Industry Briefs are provided as a free service to our readers. Company news information may be sent to brice@slenterprise.com. The submission deadline is one week before publication.
ARTS/ENTERTAINMENT
• The Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (Go Utah) board, at its September meeting, approved a cash rebate incentive of up to $100,080 for Nine Tales Inc. its production of “The Graduates,” a feature drama. The production is expected to spend $500,400 in Utah, including during principal photography scheduled for Oct. 6-31 in Salt Lake and Weber counties. The production is projected to employ 28 cast members, 33 crew and 400 extras. The director is Hannah Peterson. Producers ae Josh Peters and Taylor Shung. “The Graduates” will tell the story of the father, the girlfriend and three people close to a school shooting victim as they try to move forward and heal for the first time.
• The Utah Pantages Theater has been nominated for the National Historic Registry. A division of the National Park Service, the National Register of Historic Places catalogs and documents America’s historic treasures and encourages strong preservation and restoration through historical tax credits. The Capitol Theater and Kearns Building next door to the Pantages have been listed on the registry since 1976 and 1982, respectively. The Pantages was built in 1918. It also has applied to become a Salt Lake City Landmark.
BANKING
• TAB Bank, Ogden, has provided a $2.5 million credit facility to a mechanical maintenance company in Fort St. John, British Columbia, Canada. The new facility is extended through a multi-year agreement and will provide for the company’s ongoing working capital needs. The company is a mechanical maintenance and construction contractor with a welding and fabrication division.
• Mountain America Credit Union has opened its 100th branch, in Henderson, Nevada. This is Mountain America’s fifth branch in Nevada. The credit union has 1 million members.
• Zions Bancorporation NA, Salt Lake City, has announced it will host its 2022 Biennial Investor Conference for institutional investors and analysts on March 3, 2022. It is currently anticipated to be held in Salt Lake City for those who wish to attend in person and will be broadcast for those who would prefer to attend virtually. Zions operates under local management teams and distinct brands in 11 western states.
CORPORATE
• Banner Acquisition Corp. has closed its initial public offering of 15 million units at a price of $10 per unit. The units are listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market and trade under the ticker symbol “BNNRU.” Each unit consists of one share of the company’s Class A common stock and one-half of one redeemable warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of the company’s Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share, subject to adjustment. Once the securities comprising the units begin separate trading, the shares of Class A common stock and public warrants will be listed on NASDAQ under the symbols “BNNR” and “BNNRW,” respectively. BofA Securities Inc. is acting as sole book running manager and underwriter for the IPO. The company has granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 2.25 million units at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discount. Banner Acquisition Corp. intends to seek partnership with family-owned or founder-led businesses. Banner is a “blank check” company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. It is sponsored by an affiliate of Banner Ventures and led by Christopher Christensen, who serves as chairman of the board, and Tanner Ainge, who serves as CEO and director.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
• Residents of Summit County earn the most money in Utah, on average, according to an analysis by financial technology company SmartAsset. It considered data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Five-Year American Community Survey to determine the counties with the highest earners. Residents of Summit County have a median income of $102,958, with a cost of living of $54,212. Summit County was followed, in order, by Morgan, Wasatch, Davis, Daggett, Salt Lake, Utah, Tooele, Weber and Uintah counties. Details are at https://smartasset.com/mortgage/cost-of-living-calculator#Utah/median-income.
• Utah is ranked No. 1 among states for creating wedding-themed photo books in 2021, No. 2 for travel-themed photo books and No. 4 for family photo books, according to Mixbook. It ranked the states based on the number of books created per 100,000 residents. Utah also was No. 4 for romance-themed photo books and other items created on the Mixbook.com platform.
• Property-buyers in Utah would expect a 39-percent discount to purchase a property that once was a meth lab, according to a survey by Rehabs.com. That amount is equivalent to $109,839, based on average property prices in Utah. One in four admit they would worry about the social stigma if they moved into a house that was once a drug den, and half of potential buyers say they’d pull out of the deal in that situation. Details are at https://www.rehabs.com/explore/neighborhood-drug-dens/.
EDUCATION/TRAINING
• The College of Dental Medicine at Roseman University of Health Sciences, South Jordan, has received formal approval from the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA) to transition its Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) program from a four-year to a three-year curriculum, beginning with the 2022-23 academic year. The move makes Roseman’s College of Dental Medicine one of only two colleges in the nation offering students the opportunity to earn their DMD degree faster, saving time and tuition cost. The college will not be applying a full four years’ worth of tuition over three years in the new model. Instead, students will pay only three years of tuition. In addition to reducing the length of its DMD program, the college also received approval from CODA to increase its new class size from 100 admitted per academic year to 120 in 2023-24 and up to 136 admitted per academic year beginning in 2024-25. Once the program is fully transitioned to three years in 2026-27, the college will have a total program enrollment of 408 students.
