jones was previously a senior vice president and senior loan operations officer for Southern Bancorp of Arkadelphia.

Barrett Moore and Michelle Huff have been promoted to partners at Blair & Stroud in Batesville.

Moore has been with the law firm as an associate since 2011. His practice focuses on complex litigation, employment and wage and hour issues, appeals and the general practice of law.

Huff has been with firm since 1999, and her practice concentrates on personal injury, medical malpractice, creditor bankruptcy and other bank-related litigation.

See more of this week's Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.

The sale of a 60-unit assisted living project in Maumelle weighed in at $7.15 million.

CHG Senior Living RE Stonehaven LLC, an affiliate of Cornerstone Healthcare Group of Dallas, purchased Stonehaven Assisted Living at 101 Olympia Drive.

The seller is Stonehaven Assisted Living LLC, led by James Thomas. The deal is financed with a $5.2 million loan from First Security Bank of Searcy.

The 7.59-acre development previously was tied to a July 2005 mortgage of $4.3 million held by Farmers Bank & Trust of Camden.

Stonehaven Assisted Living acquired the site for $500,000 more than 11 years ago from Osborne Development Ltd., led by Cindy Bixler.

Trampoline Transaction
The future site of an extreme aerial sports facility in west Little Rock tipped the scales at $1.87 million.

CT BTS LLC, an affiliate of The McLain Group of Fort Smith, bought five acres at the southeast corner of Col. Glenn and Talley roads.

The sellers are Virginia Fleming Unser and Ginger Owens. Construction of the 3rd Realm project for CircusTrix is backed with an 18-month loan of $3.9 million from Chambers Bank of Danville.

The property was assembled in two intrafamily transactions with Emily Ann Fleming Dickinson, $2,000 in November 1974, and $18,000 in December 1978.

Best Value Deal
A 53-room motel in northwest Pulaski County changed hands in a $1.48 million deal.

Shanti Sai LLC, led by Harshadbhai Patel, acquired the America’s Best Value Inn at 14325 Frontier Drive.

The seller is Parkway Motel Inc., led by Kantilal Patel. The deal is funded with a $753,564 loan from Centennial Bank of Conway.

The 2.01-acre development previously was linked with a December 2011 mortgage of $645,082 held by First State Bank of Warren and a January 2010 loan of $595,000 from the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The location was bought for $280,000 in July 1998 from Ansuya Patel.

Momi Purchase
A vacant Wendy’s in Little Rock rang up a $651,000 sale.

Momi Investment LLC, led by Avtar Momi, purchased the 2,960-SF fast-food facility at 7312 Cantrell Road.

The seller is Cantrell Road Partners LLC, led by Stuart Hankins and Frank Fletcher. The deal is financed with an eight-year loan of $621,000 from Merchants & Farmers Bank of Dumas.

The 0.47-acre development was acquired in three deals totaling $130,000.

The sellers were Louise Keaton Trust No. 1 and Oscar and Dorothy Kochtitzky, $35,000 each in August 1977; and Walthour-Flake Co., led by Dickson Flake, $60,000 in August 1978.

Village Acquisition
A 42-unit condominium project in southwest Little Rock is under new ownership after a $600,000 deal. Quail Redevelopment LLC of Addison, Texas, bought Dreher Village at 8601 Dreher Lane from City National Bank of Los Angeles.

City National recovered the development at a $550,000 foreclosure sale in April 2015 from Little Rock Group LLC, led by Steven St. Clair.

The property previously was tied to a September 2007 mortgage of $1 million held by Imperial Capital Bank of La Jolla, California, and a January 2010 mortgage of $1.7 million held by Southwest Bank of Tustin, California.

Salute Sale
A 3,136-SF liquor store in west Little Rock drew a $470,000 transaction.

TaytayJack LLC, led by Paul Bowersock, acquired Salute Fine Wines & Spirits at 10700 W. Markham St. The seller is Gray-Van Inc., led by Larry Grayson.

The 0.36-acre development previously was linked with a November 2014 mortgage of $414,131 held by Arvest Bank of Fayetteville.

Gray-Van bought the project for $625,000 in April 2005 from Lunar Management Co., led by Martha Morrow.

Home Instead
A 3,462-SF office building in downtown Little Rock sold for $450,000.

Skills For 21st Century LLC, led by Matt McClure, purchased the 909 Cumberland St. project to house his Home Instead Senior Care offices. The seller is Little Rock Historic Properties LLC, led by Mark Brown and Jill Judy.

The deal is backed with a five-year loan of $455,000 from Stone Bank of Mountain View.

The 0.23-acre development previously was tied to a February 2014 mortgage of $178,400 held by Central Bank of Little Rock.

The property was acquired for $42,000 in October 2013 from Karan and David Hearn.

Dental Development
A 1,658-SF clinic in the Heights area of Little Rock changed hands in a $400,000 deal.

HDC Holdings LLC, led by Christopher Houk, bought the Heights Dental Clinic at 1919 N. Fillmore St. The seller is K Smith LLC, led by Kathleen Smith.

The deal is funded with a 10-year loan of $400,000 from Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff.

The 0.09-acre development was purchased for $150,000 in January 2005 from Don Downs.

Maumelle Parcel
A 0.52-acre commercial site in Maumelle rang up a $265,000 sale.

Prachi Investment Inc., led by Dipesh Patel, acquired the property near the northwest corner of Maumelle Boulevard and Town Centre Drive. The seller is Sears Construction Development & Leasing LLC, led by Todd Sears.

The deal is backed with a one-year loan of $198,750 from Arvest Bank. The property previously secured a June 2013 mortgage of $215,000 held by First Security Bank.

The land was bought for $227,000 in December 2007 from Bob Fewell.

Office Buy
A 2,349-SF office building in downtown Little Rock is under new ownership after a $260,000 deal.

807 West Third Street LLC, led by Pat James and Matthew House, purchased its namesake project from David and Linda Hargis.

The deal is funded with a 15-year loan of $260,000 from BancorpSouth Bank of Tupelo, Mississippi. The 0.1-acre development previously was linked with a July 2008 mortgage of $100,000 held by Centennial Bank.

The property was acquired for $175,000 in July 1996 from the Catlett & Catlett Building Venture, led by Leon Catlett.

Overlook Manor
A 6,385-SF home in Little Rock’s Overlook neighborhood weighed in at $1.35 million.

Duane and Angela Birky bought the house from the Lee Bodenhamer Trust.

The deal is financed with a 25-year loan of $1.2 million from BancorpSouth Bank.

The location was purchased in December 2006 as part of a $1 million transaction with Moosehead Advertising Co., led by Patricia and Gary Green.

