20100823-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 8/20/2010 3:57 PM Page 1 Vol. 31, No. 33 $1.50/AUGUST 23 - 29, 2010 INSIDE Panther in the hunt for IPO High-profile developer deals with debt issues for the offering.)Panther in its SEC the IPO to buy $16.4 million in Shopping center developer John Provider of freight services looks to move filing did not estimate a price range preferred stock owned by Fenway McGill says business won’t ever for the stock, nor say how much it and another $2 million in preferred be the way it toward profitability through sale of stock intends to raise through an IPO, but it owned by Panther founder and used to be for did outline what it will do with the current chairman Dan Sokolowski. him as he strug- By DAN SHINGLER $110 million in high-cost debt that’s proceeds if the offering is successful. Panther says it also would pay at gles through a [email protected] been gnawing at its bottom line. If the offering raises enough mon- least part of the $20.6 million in personal bank- Executives at Panther and its ey, Panther said it will use its proceeds accumulated dividends owed to ruptcy reorgani- Panther Expedited Services Inc. in- majority owner, private equity firm to repay a portion of a $64.3 million those preferred shareholders. zation that tends to sell more than freight Fenway Partners of New York, both term loan that carries an interest rate Fenway bought a majority interest involves $18 services in the near future. It has declined to discuss the proposal, of 9.25% and comes due at the end of in Panther in 2005 for $76 million, million in assets proposed to the Securities and citing SEC regulations that prohibit 2011. It will use another $46.5 million according to Fenway’s web site. and $116 million McGill Exchange Commission an initial companies from talking publicly to redeem senior notes that carry an in liabilities. His public offering of its stock and, if the during so-called “quiet” periods interest rate of 17% and expire in the Path to profitability situation also likely will affect market buys enough of it, Seville- (before the SEC approves a stock sale summer of 2012. Removing the debt and some of project stakeholders. Read Stan based Panther will retire as much as and underwriters determine a price Panther also says it plans to use See PANTHER Page 6 Bullard’s story on Page 3. Employers A FORMIDABLE begin to STRUCTURE reinstate CWRU’s lab puts the pressure on bridges, pay cuts buildings and other big projects Some operations hold off amid a tepid economy By CHUCK SODER [email protected] By TIMOTHY MAGAW [email protected] uilt something that can withstand a million pounds of pressure? Companies and organizations You can prove it at Case Western throughout Northeast Ohio stom- Reserve University’s new infra- ached across-the-board pay cuts last B year in the heart of an ugly recession, structure laboratory, a concrete-filled room built to test whether towers, bridges and but with the economic situation buildings will be able to withstand whatev- appearing less grim, some of them are er forces might come their way. restoring what was once taken away. The university in April opened the 2,400- It’s not a groundswell, but Steve square-foot lab, and now some big experi- Millard, executive director of the ments are under way. Council of Smaller Enterprises, said For instance, under the lab’s tall ceiling he’s heard anecdotally that as the stands part of a cell phone tower. A telecom- economy picks up, smaller compa- munications company is paying the lab to test nies are starting to restore pay, offer the tower’s ability to stand up to wind over a bonuses and contribute to retire- long period of time. A hydraulic piston ment plans again. Still, Mr. Millard mounted on the lab’s massive concrete said, the activity isn’t universal, and “strong wall” slowly pushes the tower back many employers that last year and forth. reduced pay are waiting to see how See LAB Page 17 much of 2011 pans out before com- mitting to a reversal of those cuts. “I think they’re still fairly conserv- ON THE WEB: For a video tour of Case Western Reserve University’s ative about what might happen,” Mr. infrastructure lab, visit. www.CrainsCleveland.com/lab. JANET CENTURY Millard said. Dr. Dario Gasparini (left), a professor of civil engineering at CWRU, and Dr. A survey early this year by ERC, a Xiangwu “David” Zeng, the department’s chairman, stand in front of a structure local organization dedicated to that tests the foundation support for wind turbines and a partial cell phone human resource issues, indicated tower in the university’s new infrastructure lab. See PAY Page 17 SPECIAL SECTION 33 6 EVENT PLANNING NEWSPAPER Serving large crowds with various needs presents 71486 01032 challenges for catering companies ■ Page 13 0 PLUS: SELLING CLEVELAND ■ STADIUM USES ■ & MORE CrainsCleveland.com 20100823-NEWS--2-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 8/20/2010 11:17 AM Page 1 2 CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM AUGUST 23-29, 2010 COMING LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE Ohio is among the states with the slowest Internet connections, according to a report from Akamai Technologies of Cam- NEXT WEEK bridge, Mass. Akamai released its “State of the Internet” report for the first quarter that included a look at the slowest (and th A tough time to fastest) connection speeds for states. Ohio ranked as the 10 -slowest state for Internet connectivity, as 4.4% of state resi- dents have an Internet connection below 256 Kbps, the level Akamai refers to as “narrowband.” Here are the report’s turtles: 700 W. St. Clair Ave., Suite 310, raise funds Cleveland, OH 44113-1230 State/region % below 256 Kbps State/region % below 256 Kbps Phone: (216) 522-1383 What’s it like to work for a Fax: (216) 694-4264 1. Alaska 8.0% 6. Missouri 6.2 nonprofit during challenging www.crainscleveland.com 2. New Jersey 7.9 7. Illinois 6.1 Publisher/editorial director: economic times? We ask Brian D. Tucker ([email protected]) 3. District of Columbia 7.4 8. Iowa 5.8 some area philanthropic Editor: 4. Georgia 6.7 9. 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Reprints: Call 1-800-290-5460 Ext. 136 Audit Bureau of Circulation 20100823-NEWS--3-NAT-CCI-CL_-- 8/20/2010 11:17 AM Page 1 AUGUST 23-29, 2010 WWW.CRAINSCLEVELAND.COM CRAIN’S CLEVELAND BUSINESS 3 Irish eyes see green in local software maker Complementary fleet management products lead to purchase of Beachwood’s SageQuest By CHUCK SODER said the all-cash deal “generated [email protected] multiples of its paid-in capital.” The Beachwood company, now a The Irish company that now subsidiary of FleetMatics, will retain owns SageQuest LLC plans to make its name, its management team and sure the Beachwood firm remains its staff, Mr.