Apparel
Steven Benrubi resigned from his post as Wet Seal Inc.’s executive vice president and chief financial officer, the company announced in regulatory filings. Benrubi, who has been with the Foothill Ranch-based company since 2005, will stay on until Dec. 1.
Irvine-based Boot Barn Holdings filed for an initial public offering to raise up to $86.3 million. A date, number of shares and pricing hadn’t been set, but the company plans to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “BOOT.” Majority owner Freeman Spogli & Co. in Los Angeles would retain controlling interest after the offering. The retailer operates 155 stores in 24 states that sell Western-themed clothing and shoes.
Entertainment
Pacific Premier Bank in Irvine said it became the official business bank of the Anaheim Ducks professional hockey team and Honda Center in Anaheim. The “reciprocal business agreement” expands Pacific’s current role as the banker of The Rinks’ seven ice skating locations to include the Ducks and the Honda Center, said Steve Gardner, Pacific Premier’s president and chief executive. Ducks practice jerseys will feature a Pacific Premier Bank patch, and Honda Center’s soon-to-be-renovated Club Level will be named after the bank (see related OC Insider item, page 3).
Finance
Johnson Capital, an Irvine-based commercial property mortgage lender, sold its loan origination and servicing platform to Walker & Dunlop Inc., a commercial real estate financial services company in Bethesda, Md.
Terms of the cash-and-stock transaction were undisclosed. The deal is expected to add about $590 million in loan servicing to Walker & Dunlop’s existing servicing portfolio of about $40 billion.
Healthcare
A federal jury decided Irvine-based Masimo Corp. should receive $467 million from Philips Electronics NA, a unit of Netherlands-based Royal Philips Electronics NV, for infringing a pair of patents covering technology for measuring blood oxygen and tracking pulse rates. The verdict followed a two-week trial. Andover, Mass.-based Philips Electronics had argued that patents held by Masimo for technology in its own pulse oximeters were invalid. It said it will appeal the verdict.
Real Estate
The Olson Co. in Seal Beach backed out of a bid to purchase a former Orange Unified School District campus as a preservation group seeks to have the old school designated a historic landmark. The developer placed the highest bid, $5.1 million, for the Killefer school site on North Lemon Street in Orange, a bid the school board approved in April. The Old Towne Preservation Association is trying to get the old school placed on the National Register of Historic Places, an effort that if successful could prevent the school building from being torn down. The district will now offer the site to the second highest bidder, Western State Housing.
Technology
Costa Mesa-based chipmaker ISC8 Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company has more than 100 creditors and $10 million and $50 million in liabilities, according to documents filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California, Santa Ana division. ISC8 employs about 65 local workers and has $1 million to $10 million in assets.
Other
The Los Angeles of Anaheim ended talks with the city of Anaheim for a new stadium deal while the city of Tustin continued to express interest in getting the team for itself. The Angels and Anaheim haven’t been able to agree over terms of a proposed deal that would have the Angels pay $150 million to renovate the existing stadium while leasing the surrounding parking lots for $1 a year and developing them. The team’s current lease ends in 2029, but it can opt out between 2016 and 2019.
A lawsuit filed by John Wayne Enterprises against Duke University over the use of the name Duke was dismissed. Judge David Carter dismissed the suit over lack of jurisdiction and improper venue and said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office appellate board has jurisdiction over the issue. John Wayne Enterprises sought to trademark the Duke name for use in the sale of alcoholic beverages.