INVESTMENTS
• Cotopaxi, a Salt Lake City-based outdoor gear and apparel brand and benefit corporation, has secured funding led by Bain Capital Double Impact, the impact investing strategy of Bain Capital. The amount was not disclosed. The investment will be used to propel Cotopaxi’s global growth, sustainable products strategy, and impact on addressing poverty and supporting community development. As part of the investment, Cotopaxi is adding Cecilia Chao of Bain Capital Double Impact to its board of directors. Cotopaxi was founded in 2014 with a mission to create sustainably designed outdoor products and experiences that inspire adventure while also leading people to do good by helping fund poverty relief efforts.
• RainFocus, a Lehi-based enterprise event marketing platform, has closed a Series C funding round, led by KKR, a global investment firm. Existing investor JMI Equity, a growth equity firm focused on software companies, also participated in the round. Financial details were not disclosed. KKR is investing in RainFocus through its Next Generation Technology Growth Fund II, a global fund dedicated to growth equity investments in the technology space. The funding is expected to enable RainFocus to enhance its event management and marketing technology platform, grow its global footprint, and accelerate its strategic go-to-market initiatives.
LAW
• Armstrong Teasdale has hired Charles D. Morris for its office in Salt Lake City. Morris is an associate in the firm’s litigation practice group. He has a background in research and analysis of federal, state and local statutes, lending to his understanding of the legal landscape across a wide range of practice areas. He is familiar with corporate and transactional law and has experience with mergers and acquisitions and taxation. Prior to joining Armstrong Teasdale, Morris was a research assistant at the University of Oregon School of Law to a professor of taxation and corporate law. His experience also includes serving as a summer associate in the office of the general counsel for a communications company in Salt Lake City. His education includes a B.A. from Brigham Young University. Armstrong Teasdale has more than 340 attorneys throughout the U.S. and U.K.
• Kirkland & Ellis have opened an office at 60 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Corporate partner Travis Nelson and litigation partner Brigham Cannon and investment funds partner Warren Goodworth will be relocating to launch the new office. Nelson and Cannon are alumni of Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School. Nelson focuses primarily on complex business transactions, including leveraged acquisitions of private and public companies, strategic mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, venture capital and PIPE investments, debt and equity restructurings and recapitalizations, and the formation of private equity funds. Cannon represents corporate and individual clients in white-collar and regulatory defense matters. He also regularly leads internal investigations, advises companies on the effectiveness of their compliance programs, and assists companies who are facing investigations by enforcement agencies outside the United States. He joined the firm after spending more than four years as a prosecutor with the Department of Justice in the Fraud Section of the Criminal Division. Goodworth’s practice focuses on the structuring, forming and advising premier private equity, growth equity, secondary, fund of funds, venture, energy and other private investment funds and their management companies. His practice also includes assisting fund sponsors in connection with secondary market sales, legal and regulatory compliance matters, as well as other complex business transactions and operational events. Kirkland & Ellis has about 2,900 attorneys, with offices in 18 cities worldwide.
MEDIA/MARKETING
• KUER 90.1 has appointed Cristy Meiners as station manager. Meiners is a former executive producer of “RadioWest” and had been serving as interim station manager since May, overseeing operations, programming and news for the NPR member station. Meiners will guide all national, regional and local news, arts and cultural programming airing on the station, as well as navigating new approaches for the creation of local content on KUER’s multiple media platforms. Meiners began her journalism and public radio career as an intern in Washington, D.C., on NPR’s Arts Desk. She produced “The Bob Edwards Show” and “Bob Edwards Weekend” for SiriusXM Satellite Radio for eight years. She returned to Salt Lake City as the arts and entertainment editor at the Deseret News before joining the “RadioWest” team in 2019.
NONPROFITS
• Sutherland Institute, a Salt Lake City-based independent research and educational institution that is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, has announced that Jon Ammons will join its new stable of contributing scholars, with a focus on civic institutions. Ammons currently serves as the associate director of the New York Office of Public and International Affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, where he performs outreach at the United Nations and to the broader diplomatic and religious communities in New York. Ammons’ previous work includes government, interfaith and community relations outreach at the church’s global headquarters in Salt Lake City. Prior to joining the church’s New York office, Ammons served as deputy chief of staff in the Utah House of Representatives and as a senior policy and communications advisor to the speaker of the House. His education includes an undergraduate degree in humanities from Brigham Young University.
PHILANTHROPY
• The Utah Valley Home Builders Association donated over $300,000 to Brigham Young University after selling its 11th “Cougar House.” The donation went to BYU’s endowed scholarship program. Members of the UVHBA donate time, labor and supplies to build each Cougar House. The home is then sold, with the proceeds benefiting current and future student-athletes, particularly those involved in construction management majors at BYU. The project was jumpstarted with the $160,000 lot in Saratoga Springs donated by Jeff Southard of South Haven Homes and Development. The South Haven team also oversaw the entire project as the general contractor. Sam Morgan of Morgan Fine Homes designed and donated the plans for the 3,600-plus-square-foot home.
