Westminster-based DVS Footwear International signed a licensing agreement with Aquarius Ltd. in St. Louis. Aquarius will design and make DVS-branded bags and other accessories that will be available in the fall at skateboarding stores and other retailers. DVS is part of New York-based Sequential Brands Group Inc.
Paul Naude’s Stokehouse Unlimited, a new women’s line based in Costa Mesa, includes swimsuits, coverups and sportswear and is expected to launch in July at the Miami Swim show. Naude, former head of Billabong International Ltd.’s Americas business, is serving as chief executive of the line. Action sports industry veterans Mandy Fry and Summer Rapp will serve as co-presidents. Fry was most recently with Costa Mesa-based Volcom Inc. as vice president of women’s. Rapp is the former vice president of design for Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc.’s now-defunct Quiksilver Women’s line. Stokehouse Unlimited is the parent of two other startup brands: the surf-inspired men’s apparel line Vissla and sunglasses brand D’Blanc. Both lines are expected to launch in March.
A competing offer for Anaheim-based Fisker Automotive Inc. was sweetened with an additional $10 million. Wanxiang America Corp. said in court documents filed last week that it would increase its purchase price of the luxury hybrid automaker to about $35.7 million. The Wanxiang bid is going up against Hybrid Technology LLC, which is affiliated with Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li. Hybrid paid $25 million for Fisker’s Department of Energy loan late last year following the automaker’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in November.
Irvine-based Kia Motors America Inc. promoted several executives at its headquarters and Georgia manufacturing facility, including local executive Tim Chaney, who’s now vice president of marketing and communications, and Orth Hedrick, to vice president of product planning.
Irvine-based Financial Tools Inc. was acquired by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Inc. in Minneapolis on undisclosed terms. Financial Tools, which has 30 employees, provides financial analysis, credit-risk management and stress-testing services for commercial lenders. It doesn’t disclose financial information. Financial Tools’ chief executive, Dave Kampff, and all of its employees will be retained, according to Wolters Kluwer Financial Services.
Costa Mesa-based Commercial Bank of California received a “needs to improve” rating from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act. “Needs to improve” is the second-to-
lowest rating.
Foothill Ranch-based mortgage lender LoanDepot.com LLC named Bryan Sullivan its chief investment officer. Sullivan joined LoanDepot from Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co., where he worked as a portfolio manager for about two years. He managed Pimco’s Bravo fund, short for Bank Recapitalization and Value Opportunities, which aims to buy distressed assets from banks in the U.S. and Europe.
Tustin-based drug developer Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. received fast-track Food and Drug Administration status for its lung cancer candidate bavituximab, which recently began a phase-three clinical trial. Fast-track status helps expedite reviews on drugs used for the treatment of serious or life-threatening conditions with the opportunity for more meetings with the FDA and the possibility of priority on reviews for a new drug application.
Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin Law Corp. in Sacramento expanded into Orange County through a combination with Waldron & Bragg LLP, a litigation firm in Newport Beach. The firm will operate under the Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin name. Sherry Bragg, who has been the managing partner at Waldron & Bragg, will join the firmwide executive committee and continue to oversee the Newport Beach office.
San Juan Capistrano-based toilet-parts maker Fluidmaster Inc. acquired Kolektor Liv in Postonjna, Slovenia.
Terms were undisclosed. Family-owned Fluidmaster, which is known as the “largest-selling brand of toilet repair products in the world,” does not disclose revenue figures. It has about 1,200 workers globally, with about 135 in Orange County.
Lake Forest-based Del Taco LLC is now offering its customers turkey tacos amid what it called greater demand for more health-conscious fare. The Mexican-inspired fast food chain said its ground turkey has 33% less fat than its beef tacos and totals 150 calories. They sell for $1.29.
