ARTS
The Philharmonic Society of Orange County said President and Artistic Director John Mangum will leave the group this spring to become executive director and chief executive of the Houston Symphony. He joined it in 2014, replacing Dean Corey, who retired after two decades. Mangum led the launch of the society’s first endowment campaign.
— Paul Hughes
FINANCE
Windjammer Capital Investors of Newport Beach sold JWC Environmental LLC to Swiss giant Sulzer Ltd. for an enterprise value of $215 million. The deal corresponds to a multiple of about 10 times 2018 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Sulzer said in a statement. Windjammer bought family-owned JWC in 2011 for an undisclosed price. Santa Ana-based JWC provides solids reduction and removal products for municipal, industrial and commercial wastewater applications. It was founded in 1973 by Joseph and Woodie Chambers.
— Peter J. Brennan
HEALTHCARE
A Newport Beach business owner was sentenced to more than five years in prison on charges he oversaw a scheme involving over $40 million in illegal kickbacks to doctors and other professionals in exchange for thousands of patient referrals for spinal surgeries at Pacific Hospital in Long Beach. Michael D. Drobot pleaded guilty in 2014 to conspiracy and illegal kickback charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The kickbacks were largely generated from the sale of medical devices from his Newport Beach-based International Implants placed into patients during surgery, the department said, and he paid bribes to former state Sen. Ronald Calderon for keeping a law in place allowing hospitals to pass the implants’ cost onto worker’s compensation insurers. Drobot was also fined $500,000 and ordered to forfeit $10 million to the government. Seven other defendants, including his son, have also pleaded guilty in the case.
— Hannah Mitchell
PHILANTHROPY
George and Julia Argyros gave $7.5 million through their Costa Mesa family foundation toward the $270 million renovation of the Los Angeles Coliseum, and a peristyle plaza will be named after them. The coliseum is home to University of Southern California football. The Argyroses’ daughter Stephanie is a Trojan grad and on USC’s President’s Leadership Council and Keck School of Medicine board. A granddaughter is a current USC student.
— Paul Hughes and Diane Haithman
REAL ESTATE
OC, including Irvine, didn’t make the cut as a potential home to Amazon’s second headquarters, it was revealed when the e-commerce giant announced its short list of potential locations for its massive HQ2 project. Los Angeles was the only California location to make the list of 20 finalists for HQ2, which brings the potential of thousands of jobs to the chosen site. OC cities could make similar pitches this year for Apple, which announced last week it will search for a second U.S. office hub.
— Mark Mueller
RETAIL
Funds of Freeman Spogli & Co. that control Boot Barn Holdings Inc. in Irvine plan to sell about 40% of their stakes, ending their majority ownership of the western wear retailer, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Boot Barn said the funds will sell 5.1 million shares; three managers will sell 400,000 shares; and underwriters can buy up to 825,000 additional shares. The investor’s affiliates—FS Equity Partners VI LP and FS Affiliates VI LP—own just over 13.4 million, or 50.1%, of Boot Barn’s roughly 26.8 million shares. After selling, the funds will own 8 million to 8.5 million—28% to 30% of the company—depending on underwriters’ allotments. Chief Executive James Conroy plans to sell a quarter of his shares, lowering his ownership stake to 1.5%.
— Paul Hughes
TECHNOLOGY
Restaurant365 LLC, an Irvine-based developer of back-office software for restaurants, said it closed a $20 million Series A financing that includes a minority investment from Bessemer Venture Partners. Bessemer partner Brian Feinstein was also named to Restaurant365’s board. Bessemer, which has $4.5 billion assets under management, was involved in some of Silicon Valley’s most famous initial public offerings, including Shopify, Yelp and LinkedIn.
— Peter J. Brennan
