Automotive
Kia and Hyundai—both of which keep their U.S. headquarters in Orange County—rose to the top of J.D. Power and Associates’ “Initial Quality Study,” which gauges vehicles’ quality based on responses of more than 80,000 people who bought or leased a 2015 model vehicle. The study assesses defects or other problems in the first three months of ownership. Kia ranked second behind Porsche, and Hyundai moved up to fourth.
Healthcare
The Food and Drug Administration approved Irvine-based Edwards Lifesciences Corp.’s Sapien 3 less-invasive heart valve. Sapien 3 is approved for patients with narrowing aortic heart valves who aren’t candidates for traditional open-heart surgery or those who were at high risk for complications from such surgery. It’s the third generation of Edwards’ Sapien heart valve, which was approved in 2011.
Peter and Ginny Ueberroth donated $5 million for research, education and program development under Dr. Allyson Brooks, executive medical director of the Women’s Health Institute at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach. The grant was awarded through the Peter and Virginia Ueberroth Family Foundation. Peter Ueberroth heads Newport Beach-based private equity firm The Contrarian Group.
Media
Founders of the Column Five Inc. marketing agency in Newport Beach said they secured $2.15 million in seed money to grow a separate endeavor, Visage Inc., in Irvine. The round of funding was led by Venture51 in San Diego, with additional investment from K5 Ventures in Newport Beach; Robin Pimentel, a partner at K5 Ventures; and Kima Ventures in Paris. Visage’s proprietary Web platform enables marketers to create data graphics using customizable templates to adjust colors, fonts or icons and to match their brand images.
A former PennySaver USA LLC employee filed a lawsuit against the company and its owner, OpenGate Capital, saying they broke labor laws when they closed the business and laid off employees without notice. Luann Benton is pursuing class-action status, and other former employees are plaintiffs in the action. The free Brea-based advertising publication laid off about 680 employees when it abruptly closed earlier this year.
Restaurants
Irvine-based Habit Restaurants Inc. plans to open its first restaurant in Florida in Delray Beach, a news report said. The fast-casual burger chain said in November that it plans to open 26 to 28 company-owned restaurants this year, three-fourths of them in Western states and the rest in New Jersey, Florida and Washington, D.C.
Services
SmartStop Self Storage in Ladera Ranch will be bought for $1.4 billion by the Extra Space Storage self-storage REIT based in Salt Lake City. Extra Space bills itself as the second biggest operator of self-storage facilities in the U.S. It owns, develops and operates the properties. The company will pay $1.29 billion for SmartStop, and some SmartStop assets will be sold to cover the rest.
Transportation
About $4 million was taken from an Anaheim hotel fee fund to fill a deficit in the budget of the ARTIC transportation center. The 2% lodging fee is charged to customers of hotels in the resort area near Disneyland Resort and the Anaheim convention center. The transfer was approved by the board of the Anaheim Tourism Improvement District. Center operators said revenue hadn’t yet caught up with expenses at ARTIC.
