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Corporate Growth - Richmond Chapter
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Through acquisitions and internal growth that generated little fanfare, LandAmerica has built its title-insurance business into a $4 billion enterprise.
by Peter Galuszka
Wicked winds from Tropical Storm Ernesto were pelting rain one day in September when LandAmerica Financial Group, the nation’s third largest title insurer, was moving to a roomier office campus in Henrico County.
CEO Theodore L. Chandler vividly recalls the company's IT workers scurrying about to keep the covers from blowing off 400 computer servers. “They didn’t get any of them wet,” he marvels. “They moved the entire data center in those conditions without losing one server.”
The move to larger headquarters facilities coincides with a dramatic expansion, much of it through acquisitions, of the company's business. Over the past several years, LandAmerica has added a series of real estate-focused services to its traditional basket of title insurance and other real estate-transaction services. A business acquired in 2003, for instance, certifies flood insurance and consolidates credit information that can be used by mortgage lenders and real estate tax services. In September, LandAmerica shelled out $250 million for Capital Title, a title insurer with a strong presence in the southwestern states.
LandAmerica's strategy generated 12.4 percent sales growth rate last year and yielded net income of $165 million -- nearly triple the 2001 performance. The stock has generally performed well, rising from about $30/share in 2002 to the low $60s/share level now. Save for a dip in mid-2004, the stock rise has been steady. The ratings company Morningstar gives LandAmerica an “A” for profitability and a “B” for growth. More.
Investing by the Book
Chesterfield-based WILink connects clients to customers with annual reports, webcasts
by Jeffrey Kelley J.
Patrick Galleher maintains there is no substitute for the
feel of paper between a capitalist's fingers despite the
availability of all kinds of business information on the
Internet. "You can get the
financials a million different places, but we still believe
steadfastly that you're really reading the [hard copy]
annual report to get an idea of corporate strategy,
corporate culture," said Galleher, the chief executive
at Chesterfield County-based WILink Inc. "It's the same reason
on Amazon.com people don't download books and print them
off." Investors connect to WILink
through nearly 260 publications and Web sites such as Yahoo!
Finance and Barron's to order free hard copies of
annual reports to learn more about potential investments. In the stock pages of the Wall
Street Journal, for instance, a WILink client's ticker
symbol will have a small "club" icon next to it.
That club -- same as the one found on a deck of playing
cards or Galleher's Tiffany & Co. cufflinks -- means
investors can call or go online to order a glossy annual
report. More.
Other Top Stories...
Anderson & Strudwick Closes IPO for Chinese IT Firm
Anderson & Strudwick, Inc. has closed a $6.8 million initial public offering for a Chinese firm. The IPO for eFuture Information Technology Inc. of Beijing, an integrated software and professional services firm, marked the first time that the Richmond company managed a public offering for a company headquartered abroad. The stock begin trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market as EFUT on Oct. 31.
“In today’s global economy, we need to be attuned to the financial needs of businesses regardless of where they call home,” said Mac Downs, senior vice president, who structured the initial public offering. “I’ll be the first to admit that the idea of a small, east coast regional firm helping raise nearly seven million dollars for a company half way around the globe was a tough sell. But as investors came to understand the management strength and proven track record of eFuture, they were increasingly attracted by the IPO.” (Oct. 30, 2006) More.
Shareholders Approve Cap One-North Fork Merger
Shareholders have approved a merger between Capital One Financial Corporation and North Fork Bancorporation, Inc., a regional bank-holding company based in Melville, NY. With $59.4 billion in assets, North Fork conducts commercial and retail banking from more than 350 branch locations in the Tri-State area, with a complementary national mortgage banking business. (Aug. 22, 2006) More.
Genworth Acquires $8 Billion Investment Services Firm
Genworth Financial has acquired AssetMark Investment Services, Inc., a Pleasant Hill, Cal.-based provider of open architecture asset management solutions to independent financial advisors, for $230 million, plus up to $110 million in performance-based payments over fie years. The company has more than $8 billion in assets under management.
Said Pam Schutz, president and chief executive officer of Genworth's Retirement Income and Investment business. "AssetMark is an excellent fit with Genworth Financial Asset Management (GFAM) and will triple our assets under management in the rapidly growing fee-based managed money space. Each organization brings complementary asset advisory strengths to the equation as well -- GFAM in its separate account business and AssetMark in the growing mutual fund advisory services arena." (June 29, 2006) More.
