Other news items of interest from the Orange County Business Journal
Atlanta-based AutoTrader Group Inc., parent company of Irvine-based Kelley Blue Book Co., filed documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $300 million in an initial public offering.
Newport Beach-based biotechnology firm Joseph and Gionis LLC—a subsidiary of the Joseph and Gionis law firm—signed a five-year deal to distribute products of Oregon-based U.S. Rare Earth Minerals Inc. in the Middle East. Rare Earth makes minerals and nutrients for markets including agriculture, livestock, home and garden, and health. The products are sold under the Excelerite brand.
California State University, Fullerton’s Mihaylo College of Business and Economics got $2.1 million from the U.S. Small Business Administration to fund the small-business development centers in Orange County and the Inland Empire. The Mihaylo School has been managing the development-center network since 2003.
Disneyland Resort’s Disney California Adventure in Anaheim set a park record with 45,000 visitors on June 17, two days after opening its new Cars Land attractions and Buena Vista Street. Burbank-based parent Walt Disney Co. spent $1 billion on three rides based on the Disney film franchise Cars and added other improvements at California Adventure, which has underperformed its Disneyland kin for years.
The Battle of the Dance dinner theater in Anaheim closed due to financial woes. The Harbor Boulevard venue opened in February 2011 and featured Irish-step and flamenco dancing.
The San Clemente City Council approved an agreement with National Community Renaissance to build a $7.3 million apartment building on vacant city land on Avenida Serra. The city plans to sell the site to a nonprofit developer of affordable homes, and provide a $3.4 million loan to help with the cost of constructing the 19-unit building.
Anaheim-based Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. will start marketing its core Acthar drug for rheumatoid arthritis and related conditions. The drug maker is going to begin a pilot sales program by mid-July that will start out with the hiring of 12 salespersons and an initial concentration on a pair of rare inflammatory neuromuscular disorders, dermatomyositis and polymyositis. Questcor plans to market Acthar, which is approved for 19 conditions, to as many as 1,000 neurologists who specialize in treating neuromuscular diseases.
Rochester, N.Y.-based Bausch & Lomb Inc. received Food and Drug Administration approval of its enVista intraocular lens, which is made in Aliso Viejo and used in cataract replacement surgeries. Bausch said it plans full domestic commercial release of enVista when the FDA clears the lens’ supporting insertion system. Bausch’s eye-surgical operations are based in Aliso Viejo.
The Irvine office of Atlan-ta-based Troutman Sanders LLP added partners Larry Cerutti, Susan Stabe and John Bradley, all formerly of Costa Mesa-based Rutan & Tucker LLP. Associates Rushika Kumararatne and Erin Zaskoda also will make the switch. Cerutti focuses on finance and acquisition, Stabe specializes in trademark and copyright work, and Bradley practices corporate and securities law.
Denver-based MediaNews Group’s San Bernardino Sun, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and the Redlands Daily Facts will be printed at Freedom Communications Inc.’s Orange County Register printing plant here. MediaNews’ San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star-News and Whittier Daily News already are printed at the plant. Irvine-based Freedom recently agreed to be acquired by Massachusetts-based investment group 2100 Trust LLC.
TriTech Small Business Development Center has begun working with University of California, Irvine, to help high-tech startups commercialize their technology. The project features workshops on writing grant proposals and other educational programs.
Broadcom Corp. cofounder and Chairman Henry Samueli won the 2012 Marconi Society Prize and Fellowship, considered a top honor in the information-technology field. Samueli’s work at the Irvine-based chipmaker has led to numerous advancements in the broadband industry. The Marconi Prize comes with a $100,000 award.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
UP: Consumer confidence in California, according to Orange-based Chapman University’s latest California Composite Index of Consumer Confidence. The index rose to its highest market since 2007, reaching 92.3 compared with 89.8 in the first quarter. The outlook on big-ticket consumer spending—among items surveyed for the index—rose quarter-to-quarter to an index reading of 101.7 from a previous 72.5. Chapman said declining gas prices and lower interest rates were major contributors to a higher consumer confidence during the quarter.