Bretagne Manor
A 6,245-SF home in the Bretagne Circle neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development drew a $710,000 transaction.

Samuel and Kelly Bledsoe bought the house from the Ramey Joint Revocable Trust, led by Frank and Linda Ramey.

The deal is backed with a one-year loan of $639,000 from Red River Bank of Alexandria, Louisiana.

The location was purchased for $106,000 in May 1997 from Scott and Linda Zust.

Club House I
A 2,745-SF home near the Country Club of Little Rock sold for $620,000. MW Living Trust, led by Megan Wooster, acquired the house from Gregg and Paige Day.

The deal is funded with 30-year loans of $417,000 and $141,000 from Bank of Little Rock Mortgage Corp.

The Days bought the residence for $585,000 in November 2015 from David and Shay Matthews.

Heights Home
A 2,734-SF home in Little Rock’s Country Club Heights neighborhood changed hands in a $595,000 deal.

Charles Martin and Chloe Ward purchased the house from Charles and Beth Porter.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $417,000 from Eagle Bank & Trust of Little Rock.

The Porters acquired the residence for $500,000 in November 2014 from Mark Meador and Wanda Meador.

Club House II
A 3,004-SF home near the Country Club of Little Rock rang up a $583,000 sale.

M.L. Shannon bought the house from Laura Landreaux. The deal is backed with a 30-year loan of $466,400 from U.S. Bank of Cincinnati.

The residence previously was tied to a May 2010 mortgage of $353,500 held by Wells Fargo Bank of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Landreaux purchased the property for $560,000 in July 2007 from Michael Shelby and Amy LaFrance Bancroft.

Mirabel Residence I
A 3,950-SF home in the Mirabel Court neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development is under new ownership after a $570,300 transaction.

Richard Rogala Jr. and his wife, Sharon, acquired the house from Byron Holmes Construction Inc.

The deal is funded with a five-year loan of $417,000 from Malvern National Bank. The residence previously was linked with a February 2016 mortgage of $452,000 held by Central Bank.

The location was bought for $79,914 a year ago from Turner & Sons Co., led by John Turner.

Midland House
A 5,262-SF home in Little Rock’s Midland Hills neighborhood drew a $568,000 transaction.

Christopher and Amy Benton purchased the house from Michelle Cauley. The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $538,203 from IberiaBank Mortgage of Lafayette, Louisiana.

The residence previously was tied to a June 2012 mortgage of $100,000 and a July 2013 mortgage of $411,250 held by IberiaBank Mortgage.

Cauley acquired the property for $465,000 in June 2011 from James Pawelak.

Ranch Valley Abode
A 3,471-SF home in Little Rock’s Ranch Valley neighborhood sold for $567,000.

Charles and Elizabeth Porter bought the house from Robert Neighbors Jr. and his wife, Rebecca.

The deal is backed with a 30-year loan of $405,000 from Simmons Bank. The residence previously was linked with a December 2015 mortgage of $125,000 held by BancorpSouth Bank.

The Neighbors family purchased the property for $190,000 in July 2011 from Michael and Ginger Townsend.

Woodland’s House
A 3,609-SF home in Woodland’s Edge neighborhood of west Little Rock changed hands in a $558,000 deal.

Konstantinos Arnaoutakis and Marie Mesidor acquired the house from Jill Compardo. The deal is funded with a 25-year loan of $530,100 from Regions Bank of Brimingham, Alabama.

The residence previously was tied to an August 2014 mortgage of $417,000 held by Simmons Bank.

The location was bought for $75,000 in September 2013 from Rocket Properties LLC, led by Ron Tyne and Lisenne Rockefeller.

Mirabel Residence II
A 3,675-SF home in the Mirabel Court neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development rang up a $515,000 sale.

Richard and Tracy David purchased the house from J. Martin Homes Inc., led by Gregory Cates. The deal is financed with a 20-year loan of $425,000 from Doris David of New Roads, Louisiana.

The residence previously was linked with a December 2015 mortgage of $428,000 held by First Security Bank.

The location was acquired for $82,000 13 months ago from Deltic Timber Corp. of El Dorado.

Oaks Residence
A 2,796-SF home in The Oaks neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development is under new ownership after a $515,000 transaction.

Richard and Patricia Macy bought the house from the Rodney Chandler Living Trust. The deal is backed with a 30-year loan of $386,250 from Bank of Little Rock Mortgage.

The residence previously was tied to a January 2015 mortgage of $371,000 held by IberiaBank Mortgage.

The location was purchased for $85,000 in May 2012 from One Bank & Trust of Little Rock.

Seven-Digit Construction

Movie Tavern    $9,800,000
11300 Bass Pro Parkway, Little Rock
VCC LLC, Little Rock

New House    $1,650,000
25 Spring Valley Lane, Little Rock
Kevin Hughes Construction Co., Little Rock

Office Addition-Renovation    $1,200,000
321 Maple St., North Little Rock
PDC Construction Inc., Little Rock

Heartland Bank of Little Rock recorded a nearly $7.9 million loss for 2016. The lion’s share of that loss occurred in the fourth quarter.

“In the last quarter, we took an additional provision to our loan loss reserves,” said Joe Gregory, general counsel for Heartland Bank. “It was a prudent thing for the board to do, to guard against potential losses in the future.”

The $205 million-asset lender added $7.3 million to its loan loss reserve in the fourth quarter. All told, Heartland increased its reserve against future losses by nearly $10 million during 2016.

The move rebuilt the bank’s loan loss reserve to $11.3 million at year-end. Heartland charged off more than $7.2 million in bad loans during 2016.

Nonaccrual loans totaled more than $28 million at year-end, with an additional $7 million in loans past due by more than 30 days.

“We continue to work through the oil and gas loans,” Gregory said. “It sure would help if oil went up to $65 a barrel.”

West Texas Intermediate Crude is selling for about $53 a barrel these days. That pricing benchmark fell from more than $100 a barrel during 2014 to below $30 last year.

The bank and its leading shareholder, Walter Quinn, shared in the beat-down from plummeting oil and gas prices. Contending with his own financial reversals, Quinn stepped down in 2015 as a bank director and as chairman, president and CEO of Rock Bancshares Inc., Heartland Bank’s parent company.

“We would’ve made $2.3 million” without the additional funding to loan loss reserves, Gregory said. “Our core earnings are still there, and we’ll continue to work to build our capital.”

Rock Bancshares is in the midst of a $3 million stock offering to raise additional capital.

Total equity capital dropped from $29 million to $20 million during 2016. After the capital erosion, the bank’s tier one capital ratio stood at 8.9 percent with a total capital ratio of 10.2 percent.

