Michael Schwartz

Michael Schwartz is the editor of Richmond BizSense, and covers banking, lawsuits, finance, M&A and golf. He can be reached at [email protected] or 804-855-1037.

Pinned down by debt and the downturn

AMF Sunset Bowling lanes

AMF Bowling Worldwide’s most recent bankruptcy filing comes as the company faces hundreds of millions of dollars in debt and an economy in which most people’s discretionary budgets – for such leisurely activities as bowling – aren’t what they once were.

AMF Bowling files for bankruptcy

amf bowling

Mechanicsville-based AMF Bowling Worldwide, one of the world’s largest bowling alley operators, filed Tuesday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an attempt to restructure its “burdensome debt load.”

CarLotz takes a road trip

CarLotz in Chesapeake

The local car consignment startup is taking a trip down Interstate 64 to open its third location.

Clock starts on Hank Wilton’s shares

Wilton Companies headquarters

If you’ve got some extra capital and a hankering to own part of a prominent local real estate development company, you might want to take a look at the auction block.

Software firms bury the hatchet

MoneyGuidePro software

Downtown-based Wealthcare Capital Management said Thursday that it had settled its lawsuit with Powhatan competitor PIEtech and banking giant UBS Financial in a patent infringement case that questioned the definition of the act of financial planning.

How a relationship went off the rails

Buck Ward aboard a trolley.

Buck Ward and John Moulton forged a friendship and a business partnership while working together on Segway tour businesses in Richmond and Fredericksburg and on the Richmond Trolley Company. Two years later, they’ve reached the end of the line.

Trading Day: Inside local SEC filings for 11.8.12

tradingday211

A local company sold a chunk of its holdings in its Richmond’s largest bank. A powerful shareholder with ties to Disney is urging a local firm to put itself up for sale. A director is leaving his post. And several insiders sell off millions worth shares.

The R&D Dept.: Local patents for 11.7.12

lightbulbpatent

Patents this week from MeadWestvaco, Afton Chemical, Dupont and Phillip Morris. And a local family patents a handicap accessible portable shower.