20100118-NEWS--0001-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 1/15/2010 5:30 PM Page 1 ® www.crainsdetroit.com Vol. 26, No. 3 JANUARY 18 – 24, 2010 $2 a copy; $59 a year ©Entire contents copyright 2010 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved Page 3 Chinese fund CEO group says it’s time for Michigan tax restructuring loans $33.5M Hot-button ordinances Suspense hangs over fate of film industry, tax credits to Prestolite Inside Money needed for may go up for review Haiti earthquake relief: product launches How to get involved, Page 4 Privatization, Detroit preference questioned BY RYAN BEENE CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Second Stage Extra BY NANCY KAFFER nance. bid and compete for work.” Prestolite Electric Inc. ended CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Newly elected council President “We have to give the mayor the 2009 on a high note by closing a Charles Pugh said the city must ability to better negotiate better When number crunchers talk balance its books. prices for city services period,” deal to secure $33.5 million in about cutting Detroit’s costs, two fresh capital, defying the virtu- “It’s time to put Councilwoman issues come up: the city’s anti-pri- everything on the Saunteel Jenk- ally frozen credit markets that vatization ordinance and its policy defined much of last year. table, and that I’m a union guy ins said. “We of giving contract preference to means look- have to pro- The loan was issued to Detroit-based businesses. “ Prestolite’s subsidiary in China ing closely vide Detroiters Both provisions have been a po- ... but we need by Darby Asia Mezzanine Fund at every- with the best litical minefield for past mayors II, a China-based fund of Darby thing,” to look for service for the Second-stage companies and city councils. Overseas Investments Ltd. Pugh said. cheapest price, Challenges to the anti-privatiza- begin to draw attention The Plymouth-based suppli- “I’m a union ways to save and unions tion ordinance are widely viewed er of alternators and starter guy … but should come to as top employers, Page 9 motors for commercial and as an attack on the city’s labor we need to money. the table and heavy-duty vehicles, which re- unions, and preferential treatment look for ” prove they can Crain’s List ported revenue of $320 million for Detroit-based businesses has ways to save Charles Pugh, provide the in 2008, began a search for been closely protected. money.” Detroit City Council best service at Macomb County’s largest fresh capital early last year to But times are changing. In a statement to the cheapest fund new product launches for Detroit Mayor Dave Bing and Crain’s, Bing’s press secretary Ed- price.” employers, Page 13 customers in North America some members of the Detroit City ward Cardenas wrote that as part Neither the council nor the may- and China. Council favor an examination of the of the administration’s ongoing re- or can affect the privatization ordi- But the credit crunch and outcome of giving preference to view and assessment of opera- nance directly. The ordinance is This Just In economic uncertainty took se- Detroit-based businesses, and De- tions, “the privatization ordinance mandated by the Detroit City curing funds from U.S.-based troit’s Charter Commission is set to may need to be revisited to allow Dillon proposes 2-year sources off the table as Presto- review the privatization ordi- both public and private agencies to See Privatization, Page 20 state budgeting cycle lite began looking for funding sources through Detroit-based House Speaker Andy Dillon, investment bank W.Y. Campbell D-Redford Township, has in- & Co. troduced a constitutional “The S&P 500 was within 30 amendment that would re- days of its bottom at 666 and the quire the state to complete Hang Seng Index was reaching Local green technology on display two-year budgets. its five-year low at 12,500,” said House Joint Resolution SS, Cliff Roesler, managing direc- introduced Thursday, would Below, the lime green tor at W.Y. Campbell. E-stations, charging station displayed establish a two-year fiscal pe- “The markets were in a state with the BugE is from riod, beginning with the 2011 of panic, and there was no light Livonia-based PEP Stations fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. on the horizon,” Roesler said. battery makers L.L.C. and Ricardo plc, the Statewide CEO group Busi- But Prestolite had an ace up British parent of Van Buren ness Leaders for Michigan has its sleeve — a highly developed Township-based Ricardo Inc. been calling for a two-year Chinese manufacturing, sales at auto show budget cycle, saying it would and R&D operation that is the BY RYAN BEENE allow state government to largest supplier of alternators more accurately project on- and starter motors to