As reported first in Arkansas Business on Dec. 20, Heartland and Rock Bancshares entered a written agreement with the Federal Reserve to improve their financial soundness.

The agreement came weeks after the disclosure of the bank’s $7 million delinquent loan in the Chapter 15 bankruptcy of Platinum Partners Value Arbitrage Fund Ltd. of New York.

According to court filings, Heartland entered into an August 2015 funding agreement of $7 million with a Cayman Islands fund associated with Platinum Partners.

The hedge fund has been described by federal prosecutors in New York as a $1 billion fraud and a “Ponzi-esque” scheme.

Five top executives of the fund were charged in December with securities fraud, conspiracy and other crimes in an eight-count indictment. The Securities & Exchange Commission also launched a civil case against the men.

Heartland Bank, Little Rock
(Dollars in thousands)

Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Little Rock developer Philip Herrington’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization has been dismissed.

Herrington said in a filing in December that he “believes dismissal is in the best interest of creditors.”

No one objected to the move, and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Ben Barry approved the voluntary dismissal last month.

If you recall, Herrington filed for Chapter 11 in March and listed $13.45 million in debts and $5.1 million in assets. Herrington referred calls to his attorney, Kevin Keech of Little Rock, who didn’t immediately return a call.

The Walton Family Foundation announced Monday that it is partnering with Southern Bancorp Community Partners to promote economic development in the Delta with a $750,000 investment.

The money will be used to provide $1.5 million in capital loans small businesses in Phillips County in Arkansas and Coahoma County in Mississippi.

Karen Minkel, Home Region Program director for the Walton Family Foundation, said in a news release, "This infusion of funds will help fill a critical gap in sustaining and growing these economic engines."

According to the Small Business Administration, the number of small-business loans decreased by 38 percent in Arkansas and by 63 percent in Mississippi, between 2000-13, the release states. It adds that lenders are reluctant to finance those businesses that need $100,000 or less in capital.

"For many businesses in the Delta, financial access has significantly decreased or disappeared," Southern Bancorp CEO Darrin Williams said in the release. "Our mission is to ensure this access exists in places that need it most, and this investment from the Walton Family Foundation will greatly enhance that ability."

Teletech Holdings Inc. of Denver said Tuesday that it is hosting hiring events in Sherwood this month aiming to fill 90 new positions.

The publicly traded customer service provider (Nasdaq: TTEC) said it's seeking full-time sales representatives to support "a leading global multi-national courier delivery services company." 

TeleTech said employees have the opportunity to earn "a highly competitive hourly pay."

The hiring events are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 8, Feb. 15 and Feb. 22 at 2402 Wildwood Ave., Suite 140, in Sherwood. Job postings are available here.

HoganTaylor LLP, a public accounting firm in Oklahoma and Arkansas, announced Monday that it has named Dan Bomhoff, John Cooper, Jeff Koweno and Bret Little as partners.

Bomhoff, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, joined the company in 2013. He has nearly 15 years of experience in taxation, including tax compliance reporting, planning and consulting. Bomhoff has worked with clients in the oil and gas, manufacturing, retail and services industries and with high net worth families and trusts, organizations with multi-state filings and pass-through entities.

Cooper, of Tulsa, Oklahoma, joined HoganTaylor in 2012. He has more than 15 years of experience providing assurance services to public and privately held clients in the oil and gas exploration and production, oilfield service, construction, nonprofit and manufacturing industries.

Koweno, of Oklahoma City, joined the firm in 2012 and has nearly 20 years of experience providing financial statement audit, audit of internal controls, SEC reporting and compliance and other attestation services. He is particularly skilled in working with the energy sector.

Little, of Tulsa, joined the company in 2007. He has more than 15 years of experience providing tax services to partnerships, corporations and S-Corporations and has worked with clients in the trucking, construction, manufacturing and wholesale industries.

December home sales and prices were up in Arkansas compared to the previous year, shutting the books on 2016 and continuing to reflect the state's recovery from the housing market collapse of 2006-2007 and the recession.

"About 2013 things started to pick up and it's really just been an upward trend of real, double-digit growth ever since," said Michael Pakko, chief economist and state economic forecaster with the Institute for Economic Advancement (IEA) at the University of Arkansas-Little Rock.

According to the Arkansas Realtors Association report released this week, the number of homes sold in Arkansas was 2,731 in December, an increase of 8.3 percent over December 2015. Total 2016 sales were 34,033, an increase of 8.1 percent over the previous year.

More: See the complete December report.

"This is really the third or fourth year, I guess, of housing market recovery, I guess you'd call it, where after the collapses of 2006 and 2007 and the recession we really went through a period of really slow sales," Pakko said.

In the 43-county area the ARA regularly surveys, the average December home price increased from $155,501 in 2015 to $172,727 in 2016. For the year, the average price jumped from $160,356 to $170,372. Statewide valuations increased by nearly 15 percent over the year.

Pakko noted that the upward trends continue to be seen most readily in the rapidly growing northwest region and the state's other, more highly populated areas.

The most units sold in December were in Benton, Pulaski, Washington, Saline and Sebastion Counties, driving a statewide sales increase from 2,521 in 2015 to 2,731 in 2016. Annual unit sales were highest in the five counties as well, contributing to the statewide unit sales increase from 31,470 to 34,033.

Pakko said areas showing the most growth during boom times were naturally the likeliest candidates for a downtown during the housing market bust. So it stands to reason they would rebound the strongest during the recovery, though no area in Arkansas was hit as hard during the housing bust as places like Florida, Atlanta and California.

"It was really very localized and here in Arkansas and northwest Arkansas that's where it happened the most," Pakko said. "The bigger they are the harder they fall and the bigger they bounce back."

Benton, Cleburne, Izard, Saline and Washington counties showed the highest average prices for the month, while Benton, Cleburne, Pulaski, Saline and Washington counties had the highest average prices for the year.

Pakko said the monthly figures are actually a reflection of contracts and transactions signed in November and that few deals are finalized during December and the holiday season.

"One thing I can say with almost complete certainty is the January numbers will be much weaker," said Pakko, who added that the strongest months are usually June, July and sometimes part of August.

A 70-room hotel in North Little Rock tipped the scales at $3.9 million.

Andy & Andrew Hotel Investments LLC, led by Ashok Desai, purchased the Comfort Inn & Suites at 3915 McCain Park Drive. The seller is Shree Jala Bapa Associates Inc., led by Jitendra Patel.

The deal is backed with a five-year loan of $4 million from Arkansas Federal Credit Union of Jacksonville.

