Japanese fast-fashion retailer Uniqlo is headed to South Coast Plaza. Uniqlo has 17 U.S. locations in New York and New Jersey, along with stores in San Francisco and San Mateo. Meanwhile, Dutch clothing company Scotch & Soda will open its first OC location at South Coast Plaza in May.
Hybrid Tech Holdings LLC, one of two bidders vying for Costa Mesa-based Fisker Automotive Inc. in a bankruptcy auction, brought on a former Maserati, Ford and Mazda executive to serve as strategic adviser. Hybrid Tech, affiliated with Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, said Martin Leach will fill the advisory position at the company.
Masimo Corp. was ordered to pay $5.4 million to two former company salesmen who charged that the company required them to sell faulty blood monitors. Arbitrator Richard Neal sided with the plaintiffs, who accused Masimo executives of knowing the company was selling two hemoglobin measuring devices that provided inaccurate readings. Masimo said it will appeal the arbitrator’s decision, which it said contradicts an earlier federal district court ruling that dismissed a different case. In the earlier case, two former salesmen sued as whistleblowers, saying that being required to sell faulty devices made their work conditions intolerable and led to their resignations. In the latest case, arbitrator Neal said one patient had to have a blood transfusion because of a false reading by one of the devices, both of which Masimo ultimately recalled (see related story, page 1)
Dental laser maker Biolase Inc. raised $5 million in a sale of 1.9 million shares of company stock to Oracle Investment Management Inc. in Greenwich, Conn. for $2.57 each. It said it will use the money to pay back the balance of $4.6 million it borrowed.
The RLJ real estate investment trust made a nonrefundable deposit to buy the Hyatt house Cypress/Anaheim hotel in a deal to purchase 10 hotels from Hyatt Hotels Corp. It deposited $10 million for the Hyatt in the overall $313 million transaction.
The Orange County Bar Foundation in Santa Ana got $15.3 million from the Jeffrey M. Carlton Foundation, the largest gift in its 45-year history. The Carlton Foundation was named after its late benefactor, Jeffrey Carlton, who made his fortune through his Press Forge Co., a Paramount-based metal forging shop known as the largest metal alloy forge company in the country. The foundation last year made a $53 million donation to Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach, the largest gift in the health system’s history.
Irvine manufacturer VTI Instruments was sold by investors for $74 million to Ametek Inc. of Berwyn, Pa. VTI makes testing and measurement instruments. Alerion Capital Group and Merit Capital Partners led the investor group.
Private equity investor Kodiak Capital Group LLC agreed to buy up to $5 million worth of common stock from Greenkraft Inc., a Santa Ana-based manufacturer of alternative-fuel automotive products. Greenkraft trades over the counter and has a market value of about $289 million.
Freedom Communications, owner of the Orange County Register, said it will launch a weekly newspaper to cover Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Rancho Mirage, La Quinta and Indian Wells.
Arvella Schuller, wife of Crystal Cathedral Ministries founder Rev. Robert Schuller, died last week at 84 following a brief illness. She was a producer of the popular “Hour of Power” TV show hosted by her husband.
Irvine-based Fitness International LLC plans to host group fitness classes at more than 500 of the company’s locations as part of a fundraiser for Augie’s Quest, a nonprofit organization founded by Corona del Mar resident Augie Nieto, a fitness industry entrepreneur and executive who’s battling ALS, or Lou Gerhig’s Disease. He oversees the foundation’s search for a cure for the disease.
Verizon Wireless said it will close its Irvine call center by May 8 and offer 1,075 employees the chance to transfer to 22 other locations throughout the U.S. It said it’s offering the affected workers $10,000 relocation payments, $500 reimbursements for travel costs, and time off to look into the possibility of a move. Verizon will continue to employ about 1,300 workers at its campus on Sand Canyon in Irvine, which serves as its western U.S. headquarters.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
UP: Orange County hotel occupancy and daily room rates in December, according to the latest data from industry researcher PKF Consulting USA LLC. The countywide average daily rate ended the year up 5.7% to $158.88. from a year earlier. Revenue per available room—a key industry measure—was up 8.4% to $121.61. The countywide occupancy rate rose 5.2% from a year earlier to 70.12%.
