Daily Business Report: Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2021
Jack in the Box to buy Del Taco
restaurants for $575 million
San Diego-headquartered Jack in the Box will acquire Del Taco in a deal the two companies say is valued at $575 million, including debt.
The acquisition will help both companies expand, Jack in the Box officials said Monday morning in a public call with shareholders, and the companies expect to see $15 million in benefits as a result of the acquisition by the end of 2023.
Jack in the Box will acquire each Del Taco share for $12.51 in cash, the company said, far more than the $7.53 price Del Taco stock closed at on Friday.
Del Taco serves more than 3 million guests each week at approximately 600 restaurants across 16 states. It will operate as the wholly-owned subsidiary of Jack In The Box following the completion of the transaction.
Jack in the Box intends to finance the acquisition by issuing additional securitization notes from its existing program with a financing commitment provided by BofA Securities Inc. It held $73.6 million in cash and equivalents as of Sept. 30, 2021.
The transaction is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2022.
TOP PHOTO: Jack in the Box headquarters
SDSU’s Mission Valley stadium
to be named Snapdragon Stadium
Qualcomm Technologies Inc. has won naming rights for San Diego State University’s new Mission Valley stadium — which will be called Snapdragon Stadium, subject to approval from the California State University Board of Trustees. The $45 million deal, reportee today, is structured as a 15-year, $3 million per year agreement.
Snapdragon is Qualcomm Technologies’ premier mobile platform brand. It represents a family of technology platforms that bring intelligence and connectivity to smartphones, wearables, always-connected PCs, XR headsets, gaming devices and cars. The Snapdragon platforms are designed to deliver premium performance and immersive experiences to the user.
With the implementation of 5G within the stadium, Snapdragon Stadium is intended to be an embodiment of real, impactful examples of a world where everyone and everything is intelligently connected.
USD Board Chair Don Knauss and wife
donate $50 million to USD School of Business
University of San Diego Board Chairman Donald Knauss, the former CEO of Clorox, and his wife, Ellie, have invested more than $50 million to build the Knauss Center for Business Education, and to name The Knauss School of Business.
The Knauss Center for Business Education will open in fall 2022. The new 120,000-square-foot building — together with the renovated Olin Hall — will create a complex that will more than triple the size of The Knauss School of Business.
Inside the Knauss Center for Business Education:
• The Free Enterprise Suite, a space with state-of-the-art technology to help seed student startups from across the university.
• The Student Success Center, which unifies advising, career development, mentoring and all other student services under one roof.
• The Busch Family Torero production studio, named through the first gift to the building project from Kim and Andy Busch.
• The Dennis Zocco and Dan Rivetti Finance Lab, supported through the gift from the Kokua Na Lani Foundation.
• The Nexus Theatre.
Michele Vives named president of Douglas Wilson Companies
Douglas Wilson Companies announced Monday that Michele Vives has been promoted to president of the firm, succeeding Douglas Wilson, who continues as CEO and chairman of the board.
DWC is a real estate development, receivership and advisory firm that has completed more than 1,200 projects in 35 states valued in excess of $15 billion. The company provides a wide range of specialized business, workout, and real estate services to financial institutions, law firms, state and federal courts, property owners and REITs.
Vives will spearhead the executive team, which also includes Nich Wilson, COO; Lynn Goodridge, CFO; and Ryan Baker, head of the Fiduciary Practice.
Vives joined the company in 2014 and, most recently, in her role as vice president, led DWC’s Real Estate Practice, including extensive work with families, family offices, government agencies and major corporations across the company’s business channels from advisory services to ground-up development. She has overseen the development of office, research, residential, and retail projects with a value of more than $750 million.
UC San Diego helps expand Parkinson’s
Progression Markers Initiative
After a decade of pioneering research, the Parkinson’s Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI) by The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) will see a major expansion. Entering its most ambitious phase yet, the clinical study will grow its in-clinic recruitment from 1,400 to 4,000 participants by the end of 2023. This is the latest step in PPMI’s mission to maintain the most robust open-access Parkinson’s data set in the world.
University of California San Diego School of Medicine joined PPMI shortly after its launch in 2010, and is now one of nearly 50 clinical sites around the world participating in the expansion. The international effort seeks to identify biomarkers of Parkinson’s disease to promote development of better treatments, potential cures and perhaps even prevention of the disease.
Kaveh Abhari named Zahn
Professor of Creativity and Innovation
Kaveh Abhari, a management information systems professor at San Diego State University’s Fowler College of Business, has been named Zahn Professor of Creativity and Innovation starting in the spring 2022 semester.
Abhari is the founder of SDSU’s Digital Innovation Lab (DiLab) and works to expand digital technologies to underserved communities. He established the DiLab with the objective of creating innovations that enhance people’s lives through the design, adoption, and dissemination of digital technologies while developing “compassionate digital transformation leaders.”
As the incoming Zahn Professor, Abhari plans to propose a new digital entrepreneurship minor. He intends to engage SDSU undergraduate students in at least 20 community projects that focus on providing technological solutions to local start-up businesses and organizations within underserved communities on a pro bono basis. Possible solutions could include assistance with application design, systems analysis or online business development.
Ingo Hardt elected partner in San Diego
office of Wilson Sonsoni Goodrich & Rosati
Ingo Hardt has been elected partner in the San Diego office of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
Hardt focuses on the preparation and prosecution of patent applications in the fields of chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.