The 0.9-acre development previously was linked with a February 2006 mortgage of $3 million, a March 2009 mortgage of $300,000 and an August 2010 mortgage of $50,000 held by First Arkansas Bank & Trust of Jacksonville.

The site was bought for $140,000 in June 1997 from Lilac LLC, led by Andy Collins.

Multifamily Buy
A 33-unit apartment project in Little Rock weighed in at $1.22 million.

Parker Investments Group LLC, led by Ricky Parker, acquired Cantrell Valley Apartments at 7201 Kentucky Ave. The seller is Jarrett Property Management EYBJ LLC, led by Emery Jarrett.

The 0.85-acre development is now helping secure a $3.1 million loan from Chambers Bank of Danville.

The project was purchased for $438,000 in May 1994 from W.P. Gulley Jr.

Madina Purchase
A 17,082-SF office-warehouse in west Little Rock rang up a $1.1 million sale.

Madina Institute Inc., led by Muhammad Nino, bought the 12123 Kanis Road project from James and Terry Barnes.

The deal is funded with a 15-year loan of $1.1 million from BancorpSouth Bank of Tupelo, Mississippi.

The 1.14-acre development was acquired for $572,000 in March 2005 from Mary Fitton, Robert Aguiar and J-D Leasing LLC, led by Fitton.

Sonic Order
A Sonic in North Little Rock changed hands in a $960,000 transaction.

D.L. Rogers Corp. of Grapevine, Texas, purchased the 3610 Camp Robinson Drive project from Hard-Mark Land Co. of Oakland, Mississippi.

The 0.78-acre development previously was tied to a November 2015 mortgage of $655,000 held by Southern Bancorp Bank of Arkadelphia.

The location was bought for $165,000 in December 1989 from Andy’s of America Inc., led by Garland Streett.

Branch Acquisition
A 1,426-SF bank branch in Little Rock is under new ownership after an $850,000 deal.

First Community Bank of Batesville acquired the former Allied Bank project at 4900 Kavanaugh Blvd. from Today’s Bank of Huntsville.

Today’s took ownership of the branch in November in the aftermath of its negative bid of $6.1 million to buy Allied.

Allied purchased the property for $650,000 in January 2010 from 4900 Kavanaugh LLC, led by Gene Cauley.

Chandler Investment
An 11,000-SF building in downtown North Little Rock sold for $700,000.

EO Manees Building LLC, led by John Chandler, bought the 317 Main St. project. The seller is Thomason Furniture Co., led by Joe Thomason.

The 0.17-acre development previously helped secure an October 2001 mortgage of $483,000 held by Centennial Bank.

The property was acquired in July 1973 as part of a $75,000 deal with the estate of Edward O. Manees.

Islamic Land Deal
A 3.96-acre parcel in west Little Rock drew a $575,000 transaction.

Islamic Center of Little Rock Inc. purchased the land at 14900 Kanis Road from Christopher Olsen.

The property previously was linked with a March 2009 mortgage of $272,627 held by BancorpSouth Bank.

Olsen bought the land for $185,000 in August 2004 from Laverne Jones.

Treetops Home
A 2,185-SF condo in the Riverdale area of Little Rock rang up a $750,000 sale.

The James Boliver Conner Revocable Trust acquired the 10th-floor Treetops unit from William and Peggy Marshall.

The residence previously was tied to an April 2015 mortgage of $152,423 and an October 2016 mortgage of $841,653 held by Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff.

The Marshalls purchased the property for $750,000 in August 2014 from the Jackson T. Stephens Jr. Marital Trust.

Country Club House I
A 2,546-SF home in the Country Club Heights neighborhood changed hands in a $737,000 deal.

Martin Silverfield bought the house from Richard and Paula O’Brien.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $589,600 from Regions Bank of Birmingham, Alabama.

The O’Briens acquired the property for $443,000 in April 2015 from JWB Co., led by Buddy Benafield.

Bretagne Manor
A 4,706-SF home in the Bretagne Circle neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development is under new ownership after a $729,000 transaction.

Joe and Sylvia Potter purchased the house from James and Lynda Yuen.

The Yuens bought the residence for $737,000 in January 2002 from the Joe E. Hughes Construction Co.

Downtown Condo I
A 2,379-SF condo in downtown Little Rock’s River Market Tower sold for $650,000

Steve and Alicia Rucker acquired the 12th-floor unit at 315 Rock St. from the Fisher Family Trust, led by Cynthia and Robert Fisher Jr.

The deal is backed with a 30-year loan of $450,000 from Regions Bank. The residence previously was linked with a June 2014 mortgage of $520,000 held by One Bank & Trust of Little Rock.

The Fishers purchased the space for $449,000 in May 2013 from River Market Tower LLC, led by Jimmy Moses and Rett Tucker.

Downtown Condo II
A 1,948-SF condo in downtown Little Rock drew a $630,000 transaction.

Paolo and April Lim bought the 13th-floor unit at 300 Third from Jeremy and Hadley Lewno.

The deal is funded with 30-year loans of $417,000 and $87,000 from Bank of Little Rock Mortgage Corp.

The Lewnos acquired the property for $415,000 in October 2012 from FNBC Bancorp Inc. of Ash Flat.

FNBC recovered the condo in September 2010 after obtaining a $582,319 judgment against BDR Investments LLC, led by Jim Swink.

Arbors Abode
A 4,115-SF home in The Arbors neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development changed hands in a $618,750 foreclosure sale.

Regions Bank recovered the house from Gary Hendershott. The residence previously was tied to a December 2012 mortgage of $635,355 held by the bank.

Hendershott bought the property for $950,000 in August 2006 from Phase III Inc., led by David Pickering Jr.

Country Club House II
A 2,118-SF home near the Country Club of Little Rock rang up a $515,000 transaction.

Karen Johnson purchased the house from Paul Donagher and Vanessa Weiss.

The residence previously was linked with a November 2012 mortgage of $376,999 held by Wells Fargo Bank of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The property was acquired for $494,000 in May 2008 from Susan Jones and Charles Smith.

Maisons Residence
A 4,965-SF home in The Maisons neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development sold for $510,000.

William and Tiffany Greenfield bought the house from the J&A Living Trust, led by Derek Fisher.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $408,000 from One Bank. The residence previously was tied to an October 2005 mortgage of $472,000 held by Wells Fargo Bank.

The trust purchased the property for $590,000 more than 11 years ago from Coburn Construction LLC, led by Roger Coburn Jr.

Steve Daniels, a senior reporter with Crains Chicago Business, reported last month on how developers of Chicago's "splashiest commercial real estate projects" are getting their loans and financing from an inconspicuous source: Bank of the Ozarks of Little Rock.

