Legal
On Dec. 6 James Mazzo won a 10-year legal battle with the federal government over insider trading and perjury accusations resulting from the time when he was chief executive of Advanced Medical Optics Inc. Federal Judge Andrew Guilford dismissed all criminal charges “with prejudice,” meaning the case is permanently dismissed. Meanwhile, Judge David Carter summarily agreed to sign off on a Securities and Exchange Commission deal with Mazzo, under which he’ll pay a $1.5 million fine and agree not to serve as a director or chief executive of a publicly traded company for five years, without admitting any wrongdoing. For more coverage, see next week’s edition of the Business Journal.
— Pete Weitzner
Finance
Newport Beach-based Windjammer Capital Investors said it completed fundraising for its fifth fund, Windjammer Senior Equity Fund V LP, with aggregate capital commitments of $870 million. It’s raised more than $2 billion since 2006 in pursuit of its control equity investing strategy. Investors in Windjammer, which was founded by Bob Bartholomew, include private and public pension programs, global insurance companies, endowments and large family offices. Fund V invests $50 to $100 million in capital per portfolio company, with significant additional investment capacity through LP relationships.
— Peter J. Brennan
Transportation
Long Beach Airport Director Jess Romo is retiring, effective Jan. 31, after leading the facility since 2016. He previously worked for the city of Los Angeles for 28 years, including 19 at Los Angeles World Airports, which oversees Los Angeles International Airport. Airport terminal, runway and ground transportation changes have taken place during his time in Long Beach, along with the addition of routes by Southwest Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines; more flights based on the availability and use of quieter aircraft; and a sometimes-tense relationship between JetBlue Airways and the city of Long Beach, which owns the airport.
— Paul Hughes
Restaurants
Habit Restaurants Inc. said a new franchisee to its system, Bloomfield, Mich.-based Tremendous Brands Group LLC, will open 20 locations in Illinois and Indiana, the first in mid-2019. The states represent a Chicago-area push by the fast-casual burger chain and fill a gap in the mid-U.S.: Habit now has 240 U.S. restaurants and four international locations. The deal is also a deeper push into franchising: more than 80% of Habit sites are company-owned, but it plans to pull back next year on those.
— Paul Hughes
