Apparel
Leadership changes were announced at Huntington Beach-based Boardriders Inc. following the presumed death of Chief Executive Pierre Agnes, who was lost at sea off the coast of France. David Tanner, who was serving as chief turnaround officer, was named chief executive. He’d been scheduled to become CEO after the closing of Boardriders’ acquisition of Billabong in the first half of the year.
— Subrina Hudson
Education
The University of California-Irvine accepted the resignation of Howard Federoff, vice chancellor of health affairs and chief executive of the UCI Health System. He will continue as a faculty member. It appointed two executives to fill in as it searches for candidates to fill his relinquished roles.
— Sherry Hsieh
Finance
The first new OC bank in a year opened on Feb. 1 in Santa Ana. Infinity Bank completed a $33 million capital raise. B. Riley FBR Inc. was the sole placement agent. Proceeds will be used to capitalize the bank and provide funds for lending and investment operations and general business purposes. Infinity will focus on lending to businesses in Orange and Los Angeles counties.
— Peter J. Brennan
A federal judge preliminarily approved Allianz Asset Management of America LP’s payment of $12 million to settle allegations it didn’t adequately provide alternatives to employees for their retirement plans. The unit of Allianz SE also owns Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co. Allianz has 1,380 employees in OC, including PIMCO’s. Funds will be distributed among plan participants. Allianz said the settlement doesn’t force it to change the investment lineup offered to employees.
— Peter J. Brennan
Healthcare
Lake Forest-based ReVision Optics Inc. said it ceased operations. It makes a replacement eye lens used in surgical correction of age-related farsightedness. ReVision raised $32 million in equity financing in November 2016. Proceeds from the round, which was led by Johnson & Johnson Development Corp., were said to support expansion of U.S. commercialization. Its Raindrop device received Food and Drug Administration approval in June. Company executives couldn’t yet be reached for details.
— Sherry Hsieh
Allergan PLC named Matthew Walsh chief financial officer, effective this month. He currently serves as executive vice president and chief financial officer at Somerset, N.J.-based drug development, delivery and supply company Catalent Inc.
Hospitality
An affiliate of CW Capital Asset Management LLC bought the Portofino Inn & Suites for $26 million, its second such deal in several years for the bad debt of a Disneyland Resort-area hotel. CW bought the $36.1 million loan on the 190-room hotel last month. The $26 million price works out to $136,000 per room.
— Paul Hughes
Manufacturing
Texas-based Kimberly-Clark will close a Fullerton plant as part of cost-cutting efforts, the Orange County Register reported. The facility employs 330 and opened in 1956.
— Hannah Mitchell
Restaurants
Yum Brands Inc. in Louisville, owner of Irvine-based Taco Bell, will buy 3% of food-delivering company GrubHub Inc. in Chicago for $200 million. The deal is intended to expand online and delivery revenue, as well as co-marketing work, for the local unit, and give GrubHub “additional liquidity” to develop its network, Yum said.
— Paul Hughes
Services
Santa Ana-based facility services company Allied Universal bought Covenant Security Services Ltd., a unit of Covenant Services Worldwide, on undisclosed terms. Philadelphia-based Covenant Security generates about $80 million in annual revenue and employs 1,900. It operates in industries that include chemical, petrochemical, commercial real estate and defense and aerospace.
— Peter J. Brennan
Technology
The board of Qualcomm Inc. unanimously rejected Broadcom Ltd.’s latest unsolicited cash and stock bid, of $121 billion, or $82 per share. Broadcom’s proposal “materially undervalues” Qualcomm and “falls well short” on the regulatory side, given the “significant downside risk of a failed transaction,” Qualcomm Chairman Paul Jacobs wrote in a letter to Broadcom Chief Executive Hock Tan.
— Chris Casacchia
