AUTOMOTIVE
The Orange County Automobile Dealers Association in Newport Beach announced its 2015 board of directors. Allen Moznett, general manager of Toyota of Orange, is the new president of the association. John Oh, co-owner of Lexus of Westminster, was named vice president, and K.C. Heidler, president and chief executive of Kia Depot and Tom’s Truck Center in Santa Ana, is the new treasurer. Cliff Allen, former board president and owner of Allen Cadillac GMC and Allen Hyundai, will serve as chairman of the 2015 Orange County International Auto Show.
EDUCATION
California State University-Fullerton received $1.5 million from Jeffrey Van Harte to start an investment management center and expand a student-managed investment fund. He’s chairman and chief executive of San Francisco-based equity manager Jackson Square Partners LLC and a 1980 graduate of CSUF’s business program. The money is for the Applied Securities Analysis Program, which includes a student-managed investment fund designed to help participants learn securities analysis and invest real money. Proceeds go to the tutoring center at CSUF’s Mihaylo College of Business and Economics.
Santa Ana-based Greenwood Hall Inc. will work with Boston-based curriculum provider Cengage Learning to offer online course content to higher education clients. Greenwood provides outsourced technology and personnel for online and phone-based student recruitment, retention and tracking at about 30 colleges and universities.
FINANCE
Newport Beach-based Alliant Insurance Services Inc. acquired Kassa Insurance Services Inc. in Spokane, Wash. on undisclosed terms. Kassa provides personal lines and commercial insurance services. It will be managed by Alliant’s Spokane office and fold into the Alliant Americas umbrella, an initiative launched last year to “expand the company’s presence in the middle market through strategic acquisitions and investments.” The buy is Alliant’s second in the Spokane region in recent months.
HEALTHCARE
Irvine-based AtheroNova Inc. and a subsidiary filed for bankruptcy protection. The development-stage heart drug maker said in a statement that it would “evaluate all options,” including an asset sale to “a party who could potentially be interested in continuing [its] clinical programs.”
MEDIA
Advantage Sales and Marketing LLC in Irvine acquired The Linkage Group Inc. on undisclosed terms. The Linkage is a Toronto, Canada-based third-party merchandising and retail data company with more than 600 employees. It will continue to operate under the same name. Advantage Sales specializes in sales and marketing for consumer goods manufacturers and retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
REAL ESTATE
Irvine-based online real estate auction company Auction.com LLC acquired Channel LLC in Newport Beach on undisclosed terms. Channel, founded in 2005, develops software to help real estate investment firms and asset management companies manage assets. Founder and Chief Executive John Nicholas is expected to continue in charge of its operations as it retains its local office.
RESTAURANTS
Costa Mesa-based El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc. said a group of Southern California franchisees have agreed to open five locations in the Salt Lake City market by 2018. The Mexican-style fast food chicken chain currently has two Utah locations. The franchisees involved in the expansion run 13 locations in Southern California.
RETAIL
Irvine-based Ritual Wellness Inc. said it would merge with San Francisco-based Project Juice under the latter’s name. Ritual Wellness sells cold-pressed organic juice from five planned or open locations in OC and San Diego. Project Juice has five locations in San Francisco and Palo Alto, its website shows.
TECHNOLOGY
Irvine-based software maker YouMail Inc. said it raised $5.5 million in a Series B funding round and will use the proceeds to expand operations and its digital services, which it said have attracted more than 6.5 million customers. The company provides caller identification, automated call blocking, personalized smart greetings, automatic replies, cloud storage and other features through iPhone and Android apps and a Web browser.
