Apparel
Quiksilver Inc. in Huntington Beach is holding discussions with potential buyers in an effort to avoid bankruptcy and keep its stores, Bloomberg Business reported, citing sources close to the matter. The apparel and footwear manufacturer last month appointed Peter J. Solomon Co. in New York as an adviser. Authentic Brands Group LLC in New York “could be interested in the Quiksilver name,” according to Bloomberg. Authentic is part of private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners L.P.’s investment portfolio, which also includes Advantage Sales and Marketing in Irvine. It owns brands such as Juicy Couture and Jones New York, the latter of which it acquired in April.
Education
University of California-Irvine is in the top tier of public universities in the U.S., according to a ranking scheduled to be released this week. UCI is one of five public universities in California to crack the top-10 threshold of the annual “Best Colleges” ranking of U.S. News & World Report, the magazine said in a “preview” note. The other four are the UC system schools in Berkeley, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Santa Barbara. Rounding out the top 10 are five schools in four states: Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Michigan.
Finance
Newport Beach-based private equity firm ClearLight Partners LLC made a “major” investment in Walker Advertising, a legal marketing firm primarily serving the Latino-American community. San Pedro-based Walker Advertising, founded about 30 years ago, provides Latino-Americans access to legal representation and operates two brands, Los Defensores and 1800thelaw2. Neither the amount of ClearLight’s investment nor the percentage of its ownership stake was disclosed.
The Pimco Total Return Fund dipped under $100 billion in assets for the first time in more than eight years to about a third of the money it managed at its peak in 2013, according to Bloomberg News. Investors took out $1.8 billion from Pacific Investment Management Co.’s flagship fund last month. Assets were at $98.5 billion at the end of August following 28 consecutive months of outflows.
Healthcare
Allergan PLC, which has its eye drug hub in Irvine, said it’s buying Aliso Viejo-based AqueSys Inc. for $300 million upfront, with the potential for milestone payments (see related story, page 1). AqueSys develops implants that lower intraocular pressure in people with glaucoma, an eye disease that’s a major cause of blindness. Its lead device, Xen45, is approved overseas and is expected to earn Food and Drug Administration approval late next year or in early 2017. Allergan, with its legal headquarters in Dublin and operating from New Jersey, sought privately held AqueSys, a venture-backed company that raised nearly $80 million since it started nine years ago, as part of efforts in “introducing novel treatments for patients with glaucoma,” said a company statement.
San Clemente-based CareTrust REIT Inc. said it spent $5.4 million to buy a secured memory care and assisted living facility in Pensacola, Fla. It owns, buys and leases senior housing and healthcare-related real estate. Asbury Place Assisted Living, the Pensacola facility, has 38 units and 64 beds. CareTrust said it would be leased to and operated by Lakewood Ranch, Fla.-based Better Senior Living Consulting LLC.
John Fuller, who in February left Aliso Viejo-based Johnny Rockets “to pursue other interests,” was named president and chief executive of the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf in Los Angeles. Johnny Rockets has about 340 restaurants in 28 countries and $343 million in systemwide sales. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has about 1,000 locations in 30 countries, with about $485 million in systemwide sales last year, according to Technomic Inc. in Chicago.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
MIXED: Orange-County automakers’ sales in August, when three of four brands based here topped the national pace. Hyundai Motor America in Fountain Valley, with 72,012 units sold, had its best August ever, up 3% from a year earlier. Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine reported selling 58,897 cars and SUVs, up 7.7%. Mazda North American Operations in Irvine dipped 4.4% to 29,938 vehicles, and Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. sold 8,289, up 22.1%.
