James Cutchin

Colony Capital Settles Dispute With Investor

Activist Blackwells agrees to support Barrack’s vision

Downtown-based real estate investment company Colony Capital Inc. and activist investor Blackwells Capital have reached a settlement.

Mortgage Market on High Alert

Some contend coronavirus could drive up defaults

Ahead of passage of the federal government’s coronavirus rescue package last week, uncertainty roiled the commercial mortgage market.

Green Dot Taps Henry as New CEO

Financial technology veteran will also join the board

Pasadena-based Green Dot Corp. has named Dan Henry chief executive and president.

VC Firms Lead Remote Push

Coronavirus transforms how LA works

Almost overnight, the coronavirus has transformed the way Angelenos work. For many in the VC space, though, keeping up “business as usual” has been relatively straightforward.

Auditboard Carves Out a Niche in Compliance

Company finds success as ‘Apple of audit software’

Auditboard Inc. has quietly built one of the country’s fastest-growing businesses in a sector famously unwilling to move fast and break things.

Pacific Rim Perspective

Menai and CTBC have a unique view of the region’s challenges — and opportunities

As the U.S. head of one of Taiwan’s largest banks, Noor Menai has unique insight into the local economic impact of major events like the trade war and the coronavirus outbreak.

Fast Starter

City National’s Kelly Coffey makes a good first-year impression

Under Kelly Coffey, who joined City National as chief executive in February 2019, the largest bank headquartered in Los Angeles has grown even larger.

Special Report: Banking & Finance Quarterly — Q1 2020

Read interviews with L.A.'s top banking professionals and access the latest data in the Los Angeles Business Journal's Banking & Finance Quarterly Special Report.

LA Businesses Feeling Impact of Virus

Companies try to adjust amid disruptions

Across the Los Angeles region, events and industries such as hospitality, health care and logistics are starting to feel the squeeze from the new coronavirus.

Liquid Death Secures $9M

Canned water company planning push into brick and mortar

Liquid Death Mountain Water, a Santa Monica-based canned water company, has raised $9 million to make a bigger push into brick-and-mortar retail.

Brace Raises $10 Million for Mortgage Tech Platform

Software firm will use funds for development, expansion

Brace Software Inc., a Santa Monica-based mortgage technology startup, has raised $10 million in a Series A funding round.

Fifth Wall Raises $100M Retail Fund

Investors include Macerich, Acadia Realty

Marina del Rey-based Fifth Wall Ventures Management has raised $100 million to help online brands grow offline.

Green Dot Earnings Top Estimates, Revenues Fall Short

Pasadena-based Green Dot Corp. reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.7 million, beating analyst estimates, even as earnings for the period dropped 75% year over year.

Trinity Sells to Citizens Financial

Firm specializes in restaurant industry deals

Trinity Capital, a Brentwood-based boutique investment bank, will be acquired by Rhode Island-based Citizens Financial Group Inc.

Oaktree Capital Blazes a Trail in China

Investment management company establishes distressed debt unit

Oaktree Capital Management has become the first foreign distressed debt company to set up a wholly owned unit in China under the Phase I U.S.-China trade deal.

Brentwood Associates Acquires Parchment Inc.

PE firm buys academic company Parchment

Sawtelle-based private equity firm Brentwood Associates has completed its acquisition of digital academic credentials company Parchment Inc.

Union Bank Names New President

Seibly asked to challenge global banks in region

Union Bank, the West Coast retail and commercial banking arm of MUFG Union Bank, has appointed Greg Seibly as president and head of regional banking.

Many millennials are simultaneously bored and intimidated by finance. InvestCloud Inc. co-founder Yaela Shamberg is working to change that by building financial software that younger consumers actually want to use.

ManifestSeven Continues Northern California Expansion

Commerce-based cannabis business ManifestSeven has acquired cannabis delivery service People’s Kush.

Gores Group Closes Its Biggest SPAC Yet

Gores Holdings IV tops target with a $425 million IPO

Gores Group has raised its largest initial public offering yet for a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC, yet.

BMO Opens First Office in Los Angeles

Bank of Montreal unit will focus on commercial banking

BMO Harris Bank, the U.S. banking arm of one of Canada’s largest financial institutions, has opened its first office in Los Angeles.

East West Posts Record 2019 Revenue

Gain comes despite decline in company’s annual net income

Pasadena-based East West Bancorp Inc. posted a company record $1.7 billion in revenue for 2019, beating analyst expectations.

LA Businesses Brace for Virus

Tourism, trade could be hurt by outbreak

As a central gateway between China and the United States, experts say L.A. stands to feel an outsized economic impact from the Wuhan coronavirus, the worst disease outbreak in Asia in nearly two decades.

