Agriculture
A subsidiary of Newport Beach-based American Vanguard Corp. acquired the Bromacil herbicide business of Bayer Crop Science in the U.S. and Canada. It bought the rights outside of those markets from DuPont Crop Protection in 2015. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.
— Paul Hughes
Apparel
Cypress-based swimwear manufacturer Manhattan Beachwear Inc. said it will design and distribute women’s swimwear for Vernon-based fashion label BCBGMaxAzria and its BCBGeneration line. The collection will launch globally for the fall. The manufacturer has seven of its own labels.
— Subrina Hudson
Education
The University of California-Irvine said it will remove donor and professor Francisco Ayala’s name from its biology school and rename it the School of Biological Sciences. The change follows an internal investigation that confirmed several sexual harassment claims by four women, including faculty and a graduate student. Ayala’s resignation is effective July 1, and he’ll abstain from university activities.
— Subrina Hudson
Finance
Santa Ana-based Banc of California Inc., OC’s largest bank by assets, plans to cut its workforce by 9% to align its cost structure to focus on commercial banking. Chief Accounting Officer Lawrence Gee said he’ll resign, effective Aug. 10, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company didn’t specify the number of jobs affected. It employed 750 as of March, which would indicate a 68-jobs decline. It exited much of its residential mortgage business last year, slashing its workforce in half.
— Peter J. Brennan
Windjammer Capital Investors of Newport Beach bought Rowmark LLC, a Findlay, Ohio-based manufacturer in the engraving, signage and awards markets, from Bertram Capital. Rowmark also owns Johnson Plastics Plus, a distributor of engraving and complementary products to professional engravers. Its products are distributed in more than 80 countries.
— Peter J. Brennan
Hospitality
San Clemente-based private equity firm Alpha Wave Investors formed Soul Community Planet to provide branding for hotels and other projects, with an initial investment of about $1 million, Chief Executive Ken Cruse said. The new company is intended to provide to Alpha Wave-owned properties “holistic hospitality” elements, from full-branding and operations to areas such as wellness, social connection and sustainability. Some properties will be flagged as SCP Hotels.
— Paul Hughes
Anaheim-based Broughton Hospitality Group’s hotel management division said it will “develop, acquire, and manage” properties in North America with Warrington, U.K.-based Bespoke Hotels Ltd. Bespoke USA, which lists its base as Broughton’s Katella Avenue headquarters, wants “a pipeline of acquisitions, joint venture opportunities, and management contracts.” The companies’ portfolios emphasize boutique properties.
— Paul Hughes
Manufacturing
Buena Park-based food manufacturer True Food Innovations named Christopher Johnson chief operating officer, a new position. True Food was founded by Chief Executive Alan True and makes foods using high-pressure processing to keep them fresh without preservatives or other additives. True also founded family office True Family Enterprises with his wife, Twila.
— Hannah Mitchell
Nonprofits
The Santa Ana-based Orangewood Foundation won a $900,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco’s Affordable Housing Program to help fund the nonprofit’s Samueli Academy expansion. The high school plans to add on-campus housing, making it the first boarding school model for foster children in California.
— Subrina Hudson
Dan McQuaid will step down as president and chief executive of OneOC when he retires at year-end. The nonprofit’s board named Tim Strauch, vice president and chief operating officer, to replace him, effective Jan. 1. OneOC provides services to charities. McQuaid has led the 60-year-old group since 2005. Strauch has worked there about a decade.
— Paul Hughes
Technology
Aliso Viejo-based IT services provider UST Global said it received a $250 million investment from Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., Singapore’s state-run investment fund. The 20% minority stake puts it in unicorn status, and represents its first institutional investment. UST has more than 35 offices providing everything from online technical support to cybersecurity solutions. Temasek manages a $197 billion portfolio.
— Chris Casacchia