Daniels spoke with the bank's CEO George Gleason about the amount of risk being taken to fund nearly a billion dollars worth of commercial projects in the Windy City.

The Arkansas lender has locally based competitors chattering privately about its being willing to “stretch” to beat larger rivals or ones with local relationships.

Gleason is forceful in rebuttal. “We never reach,” he says. “We are very conservative. If someone says we reach on a transaction, I think that’s very unlikely. I see every credit.”

Of about 3,000 real estate loans the bank’s commercial real estate team has made in the past 14 years, two resulted in losses, he says.

Where Bank of the Ozarks unquestionably takes risks is in its exposure to single projects. It almost always is the sole lender on a deal that even massive banks like Chase will ask other banks to share in. Bank of the Ozarks is the sole financier of the $203 million loan just announced for the 76-story One Grant Park apartment tower, 1200 S. Indiana Ave., developed by Miami-based Crescent Heights. It also is supplying the entire $233 million loan to John Buck Co. to construct CNA’s new building at 151 N. Franklin St.

You can read the complete story in this week's print edition of Arkansas Business or online at Crain's Chicago Business.

Robert Hopkins has been promoted to regional executive and senior vice president of the Little Rock Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

He previously was vice president and regional executive of the branch. The Little Rock Branch serves most of the state, except northeast Arkansas.

Herbert Austin has been named active regional administrator at the U.S. Small Business Administration for the south-central region, which includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

In addition to his regional administrator duties, he will continue to serve as the SBA’s Dallas/Fort Worth district director, a position he has held since 2008.

He will lead 10 district offices in the delivery of SBA’s financial, entrepreneurial development, government contracting and international export services. He will also oversee a network of small-business counselors assigned to Small Business Development Centers, Score Offices, Women’s Business Centers and Veteran Business Outreach Centers throughout the south-central region.

Clint McBryde has been promoted to vice president of operations at FNBC Bank in Ash Flat. He previously was assistant vice president at the bank.

McBryde began his banking career with FNBC in early 2014 as the deposit operations team leader, and was promoted to assistant vice president in July.

LaBroderick Standokes and Zhongshi Chen have been hired as staff accountants at McIlroy Keen Goodman LLP in Little Rock.

See more of this week's Movers & Shakers, and submit your own announcement at ArkansasBusiness.com/Movers.

A little update now on the case of Dr. Hiren D. Patel, doctor at the center of a controversy over dueling convention centers on both sides of Texarkana.

Patel owns Texarkana Hotels LLC that in turn owns the combination 27,000-SF, $18 million Arkansas Convention Center and Holiday Inn on the Arkansas side. The center and hotel opened in 2013, about a year after a convention center on the Texas side of the city.

Texarkana Hotels filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March in the Eastern District of Texas. It claimed between $1 million and $10 million in assets and liabilities and between one and 49 creditors.

Among those creditors is Midsouth Bank of Lafayette, Louisiana. Midsouth filed a foreclosure petition in Miller County Circuit Court in October 2015 against Patel, his wife and Texarkana Hotels, saying the Patels had defaulted on more than $10 million in loans used to build the convention center.

Now, Texarkana Hotels has entered into a $6.6 million purchase agreement with James J. Naples, according to a Jan. 30 Bankruptcy Court filing, and will be seeking the court’s approval of the sale. If approved, the sale will close by March 15.

Naples also bought the Country Inn & Suites, owned by Patel and his wife, Dineschandra, through their Krishna Associates LLC. That company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in November, when it listed $5.3 million in debts and $3.2 million in assets. The filing halted the foreclosure sale of Country Inn & Suites.

Naples paid $2.9 million for the hotel, with the money going to Midsouth.

Midsouth was also seeking payment from the Patels, who personally guaranteed the debts, but that has been slowed by their personal bankruptcy filing.

Patel’s lawyer, Bill F. Payne of Dallas, hadn’t called back by press time.

Since 1988, Arkansas Business has honored the state's top executives, small businesses and nonprofits with the annual Arkansas Business of the Year Awards. Readers make nominations and an independent panel of judges selects the winners.

The winners will be announced at a special banquet Thursday at the Statehouse Convention Center inside the Wally Allen Ballroom. The reception begins at 6 p.m. with dinner starting at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased by calling Leslie Gordy at (501) 372-1443, ext. 336; clicking here for the online form or by contacting Events@ABPG.com.

Click on the links below to read profiles of each of this year's finalists, or go here to see the special section and find past finalists and winners.

Business of the Year: Category I (1-25 employees)
Sponsored by: CJRW

• Arkansas Records Management
• Campus Concierge
• Fort Thompson Sporting Goods
• Mass Enthusiasm
• Pinnacle Car Services

Business of the Year: Category II (26-75 employees)
Sponsored by: CJRW

• B-Unlimited
• Edafio Technology
• Home I.V. Specialists
• Standard Business Systems
• Team SI

Business of the Year: Category III (76-300 employees)
Sponsored by: CJRW

• MedEvolve
• Tiger Correctional Services
• Travel Nurse Across America

Nonprofit Organization
Sponsored by: AT&T

• Amboy Community Food Pantry
• Arkansas Foodbank
• Fort Smith Children’s Emergency Shelter
• Hearts & Hooves Therapeutic Riding Center
• Junior Achievement of Arkansas

Nonprofit Executive of the Year
Sponsored by: AT&T

• Bailey Faulkner, Ozark Mission Project
• Betsy Broyles Arnold, Frank & Barbara Broyles Legacy Foundation
• Jeremy Biggs, Mission Outreach of Northeast Arkansas Inc.

Business Executive of the Year
Sponsored by: Centennial Bank

• Garbo Watson Hearne, Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing/Hearne Fine Art
• Robert Williams, Computer Systems and Services, Inc.
• Rusty Mathis, Ben E. Keith Foods

Smart Corporate Giving Awards
Presented by: Arkansas Community Foundation

• Small Business: Stone's Throw Brewing
• Medium Business: Garver
• Large Business: ProPak Logistics

The Venture Center of Little Rock on Wednesday said 295 entrepreneur and startup teams have applied for its 2017 FinTech Accelerator, twice the number that applied for the inaugural program held last year. 

Participants chosen for the program will work on their businesses with senior executives of global banking technology services provider FIS of Jacksonville, Florida, attend an FIS conference and interact with the FIS API Gateway technology. 

The Venture Center said applicants came from all over the U.S. and around the world, including India, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Kenya, Nigeria, Columbia and Mexico.

The accelerator, extended until 2018 to the tune of $2 million, is being funded with $500,000 each from FIS and Arkansas discretionary funds. Feb. 6 was the application deadline.

