TOP STORIES
The county’s unemployment rate returned to more than 10% in March, but the pace of yearly layoffs slowed and jobs grew from February to March. Unemployment here was 10.1% last month, up from a revised 9.8% for February and the highest since January’s 10.2%, according to the state’s Employment Development Department. The jobless rate rose with a 5,900 increase in those counted as unemployed, including students, retirees and those who have given up looking for work. Despite the rise in unemployment, March’s numbers were among the best the county has seen in months. For the 12 months through March, employers here shed 39,700 workers, a 2.9% decline. March’s yearly loss was about half of the 72,600 annual layoffs seen at the peak of the downturn in April 2009. Nonfarm employment here rose by 7,300 jobs to 1.36 million workers from February to March.
In what’s likely the biggest local chip deal in years, Irvine’s Teridian Semi-conductor Corp. is being acquired by Sunnyvale’s Maxim Integrated Products Inc. for $315 million in cash. In the past few years, Teridian has reworked its business and pegged its growth on making chips for a new type of electricity meter that operates as part of a smart grid designed to cut energy consumption. Maxim picked up Teridian to get into smart meter chips. Teridian has about 100 workers in Irvine and has an estimated $75 million in yearly sales. It’s unclear whether Maxim, which sees yearly sales of $1.7 billion, will keep the local operations.
The parent of Santa Ana-based dental services company Bright Now Dental Inc. updated its plans for an initial public stock offering with expectations of raising up to $133 million. Smile Brands Group Inc. said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing it hopes to sell 7.4 million shares for $16 to $18 each. The offering could bring proceeds of $112.5 million for the company after expenses. That could rise to $130 million if underwriters buy 1.1 million additional shares to cover extra demand. The company didn’t indicate a date for the offering.
TECHNOLOGY
A patent dispute between Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. and CSR PLC is set to resume after an appeals court ruled against the British chipmaker in an ongoing case involving global positioning system chips. The case stretches back to 2006, when Broadcom alleged that San Jose-based Sirf Technology Holdings Inc. infringed on its patents for GPS navigation chips for cell phones. Sirf was acquired by CSR for $136 million last year. CSR has since redesigned the chips, but said it could see further litigation from Broadcom or others.
REAL ESTATE
Santa Ana-based First American Corp. said it closed on nearly $1.3 billion worth of credit agreements and launched a $350 million debt buyback in preparation for the upcoming spinoff of its core title insurance business. The spinoff is targeted for June 1. Early last week First American closed on an $850 million credit agreement that includes a $500 million revolving facility that will serve as the credit line for its information services group after the spinoff.
A unit of New York-based Related Cos. has taken over management of troubled Anaheim GardenWalk. San Diego-based Excel Realty Holdings, the developer of GardenWalk near Disneyland, lost ownership of the outdoor mall at an auction that saw no bidders and the mall revert to lender Citigroup Inc.
Garden Grove agreed to pay a water park hotel developer $42 million as soon the hotel opens. The City Council unanimously voted for the upfront payment to Colorado’s McWhinney instead of paying it over 15 years. The development is planned about a mile away from the Disneyland Resort and is part of the city’s bid to generate more tourism revenue.
APPAREL
Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. has sold a line of swimsuits for undisclosed terms to focus on its core brands. The clothing maker sold the rights to its Raisins line of swimsuits to New York-based Breaking Waves International, a unit of AOM Holdings LLC. Brian Ivanhoe, a Quiksilver vice president who oversaw the Raisins line, is set to join Breaking Waves next month.
OTHER NEWS
Bill Lerach, the famed trial lawyer released from prison last month after being convicted of conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice and making false declarations under oath, could teach a course at the University of California, Irvine School of Law next year. Officials at the school said they are considering having Lerach teach a course.