He also performs patent due diligence in transactional matters.
Prior to attending law school, Hardt worked as a drug development chemist for 10 years, primarily at Pfizer, and became a registered patent agent in 2003.
During his tenure in the pharmaceutical industry, Ingo filled a variety of roles in analytical technology development, pharmaceutical sciences, regulatory CMC, and project management.
He is an author or co-author of 20 peer-reviewed scientific articles and a co-inventor on two issued U.S. patents.
Hardt received his J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law.
Scripps Research mourns passing of
pioneering scientist Richard Lerner
Richard Lerner, M.D., a scientific pioneer who developed technologies that had a major impact on science and medicine, and who played a critical role in shaping Scripps Research and San Diego’s burgeoning life sciences sector, passed away on Dec. 2, 2021. He was 83 years old.
A Stanford-trained physician-scientist, Lerner served as director and president of Scripps Research from 1987 through 2012. During his tenure, Scripps Research established a Florida campus and launched the institute’s bi-coastal graduate school, now named the Skaggs Graduate School of Chemical and Biological Sciences. With its interdisciplinary research focus, the school soon ranked among the top 10 graduate programs of its kind in the US.
Lerner recruited an impressive cadre of scientists to La Jolla in fields ranging from structural and computational biology to immunology and molecular medicine, and also established the institute’s now top ranked Department of Chemistry.
“Richard had a tremendous influence on science, the institute, and the lives and work of many of us at Scripps Research,” said Peter Schultz, president and CEO of Scripps Research and a long-time collaborator with Lerner. “He was truly a giant and his vision, leadership and passion for science will be deeply missed.”
New vaccine ingredient shows promise
Scientists at La Jolla Institute for Immunology and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have found a possible way to improve the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines—and any vaccine.
Their new research, published in Science Immunology, shows that a “combination” adjuvant called a saponin/TLR agonist may boost the protective power of vaccines.
“This is super exciting,” says LJI Professor Shane Crotty, a member of the LJI Center for Infectious Disease and Vaccine Research. . “We’re really hoping this adjuvant can help out.”
Vaccines work by showing the human immune system just a small piece of a pathogen. The immune system sees this “antigen” and begins making the immune cells and antibodies needed to fight the real virus.
Antigens rarely work alone. Scientists use particles called adjuvants in most vaccine designs. Adjuvants are like red flags that lead the immune system to react more strongly to the antigen and develop the well-honed T cells and B cells that protect the body for years.
NC State and UCLA to meet in 43rd SDCCU Holiday Bowl
The UCLA Bruins (8-4) from the Pac-12 Conference and the 18th-ranked NC State Wolfpack (9-3) from the ACC have accepted invitations to play in the 43rd annual SDCCU Holiday Bowl. The bowl game is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 28 at 5 p.m. It will air on FOX and be the first football game ever played in Downtown San Diego’s Petco Park.
This year marks the first time an ACC team has ever played in the SDCCU Holiday Bowl. The bowl game will match teams from the ACC and Pac-12 through at least 2025. The Pac-12 has been represented in every Holiday Bowl since 1998. The last time a current ACC school has played in San Diego was in 1992 when the Miami Hurricanes (then in the Big East) defeated San Diego State 63-17. This will be NC State’s first appearance in the Holiday Bowl. UCLA played in the 2012 bowl game, losing to Baylor 49-26.
General Atomics completes system-level
tests for Protector RG MkI RPA
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has successfully completed key system-level tests for the new Protector RG Mk1 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). The Protector is the UK Royal Air Force’s version of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian, which is GA-ASI’s latest model of RPA and is on track to become the world’s first certified Medium-altitude, Long-endurance (MALE) RPA. The first Protector is expected to complete its test and evaluation program late 2022 and arrive in the UK in 2023.
Marshall Faulk named to American Films board
Former NFL running back Marshall Faulk, whose 13-year career included a Super Bowl victory and recognition as the league’s most valuable player, last week joined the board of directors of intellectual property protection and Identity as a Service firm American Films Inc.
“I have always said that you have to really love what you do to be a star,” said Faulk who has been based in San Diego since his retirement from the St. Louis Rams in 2006. ”My career has always been about working hard, being the best, and holding out for the right fit, whether it’s the position I play on the field, the team I play for, or the projects I’ve taken on in recent years,” he said, adding that American Films, with its focus on using technology and data to protect the rights of artists and athletes, reflects his strong affinity for both innovation and fairness.
Faulk played for the Indianapolis Colts from 1994 to 1998 after a successful collegiate career at San Diego State University. He is a native of New Orleans.
San Diego Ballet Presents:
The Nutcracker, a magical journey
through a young girl’s imagination
San Diego Ballet brings America’s favorite holiday event, The Nutcracker, to dazzling life at the newly renovated Magnolia theater, 210 E. Main St., El Cajon. Performances are at 1 and 5 p.m. on Dec. 19.
The annual production of The Nutcracker features Tchaikovsky’s timeless score and an international cast of more than 100 beautifully costumed dancers. Sugarplum fairies, leaping cossacks and flurries of snowflakes swirl across the stage, in this magical journey through a young girl’s imagination.
to purchase tickets, click here.