Ares Makes Major Acquisition in Asia

Private equity firm picks up Hong Kong-based SSG Capital Management

Ares Management Corp. will buy a controlling stake in Asian asset manager SSG Capital Management Ltd.

Dialing Up the Deals

Private Equity: Big money is pouring into LA-based mega-funds

L.A. has seen two private equity raises of $10 billion or more in the last two months, reaffirming the city’s position as a global business center

Fintech Friendly

Banks lean on tech companies to meet customer expectations

Banks the world over are increasingly being held to the same standards as internet giants and nimble fintech startups.

ManifestSeven Buys SF Business

Cannabis company adds to string of acquisitions

Cannabis logistics company ManifestSeven has acquired San Francisco-based cannabis delivery service Lady Chatterley Health.

Diamond Eagle Bets on DraftKings, SBTech

Planned three-way merger heads to SEC for review

Century City-based blank check company Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp. entered into formal SEC review for a three-way merger with DraftKings Inc. and SBTech Ltd.

Clearlake Backs Deal

PE firm’s Provation acquires medical software platform

Provation Medical Inc., a health care software company backed by Santa Monica-based PE firm Clearlake Capital Group, acquired medical reporting software company MD-Reports.

Bank Branches Change It Up

LA sets the pace for new customer experiences

To keep up with changing customer needs, L.A. banks have had to ramp up investment in technology and offer a new kind of customer experience.

Healthy Returns

Arrowhead, Fulgent drove a strong 2019 for L.A. stocks

Last year was a good one for the stock market, and Los Angeles-area companies rode the wave.

Platinum Equity Closes $10B Megafund

Private equity firm attracts more than 250 investors for latest offering

Beverly Hills-based private equity firm Platinum Equity has raised $10 billion for its latest flagship fund.

Wedbush Securities Founder Dies at 87

Edward Wedbush launched brokerage in 1955

Edward Wedbush, founder of Wedbush Securities Inc., passed away at his home in Rancho Santa Fe.

K1 Joins $580 Million Buildium Sale

PE firm was first backer of software developer

Manhattan Beach-based private equity firm K1 Investment Management has sold its stake in property management software company Buildium to RealPage Inc.

Venture Capital: Firms will find opportunities exist amid uncertainty

Venture capitalists in Los Angeles see opportunities for the year ahead — regardless of the state of the economy.

Banking & Finance: Leaning into technology and looking to cut costs

Los Angeles banking and finance in the year ahead will be shaped by technological innovation, cost-cutting and a possible economic slowdown, local experts predict.

Rubicon Sets Telaria Deal

Merger with NY company will create ad tech giant

Playa Vista-based advertising technology company Rubicon Project Inc. will merge with New York-based Telaria Inc. to create what the companies call the world’s largest independent sell-side advertising platform.

Westlake Financial Strikes Canadian Partnership

Hancock Park-based Westlake Financial Services Inc. and sister company Nowcom Corp. entered into a strategic partnership with Canadian auto finance company Source One Financial Corp.

ICM Sells $150M Stake

Entertainment: PE firm Crestview buys in

ICM Partners, the Century City-based talent agency, has sold an ownership stake of roughly one-third to private equity firm Crestview Partners for $150 million.

Analysts Surprised by Exec Departures at Green Dot

CEO Streit and CFO leave fintech company

Green Dot Corp. founder and CEO Steve Streit will step down after 20 years at the helm.

RBC Nabs $7.5 Billion LA Wealth Management Team

RBC Wealth Management U.S. has snapped up a team of L.A.-based financial advisors that manages approximately $7.5 billion in assets.

ICM Sells Stake to Private Equity Firm for $150 Million

Century City-based talent agency ICM Partners has sold a significant ownership stake to New York-based Crestview Partners.

Hub Lands LB Agency

Finance: Insurance broker buys HMBD

Long Beach-based HMBD Insurance Services Inc. has been acquired by Chicago-headquartered insurance giant Hub International Ltd.

Leonard Green Raises Megafund

Finance: Firm closes $12 billion flagship vehicle to pursue large investments

Los Angeles’ largest private equity firm by assets under management, Leonard Green & Partners, has closed two funds totaling $14.75 billion.

Big Dealer

Finance: Upfront’s Mark Suster continued to play a leading role among LA’s VCs

Mark Suster, managing partner at Santa Monica-based Upfront Ventures Management Inc., made some big deals in 2019.

Change Agent

Banking: City National Bank Chief Executive Kelly Coffey is making some big moves

On Feb. 1, Coffey became only the fourth chief executive in the 65-year history of City National Bank.

Open Season

Finance: Beyond Meat, Revolve Group booked seats on this year’s IPO roller coaster

In an uneven year for initial public offerings, Los Angeles companies mirrored the broader market trend in 2019.

Stories by James