S&S CHOICE Portfolios Reach $1 Billion
Scott & Stringfellow’s CHOICE portfolios, designed to help clients “sleep at night” while maintaining exposure to the equity markets, have grown from $100 million in July 2003 6o more than $1 billion. Said George Shipp, CHOICE chief investment officer: “We are flattered and delighted our clients have accepted our ‘tortoise wins the race’ style.” (April 27, 2006) More.
Genworth Repurchases $294 Million of Stock
Genworth Financial, Inc., has agreed to repurchase more than nine million shares of common stock at a price of $32 per share in a privately negotiated transaction. Said CEO Michael D. Fraizer: "We are pleased to complete our existing repurchase program, demonstrating our focus on disciplined capital management. With this transaction we will have repurchased $1 billion of common stock in 2006 and we will evaluate additional repurchase authority as we go forward." (Nov. 8, 2006) More.
HRH Announces Catastrophe Alert Plan
In preparing for the hurricanes that never came, Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Company announced a new client service in April: the Catastrophe Alert Plan. Under the plan, implemented to accolades during Hurricane Katrina, 14 HRH employees claims professionals would alert affected clients within 10 minutes of disasters occurring anywhere in the world. A Catastrophe Response Team and the client's account team would work together to provide clients with a list of tailored contact names, numbers, email addresses, and the steps to take in the event of a loss, as well as first aid information and updates on the catastrophe itself. (April 21, 2006) More.
In Brief...
Genworth Financial has completed its acquisition of Vero Lenders Mortgage Insurance Limited, of Sydney, Australia, for $80 million after taking into account an $85 million post-closing dividend paid to Genworth. (May 31, 2006). More.
Genworth Financial has priced a public offering of fixed-to-floating rate junior subordinated notes in an aggregate principal amount of $600 million. The company will use $319 million to reduce its outstanding commercial paper borrowings and any remaining proceeds for general corporate purposes. (Nov. 7, 2006) More.
Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Company has completed the previously announced acquisition of Chicago-based Thilman & Filippini, L.L.C., one of the nation's top 100 insurance intermediaries. With revenues of approximately $24 million in 2005, the Thilman Filippini team of over 130 professionals will continue to serve clients from downtown Chicago. (Aug. 2, 2006) More.
Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Company has purchased a $900,000 book of accounts from Benchmark Insurance Company, a major underwriter of retail grocers. The accounts will be managed by the Oklahoma branch operation. (May 9, 2006) More.
Earnings...
Capital One Financial Corporation has reported 3Q earnings of $587.8 million, up from $491.1 million in the same quarter last year. Said CEO Richard D. Fairbank: "Capital One delivered solid profit and loan growth in the third quarter, reflecting strong performance across our business segments, a continuing favorable credit environment, and expected seasonal patterns." More.
Genworth Financial, Inc., reported 3Q net income of $304 million, compared to $307 million the same quarter in 2005. Thanks to a stock buyback program, however earnings per diluted share reached $0.65, up from $0.64 the prior year. More.
LandAmerica Financial reported 3Q net income of $15.2 million compared to $42.4 million in restated earnings the same quarter last year. Said CEO Theodore L Chandler: “The softening of the real estate market, combined with a claims reserve adjustment has negatively impacted the results for the quarter.” More.
Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Company reported 3Q revenues of $173.2 million, up 5.3 percent from the same quarter last year. Net income reached $19.1 million compared to a $6.8 million loss. The increase reflects new business production and acquisitions, partially offset by a decline in commercial property and casualty premium rates and $1.0 million reduced contingent commissions. More.
Markel Corporation reported diluted net income per share of $10.47 for the quarter ended September 30, 2006 compared to a hurricane-induced loss of $11.31 per share for the same period of 2005. Said CEO Alan I Kirschner: "Our success was the result of a benign hurricane season, strong underwriting performance across all of our business units and solid investment returns." More.
Dynex Capital, Inc. reported 2Q net income of $1.6 million versus $47,000 the same quarter last year (excluding a substantial gain for sale of investments). Said CEO Thomas B. Akin: “Our results continue to improve on a quarter-to-quarter basis, as our net interest income has benefited from continued increases in short-term rates. … We remained cautious in making additional investments further out the curve, pending a clearer view of the near-term outlook for interest rates.” More.
