Finance
Pacific Investment Management Co. said Securities and Exchange Commission staff are proposing the agency take civil action against the firm. It said the SEC is examining the valuation of smaller positions in nonagency mortgage-backed securities bought by PIMCO’s total return fund, according to news reports. The purchases were made from the time the fund launched in February 2012 through June 30 of that year. The SEC also is looking into the fund’s performance disclosures during that period and its compliance policies and procedures. Pimco said it believes its conduct was “in keeping with industry standards.”
Healthcare
Irvine-based startup device maker JenaValve Technology Inc. said it completed a $26.5 million round of financing. JenaValve develops, manufactures and markets transcatheter aortic heart valves and delivery systems.
Mission Viejo-based Ensign Group Inc. said it bought 15 assisted living facilities in the suburbs of Milwaukee and other areas in Wisconsin. A purchase price wasn’t disclosed. Ensign operates nursing homes and other businesses, including rehabilitation, home healthcare and hospice care.
UC Irvine Health, the medical enterprise of the University of California-Irvine, said Dr. Shaista Malik received a four-year, $3.1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The cardiologist will study how blood, genetic and imaging tests can predict who will develop heart disease. Study results could help establish new methods of identifying people at greatest risk and who might benefit from early preventive treatment.
Hospitality
Rivendell Land Co. said Marriott International will operate Mission Inn San Juan Capistrano, which is scheduled to break ground by early next year. The 124-room hotel and spa will be part of the Marriott “boutique brand” known as the Autograph Collection. It’s planned for the vacant site next to the Mission San Juan Capistrano and near the city’s downtown and train station. The site is owned and being developed by an affiliate of Rivendell Land and its president, Bill Griffith.
Real Estate
Irvine-based Standard Pacific Corp. will have a new name following its impending acquisition of Ryland Group Inc. The two homebuilders announced plans to name the combined operations to CalAtlantic Group Inc. The change will take place once the acquisition of Westlake Village-based Ryland is completed this fall, the companies said. Other business lines will be identified to consumers as CalAtlantic Homes, CalAtlantic Mortgage, CalAtlantic Title and CalAtlantic Insurance. The new company will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol CAA. Standard Pacific and Ryland announced a plan to combine operations in June in a deal that will create the fourth largest builder in the U.S. by revenue.
Services
Irvine-based architecture firm LPA added chief talent and chief design officer positions. It appointed Wendy Rogers to fill the first position and Glenn Carels to fill the second. Rogers and Carels have been with the firm for more than 20 years. She will recruit and develop staff members, and he will develop LPA’s brand. The firm is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Technology
Laguna Hills-based Centercode Inc. received $3.5 million in equity financing, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company provides beta-test management software and services designed to help companies reduce beta-testing periods and costs, manage risks, and generate more feedback. Details on the investor and the company’s financials weren’t available.
Newport Beach-based private equity firm L Squared Capital Partners invested in Virtium, a Rancho Santa Margarita-based maker of industrial memory and storage products. Terms of the investment were undisclosed. L Squared usually invests $30 million to $100 million per transaction. Virtium employs 120 and has annual revenue topping $50 million, according to the company. Virtium’s executive team will remain with the company.
