A Hong Kong investor group emerged as the likely buyer of Anaheim-based Fisker Automotive Inc.’s Department of Energy loan. An auction was held Oct. 11 for Fisker’s remaining $168 million DOE loan obligation following an unsuccessful search for a buyer. Reports said an investor group led by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li had the winning bid last week. The DOE said it didn’t intend to announce the auction winner until the auction process is completed. Li’s group had reportedly teamed up with Fisker cofounder Henrik Fisker in a bid to buy the company’s loan before the auction.
Hope International University, a private Christian school founded in 1928, opened an Anaheim campus on the ninth floor of the Stadium Towers building. The campus will host the school’s graduate and online programs. Its main campus is in Fullerton.
Banc of California Inc. announced the completion of the merger of its two banking subsidiaries, Pacific Trust Bank and Private Bank of California, into a single national charter bank called Banc of California. The Irvine-based bank holding company, formerly known as First PacTrust Bancorp Inc., closed the acquisition of Private Bank of California in Los Angeles in July. The deal expanded its presence in Los Angeles County, with the combined banks now having about $2.2 billion in total assets, 22 branches in Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego and Riverside counties and 23 loan production offices in California, Arizona, Oregon and Washington. Banc of California now trades on the Nasdaq under the ticker BANC.
Inceptus Medical LLC, an Aliso Viejo-based incubator focused on developing medical device companies, raised $4.7 million for its Inari Medical Inc. Proceeds are expected to help Inari develop and commercialize its devices for interventional treatment of cardiovascular disease. Versant Ventures joined U.S. Venture Partners in Menlo Park to lead the Series A round for Inari.
San Clemente-based Evolution Hospitality acquired the management contract for the 398-room Hilton Long Beach Hotel & Executive Meeting Center, which is expected to undergo renovations. The property also has 40,000 square feet of meeting space. The Hilton Long Beach is the ninth hotel Evolution brought on so far this year. The company said it expects to add two more by year-end. Evolution has 24 hotels in its portfolio, which includes the Courtyard Anaheim, Portofino Inn & Suites and Jolly Roger in OC.
Irvine-based Advantage Sales & Marketing LLC agreed to acquire Tri-Venture Marketing Inc. in Lakeland, Fla. on undisclosed terms. Advantage provides brokerage services for the consumer packaged-goods industry. It’s among the largest private companies in Orange County, with more than $1 billion in revenue. It has more than 1,200 clients, including Unilever PLC, J.M. Smucker Co., Mars Inc. and Kroger Co. Tri-Venture is a food brokerage firm focused on perishable products.
Irvine-based real estate data and consulting services provider CoreLogic is laying off about 150 employees in Lancaster and Simi Valley amid a slowdown in mortgage refinancing. CoreLogic notified the state Employment Development Department in late September of its plans to shutter its Lancaster location by mid-December resulting in job losses for 74 employees. The Simi Valley closure, to occur in the first half of 2014, will affect 80 employees, company spokesperson Alyson Austin said. CoreLogic employs about 4,000 workers overall.
San Juan Capistrano-based TextPower Inc., which makes alert notification software, secured $525,000 in its first institutional funding round. The company said it plans to use the proceeds to boost sales and marketing efforts, as well as to expand its website security business. Backers included Irvine-based Tech Coast Angels and several other angel investors from Orange County.
A former chief financial officer at Trustin Technology LLC in Irvine was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison for the embezzlement of nearly $16 million from the company. Jean Joseph Ibrahim, who’d pleaded guilty to wire fraud, was also ordered to repay the stolen money. Trustin Technology provides supply chain management services for companies.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
DOWN: Orange County home prices in September, when the median fell to $550,000, a decline of $10,000 from the month prior, according to San Diego-based DataQuick Information Systems. It was still the second-highest monthly median price since 2007.
