Other news items of interest from the Orange County Business Journal
Newport Beach-based private equity firm Solis Capital Partners closed its second fund with $61 million in commitments. Many of Solis’ initial investors have recommitted to the second fund, dubbed Solis II, said founder and Managing Director Dan Lubeck.
Mission Viejo-based Ensign Group Inc. bought a nursing home in Nebraska and a nursing home along with an assisted living facility in Washington state in separate deals. Terms weren’t disclosed. Ensign owns nursing homes, home health businesses and hospices.
Novent Cap LLC, a 75-year-old Yorba Linda company that makes an air conditioning unit component, was acquired by Houston-based RectorSeal Corp. on undisclosed terms. Novent makes a locking cap used on air conditioners’ refrigerant access ports. RectorSeal said the acquisition, in addition to its recent development of the GasGuard locking cap brand, makes it the market-share leader on locking caps.
Studio apartment rental rates in Orange County climbed by 8.1% in the past year, according to RealFacts, an apartment data provider. It was the biggest percentage jump of all types of apartments in complexes with 100 units or more. The average rate for studios has risen by 14.3% during the past four years, to $2.39 per square foot.
Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. is hoping to make the case for value with a multipronged approach that includes testing of a new dollar menu and limited-time offers, among other moves. Taco Bell wants to position itself as an overall value play from the lower end of its menu to its Cantina Bell items, which are priced around $5.
Santa Ana-based private security company Universal Protection Service acquired Protection Plus Security Corp. in New York on undisclosed terms. Universal Protection is part of Universal Services of America, which employs about 27,000 workers, including about 2,000 in Orange County. The latest acquisition is expected to help Universal Protection expand in the Northeast U.S.
Irvine-based Kawasaki Motors Corp. U.S.A. named former automotive executive Richard Beattie chief marketing and sales officer. Beattie will be in charge of marketing, sales and product strategy in the U.S. for the maker of motorcycles, ATVs and Jet Skis, as well as in Central and South America. Kawasaki is part of Japan-based Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. Beattie is a former chief commercial officer at Fisker Automotive Inc. in Anaheim. He retired from the troubled automaker late last year. He also is a former chief executive at Irvine-based Mazda North American Operations and execu-tive vice president of marketing and sales at Mahwah, N.J.-based Jaguar Land Rover North America.
Irvine was California’s seventh-fastest growing city last year, according to estimates released last week by the state Department of Finance. Irvine’s population grew by 3.2% to 231,000 in 2012. Orange County as a whole grew by 0.8% last year, adding about 24,000 people, for a total of 3.1 million. It remains the state’s third-largest county after Los Angeles and San Diego counties.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
UP: Wages in Orange County compared with the national average, according to a recent survey by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The study, based on pay levels in May 2012, found workers in OC earned $24.81 per hour on average, about 13% above the national average.
UP: The outlook for homeowners in Orange County in February, when the foreclosure rate fell to 0.9% and the delinquency rate dropped to 3.3%, according to Irvine-based real estate data analytics firm CoreLogic Inc. The drop continued a two-year trend of steady improvements on foreclosures here. The rate on foreclosures and delinquencies—borrowers 90 days or more behind on mortgage payments—are lower than both state and national averages.
