Carmike’s $1.2 billion sale leads blockbuster year in business

It was a blockbuster year in business once again for Columbus, with a movie-theater company involved in a $1.2 billion sale, the dominant bank in the city preparing to say goodbye to the Blanchard name as an active executive leader, and a credit-card processor making the largest acquisition in its history.

There also was plenty of retail, restaurant and entertainment development in the area, with some jobs being generated on both the city’s north and south sides despite a higher-than-wanted unemployment rate for the metro area.

These all combined to form our top business stories of 2016, with the impact of quite a few, naturally, tumbling over into 2017 and promising yet another big year for business in the Columbus area.

1. Carmike Cinemas sells in $1.2 billion deal

We start with Carmike Cinemas and its $1.2 billion sale to Kansas-based AMC Entertainment Holdings. It took more than eight months to convince resistant shareholders that the deal was good for them and the company, with several votes postponed before the ultimate nod of approval came in mid-November.

(Lights, camera, sold! Carmike shareholders approve buyout by AMC)

The impact of the acquisition by AMC, which was completed on Dec. 21, includes the loss of a corporate headquarters in downtown Columbus, with the shiny office building likely being sold at some point. The Carmike theaters in the area all will remain, however, with elements of AMC, such as its rewards and loyalty program, being launched locally.

“We are pleased with the outcome of today’s vote,” David Passman, Carmike president and chief executive officer, said as the deal was approved by shareholders. “In addition to providing Carmike stockholders with significant value and the opportunity to participate in the upside potential of a combined AMC-Carmike, this transaction creates an opportunity to deliver an even more compelling movie-going experience to more guests in many more locations across the country.”

Carmike Cinemas dates to 1982 in its current form. That’s the year the late Carl Patrick purchased Martin Theatres from Fuqua Industries and renamed it using the names of his two sons, Carl Jr. and Mike. The latter would eventually become CEO of the company in 1989 and chairman of the board in 2002. The firm’s board ousted the CEO in January 2009, with the company continuing to struggle financially after exiting Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection seven years before that. The chain had racked up deep debt amid efforts to expand and modernize its theater footprint with digital screens and megaplexes featuring stadium seating.

2. Blanchard name enters banking history books

The Columbus banking world began to turn a prominent page in its history, with William “Billy” Blanchard announcing in December that he is departing Columbus Bank and Trust at the end of this year. Replacing him is Synovus wealth management executive Heath Schondelmayer.

Blanchard said he is going to work with his father at Jordan-Blanchard Capital, a private investment firm in Columbus. That father is none other than James H. Blanchard, the retired Synovus Financial Corp. chairman and chief executive officer who took charge of CB&T in his late 20s, helping to move the city forward and expanding the bank into a regional powerhouse before his retirement in 2005.

(Blanchard’s departure one for history books in Columbus banking)

But the Blanchard name goes back further, with Jim Blanchard’s dad, and Billy’s grandfather, James W. Blanchard, heading Columbus Bank and Trust for more than a decade starting in the late 1950s. One of his accomplishments was helping the company become one of the first credit-card issuers in the U.S., a move that eventually would spawn a publicly traded global credit-card processing company now called TSYS.

When the history book dust settles, it will show three Blanchards leading the city’s largest bank in some form or fashion for nearly six decades. Some might call it the end of an era.

3. TSYS grows and manages turbulence

No one can deny that entering the year credit-card and payment processor TSYS was on a high-flying roll. Its earnings were doing well, the stock was climbing steadily, and the company had announced it was making the largest acquisition in its history, a $2.35 billion purchase of merchant specialty firm TransFirst.

About mid-year, the company headquartered in downtown Columbus began signaling that the vote by Britain to exit the European Union could have some type of impact, and possibly not a good one. And a long-thought-out restructuring, particularly with TransFirst bringing on about 1,000 employees, was being planned and would eventually be carried out in September.

(TSYS grapples with job cuts, Brexit impact, falling stock price)

(TSYS cutting jobs, offering severance as part of restructuring)

“The TSYS 20/20 initiative is an enterprise-wide initiative to bring clarity and focus to our future business model,” TSYS Chairman and CEO Troy Woods said over the summer. “One of the tenets of TSYS 20/20 was to provide us with an assessment of the ideal operating structure to maximize efficiencies and scale of our operations.”

The company’s stock also began to feel pressure amid the whirlwind of activity by the company and around it. But, as it always seems to do, TSYS managed through the turbulence and appears poised to move forward with urgency in 2017. That advancement will come with its ongoing challenge of paying down the large debt from TransFirst and other world events potentially impacting its business.

4. Downtown development hits its stride

It was a very steady year once again for downtown Columbus and businesses wanting to be there to serve a burgeoning customer base that only looks to grow through 2017 and beyond.

Two hotels making plans to occupy key spots in the 1200 block of Broadway was among the major news, with Columbus businessman Jack Pezold looking to construct an upscale Hampton Inn, and with RAM Hotels expecting to locate a Marriott AC property in space now occupied by Raymond Rowe Furniture.

(Kilwins fudge, caramel, ice cream store opens on Broadway)

Developers also were busy converting older structures into usable space for entrepreneurs hungering to enter downtown, with a Kilwins sweets and ice cream store and a liquor outlet coming to the 1200 block, not far from a gastro-pub called Nonic. Others arriving or on the way include a barbecue joint called Smoke, a “California fusion” eatery named River & Rail and a restaurant called 7th Street Provisions in the Historic District. And don’t forget the French bakery, My Boulánge, with its pastries and rolls.

