FCAL merger with PacWest set to close May 31
Los Angeles-based PacWest Bancorp and Westlake Village-based First California Financial Group have received the go-ahead from federal banking regulators to finalize a $237 million merger. The deal, which will merge First California into PacWest and likely result in about a dozen overlapping branches being shuttered, is expected to close on May 31. The banks said Read More →
KCLU buys Santa Maria station
Thousand Oaks-based National Public Radio station KCLU has purchased a station in Santa Maria that will expand its reach to the Central Coast. The station, which is a community service of California Lutheran University, will begin broadcasting to listeners in Santa Maria, the Santa Ynez Valley, Lompoc, Nipomo and the Five Cities area. The frequency Read More →
PennyMac shares jump 2.6% on second day of trading
Shares of PennyMac Financial Services climbed another 2.6 percent the day after they started trading publicly for the first time. The Moorpark-based company, founded in 2008 by former top executives at Countrywide Financial Corp., raised just over $200 million in its initial public offering of stock after opening with a share price of $18.25 on Read More →
El Encanto owner reports $8.3M loss
Orient-Express Hotels, the Bermuda-based luxury travel firm that owns and operates the newly-reopened El Encanto hotel in Santa Barbara, reported an $8.3 million loss on revenue of $103.2 million for the first quarter. That’s a slight improvement over a $14.4 million loss during the same time period last year, and officials said in the May Read More →
Vasquez: Navy’s pivot to Pacific benefits Ventura County
An additional 700 military personnel will come to Naval Base Ventura County to operate a unit of the Navy’s first large drone system, the base commander told a gathering of business leaders in Thousand Oaks on Thursday. Capt. Lawrence Vasquez talked about the economic impact of the naval base at a Corporate Leaders Breakfast at Read More →
Dole reports Q1 loss after spinning off packaged food business
Dole Food Co. reported a first-quarter loss of $65.6 million, largely due to its packaged foods operations, which have since been discontinued and sold to a Japanese firm for $1.7 billion in cash. The Westlake Village-based produce giant sold its global packaged foods and Asia fresh produce businesses to Itochu Corp. in a deal that Read More →
Camarillo blaze forces home evacuations; CSUCI class cancellations
Hundreds of homes in Ventura County are being evacuated after a massive brush fire ignited early Thursday morning near the 101 freeway in Camarillo. Fire authorities have ordered evacuations for neighborhoods in Camarillo and Newbury Park and nearby areas after the so-called Springs Fire erupted at around 6:30 a.m. on May 2 and quickly consumed Read More →
