Freedom Communications Holdings Inc., parent company of the Orange County Register in Santa Ana, reached a deal to purchase the Press-Enterprise newspaper in Riverside for $27.2 million from Dallas-based A. H. Belo Corp. Freedom also publishes the Daily Press in Victorville, the Desert Dispatch in Barstow and the Long Beach Register, along with various community newspapers in OC. The deal was announced about the same time the Los Angeles Times reported that a former chief executive and a former chief financial officer of Freedom Communications—Mitchell Stern and Mark McEachen—are seeking to collect $4.5 million in combined severance pay they say the media company owes them. Separately, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange selected Churm Custom Publishing, a unit of Freedom Communications, to take over publishing of its Orange County Catholic newspaper. The publication’s editorial team will continue to oversee content, while Churm Custom Publishing will be in charge of the design, printing, ad sales and distribution. Tidings Corp. in Los Angeles had handled similar duties for Orange County Catholic.
Executives at two Orange County-based auto brands are among the most influential chief marketing officers in the world, according to Forbes Magazine’s 2013 CMO Influence Study. Michael Sprague, vice president of marketing and communications for Irvine-based Kia Motors America, ranked No. 10 among the 66 marketing executives listed. Steve Shannon, vice president of marketing for Costa Mesa-based Hyundai Motor America, took the No. 17 spot.
Newport Beach-based golf club owner and operator Concert Golf Partners acquired the Legacy Club at Alaqua Lakes in Orlando, Fla. Terms of the all-cash deal weren’t disclosed.
Costa Mesa-based Anna’s Linens Inc. signed a lease for a regional distribution center for the home goods retailer in Texas. The company has 315 stores and sells accessories and decor for bed, bath, dining and kitchen.
GreenWave Reality in Irvine closed a $19 million funding round. The company, founded in 2008, licenses its Home2Cloud platform to other companies to manage lighting and security cameras while homeowners are away. It has 150 employees and plans to relocate to a larger property this year. The Westly Group in Silicon Valley led the funding round, and Steve Westly will join GreenWave’s board.
Business software maker Kofax PLC, which is publicly traded in London but maintains its headquarters in Irvine, filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public offering on the Nasdaq exchange. Kofax established a parent company, Kofax Ltd., which expects to have a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange and sell its common shares on the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The parent would be incorporated in Bermuda and based in Irvine, a company spokesperson told the Business Journal. The size of the planned IPO hasn’t been determined, according to the regulatory filing.
Drivers who use the 241 toll road will likely have to pay to access the road longer than was first expected. The agency that operates the road plans to refinance $2.3 billion in bond debt to prevent a default and will thus charge drivers to use the road until 2053 instead of 2040 as originally planned.
A $35 million zeppelin was damaged in a partial roof collapse at one of two World War II-era Marine Corps Air Station hangars in Tustin. Some county officials said the incident and other problems with the roof at the hangar call into question whether the county should maintain the structure and proceed with plans to build a public park around it.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
UP: Orange County hotels in August, when they notched gains in three key areas, according to industry researcher PKF Consulting USA. OC hotels combined for a 13.5% increase in revenue per available room—a measure that multiplies occupancy by the average daily rate—to $153.01. The countywide occupancy level rose 4.2% to 85.43%, while average daily room rates rose 8.9% from a year ago to $179.10.
