Tyson, Hillshire acquisition final

Tyson Foods Inc. announced Thursday it had successfully completed its purchase of all of the outstanding common stock shares of The Hillshire Brands Company for $63 per share.
Tyson, parent company of Tyson Mexican Original, Portland, expected to complete the merger Thursday. Hillshire’s stock will cease to be traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Tyson is one of the world’s largest food production companies, with 1115,000 employees at more than 400 facilities around the world.
The combination creates a single company with more than $40 billion in annual sales.
“As of today Tyson Foods and Hillshire Brands are officially together in one great company,” Tyson Foods CEO Donnie Smith said in a prepared statement.
“Part of our strategic growth plan has been to shift toward higher-margin prepared and branded foods.”
The joining of the two companies is expected to generate savings of $225 million in fiscal 2015 and more than $500 million by fiscal 2017.

Pays down debt
Ardagh Group, parent company of Dunkirk’s glass container plant, used 365 million Euros raised from the sale of several Anchor Glass plants to pay off some of its 300 billion Euro debt, The Irish Times reported this week.
The Irish Times reported that Ardagh is working to refinance some of its debt prior to launching an initial public offering of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange next year.
Ardagh reported sales of 1.28 billion Euros in the second quarter of 2014, up 28 percent over the same period in 2013. Earnings of 217 million Euros were reported, up from 59 million Euros for the same period last year.
More than 30 percent of the business is owned by its chairman Paul Coulson.

Net earnings up
MainSource Financial Group Inc. has reported net income of $7.8 million, or 38 cents per share, for the second quarter of 2014. That’s up 9 percent over the same quarter last year.
A 3 percent increase in earning assets, driven by a 7 percent increase in loans and lower provision expense for loan losses led to the improvement, the company told shareholders this week.
MainSource Financial, parent company of MainSource Bank of Portland, reported assets of more than $2.8 billion as of June 30.

Receives award
Fifteen Miller’s Merry Manor facilities were part of 34 nursing facilities in the state to meet or exceed the targeted standards of quality care by the State’s Quality Improvement Organization after an 18-month review.
The facilities were invited to volunteer for the National Nursing Home Quality Care Collaborative, sponsored by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Miller’s Merry Manor in Dunkirk also received a quality award.
“Health Care Excel also chose to recognize nine more of our buildings, including Dunkirk, that did not volunteer to participate in the collaborative but which were also found to have met the quality standard set by CMS. We couldn’t be prouder of our staff that has made these honors possible” said Patrick Boyle, president and CEO of Miller’s Health Systems, which owns and operates Miller’s Merry Manor rehabilitation facilities.

Business workshop
East Central Indiana Small Business Development Center will offer two Launching Your Own Business workshops in September.
The first will be from 9 a.m. to noon Friday at the Innovation Connection Center, 1208 W. White River Blvd. in Muncie, and the next will be from 6 to 9 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Uptown Innovation Center, 814 E. Main St. in Richmond.
The cost is $25 and includes a workbook. To register, call (765) 282-9950 or visit www.isbdc.org.

New studio
The husband-wife team of Richard Humbach and Sarah Hope Wells will have an open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 13 for their new performing arts studio, the Bachwell, at 116 N. Washington St. in Van Wert, Ohio.
The couple will offer private lessons in piano, voice, guitar and oboe, and dance lessons for children and adults.
The facility may also be used for community events.