ACCOUNTING
Gary Wilson, partner-in-charge of Grant Thornton LLP’s Irvine office, will take on a new post at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP’s Irvine office starting Jan. 5. Wilson joined Grant Thornton in 1991 and has been a partner since 2004. He became partner-in-charge of the Irvine office in 2009.
APPAREL
Quiksilver Inc. won’t sponsor the Quiksilver Pro New York in 2012, ending the marketing initiative with Australia-based Association of Surfing Professionals International after one year. The Huntington Beach-based company faced hurdles on obtaining insurance the event in the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, which disrupted a related festival last year. Quiksilver makes clothes inspired by surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding.
AUTOMOTIVE
Anaheim-based luxury electric-vehicle maker Fisker Automotive Inc. recalled 239 of its newly introduced Karma models in the U.S. because of misplaced battery-hose clamps and possible leakages. The batteries are made by A123 Systems Inc. of Waltham, Mass.
HEALTHCARE
Aviir Inc., an Irvine-based medical testing company, signed a deal with investors for up to $30 million in financing. Aviir gets an initial investment of $10 million and up to $20 million more after reaching various milestones. Aviir is developing tests assessing heart-disease risk and will use proceeds to commercialize its TruRisk test. Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based Merck & Co.’s Merck Global Health Innovation Fund led the round.
FINANCE
A court-ordered report shows executives of former Tustin-based lender Medical Capital Holdings made insider loans worth tens of millions while charging investors hundreds of millions in unjustified administrative fees. The report by a court-appointed receiver followed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s shutdown of MedCap in 2009.
Santa Ana-based mortgage-industry services provider TD Service Financial Corp. acquired Idaho Falls, Idaho-based Security Connections Inc., a provider of mortgage file-management services, on undisclosed terms.
MEDIA
San Clemente-based GrindMedia LLC bought Baseball America, a magazine based in Durham, N.C., on undisclosed terms. GrindMedia publishes sports titles including SLAM, Surfer, Snowboarder and Dirt Rider.
Irvine-based digital media agency Specific Media LLC launched Myspace Music Player, a feature that lets users listen to songs for free via its recently acquired Myspace social-networking website. The move represents the first major initiative since Specific Media announced its $35 million acquisition of Beverly Hills-based Myspace LLC from New York-based News Corp. in June.
TECHNOLOGY
Seal Beach-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp. raised an additional $150 million from investors including T. Boone Pickens, who started the company as a small part of his Dallas-based Mesa Petroleum in the late 1980s and split it off a decade later. Pickens exercised warrants to purchase 15 million shares of the company’s common stock at $10 per share. Clean Energy aims to build a network of natural fueling stations in high-traffic corridors around the country.
Japan’s Fair Trade Commission approved Western Digital Corp.’s $4.3 million buy of San Jose-based Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Ltd. The clearance came days after China raised antitrust concerns over the deal; Hiroaki Nakanishi, president of Japan-based Hitachi Global Storage’s parent Hitachi Ltd., also has voiced concern. The deal’s closing has been delayed to March or later.
Irvine-based laser maker Newport Corp. is set to acquire a Montana technology company specializing in performance and measurement tests for $9.3 million. The deal is expected to close this month. Bozeman-based ILX Lightwave Corp. makes temperature controllers, optical power meters and mounting fixtures.
Quest Software Inc. of Aliso Viejo paid an undisclosed sum to acquire BiTKOO, a Los Angeles-based developer of authorization and entitlement systems.
OTHER NEWS
A bench warrant was issued for Leigh Steinberg after the Newport Beach-based sports agent allegedly failed to appear for a court case involving a $1.4 million in unpaid rent on a Newport Beach office. Steinberg, of Steinberg Sports & Entertainment, was the inspiration for the movie “Jerry Maguire,” which spread the catch phrase, “Show me the money!” Steinberg attributed his failure to appear in court to a miscommunication.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
MIXED: The residential real estate market in OC, where 2011 closed with the average monthly number of sales of distressed homes down 2.4% from 2010, with short sales down 5.4%. Sales of bank-owned homes rose 3.8% compared to a year earlier.
