Irvine-based mobile-accessories maker Incipio Technologies Inc. purchased on undisclosed terms Tavik Industries LLC, an Irvine-based maker of men’s beach clothing and women’s swimwear.
Santa Ana-based mortgage lender Stearns Lending Inc. tapped industry veteran Brian Hale as chief executive, effective May 21. Stearns Corp. founder Glenn Stearns had been Stearns Lending’s chief executive. He remains the top executive for other financial services companies under the Stearns Corp. umbrella, including Stearns Wholesale, TriVerify and CU Partners. Hale arrives from MetLife Home Loans, residential mortgage arm of MetLife Bank, N.A., where he was president and national production executive.
Irvine-based TC3 Health Inc. was purchased by Emdeon Inc. of Nashville for an undisclosed price. TC3, founded in 2000, has a preferred-provider organization network and also develops technology including data-analysis tools that help health insurance companies manage their claims.
Irvine-based Allergan Inc. was subpoenaed by the Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General in connection with its Lap-Band weight-loss device. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives have called for hearings on various medical devices, including the Lap-Band, after an article in the Archives of Surgery medical journal showed almost half of patients getting gastric bands failed to lose weight or needed to have the device removed after six years.
The San Diego developer who owns U-T San Diego reportedly is in final negotiations to buy Irvine-based Freedom Communications Inc.’s Orange County Register, according to reports in San Diego. Douglas Manchester and John Lynch acquired the San Diego Union-Tribune in November and renamed the daily U-T San Diego. Lynch is now chief executive of the newspaper.
A condo owned by golfer Tiger Woods on Ocean Boulevard in Corona del Mar was listed for sale at $2.49 million. Woods reportedly paid $3 million for the 2,000-square-foot property in 2004 (see related story on Tiger Woods Foundation, page 1).
Quest Software Inc. in Aliso Viejo has drawn additional suitors in the wake of the business software maker’s agreement to be taken private in a $2 billion deal led New York private equity firm Insight Venture Partners. Believed in the mix of suitors are tech biggies Dell Inc. in Round Rock, Texas; Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp.; and IBM Corp. in New York. Quest said in a regulatory filing it had received “multiple” proposals during a 60-day “go-shop” period ordered by the Quest board after unanimously approving the Insight deal. A special committee formed to review alternative bids said it’s likely a “superior proposal” will result.
Disneyland in Anaheim marked its best-ever first quarter on attendance, contributing to a 7% rise overall for Burbank-based Walt Disney Co.’s U.S. parks during the period. Disney provides information on percentage increases but does not disclose total visitor counts. Disney’s hotels posted a 2% increase in overnight stays during the March quarter.
The Club 33 members-only restaurant and lounge in Disneyland began offering new memberships for the first time in a decade. Memberships are being offered for a $25,000 fee plus $10,000 in annual dues to mark Club 33’s 45th anniversary. Members also get sneak peeks of park rides and other perks.
A total 130 OC business were sold in April, 26% more than a year earlier and 15% fewer than in March, according to California business tracker BizBen.com. The previous month marked the most business sales in a year.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
UP: Projected jobs growth in Orange County, which will lead Southern California in jobs creation through 2014, according to an economic forecast by California State University, Long Beach. The report projects 26,500 new jobs in OC this year, a 1.9% annual uptick, to be followed by a 3% gain next year. Top jobs growth is expected in business and professional services.
DOWN: OC home prices, which fell 2.4%, on average in March compared with a year earlier, according to Santa Ana-based real estate data provider CoreLogic Inc. The average price was unchanged from 2011 with distressed property sales excluded from the comparison.