China’s CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS going costs of programs. truck and bus market. The “greening” of the auto in- — Amy Lane That helped the company ul- dustry is on full display at the 2010 timately secure the product- North American International Auto launch financing from in- Aastrom plans public offering Show, and during press and indus- PHOTOS COURTESY OF NAIAS vestors based in China. try days last week Southeast Ann Arbor-based Aastrom Above, Electric Avenue is the auto “While our initial explorato- Michigan’s burgeoning e-vehicle show’s home address for a wide Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq: ry efforts were broader than infrastructure showed signs of variety of electric vehicles. ASTM) announced Friday just Asia, it quickly became ap- gaining lots of traction. that it plans a public offering parent that the best solution For example, Norwegian elec- list, and in all likelihood it will be Spark and plans to reach out to lo- of common stock and war- was available in the Asian re- tric city-car manufacturer Think is Southeast Michigan,” Takasawa cal and state economic develop- rants through New York- gion,” said Kevin Marsh, vice eyeing sites in Southeast Michigan said, citing the concentration of ment authorities about setting up based Oppenheimer and Co. president at W.Y. Campbell. to locate its corporate headquar- automotive engineers, the develop- shop in Michigan. See This Just In, Page 2 ters and technical center for Think ing advanced battery supply chain But Takasawa noted that no de- See Prestolite, Page 18 North America, said Keith Taka- and research at universities as at- cisions have been made yet, and sawa, vice president of business tractive local features. the company is considering other development. Takasawa said he’s had infor- “Michigan is very high on the mal discussions with Ann Arbor See Auto show, Page 19 ON VIDEO SHOW TIME CRAIN’S COVERAGE Stabenow’s take: Senator compares last year's The show is open to the Watch for news and videos auto show with this year's. See the Crain’s public through Sunday. at www.crainsdetroit.com NEWSPAPER interview at www.crainsdetroit.com/multimedia. Details at naias.com /autoshow 20100118-NEWS--0002-NAT-CCI-CD_-- 1/15/2010 4:58 PM Page 1 Page 2 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS January 18, 2010 ography of the Social Sciences of Michigan. quire to more investment adviso- Michigan 11th in VC fundraising THIS JUST IN from the London School of Econom- The firm also added two new ry firms in Ohio, with combined ics. non-shareholder attorneys to its money under management of In 2009, venture-capital firms ■ From Page 1 The IBSS, set up in 1951, is an Ann Arbor office and one to its $320 million and is in talks with nationally had their worst abstracting and indexing data- Traverse City location, bringing firms in Pennsylvania and fundraising year since 2003, rais- Inc. The offering will be 46.2 mil- base for social science and inter- the total attorney headcount to Florida. ing $15.2 billion; but relatively lion units at 26 cents per unit, disciplinary research, ProQuest more than 90, according to Mark — Tom Henderson speaking, Michigan fared well, with a unit consisting of one said in a statement. The database Shreve, shareholder and market- according to Thomson Reuters and share of common stock, a Class A has more than 2.5 million biblio- ing programs manager. the Washington-based National warrant to purchase three-quar- graphic references to journal ar- The shareholders at Merril- Vice president buys Elopak Venture Capital Association. They ters of a share of common stock ticles as well as to books, reviews lville, outside of Chicago, prac- raised $28.6 billion last year Milford-based Elopak Precision The state ranked 11th overall, and a Class B warrant to pur- and chapters. It adds about tice insurance defense, trucking Machining was purchased on Jan. and transportation litigation as with five firms raising $83 million. chase half a share of stock. 120,000 additions annually. 1 by a vice president at the com- well as some criminal and appel- California was No. 1 at $5.6 billion, The Class A warrant allows ProQuest plans to migrate the pany who now plans to grow the late law, as do other Garan Lu- with Massachusetts No. 2 at the holder to acquire a share of database to a platform that allows machined parts business. stock for 37 cents within a five- cow attorneys in Michigan. $3.3 billion and Maryland No. 3 at its content to be cross-searchable Now-owner Martin Eidemiller year period, beginning six Garan Lucow is a general busi- $2.8 billion. In the Midwest, only with the company’s other offer- purchased Elopak from former months after the close of the of- ness litigation firm with nine Illinois beat Michigan, with five ings.