Much of the activity can be at least loosely connected to Columbus State University’s College of Education and Health Professions, which is moving toward its early 2017 debut at the corner of Broadway and 12th Street, the former site of the Ledger-Enquirer. The college, which will bring hundreds of students to downtown most days, looks to boost the momentum in the area for years to come.

5. North Columbus gets share of action

It was a very active year for commercial development on the city’s north side, with entertainment center and bowling alley Stars & Strikes making its way to the city off Veterans Parkway, in a building that also includes a separate business, Launch Trampoline.

The number of restaurants continued to grow, with some targeted for openings early next year. They include Shrimp Basket, part of a development on Veterans Parkway that includes Keller Williams Realty River Cities’ new building. A Willy’s Mexicana Grill also was introduced to the market at Columbus Park Crossing, as was a second Chipotle Mexican Grill in Cross Country Plaza off Macon Road.

(Old Town development lands restaurant, boutique, salon, pediatrician, optometrist)

(At Home superstore, Shrimp Basket are moving toward completion)

(Italian eatery Trevioli grows from storage unit to full-size restaurant)

(Academy Sports and Outdoors rezoning now headed to Columbus Council)

Old Town, a mixed-use residential, commercial and office development on the city’s north side, also began to add tenants in the form of a Clean Eatz healthy-meal eatery, a women’s salon, boutique and pediatrician. Off Blackmon Road, meanwhile, two strip shopping centers were raised from the ground for tenants that include Trevioli’s Italian Kitchen, which expects to open next year, a Blimpie’s sub shop, liquor store and a Ace Hardware location. The hardware store should open in 2017.

As December approached, it became apparent that Academy Sports and Outdoors, a low-price retailer, was headed for Columbus Park Crossing, with it looking to purchase land from North Highland Assembly of God Church. The timetable, which includes rezoning of land, could bring the much-wanted store to the city by 2018.

6. BlueCross and Convergys create jobs

Yes, the Columbus unemployment rate continued to trend above what anybody wants this year, with it perpetually among the highest in Georgia along with Albany and Dalton. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t job creation locally.

Health-care insurer Anthem and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal announced plans early in the year to add 450 employees at its BlueCross BlueShield of Georgia office complex in the Midland area of Columbus. The expansion came with a capital investment of more than $3 million, with the new staffing on top of nearly 1,300 workers who already are earning a paycheck at the Columbus “Customer Care Center” in Muscogee Technology Park.

(BlueCross president: Columbus operation poised for job growth)

(Ohio company Convergys announces 450 new jobs in Columbus)

Then, in May, Cincinnati-based call center firm Convergys said it was headed for the former Road America space on Victory Drive, with 200 jobs being generated initially, then ramping up to about 450 as demand increases.

7. Peachtree Mall welcomes At Home anchor store

Peachtree Mall on Manchester Expressway had been without a fourth anchor for years following the closure of the Parisian department store in a buyout between the chain and Charlotte, N.C.-based Belk. That finally was solved by the purchase of the front-and-center space at the mall by General Growth Properties, the mall’s owner, late in 2015, which set up negotiations between that company and Texas-based At Home.

(At Home superstore knocks hole in Peachtree Mall for front doors)

The home decor and accessories superstore eventually made a commitment to the 87,446 square feet of space and is expected to open by March, just in time for the spring selling season. At Home touts its “everyday low pricing” selection of more than 50,000 items in its superstores, with furniture and accessories for each room of a house, as well as storage, organization, patio and garden goods. “Any Style, Any Budget, Any Reason to Redecorate” is one of the slogans it uses.

Bottom line: A major-league hole was filled at Peachtree Mall, which it sorely needed to do.

8. Columbus Regional execs leave for other jobs

It’s not everyday that three of your top executives within a company decide to be employed elsewhere. But that’s what happened in May, when Columbus Regional Health President and CEO Scott Hill accepted their resignations.

Out the door were Senior Vice President and Legal Counsel L.M. “Tripp” Layfield III, Director of Corporate Finance Meredith Bass and Executive Vice President and President of Northside Medical Center Stan Hickson.

Layfield took a job with Renown Health, a $1.2 billion health-care system based in Reno, Nev., where he became executive vice president and legal counsel. Bass went to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in her hometown of Marietta, Ga., to become vice president of hospital financial operations. And Hickson headed for Mountain States Health Alliance in Johnson City, Tenn., to take the position of CEO of one of the system’s markets.

“It is with a heavy heart, I have accepted the resignations,” Hill said in a memo to the organization’s nearly 3,000 employees.

9. Aflac benefits from ‘One Day Pay’ promotion

Things don’t always pan out in the corporate world, but Aflac’s “One Day Pay” has done just that.

The promotion, launched in 2015, is having a significant impact on sales of health insurance policies, the company said this year, while generating perhaps immeasurable goodwill with customers who view the quick turnaround on their medical claims — particularly at critical times of financial need during stressful events — very favorably.

(It’s no duck, but ‘One Day Pay’ promotion has had major impact)

“We’ve had a very good response to One Day Pay,” said Robin Wilkey, Aflac’s senior vice president over Investor and Rating Agency Relations. “For about 70 to 75 percent of our product, within 24 hours — a business day — you can file your claim and have your account credited with a claims payment. ... This is really resonating with people. We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from our policyholders who have put in a claim.”

10. Local residents get to ride Uber-style

It had been a long time coming, with San Francisco-based transportation company Uber already having entered plenty of other major markets, but not Columbus.

That changed in September when Uber launched its limousine service, with it riling up some in the traditional taxi cab business. But you can’t stop progress, and Uber, which uses independent drivers and their private vehicles to get customers from point to point, is now up and running locally.

This story was originally published December 25, 2016 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Carmike’s $$1.2 billion sale leads blockbuster year in business."