AMUSEMENT
Walt Disney Co.’s parks and resorts unit led a revenue increase at the Burbank-based entertainment company in its most recent quarter. The company reported a of 3% year-over-year revenue increase to $13.34 billion; its parks and resorts unit’s revenue rose 9% to $4.3 billion, more than the company’s overall revenue boost and helping cover revenue declines at Disney’s studio entertainment and consumer products & interactive media units. A fourth segment, media networks, grew revenue slightly.
APPAREL
St. John Knits International Inc. plans to cut 130 jobs next month at one of its Irvine facilities, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification it filed with the state. It employs about 400 in Irvine and another 600 at a plant in Mexico. The brand’s sales are down substantially from its peak about a decade ago, according to industry sources.
FINANCE
Pacific Investment Management Co. in Newport Beach will add 100 staffers during the next 12 months as it seeks to grow, Chief Executive Manny Roman told Bloomberg News. It also plans to spend more money on technology. Pimco is looking for job candidates with quantitative analysis, risk management and history background and skills sets in order to develop more diverse ideas.
Mechanics Bank in Walnut, Calif., named Bill Katafias chief executive of its Irvine-based CRB Auto division. Katafias most recently was executive vice president, national production manager for Wells Fargo Dealer Services, where he managed retail production, national and regional dealer partners and direct lending operations. He succeeds CRB Auto Chief Executive Scott Raymer, who according to Mechanics Bank previously announced his resignation to pursue other opportunities.
HOSPITALITY
Pebble Beach Co. will open 38 new rooms in August at The Lodge at Pebble Beach under the name Fairway One. The spaces overlook Pebble Beach Golf Links and include 6,500 square feet of meeting space. Newport Beach investor Peter Ueberroth, chairman of private equity firm Contrarian Group, and Lake Tahoe investor Dick Ferris are controlling shareholders of Pebble Beach Co., which owns the Pebble Beach Resorts on the Monterey Peninsula.
Burba Hotel Network in Costa Mesa was bought by Northstar Travel Group in Secaucus, N.J., on undisclosed terms. Burba runs 10 hospitality investment events globally. BHN founder and President Jim Burba said in a press release that the deal expands his firm’s access to digital media and database marketing, among other benefits. Northstar publishes about 10 travel industry journals and runs 50 events in 13 countries.
TECHNOLOGY
Newport Beach-based start-up Veritone Inc. began trading Friday on the NASDAQ Capital Markets after raising $37.5 million in an initial public offering, more than double the $16 million it previously expected. It was the second IPO in Orange County last week and the second public exit in OC’s diverse technology sector in less than two months after several years without one. Investors sent shares down about 4% in early afternoon trading to a share price of $14.35. Its market value wasn’t available on the NASDAQ.
OTHER
Several OC residents and others with local ties to OC received the 2017 Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which is given to U.S. immigrants or native-born citizens who’ve made significant contributions to their local communities, the country or the world. Locals getting the award this year include M.C. Sungaila, an appellate attorney with Costa Mesa-based Haynes & Boone; Paul Musco, founder and chairman of Santa Ana-based Gemini Industries Inc.; astronaut Buzz Aldrin, a former OC resident; Emile Haddad, CEO of Aliso Viejo-based FivePoint Communities Inc.; Anne Shih, board chairwoman at Bowers Museum in Santa Ana; and Garo Tertzakian, a urologist and managing partner at Associated Urologists of Orange County in Santa Ana.
