Owners of the Business Record have offered $15.3 million to buy back their multi-state publishing enterprise, which they say in a bankruptcy filing has assets of $94 million and liabilities of $104 million. The Brown Publishing Co., Brown Media Holdings Co. and their affiliates filed to reorganize under federal bankruptcy laws on April 30 and May 1, saying that they were in default on $94 million in bank loans and that an offer to purchase the companies had been made by a “stalking horse” group. In a filing Tuesday in federal bankruptcy court on Long Island, N.Y., lawyers for the company said Brown Media Corp. had been created by Brown Publishing president and CEO Roy Brown, Chief Financial Officer Joseph Ellingham and Vice President and General Counsel Joel Dempsey to buy all of the companies, including the Business Record, which Brown Media Holdings bought in October 2007. In the recent court filing, Brown Publishing said that it began looking for buyers for the company or its affiliates in August 2009, but did not receive any formal offers. The sale is subject to other competitive bids, which under proposed auction rules must include an $800,000 buyout fee paid to Brown Media Corp. and must be made in increments of $50,000 above the initial offer by Brown Media, which filed another motion Tuesday asking that its purchase be free and clear of existing liens.

Des Moines-based GCommerce Inc., with support from Microsoft Corp., is introducing an innovative cloud-based solution for the $300 billion automotive aftermarket parts industry. The new technology, called Virtual Inventory Cloud (VIC), provides inventory visibility and efficiency for drop ship special orders between distributors/retailers and manufacturers/suppliers. “VIC enables hundreds of distributors and retailers in the automotive aftermarket to improve margins and increase customer loyalty through better visibility into parts availability from suppliers,” said Rick Main, executive vice president of sales and marketing at GCommerce.

E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co. has named William Niebur as leader of its Pioneer Hi-Bred business in China, the world’s second-largest seed corn market and a key long-term growth opportunity for the company. Niebur previously led DuPont’s crop genetics research and development efforts. “Bill has seen firsthand the power of the Pioneer approach to putting science to work for farmers around the world,” said Paul Schickler, president of Pioneer, in a release. “Having his wealth of experience and expertise guiding the seed business in China will greatly enhance our ability to deliver innovation and increased productivity to Chinese farmers.”

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) introduced an amendment today to help fight rising fees at automated teller machines (ATMs). The amendment would require the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to ensure that fees charged to consumers at ATMs bear a reasonable relation to the cost of processing the transaction. The amendment sets an upper limit of 50 cents per transaction; data suggest the cost of processing a transaction is no more than 36 cents today.

Give Back Des Moines, a community campaign executed by the Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute, has exceeded its fund-raising goal of $75,000 and has collected approximately $80,000. It is now turning its focus to basic needs collections and will collect items at local Hy-Vee Inc. stores from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 8-9 and May 15-16. Tables will be at the entrances of stores and shoppers are encouraged to buy extra items to donate. The donations will benefit several dozen Des Moines charities.