Apparel
Quiksilver Inc. said it’s taking a new global creative direction that “echoes the fertile environment of Quiksilver and the surf community in the 70s and 80s.” The Huntington Beach-based apparel and footwear manufacturer and retailer also appointed Josh Rush as global creative director. He’s an 11-year Quiksilver veteran who previously served in the global design director role.
Education
The University of California-Irvine received $2.7 million from the New York City-based Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to broaden access to its doctorate program in humanities by providing funding for tuition and teaching fellowships.
Healthcare
Stem cell company PrimeGen Biotech LLC moved from Irvine to a new facility in Santa Ana with five laboratories dedicated to functions such as tissue processing and stem cell culture research and development. PrimeGen is using adult stem cells to regenerate several parts of the body, including heart tissue. It also said it established a subsidiary known as VetCell Therapeutics to research and develop stem cell-derived therapies for pets and companion animals.
Irvine-based Sabra Health Care REIT Inc. paid $234 million for four nursing homes in Maryland that specialize in transitional care and medically complex, post-surgical ventilator and dialysis patients. The facilities have a combined 678 licensed beds.
Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America and its nonprofit, Hope on Wheels, presented a final $2 million installment of a $10 million research grant to Children’s Hospital of Orange County. The money will be used to help the Orange pediatric hospital fund cancer research at the Hyundai Cancer Institute at CHOC Children’s. Hope on Wheels committed the overall grant in 2011. It’s the largest corporate gift in the hospital’s history.
Fountain Valley-based MemorialCare Health System said John Bishop is the new chief executive of its Long Beach Memorial, Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach and Community Hospital Long Beach. He succeeds Diana Hendel in the roles after most recently serving as chief financial officer at the three hospitals and Seaside Health Plan, which is also owned by MemorialCare.
Restaurants
A Dubai-based private equity firm bought 14 Johnny Rockets franchised restaurants in the United Arab Emirates from the franchisee group that runs them. The same buyer also got the rights to expand there and in Oman, according to news reports from the region. Al Masah Capital’s food and beverage unit, Diamond Lifestyle, bought Al Faris Restaurant LLC, also in Dubai, which operated 14 restaurants in the UAE.
Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp.’s parent company plans to sell franchise rights in parts of India to three private equity firms, a news report in the country said. The deal appears to be part of a push by Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc. to add 1,000 restaurants in the region over the next five to seven years among its Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut brands.
Services
Irvine-based WPT Enterprises Inc., which runs the World Poker Tour, was acquired for $35 million by one of China’s largest gaming companies. WPT will maintain its Irvine headquarters and Los Angeles production offices and continue to operate as a stand-alone company, officials said.
Tourism
The Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau changed its name to Visit Anaheim. Its chief executive, Jay Burress, said the tourism group’s name is simple, recognizable, and an “action term” that fits what different visitors expect when they arrive. Visit Anaheim said the colors, looping font, and overall style of the new logo area are meant to connect elements of the area.
Other
The Irvine City Council eliminated an annual $51 business license fee that has generated about $1 million a year. The city kept $50 for each license, and the state got $1.
