In the News

BAE Systems’ willingness to spend $352 million to buy Atlantic Marine testifies to the Navy’s plans to expand at Mayport Naval Station and could lead to more work at Atlantic’s sprawling local shipyards.

At the same time, the entrance into the Jacksonville market of the British company’s deep pockets could make life even tougher for the two other ship repair and maintenance companies in the area, particularly as they wait out a dip in the market.

Some shareholders of Arena Resources Inc. are questioning the company’s $1.55 billion proposed sale to Oklahoma City-based SandRidge Energy Inc. despite a 17 percent premium on the stock price.

Law firms across the country are examining the deal, especially since Arena management said earlier this year that the Tulsa-based company was not for sale.

Various shareholders say they are wary because the proposed $40 per share acquisition price is 6 percent lower than the company’s stock price on March 1.

The president of Coca-Cola North America was in Tulsa on March 24. The visit was made possible by Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business. Now I’m a Sooner, but I regularly hand it to OSU for its successes and contributions, such as its long-standing and immensely successful “Tulsa Business Forums” speaker series.

After a one-of-a-kind introduction by Jack Allen, Jr. (full-time owner of commercial insurance brokerage firm “CFR” and part-time shock jock), Coke’s president J. Alexander M. (”Sandy”) Douglas, Jr., said some interesting things. One of note: “Gone is the day companies could ‘talk the talk but not walk the walk.’” He said that if a company fails to live up to its own image, consumers will quickly spot it, blog about it and call it out publicly.

If recent economic surveys are accurate, owners of small businesses are not experiencing an economic rebound. Not by a long shot.

They also have little confidence that better times are near. This is in contrast to both the stock market run-up that continues unabated and frequent media reports of improvements in global macroeconomic indicators.

Acquisition Advisors helps people put winning deals together — deals for the purchase, sale and recapitalization of midsize U.S. companies. Our focus is on deals that involve businesses with annual profits between $1 million and $25 million, which is deal sizes of $4 million to $150 million.