Breaking news: Santa Barbara firm sues Chinese government for $2.2B
A Santa Barbara-based software maker has sued the Chinese government and seven big computer manufacturers for $2.2 billion for conspiring to steal its code and distribute 56 million copies of a censoring program that contained the allegedly pilfered lines. Cybersitter, a company that makes software used by parents to block children’s access to inappropriate content, Read More →
Breaking news: PCBC to sell tax-refund loan division
Santa Barbara-based Pacific Capital Bancorp announced Dec. 24 that it is selling its controversial tax-refund loan program after federal regulators did not approve the bank to originate any refund-anticipation loans during 2010. Pacific Capital, the parent of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust and several other banking brands on the Central Coast, said it has signed Read More →
Longtime Santa Barbara builder passes away
Ugo Melchiori, Santa Barbara businessman and founder of Melchiori Construction Co., died Dec. 12. He was 69. Melchiori founded his company in 1988 after entering the construction industry in Santa Barbara in 1959. Now run by other members of the Melchiori family, Melchiori Construction is the largest general contractor in the Tri-Counties with $78.5 million Read More →
Clipper Windpower sells 49.5% stake to United Technologies
After suffering losses despite explosive revenue growth, Carpinteria-based wind turbine maker Clipper Windpower has sold 49.5 percent of the company to industrial giant United Technologies Corp. for $270 million. The transaction, announced Dec. 9, sets into motion a battle between U.S. industrial giants for the large wind turbine market. Clipper’s primary U.S. rival and the Read More →
Clipper Windpower sells 49.5% stake to United Technologies
After suffering losses despite explosive revenue growth, Carpinteria-based wind turbine maker Clipper Windpower has sold 49.5 percent of the company to industrial giant United Technologies Corp. for $270 million. The transaction, announced Dec. 9, sets into motion a battle between U.S. industrial giants for the large wind turbine market. Clipper’s primary U.S. rival and the Read More →
Breaking news: Select Staffing to go public with $840M merger
Santa Barbara-based Select Staffing, the largest private company in the Tri-Counties, plans to go public in an $840 million merger with a Florida-based company. The deal, announced on Dec. 11, will see Select, which pulled in $1.4 billion in revenue last year, join with Atlas Acquisition Holding Corp, a publicly traded “blank check” firm that Read More →
Pacific Capital CFO to resign
After a brief but eventful tenure, Stephen Masterson, chief financial and operating officer of Pacific Capital Bancorp, is leaving the troubled banking company, the firm said Dec. 9. Pacific Capital Bancorp is the parent of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust and is the largest independent banking company in the Tri-Counties. After taking federal bailout money Read More →