Saxon Capital, Inc., reported a 3Q loss of $26.4 million compared to net income of $31.9 million the same quarter last year. Factors contributing to the loss were increased short-term interest rates, continued price competition, an increase in delinquencies, as well as a decrease in the 2/3 year part of the forward LIBOR curve, which negatively impacted the Company's derivative valuations. More.
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People Yates Promoted to A&S COO. Anderson & Strudwick has promoted Ruth Yates, a 27-year veteran of the regional investment firm, has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. She had been Vice President, Operations. Yates joined Anderson & Strudwick as a teenager and worked her way up from a clerical position. (May 8, 2006) More. O'Shea Joins BB&T Capital Markets. BB&T Capital Markets has hired Patrick A. O'Shea as a senior managing director and head of Equity Transactions. Most recently, he was founder and managing partner of Banner Capital Markets LLC, of Baltimore, which focuses on equity capital formation for small cap public companies. (Nov. 6, 2006) More. Zacharias Tapped for Stockgroup Board. Steve Zacharias, co-founder of Transact Capital Partners, has joined the Board of Directors of Stockgroup Information Systems Inc., a Vancouver, B.C.-based provider of financial data services. As a board director for Hoovers, Inc., a publicly-traded business information company, Zacharias helped launch the company's IPO and subsequent sale to Dun & Bradstreet for $119 million. (July 18, 2006) More. Ellington Joins A&S. David S. Ellington has joined Anderson & Strudwick as Senior Vice President and Retail Sales Director. He will be working with the firm’s branch network to help develop and execute sales strategies. (May 22, 2006) More.
Transactions
Alpha Omega Capital Partners...
...acted as the financial advisor to Wayne Feigenbutz in his purchase of RAM Development Corporation, an underground utilities construction company based in Northern Virginia. (Nov. 7, 2006) More.
...completed the sale of Broadway Motor Co., Inc., a Broadway, Va.-based Ford dealership, to Logsdon Holdings, LLC. (Oct. 11, 2006) More.
...completed the sale of Target Sales, Inc. of Germantown, Md., to a subsidiary of Gen Cap America of Nashville, Tenn. (Aug. 9, 2006). More.
...acted as the exclusive financial advisor to the owners of C. Arthur Weaver Company, Inc., in the sale of their equipment distribution company to Industrial Supply Corp. (June 16, 2006). More.
...served as the exclusive financial advisor to the owners of BetterType Ribbon Company in its sale to The Supply Room Companies, Inc. (June 116, 2006) More.
Anderson & Strud- wick Investment Corporation completed a $15.55 million private placement offering for ICB Financial, an Ontario, Cal., bank with $125.9 million in assets. (May 22, 2006) More.
Ewing Bemiss & Co....
...served as financial advisor to Specialty Pharma, Inc., a Cromwell, Conn.- based provider of home infusion therapy services, to Critical Homecare Solutions, Inc. (Oct. 6, 2006) More.
...has completed the $90 million sale of Gas Recovery Systems LLC, owner of a portfolio of 29 landfill gas-to-energy projects across the U.S., to PEET U.S. Holdings, Inc. (Sept. 15, 2006) More.
...has completed the recapitalization of Headway Corporate Resources, a Raleigh, N.C.-based recruitment and specialty staffing firm. (September 2006) More.
...has completed the sale of Centrus Home Care, a nursing services firm with a focus on medically complex patients, to Maxim Home Care. (June 2006) More.
...has completed the acquisition of Home Physicians, a home health care company specializing in physician house calls, to Triton Pacific Capital Partners. (May 11, 2006) More.
...has completed the share exchange and merger involving Global Employment Solutions, a staffing company. (April 2006) More.
Matrix Capital Markets has completed the sale of Aeriform Corporation, a Houston-based industrial gas and welding supply distributor, to Airgas, Inc. (Sept. 11, 2006) More.
Note on transaction listings: Working Capital has included transactions with a documented Richmond connection. We are unable to determine from its press releases whether the Richmond office of Harris Williams & Co., the region's most active middle market investment banking firm, was involved in the company's many deals. You can review their press releases here.
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