Apparel
Quiksilver Inc. promoted Pierre Agnes from president to chief executive as part of a shakeup in the company’s top echelons. He succeeds Nike veteran Andy Mooney, who left the Huntington Beach-based apparel and footwear manufacturer after two years. Greg Healy, who led the company’s Asia-Pacific division, was named president. Founder Robert McKnight Jr., who stepped down as chairman in October but retained a seat on the board, is back in the post, a role Mooney also held during his tenure. Quiksilver also will replace Chief Financial Officer Richard Shields with Thomas Chambolle, who’s working in a similar role for the company’s Europe, the Middle East and Africa division. Shields will serve as a consultant to the company and a resource to Chambolle.
Amusement
The city of Buena Park opened the door for a butterfly and hummingbird sanctuary-anchored center in the entertainment-oriented area near Knott’s Berry Farm. The City Council approved the $2.5 million sale of an 8.7-acre site on Beach Boulevard once occupied by the Movieland Wax Museum for what’s being called the Butterfly Pavilion, the Orange County Register reported. Plans for the attraction include a sanctuary for butterflies, hummingbirds and other species, plus an aquarium and 3-D movie theater.
Education
A UCI researcher was awarded $5 million to develop stem cell treatments for Huntington’s disease, the university said. The award brings to $10.3 million the total funding awarded by the state’s California Institute for Regenerative Medicine to Dr. Leslie Thompson of UCI’s Sue & Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. UCI has received $105 million overall from the state-funded agency. The new grant is for identifying and testing stem cell-based treatments for Huntington’s, an inherited, incurable and fatal neurodegenerative disorder.
Restaurants
Doug Cavanaugh step-ped back from day-to-day operations at Irvine-based Ruby Restaurant Group, the retro burger chain he founded 33 years ago. He’s been chief executive since that time, and will remain chairman. The move lets him “focus on new projects … and not be as involved in [day-to-day] decision-making,” the company said in a statement. He plans to open The Lighthouse Café in December in Newport Beach. The company named Scott Barnett interim chief executive, citing his experience growing restaurant brands. Barnett has been president and chief executive of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Inc. in San Clemente.
American Restaurant Holdings Inc. in Irvine said an affiliate bought the five Orange County locations of Costa Mesa-based Fresca’s Mexican Grill, which had eight restaurants. American Restaurant Holdings said it didn’t know the status of the other three. Fresca’s also has a catering division based at its Costa Mesa restaurant.
A group led by Chicago restaurateur Larry Levy invested $120 million in Lake Forest-based Del Taco Holdings Inc., the first step in its previously announced acquisition of the fast food chain. The investors now own about 46% of the company, and Levy was named chairman of Del Taco, with two of his sons named to the company’s board and two other new directors expected. The investment eliminates Del Taco’s subordinated debt, a news release said.
Technology
Irvine-based software maker Kofax Ltd. announced it will be sold for $1 billion to Lexmark International Inc. in Lexington, Ky. The all-cash deal calls for Lexmark to acquire all outstanding shares of Kofax for $11 per share, a premium of nearly 50% on its share price at the close of trading on the day of the announcement. The transaction, which was approved by the Kofax board and shareholders, who control about 25% of outstanding shares, is expected to close by June. Lexmark will nearly double the size of its enterprise software business with the acquisition to $700 million in annual revenue.
Dana Point-based communications company SimpleSignal Inc. agreed to sell for $25.3 million to Vonage Holdings Corp., a Holmdel, N.J.-based pro-vider of telephone services via broadband connection. SimpleSignal specializes in cloud-based “unified communications and collaboration” and provides voice, video and mobile services. It has about 1,600 small and medium businesses as customers and last year ranked among the top 100 cloud-services providers in the U.S.