The program begins May 8. A kick-off open to the public is set for May 11, and a demo day is scheduled for July 27.

The Venture Center said that, over the next 60 days, it will be conducting interviews to narrow the applicant field and then begin due diligence on promising companies. 

The Venture Center also announced recently that FinTech 2016 Alum, Akouba of Chicago, has been endorsed by the American Bankers Association. The company offers a cloud-based underwriting platform for lending by community and regional banks to small businesses.

The Landers Collision Center in west Little Rock weighed in at $2.57 million.

LLArk Properties LLC of St. Louis Park, Minnesota, purchased the 40,000-SF facility at 10005 Col. Glenn Road from Aimco Equipment Co. LLC, led by Frank, Herren and Todd Hickingbotham.

Aimco acquired the 3.93-acre development for $1 million in June 2000 from Riverport Equipment & Distribution Co., led by Larry Hodges.

Suites Sale
A 48-room motel in North Little Rock changed hands in a $2.21 million transaction.

Prestige Hospitality LLC, led by Nirav Patel, bought the Comfort Inn & Suites at 5710 Pritchard Drive. The seller is PNN LLC, led by Nayan Nagin.

The deal is backed with a $1.98 million loan from Bancorp Bank of Wilmington, Delaware.

The 2.7-acre development previously was tied to an August 2012 mortgage of $1.2 million held by First Security Bank of Searcy.

The location was purchased for $180,000 in September 1998 from FSC Properties LLC, led by Will Pritchard.

Mini Transaction
A 358-unit mini-storage project in Cabot tipped the scales at $1.6 million.

Tabot LLC, led by Terry Bean, acquired the 3210 E. Cleland Road project. The seller is D&S Mini Storage LLC, led by Donald and Sharon Wood.

The deal and expansion of the 4.8-acre development are financed with a five-year loan of $2.3 million from Little Rock’s Bank of the Ozarks.

The land was acquired for $50,000 in April 1998 from W.B. and Freda Westbrook.

Tabot also bought a 1.4-acre parcel across the street for $130,000 from First Community Bank of Batesville.

The bank recovered the property, which was tied to $220,000 of debt, in January 2016 from Kenneth and Cindy Flesher in the aftermath of their bankruptcy.

Acupoint Purchase
An 11,524-SF office building in midtown Little Rock sold for $575,000.

Acupoint Enterprises LLC, led by Martin Eisele, bought the Evergreen Professional Building at 2 Van Circle. The seller is R.T.R.A. LLC, led by Ron Lazenby.

The 0.79-acre development previously was tied to a May 2011 mortgage of $700,000 held by BancorpSouth Bank of Tupelo, Mississippi.

The project was purchased for $850,000 in May 2008 from William and Deborah Goolsby.

Industrial Deal
A 22,910-SF warehouse facility in downtown Little Rock rang up a $513,000 transaction.

Haybar Properties LLC, led by Bryan Hosto, acquired the Joint Clutch & Gear project at 813 Spring St. from the James H. Stevens Trust and the Ellen S. Baldwin Trust.

The 0.73-acre property was assembled in three deals totaling $89,000. The sellers were Emmet Morris, $9,000 in July 1945; Sophia Lewandoski, $25,000 in April 1957; and James and Mary Jane Madigan, $55,000 in December 1959.

Historic Acquisition
A 4,296-SF historic building in downtown North Little Rock is under new ownership after a $430,000 sale.

Regal Beagle Holdings LLC, led by Allen Engstrom, purchased the 216 W. Fourth St. project to support the expansion of the CFO Network. The seller is the city of North Little Rock.

The 0.51-acre development is helping secure a 25-year loan of $1.7 million from Regions Bank of Birmingham, Alabama.

The city acquired the property for $12,650 in August 1943 from Alma Manees.

Collegiate Acreage
A 140-acre tract in southwest Little Rock drew a $250,000 transaction.

Ridgewood Timber Corp., led by Derrick Spinks, bought the land at the southwest corner of Geyer Springs and Mabelvale Cut Off roads from Hendrix College in Conway.

The deal is funded with a one-year loan of $250,000 from First Community Bank.

H.F. Buhler donated the property to Hendrix in November 1961.

Union Hall Buy
A 2,880-SF union hall in downtown Little Rock changed hands in a $112,000 deal.

Haybar Properties LLC acquired the 0.16-acre development at 415 W. 12th St. from Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 Building Co. of St. Louis.

The property was bought for $30,000 in July 1970 from the Geyer Springs Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Fontenay Manor
A 5,591-SF home in the Fontenay Circle neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development sold for $900,000.

Steven and Melinda Spaulding purchased the house from the Brian Douglas Noland & Ann McKenzie Noland Revocable Trust.

The deal is backed with a 30-year loan of $417,000 from Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff. The residence previously was linked with a July 2012 mortgage of $340,000 held by First Security Bank.

The Nolands acquired the property for $730,000 more than four years ago from Stephen and Ashley Peeples.

Overlook Transaction
A 5,397-SF home in Little Rock’s Overlook Park neighborhood rang up an $843,400 transaction.

Randall and Leisa Pulliam bought the house and an adjoining lot from L.A. Kinnaman Jr. and his wife, Margaret.

The deal is financed with a 15-year loan of $417,000 from One Bank & Trust of Little Rock.

The homesite was acquired for $120,000 in April 1996 from Peggy Messer. The neighboring lot was purchased for $100,000 in June 1998 from Edgar Hoffman Jr. and his wife, Barbara.

Heights House
A 3,085-SF home in the Heights area of Little Rock is under new ownership after a $660,000 sale.

Vanessa Weiss and Paul Donagher acquired the house from Andrew Mentzer Sr. and his wife, Katherine.

The deal is funded with a 30-year loan of $528,000 from Capital One of McLean, Virginia.

The property was bought for $250,000 in September 2006 from John and Sara Brennan.

Deauville Abode
A 5,078-SF home in the Deauville Place neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development drew a $590,000 transaction.

The David Matthew West Revocable Trust and the Ashley Fuller West Revocable Trust purchased the house from Srinivasan Ramaswamy and Roopa Ram.

The deal is backed a one-year loan of $623,417 from Simmons Bank.

The residence previously was tied to September 2012 mortgages of $417,000 and $89,100 held by Metropolitan National Bank of Little Rock.

The property was acquired for $633,000 more than four years ago from Chad and Lacy Matone.

Witry Residence
A 4,795-SF home in the Witry Court neighborhood of west Little Rock’s Chenal Valley development changed hands in a $535,000 sale.

Adam and Courtney Head bought the house from the Angela R. Aduddell Living Trust.

