K-Swiss sale to Korean firm closes
E.Land World Limited of Korea closed its $170 million buyout of Westlake Village-based athletic shoe company K-Swiss on April 30, after shareholders of the footwear company overwhelmingly approved the merger. Under the terms of the sale, K-Swiss shareholders will receive $4.75 per share in cash, marking the high point of the company’s 52-week stock price Read More →
Local Market Launch raises $1.5M
Santa Barbara-based Local Market Launch, a firm that helps small businesses create and maintain an online presence, has raised $1.5 million in venture capital, bringing its total raised to date to $2.7 million. The company was founded last year by Brian Coryat, the founder of digital advertising firm ValueClick. The funding came from Santa Barbara-based Read More →
Deckers shares plummet as Q1 earnings drop 87%
Shares of Goleta-based Deckers Outdoor Corp. plunged 8.6 percent on Friday as the Ugg boot parent reported first-quarter earnings were a fraction of what they had been a year earlier. Deckers said first-quarter profits were $1 million, or 3 cents per share, compared to $8 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier. The Read More →
Heritage Oaks’ Q1 profits jump as bank prepares to pay off TARP
Heritage Oaks Bancorp reported a $3.7 million first-quarter profit, up 131 percent over a year earlier, and said it is gearing up to repay $25 million in bailout funds it took at the height of the recession. The repayment comes with the announcement that two sets of banking regulators have lifted an order over the Read More →
Marian becomes Level III Trauma Center
Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria has officially become a Level III Trauma Center, enabling the hospital to take in seriously injured and emergency patients. The county of Santa Barbara’s Emergency Medical Services Agency designated Marian as a trauma center on April 26, a month after a team of surveyors conducted an on-site evaluation Read More →
Goleta Entrepreneurial Magnet hires executive director
A public-private initiative to lure more tech businesses to Goleta has hired its first executive director. The Goleta Entrepreneurial Magnet, or GEM, appointed Doug Lynch to lead the group, which is a collaboration between the city of Goleta, the Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce and UC Santa Barbara designed to create and maintain a tech Read More →
