51.5 F
Laguna Hills
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
-Advertisement-

ADDENDUM – April 1, 2013

Other news items of interest from the Orange County Business Journal

Anaheim-based luxury hybrid automaker Fisker Automotive Inc. retained a legal team to work on a potential bankruptcy filing, according to a Wall Street Journal report based on information from “people familiar with the matter.” The report followed the company’s announcement that it instituted a weeklong furlough of its U.S. employees in a bid to save cash. The furlough affects about 200 employees, according to the company.

Electric vehicle marketer Green Automotive Co. secured $3 million in financing from Kodiak Capital Group LLC for business development and general corporate purposes in a deal between two Newport Beach-based companies. The deal allows Green Auto-motive to sell up $3 million of its common stock over the next 12 months to Kodiak.

Costa Mesa-based Pacific Mercantile Bancorp named Stephen Yost to new seats on the boards of the bank holding company and its Pacific Mercantile Bank subsidiary.

He currently serves as a principal at Kestrel Advisors, a consulting firm he founded in Arroyo Grande after he retired from Dallas-based Comerica Bank in 2006. The firm focuses on credit risk management in the banking and legal sectors.

Seaton: named to succeed Max Valdes as chief financial officer for First American Financial Corp.

Santa Ana-based title insurance company First American Financial Corp. named Mark Seaton chief financial officer. Seaton has been with First American since 2006, most recently serving as senior vice president of finance. He will take over the CFO’s duties from Max Valdes, who plans to retire.

The Irvine City Council last week picked Jones & Mayer LLP in Fullerton to serve in the role of city attorney on an interim basis. The appointment follows the council’s decision in March to end a long-standing contract with Costa Mesa-based Rutan & Tucker LLP that dated back to the city’s incorporation.

Mission Viejo-based Ensign Group Inc. agreed to sell its Doctors Express Inc. urgent-care franchise system to American Family Care Inc. in Birmingham, Ala. The deal, which came on undisclosed terms, is expected to take effect on April 15.

Anaheim General Hospi-tal is scheduled to close in May, the facility told employees last week, giving them a 60-day notice. The announcement closely followed a $7 million state fine against hospital owner Pacific Health Corp. for unpaid wages, issuing bounced checks, and failing to pay for insurance coverage despite collecting premiums.

UC Irvine agreed to settle a whistle-blower lawsuit accusing its hospital of letting residents and nurse anesthetists administer anesthesia without supervision by anesthesiol-ogists and billing Medicare as though doctors supervised the procedures. University officials denied the allegations but agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle the claims, according to news reports.

Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc. received a contract from the U.S. government to supply more than $40 million worth of body armor plates to the Afghani military. The deal calls for 242,000 plates to be delivered in the next six months. Ceradyne makes various ceramics-based products for application in the defense, industrial and commercial markets. The company was sold late last year to St. Paul, Minn.-based 3M Co. for $860 million. It now operates as part of 3M’s Advanced Materials Division under its industrial business umbrella.

Orange Coast magazine in Newport Beach named Christopher Schulz publisher. He comes from Firebrand Media LLC in Laguna Beach, where he oversaw regional lifestyle and luxury hotel publications. He’ll replace Linda Goldstein, who takes the title of publisher emeritus.

Mission Viejo-based Khalda Development plans to build seven mansions on 14 acres in Coto de Caza, leaving the rest of the 127 acres it owns there as a habitat reserve. It’s the last large slice of developable land in the gated community. The developer acquired the land in 1994.

Smart-sensor maker EmiSense Technologies LLC in Ladera Ranch raised $6.5 million in a third round of funding. Golden, Colo.-based venture capital firm 9th Street Investments led the round. EmiSense’s sensors are designed for cleaner emissions.

ECONOMIC INDICATOR

UP: Sales of businesses in Orange County in February, when 128 private enterprises changed hands, an increase of 58% compared with a year earlier, according to BizBen.com. It was the second-highest number of deals in the state behind Los Angeles County, which saw 370 in February.

UP: Employment in Orange County in February, when the jobless rate fell to 6.5% from 7.1% in January and 8.1% a year earlier, according to the state’s Economic Development Department. Employers added 14,300 jobs in February to take OC’s total to 1,411,200.

Want more from the best local business newspaper in the country?

Sign-up for our FREE Daily eNews update to get the latest Orange County news delivered right to your inbox!

-Advertisement-

Featured Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-

Related Articles

-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-