ISU Redbird Magazine Cover Featuring Craig Bouchard

The Base for Success

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Redbird Magazine

by Lauren Hutchcraft

Former Redbird baseball player and successful businessman Craig Bouchard had a ground-breaking idea and Illinois State was where it all began.

“Business is a lot like sports,” Bouchard, a letter winner on the redbird baseball team, said. “I don’t see business as a job, it is a game. If you play hard and fight, you may lose a few, but you win most of them. I never had a job. I get to compete all the time like I did in sports. Business has been much like that.

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Craig Bouchard Resigns from Board of Directors of Real Industry Inc.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHICAGO, IL (August 23, 2016) Serial entrepreneur Craig Bouchard today announces he will be resigning from the Board of Directors of Real Industry Inc.

“I want to thank the management team and all employees who worked tirelessly to grow the company from $40 million of annual revenue to roughly $1.4 billion of annual revenue on two continents over the past two years,” states Bouchard. “The Board of Directors and I share a different vision for the path of growth going forward but I will continue as a significant shareholder and supporter of the Real Industry team.”

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Real Industry: CEO Loss Stings

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Seeking Alpha

by Peter Kaye

Summary

  • A core part of my thesis hinged on a skilled capital allocator presiding over Real Industry.
  • The resignation of Mr. Bouchard detracts from the attractiveness of RELY as an investment.
  • I’m adjusting my target price from $13.92 to $10/share in light of the uncertainty surrounding this management change.

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Signature Group: An Opportunity to Tag Along With Sam Zell

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Acquisition strategy and a big swath of federal net operating tax-loss carryforwards, which could pay off for investors in Signature Group.

Barron’s

By David Englander

Last week, this column highlighted the opportunity present in the shares of Covanta Holding, pointing out that the waste-to-energy company (ticker: CVA) has long benefited from its association with investor Sam Zell.

Zell is well known for his success at turning around businesses, often becoming involved at the bottom. Investors usually have done well to tag along.

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Recycling Twist Cuts Ford Truck Costs

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Wall Street Journal

By Mike Ramsey and John W. Miller

Ford Motor Co.’s decision to build a lighter-weight pickup truck using aluminum body-panels has been billed largely as a way to achieve better fuel economy. The company’s boss says it is also a recycling play.

The 2015 F-150, perhaps the most important vehicle to hit Ford dealerships in decades, goes on sale this month. By the time a new truck exits the factory and heads for the showroom, it will have left behind $300 worth of scrap aluminum on the plant floor.

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Signature Group to Mimic Private Equity Format

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The Deal Pipeline

By Tatiana Kulkarni

Following its recently announced $525 million acquisition of Aleris Corp.’s aluminum recycling business, Signature Group Holdings Inc. (SGGH) looks to pursue the model of a publicly traded private equity firm.

“While remaining flexible, one outcome would be to become a mini-mini Berkshire Hathaway,” said CEO Craig Bouchard, referring to Warrant Buffett’s PE-like Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A) of Omaha.

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Aleris to Sell Aluminum-Recycling Unit to Signature

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Bloomberg

By Sonja Elmquist

Aleris Corp. (ARS), the aluminum maker owned by Oaktree Capital Management LP, agreed to sell its recycling unit to Signature Group Holdings Inc. (SGGH) for $525 million in cash and stock.

Global Recycling and Specification Alloys is the largest independent recycler of aluminum, Sherman Oaks, California-based Signature said today in a statement. The growth in recycled aluminum consumption is expected to outpace primary aluminum for the next decade, it said.

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Aleris International Inc. to Sell Recycling and Specification Alloys Businesses for $525 Million

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Crain’s Cleveland Business

By Rachel Abbey McCafferty

Beachwood-based Aleris International Inc. announced it will sell its North American and European Recycling and Specification Alloys businesses to an affiliate of Signature Group Holdings Inc. for more than half a billion dollars.

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New York Times Best-Selling Author Craig Bouchard Debuts New Children’s Book, The Adventures of Ai

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Original Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Adventures of Ai Takes Preteens on a Fantastic Journey Through Culture and Time

CHICAGO, IL—Jul 17, 2014 — Craig Bouchard, international entrepreneur and New York Times Best-Selling Author, creates a unique transmedia entertainment event with his new children’s  fantasy,  “The  Adventures  of Ai”  (www.adventuresofai.com).  Using  nonfiction  elements,  this  novel,  set  in  16th  century  Japan,  unlocks  the potential of a global generation of preteens. The book is distributed globally through Apple, Google, Samsung and Amazon as an ebook and through the Adventures of Ai game, improving traditional publishing models.

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Ai’s Adventure Game Now Available on iOS and Android

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Original Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lucas Films Veteran Kalani Streicher Creates New Game Based on New York Times Bestselling Author Craig Bouchard’s Children’s Book “Adventures of Ai”; The “World Charity Cup” Competition of Video

CHICAGO, IL—Jul 17, 2014 — Craig Bouchard and Kalani Games today announced the launch of the “Ai’s Adventure,” a 3-D mobile game available on iOS7, Android, Samsung and Kindle. The unique game includes interconnective elements with the Adventures of Ai online experience (www.adventuresofai.com), expected to gather game players across four continents in one online location. Using  Google  Translation  technology, teenage players everywhere can communicate in a blog, breaking video game cultural barriers.

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