News, Information and Ideas from Around the Web

Private Equity Seemed Like the Best Way to Rev Up Sunrise Windows: But were the stakes too high?
from Inc.com
In December 2004, Gary Delman, co-founder and CEO of window manufacturer Sunrise Windows, gathered his executive team in a conference room. The group had just spent four grueling weeks meeting with representatives from eight different private equity firms and taking them on tours of Sunrise's plant in Temperance, Michigan. Now it was time to narrow the list and explore one firm more closely. In democratic fashion, Delman and his team ranked the potential investors on pieces of paper and threw the names into the center of the conference room table. The choice was unanimous: FdG Associates, a New York City firm that specializes in recapitalizing family-owned businesses... read more

Jeld-Wen Founder Invests $108 Million in Oregon Timber Land
from Herald and News
A recently formed limited liability corporation has spent $108 million buying timber land south of Keno.

JWTR, LLC, which has its mailing address at Jeld-Wen's corporate headquarters, bought 440,000 acres of timber land in Klamath, Lake and Jackson counties... read more

Local Officials Approve Development Plan Allowing Anlin to Expand
from The Fresno Bee
Fresno County supervisors reversed course Tuesday and agreed to let Clovis develop plans for 511 rural acres east of town, bolstering the city's efforts to hang on to its second-largest manufacturer... read more

First-Time Home Buyers Look at Houses Again
from RealEstateJournal.com
High home prices have helped drive many first-time buyers out of the housing market. Now, with prices falling in many areas, there are some signs that buyers are beginning to drift back... read more