REAL ESTATE
• Foursight Capital has leased 35,000 square feet of Class A office space at Soleil Technology Park in Salt Lake City. The fourth floor of the park will serve as Foursight’s new corporate headquarters. The least was announced by Colliers. Founded in 2012, Foursight Capital is a specialty finance company that focuses exclusively on assisting finance auto customers indirectly through relationships with franchise and independent dealerships. Soleil is being developed by Wasatch Properties and includes two buildings nearing completion within a 525,000-square-foot development.
RECOGNITIONS
• Squire & Co. PC, Orem, and Tanner LLC, Salt Lake City, have been named to Inside Public Accounting’s “Best of the Best Accounting Firms for 2021” list. The annual recognition honors Certified Public Accounting firms across the country for their overall superior performance on more than 50 IPA criteria. More than 520 accounting firms that participated in the IPA’s survey and analysis of top firms in the United States.
• Fear Factory, 666 West and 800 South in Salt Lake City, has been named the best haunted house in Utah by Parade Magazine. The publication listed the best haunted houses in each state. Fear Factory celebrating 10 years in business this fall. It consists of six buildings, with two underground passages.
• CHG Healthcare, Midvale, is ranked No. 20 on the list of “2021 People Companies That Care,” compiled by People magazine and Great Place to Work. The 100-company list contains companies “that have succeeded in business while also demonstrating outstanding respect, care and concern for their employees, their communities and the environment.” CHG provides locum tenens services and is the parent company of five healthcare staffing companies and owns two technology companies.
• Lodging Dynamics Hospitality Group, a Provo-based hotel operation company, has received the 2020 Partnership Circle Award from Marriott International. It is the highest honor Marriott bestows upon a third-party management company. This is the second time Lodging Dynamics has received the award.
RETAIL
• Backcountry, a Park City-based specialty outdoor retailer, has appointed Girish Satya as chief financial officer of its global portfolio of brands, including Backcountry, Bergfreunde, Competitive Cyclist, Motosport and Steep & Cheap. Satya has more than 20 years of financial executive experience, most recently serving as a principal at TSG Consumer Products, Backcountry’s financial and strategic partner. He joined TSG in 2016 to lead its portfolio operations group. Before that, he served as CFO for The Bay Club Co. He also held senior financial and operations roles at several private-equity-backed businesses. He started his career at Alvarez and Marsal. He currently serves on the board of Canyon Bicycles GmbH and is the president of the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art.
SERVICES
• Crestone Capital LLC, a Colorado-based wealth management firm, has opened an office in Salt Lake City. It is the fifth location for the company, which provides services to a network of entrepreneurs, business owners and their families. The office will be led by Rachelle Morris, executive director of client advisory. She will provide wealth management and client advisory services to high-net-worth individuals and families in Utah and surrounding areas. She has significant wealth management and private banking experience, most recently serving as vice president for J.P. Morgan’s Private Bank in Salt Lake City, following more than a decade as a wealth manager with Goldman Sachs & Co. in Texas. Morris earned her bachelor of science degree in information systems from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Business.
• AvantGuard, an Ogden-based provider of wholesale monitoring services for alarm dealers in North America, has opened a monitoring center in Cedar City. It is the company’s third monitoring center. Operators monitor and respond to alarm signals and events of all types across the security, fire, mPERS and IoT industries. The company services over 1 million subscribers from Alaska to Puerto Rico. The new monitoring center is 5,121 square feet occupying the third floor of a three story building capable of seating 28 active monitoring specialists at any given time. Ammon Davis has been named the center’s operations manager. Davis has been with AvantGuard since July 2013, serving in various roles, including operator, training instructor, account executive in dealer services and training, and quality manager.
TECHNOLOGY/LIFE SCIENCES
• Xenter Inc., a Salt Lake City-based medical device-data-drug technologies company, has appointed Dr. Mark Turco as president of Xenter Medical Technologies, formerly Xenter Hospital Technologies. The business unit is developing a new global platform of smart medical devices, initially focusing on vascular imaging and physiology technologies for interventional medical procedures. Turco most recently was executive vice president of research and development and global chief medical officer at Sirtex Medical. Prior to Sirtex, he was chief innovation and corporate outreach officer for the University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Center for Innovation. His 20-year clinical practice began at Washington Adventist Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he served as the director of the Center for Cardiac and Vascular Research before joining Covidien as chief medical officer. Following Medtronic’s acquisition of Covidien in 2015, Turco was appointed vice president and chief medical officer of the Aortic, Peripheral & Vascular Divisions at Medtronic prior to joining Penn.