The deal is financed with a 30-year loan of $417,000 from First Arkansas Financial Inc. of Sheridan. The residence previously was linked to August 2012 mortgages of $417,000 and $100,500 held by Metropolitan National Bank.

The property was purchased for $575,000 more than four years ago from Mark and Susan Freeman.

Seven-Digit Construction

Mixed-Use Redevelopment    $7,000,000
1300 E. Sixth St., Little Rock
Central Construction Group, Little Rock
 
Fletcher Library Renovation & Addition    $2,700,000
823 N. Buchanan St., Little Rock
Baldwin & Shell Construction Co., Little Rock

Public, private and public-private developments representing tens of millions of dollars in construction are in motion in Searcy. Three projects highlighting each category alone tally more than $42 million.

The biggest is a $30 million menu of municipal construction work supported by a 1.5 percent sales tax. The 10 line items are part of an eight-year plan to upgrade city infrastructure, facilities and services projected to cost $51.2 million.

In a public-private effort, civic leaders hope that the third time proves to be the charm for a proposed retail development on the eastern edge of Searcy, a project that has drawn interest since 2011.

Last summer, the city agreed to provide about $2 million to help pay for site improvements to support the Searcy City Center at the southwest corner of Beebe Capps Expressway and U.S. 67-167.

“We are committed to do that and will do that, but not until they begin construction of the shopping center,” said Mark Lane, city engineer.

Projections indicate the city would recoup its infrastructure investment in five years through increased sales tax revenue generated by the new stores.

The tenant roster includes a 55,000-SF Hobby Lobby, a 20,000-SF T.J. Maxx, a 12,500-SF Petco, a 10,000-SF Shoe Carnival and a 10,000-SF Ulta Beauty.

First-phase construction of the power center is estimated at $11 million. Plans envision the 25-acre site as home to a 108,000-SF center plus additional space on six outparcels. More land for a smaller second phase and more outparcels are on the drawing board.

“There’s a ton of interest on the outparcels,” said Drew Holbert, vice president of brokerage with the Little Rock office of Colliers International, which is marketing the outparcels. “But until they know the big development is happening, they’re not wanting to talk about making a deal. That will change when dirt starts turning.”

Carter Cooper, the point man on the proposal for Capital Growth Buchalter Inc. of Birmingham, Alabama, couldn’t be reached for comment.

“It’s still ongoing and that sort of thing,” said Buck Layne, president of the Searcy Chamber of Commerce. “They’re talking about starting construction in April now. That’s the last update I have.”

The Robbins Sanford Mercantile in downtown Searcy comes under the heading of something old made new. The $1.2 million renovation of the 108-year-old building at 118 N. Spring St. is nearing completion.

“It’s been a humongous project with it being an old building,” said Mat Faulkner, president and creative director of Think Idea Studio. “We’re pushing hard to get the furniture moved in by the end of this month. We’re shooting for a March 21 grand opening.”

Faulkner’s 10-member advertising firm is moving into the building as part of converting the second floor into office space. Joining Think Idea Studio upstairs is the Edward Jones investment office of Robert Ross, and another slot is for rent.

Downstairs is home to Irby Dance Studio, the Robbins Sanford Grand Hall events center and part of the adjoining operations of The Boutique.

The mezzanine level is gone in favor of transforming the former retail establishment into a two-story, 20,000-SF mixed-use project.

“The building itself has huge significance, not just for Searcy but the region,” Faulkner said. “It was like the Wal-Mart of its day. We’re just tickled to death to retain as much of the original building as we could.”

He bought an 81 percent stake in the project for $535,000 in August 2014 from Stuart Dalrymple, a local real estate businessman who started the redevelopment ball rolling.

Dalrymple explored the idea of developing apartments upstairs to complement businesses below but couldn’t make the numbers work.

“Retaining as much of the history as possible while adding the modern to it, that’s been the challenge,” Faulkner said.

Touted as the largest mercantile between St. Louis and Little Rock, Robbins Sanford once offered carriages as part of its wide array of merchandise, building them on a second floor serviced by a freight elevator.

Public Sector
The three largest line items funded by Searcy’s eight-year tax plan are $12 million in street work, $9 million in drainage improvements and $5.1 million for a new pool complex, which should be finished by late summer. There’s discussion about building a new library on the site of the current city pool.

Some of the street and drainage work is in conjunction with the Arkansas Highway & Transportation Department completing a western loop around Searcy. The first piece of the project, a 5-mile extension of Highway 13 north from Highway 267 to Highway 36, opened last summer. Price tag: $16.4 million.

A 4.2-mile stretch from Highway 16 north to Judsonia should be completed in the first quarter of 2018 at a cost of $16.2 million. The $11.4 million middle portion, 3.7 miles between Highway 36 and Highway 16, is expected to open next summer.

In addition to helping traffic flow, the loop project will open new possibilities for park development along the Little Red River, as well as other recreational options.

“Searcy has a lot of really great things going for it,” said Dalrymple. “We’re trying to focus on what we do have. If someone wants to come here and bring jobs here, what does Searcy have to offer in terms of quality of life?

“We’re trying to put everything in place where we can bring jobs to this community to help it grow. All these other things are pieces that help us promote the city and be progressive.”

Searcy Building Permits

^*Includes new, expanded, renovated and remodeled retail, office, warehouse, industrial and healthcare space.
^**Includes new homes and residential additions, renovations and remodels.
^#Includes K-12 and college construction.
Source: City of Searcy

Both the value and the volume of mergers and acquisitions in Arkansas rose last year, with the value increasing 11 percent to $9.8 billion and the volume rising 10 percent to 92.

Those big deals — those valued at $9 million or more — also reflected a striking diversity of sectors, ranging from retail and telecommunications to energy, banking and health care. And, as always, big real estate transactions peppered the list.

The $9.8 billion is the total value of those 56 deals whose values were announced or could be learned; the value of 36 of the 92 transactions believed to be above $9 million couldn’t be determined. In addition, not all companies report all transactions.

More: Purchase the complete list.

The biggest deal in 2016 was the purchase by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of online retailer Jet.com for $3.3 billion. The deal, announced in August, was another in a long line of attempts by the Bentonville behemoth to compete with Amazon. “We’re serious about e-commerce and want to serve customers in the way that they want to shop,” Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon said about the buy.

Wal-Mart’s shopping spree has continued into 2017. Jet, through Wal-Mart, bought ShoeBuy, a leading online footwear and clothing retailer, for $70 million in a deal that closed on Dec. 30, 2016, according to the retailer, but that wasn’t announced until after the first of the year. And in a deal announced just last week — and therefore not included on the 2016 list — Wal-Mart bought Moosejaw, an outdoor clothing and gear seller, for $51 million.

