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DIVIDENDS
• The board of directors of Extra Space Storage Inc., Salt Lake City, has declared a quarterly dividend of 90 cents per share on the company’s common stock for the 2020 first quarter. The dividend is payable March 31 to stockholders of record March 16. The company is a real estate investment trust that owns and/or operates 1,817 self-storage properties. It is the second-largest owner and/or operator of self-storage properties in the United States and is the largest self-storage management company in the nation.
• The board of directors of Nu Skin Enterprises Inc., Provo, has increased the quarterly cash dividend to 37.5 cents from the previous 37 cents per share. The dividend is payable March 11 to shareholders of record Feb. 28. It is the 19th consecutive year that the company has increased its dividend. Nu Skin develops and distributes a line of beauty and wellness products through a network of sales leaders in Asia, the Americas, Europe, Africa and the Pacific; and has Rhyz, a strategic investment arm that includes a collection of sustainable manufacturing and technology innovation companies.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• Utah State University is collaborating with two other universities and the Outdoor Industry Association to create a suite of continuing education certificates set to be unveiled this year. The Outdoor Industry Business Certificate (OIBC) program is designed to aid industry professionals looking to further their industry knowledge, or for people interested in pursuing a career in the outdoor industry. In addition to USU, the University of Colorado Boulder and Western Colorado University are developing the online-based and self-paced, noncredit certificates that will focus on the association’s three primary areas of focus: public policy, increasing outdoor participation and sustainable business innovation. Utah State’s OIBC will focus on sustainability in product design and supply chain. USU’s involvement with the association is the result of a joint effort by USU Online and USU Extension to develop and launch new educational opportunities for individuals already in the workforce. All certificates in the OIBC suite will be comprised of four, non-credit courses, each led by experienced university faculty. The University of Colorado Boulder’s OIBC will focus on environmental policy and stakeholder engagement related to the outdoor industry, while the Western Colorado University certificate will concentrate on responsible business in the outdoor industry. Details are at outdoorindustry.org/OIBC.
HEALTHCARE
• MedLite ID, a St. George-based medical device manufacturer partnered with Notre Dame and Dixie State universities, has appointed Dr. Wayne Provost as chairman of its board directors, hired Steven Savage as chief operating officer/chief financial officer, and added Jack Friedman to the board of directors. Provost is the inventor/founder of MedLite ID. He is associated with more than 100 patents ranging from mechanical devices, dental products, medical devices and medical software products. He has served on the company’s board since its inception. Provost founded the Innovation Guidance and Solutions Department at Dixie State University and currently is director of that program. MedLite ID was the first product to be commercialized out of that program. Savage most recently was CEO of Executive Performance Group, where he focused on group organizational performance. Friedman was a senior vice president of accountable care services and payer relations for Providence Health & Services and CEO of Providence Health Plan.
• Cimarron Healthcare Capital (CHC), a Salt Lake City-based, healthcare-focused private equity firm, has sold its ownership stake in Linen King to Seaport Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed. Based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Linen King provides outsourced healthcare laundry services to hospitals and healthcare facilities across the mid-South. Stephens Inc. served as a sell-side advisor to CHC on the transaction. Morgan Lewis & Bockius served as CHC’s legal counsel.
MANUFACTURING
• Varex Imaging Corp., Salt Lake City, has announced the Clarence Verhoef has told the company he intends to retire as senior vice president and chief financial officer. Verhoef, 64, will remain in his current role until a successor is named, which Varex expects will occur during fiscal year 2020. Verhoef will continue to manage the company’s finance team and public company filing requirements while the company conducts a search for his replacement and will assist with an orderly transition of his responsibilities. Verhoef has been with the company 14 years. Varex designs and manufactures X-ray imaging components.
PHILANTHROPY
• DoTerra, a Pleasant Grove-based health and wellness company, recently announced $300,000 in financial and product donations to areas in China most impacted by the coronavirus. The company made a cash donation to the Shanghai Charity Foundation through the Hubei Charity Foundation to purchase protective gear for front-line medical staff. DoTerra also sent product donations to Shanghai Zhabei Central Hospital and Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, and protective eye gear to the Shanghai Ruijin Hospital.
REAL ESTATE
• CareTrust REIT Inc., based in California, has acquired Barton Creek Senior Living, a 62-unit assisted living facility on the campus of Lake View Hospital in Bountiful, Utah in an off-market transaction. The Barton Creek facility has been added to CareTrust’s existing master lease with senior housing operator Bayshire LLC, based in San Diego. The seller was nonprofit South Davis Community Hospital Campus. Annual cash rent under the Bayshire master lease will increase by approximately $600,000. The remaining lease term is just under 15 years, plus two five-year renewal options, and carries annual CPI-based rent escalators. The acquisition was funded using a combination of cash on hand and CareTrust’s $600 million unsecured revolving credit facility.
SERVICES
• Profile Defenders, an online reputation activist company, has completed its ownership transition to Lindon-based RMC LLC (The Reputation Management Co.). Financial terms were not disclosed. Prior to the move, Profile Defenders was focused on Washington, D.C.; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The transition started with the parent company, RMC LLC, absorbing domains related and owned by the Profile Defenders entities, which included removenames.com and profiledefenders.com. Profile Defenders provides services for data privacy removal, removals and deletions, reputation defender-style suppression, reputation monitoring and review management. It says it has been profitable since inception of a trend among Silicon Slopes companies. Established in 2011 in Fort Lauderdale, Profile Defenders now operates in the Canopy office park at the northern end of Silicon Slopes.
• Flex Fleet Rental LLC, a Salt Lake City-based company offering rentals of light- and medium-duty vehicles, has promoted Brian Goldhardt to chief revenue officer. He had been serving as vice president of sales and marketing. Goldhardt joined the company in late 2013 as national sales director. His background includes experience in sales and marketing. Prior to joining FFR, he was the director of commercial sales and service for a Salt Lake City-based dealership. Goldhardt has a B.A. degree from the University of Utah.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Instructure, Salt Lake City, and Thoma Bravo LLC have amended their definitive merger agreement, increasing Thoma Bravo’s offer price to $49 per share in cash. The amount previously was $47.60 per share for all outstanding shares of Instructure. The Instructure board of directors has approved the revised merger agreement and recommend that Instructure stockholders vote in favor of the transaction. A special meeting of Instructure stockholders has been adjourned until 9 a.m. Feb. 25. Instructure offers learning management platforms for schools and businesses. Thoma Bravo, with offices in San Francisco and Chicago, is a private equity firm focused on the software and technology-enabled services sectors.
• Alchemy Technologies, an American Fork-based fintech infrastructure development company, has added Walt Ramsey to its advisory board. Ramsey previously was CEO of Liberty Landing LLC, a New York-based personal financing company. Prior to that, he was chief risk officer at Elevate and serve Elevate’s predecessor, Think Finance, as its chief risk officer. Ramsey also has held senior leadership and executive positions at JPMorgan Chase, Lloyds Bank, Experian, GE Consumer Finance, Associates and First USA Bank.