Education
California State University-Long Beach said Brian Jersky will be provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, effective June 1, replacing David Dowell, who is retiring. Jersky was previously a dean at both California State Polytechnic University-Pomona and St. Mary’s College of California in Moraga. CSULB President Jane Close Conoley said Jersky would “advance our university by developing innovative ways to encourage and support faculty and students.” Dowell has been interim provost since July 2013.
Finance
Santa-Ana based LoanNow secured a $50 million line of credit to expand its loan portfolio nationwide, according to president and Chief Operating Officer Miron Lulic. The online lender provides credit options to borrowers with bad credit. It’s originated approximately $10 million in personal loans since launching in June 2014. The line of credit came from an undisclosed institutional investor in New Jersey, according to the company. It’s from a specialty finance fund focused on credit- and asset-based investments.
Healthcare
Aliso Viejo-based medical device maker Ellipse Technologies Inc. will be sold to San Diego-based NuVasive Inc. in a deal worth up to $410 million. Ellipse develops and markets implants used to treat spinal and other orthopedic disorders. NuVasive makes spinal surgical devices. NuVasive said it plans to maintain a “design center of excellence” in Aliso Viejo and that Chief Executive Edmund Roschak will become part of NuVasive’s leadership team. It said the deal for Ellipse includes a $380 million upfront cash payment and a potential $30 million payment if certain revenue goals are met. The deal is expected to close by the end of February.
Children’s Hospital of Orange County bought an eight-story medical and office building next to its main campus in Orange. CRC Real Estate Corporation, an affiliate of CHOC, paid just under $44 million for 1120 W. La Veta Ave., a 179,279-square-foot building next to the Garden Grove (22) Freeway in Orange. CHOC is already one of the building’s larger tenants. The purchase “supports our organizational strategies and the growth needs of CHOC’s pediatric system of care,” said Kerri Ruppert Schiller, CHOC senior vice president and CFO.
Irvine-based healthcare facilities operator Silverado named Shamim Wu president and chief operating officer, a new position. Privately held Silverado operates 47 facilities in California and five other states that care for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive disorders. It also provides home healthcare and hospice services. Wu will be responsible for overseeing Silverado’s operations and sales and will report directly to company founder and Chief Executive Loren Shook. She was previously executive vice president of sales with Lake Oswego, Oregon-based Holiday Retirement.
Hospitality
Anaheim-based Fortune Hospitality LLC bought the 78-room Best Western Plus hotel in La Mesa for $12.4 million, according to CoStar Group and Irvine-based broker Atlas Hospitality Group. The price works out to $159,000 per room. Beverly Hills-based Sikand La Mesa Hotel LLC sold the three-story property at 9550 Murray Drive, which was built in 1986 on about 0.8 acres. Atlas brokers represented the buyer and the seller.
Retail
Irvine Company said it plans to set up 20 new shops on the site of the soon-to-be-closed Macy’s department store at its Irvine Spectrum Center. The $150 million project will include construction of two buildings, new landscaping, outdoor seating and shade areas, state-of-the-art amenities and parking-garage improvements. The shuttering of Macy’s in Irvine is part of a nationwide 40-store closure announced by the chain last week.