Windstream’s $1 billion merger with EarthLink Holdings Corp., an IT services and communications provider based in Atlanta, was the second-largest deal last year, while Murphy Oil Corp.’s $744 million sale of a 5 percent stake in Syncrude Canada was No. 3.

Arkansas Business’ biggest deals list frequently includes a few surprises, mergers and acquisitions that went through largely unnoticed by the press, and this list was no different. In December, private equity firm Charlesbank Capital bought Vestcom Parent Holdings Inc. of Little Rock, parent company of Vestcom International, paying $375 million to Court Square Capital Partners, another private equity company.

Not much is likely to change, said Jeff Weidauer, vice president of marketing and strategy of Vestcom. “We’re private-equity backed. We have been for many years,” he said. “And this is a typical order of events. Normally a private equity company like this will go from one investor group to another every three to four to five years. And so this is just sort of the natural course of events for us.”

Vestcom, which has 300 employees in Arkansas and 800 total nationwide, calls itself “the leading shelf-edge marketing services firm in the industry, which is sort of a fancy way of saying that we provide shelf-edge pricing and marketing materials for most of the major food and drug retailers in the U.S.,” Weidauer said.

Vestcom reported revenue of $275 million in 2015.

Big Year Globally
Worldwide, 2016 saw $3.7 trillion in M&A activity, a 16 percent decrease compared with 2015. However, 2015 had been a record year for mergers and acquisitions, and last year’s activity was still the “third largest annual period for worldwide deal making since records began in 1980,” according to Thomson Reuters, the business information company based in New York.

The volume of deals globally rose 1 percent in 2016, to 46,055 announced transactions.

As in Arkansas, deal-making worldwide was spread throughout business sectors. “Six of 12 major industry sectors each accounted for at least 10% of full year M&A, the most balanced annual sector breakdown since records began in 1980,” Thomson Reuters said in its 2016 “Mergers & Acquisitions Review.”

In the United States, M&A activity fell 17 percent in 2016 compared with 2015, to $1.7 trillion.

The biggest deal in the U.S. announced last year was the $85.4 billion purchase by AT&T of Time Warner. However, the deal drew criticism on the campaign trail from then-candidate (now President) Donald Trump, who said the merger would result in “too much concentration of power in the hands of too few.” The U.S. Justice Department is reviewing the deal.

And in the fourth quarter of 2016, deal-making picked up momentum, with the value of worldwide M&A announced rising 50 percent compared with the third quarter. “Seven of the top 10 deals announced during full year 2016 were announced during the fourth quarter,” the Thomson Reuters review noted.

Arkansas Energy, Banking
Murphy Oil appears several times on the list as the El Dorado company sought last year to improve its balance sheet after a net loss of $2.27 billion in 2015. Last month Murphy Oil announced a full-year 2016 loss of $276 million, and its CEO, Roger W. Jenkins, said, “2016 was a year of improving the company’s North American onshore portfolio while surviving one of our industry’s worst commodity price collapses.”

A number of banking deals also made the list. The largest, at $567.5 million, is the purchase by Simmons First National Corp. of Southwest Bancorp of Stillwater, Oklahoma. The acquisition will allow Simmons, based in Pine Bluff, to enter the Oklahoma market.

As it had in 2015, McLarty Automotive remained in a buying mood in 2016, purchasing from Asbury Automotive in Atlanta five dealerships and two collision centers in central Arkansas, paying $41.5 million for the real estate alone, and $10.3 million for real estate associated with two other central Arkansas automotive dealerships.

Real estate transactions also figured prominently on the list, including a couple of shopping centers: the Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville ($39.5 million) and McCain Plaza in North Little Rock ($23.2 million).

No values were readily available for a number of deals, but they’re intriguing nonetheless for how they might affect the future of the buyers.

For example, Hugg & Hall Equipment of Little Rock bought RPM Services & Rentals of Houma, Louisiana, one of the largest independent equipment rental companies in the Southeast. Stephens Inc. of Little Rock, financial adviser to Hugg & Hall for the transaction, said the deal “supports Hugg & Hall’s strategic objectives in South Louisiana and increases Hugg & Hall’s footprint to 15 stores, positioning the Company to capitalize on favorable industry and regional trends.”

And the purchase by Harrison French & Associates of Bentonville of Allevato Architects of Franklin, Massachusetts, gives HFA, whose specialty is retail design — including for Wal-Mart, Walgreens, 7-Eleven, Subway and Sonic — a presence in the Northeast.

Volatility, Then & Now
The mergers and acquisitions message in 2017 is shaping up to be much the same as in 2016: volatility.

That’s the take of Marshall McKissack, the head of mergers and acquisitions at Stephens. “There was quite a bit of volatility,” he said. “Early in the year, it had to do with interest rates. I think everybody’s familiar with the volatility that we saw politically and geopolitically — really, across the globe, whether it was the U.S. elections or Brexit or currencies moving because of those things or constitutional reform in Italy.

“Uncertainty creates risk and volatility, and to me, that was probably one big trend.

“But underlying all of that, there continues to be a real basis for merger and acquisition activity,” McKissack said, and that goes back “to the tremendous amount of capital available, the capital is still relatively cheap, and buyers, whether they’re strategic or financial buyers, are still looking to put that capital to work at a return.

“On the strategic side, growth is still valued at a premium. M&A is a way to check a lot of those boxes. Those underlying trends continued in 2017. The fourth quarter was certainly a much better quarter, a lot of momentum. And a lot of momentum continues in the first quarter.”

As for this year, “the underlying themes or trends are still intact,” McKissack said. “I still expect there’s going to be some volatility around the geopolitical environment, whether it’s U.S., Europe, Asia, other places. That can create some uncertainty.”

However, he said, the new presidential administration and Congress, with a message of less regulation, lower taxes and changes in trade agreements, can create a positive environment for deal-making — or not, depending on where a company stands on those regulations.

These traditionally business-friendly attitudes are likely to propel M&A activity this year, McKissack agreed.

“I think you’ve seen it in the financial institution, bank market post-U.S. elections,” he said, noting a big improvement in stock prices of publicly traded companies. “And they’ve used that increased stock price and availability of capital to do deals in the back half of the fourth quarter, and we’ve certainly seen that trend in the first quarter, so for sure it’s going to drive M&A.”

“I think we’re still generally very positive and optimistic,” McKissack said. “Our business was a big year-over-year improvement in the fourth quarter, and we’re generally busy across all of our industry groups in the first quarter, so [there’s] a tremendous amount of activity and excitement in the M&A markets and we’re looking for a positive 2017.”