Products May 6, 2008

Nationwide Sponsors Online Resource for Small Business

Nationwide Financial Services, Inc., has sponsored PartnerUp, an online community designed to connect and provide resources to small business owners.
Reported by

The company said the site (http://www.partnerup.com) helps small business owners network with other entrepreneus and smallbusinesses, find real estate, and find service providers, among other things.

“PartnerUp serves as an excellent resource and unmatched networking opportunity for the small business community and Nationwide is proud to support the work that it does,” said Bill Jackson, president of Nationwide Retirement Plans. “Many small business owners wear multiple hats and often don’t have the time, resources or expertise to manage a retirement plan. Nationwide understands the demands on their time and offers clear and understandable resources to help them and their employees save for retirement so that they can focus on running their businesses.”

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More information is available at www.nationwide.com/retirementplans.

Deals & People May 6, 2008

BenefitStreet Restructuring Moves Right Along

BenefitStreet, Inc., secured bridge financing and is now negotiating terms for an additional $10 to $20 million in longer-term funding.
Reported by

According to the company release, stockholders approved a capital restructuring within the organization. Jerry Bramlett, BenefitStreet’s president and CEO, said he is in ongoing discussions with a number of parties interested in the long-term funding.

In early April, the company announced the sell of one of its third-party administrator (TPA) subsidiaries and plans to sell its remaining TPAs. Bramlett said the company was streamlining to focus on what it does best—defined contribution retirement plan recordkeeping.

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In the most recent release, Bramlett said all of the TPAs are under a letter of intent to close by May 30.

In February, Bramlett took the reins of BenefitStreet from Alex Hehmeyer, a board member since 2004 who had been acting as interim CEO and chairman after the sudden departure of firm founder and CEO Jim Drury in 2007. (See Bramlett to Lead BenefitStreet.)

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