APPAREL
La Jolla Group LLC in Irvine acquired an equity stake in Laguna Beach-based apparel maker Roark Revival for an undisclosed amount. La Jolla, which has the license to make clothes and accessories under the O’Neill Clothing, Metal Mulisha and FMF brands, will provide finance, accounting, logistics and technology, human resources, planning and sourcing, and Roark will handle sales, product design, merchandising and marketing. It struck a similar deal in August with Scottsdale-based apparel maker Spiritual Gangster.
AUTOMOTIVE
Mazda North American Operations in Irvine appointed Masahiro Moro its new president and chief executive to replace Jim O’Sullivan, who will retire from the company on Jan. 1. Moro is a managing executive officer of Mazda Motor Corp. in Japan. Mazda said O’Sullivan was the longest-serving senior executive of any car company in the U.S. at the time of his retirement. He said he’s “proud of what my team has achieved, and I know that I leave Mazda in a better place than it was when I joined.”
EDUCATION
A settlement that would have wrapped up a shareholder suit against Corinthian Colleges didn’t pass a judge’s muster, according to legal news website Law360. The $3.5 million settlement would have resolved a class-action suit over enrollment practices. A California federal judge said plaintiffs’ lawyers didn’t establish that the settlement amount was reasonable, among other reasons given for declining it.
FINANCE
Squar Milner LLP bought Solomon, Winnett & Rosenfield in Los Angeles and McLean, Rotherham & Co. in San Diego and plans to bring the accounting firms under its name at its Newport Beach headquarters. The acquisitions add about 50 employees and $6 million in revenue, according to Managing Partner Steve Milner, who said Solomon Winnett has a tax focus and that McLean Rotherham’s strength is in audits, with the latter also burnishing its efforts with education business clients.
Opus Bank in Irvine was added to Standard & Poor’s Regional Banks Select Industry and Total Market indices last month. The regional banks index has 90 stocks. The market index includes more stocks and covers general equity markets. Indices are used by money managers and institutional investors to make decisions about investments.
HOSPITALITY
Owners of the 86-room Park Vue Inn envision more rooms and smaller restaurants as part of a redevelopment, according to documents filed with the city of Anaheim. Plans by Paul Durand and the Scalzo Family Partnership call for demolishing the hotel and two restaurants in favor of a seven-story, 180-room property. About 18 months ago, the owners proposed a 162-room hotel and an expansion of the International House of Pancakes and Cold Stone Creamery on the site. A proposed 3-mile, $318 million streetcar line that would have run through the property was dealt a setback in October by a report that said the project was unlikely to receive federal funding and that the city should seek alternatives to the plan.
Aliso Viejo-based hotel investor and operator Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. sold its leasehold interest in its 468-room Doubletree Guest Suites in New York’s Times Square for $540 million, or a little under $1.2 million per room. The deal was completed at a capitalization rate of 3.4%, according to Sunstone. The buyer wasn’t immediately disclosed. Sunstone said it paid off a $175 million loan tied to the property as part of the transaction.
MANUFACTURING
Kaiser Aluminum Corp. in Foothill Ranch plans to spend $150 million on equipment upgrades at its Spokane, Wash., facility over the next five years. It said the investment will reduce costs, increase efficiency and expand manufacturing capacity. The rolling mill produces aluminum coil, sheets and plates for the aerospace, automotive and general engineering industries.
REAL ESTATE
Steadfast Apartment REIT, an affiliate of Irvine-based Steadfast Cos., acquired a 222-unit apartment complex in Colorado for $44.2 million. PeakView by Horseshoe Lake in the Fort Collins area is the fifth property the real estate investment trust has acquired in the Centennial State, bringing its total investment to $1.2 billion among 29 apartment properties in 11 states. PeakView, built in 2002 on 14 acres, is a 90% occupied community that offers one-, two- and three-bedroom homes with $1,338 average monthly rents. Steadfast Apartment REIT has raised about $325 million from investors.
