This past week’s news from www.ocbj.com and other sources
TOP STORIES
Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. is paying $316 million for Santa Clara’s Beceem Communications Inc. as part of a bid to grow sales of chips to mobile phone makers. Beceem makes chips for fourth-generation mobile phones, an emerging technology. The deal is set to close by the end of the first quarter and is expected to have a neutral effect on Broadcom’s 2011 profits.
Shares of Santa Ana-based for-profit school operator Corinthian Colleges Inc. slumped last week after a key rival warned of a big drop in students amid unfolding federal regulations for the industry. Arizona’s Apollo Group Inc., operator of the Univer-sity of Phoenix, offered the bleak forecast as it and other for-profit school operators remain under fire over students who took on excessive debt. The report followed word that Corinthian President Matt Ouimet plans to step down at the end of the month. Corinthian said it has no immediate plans to replace Ouimet.
TECHNOLOGY
Lake Forest-based Western Digital Corp. struck a deal for production and distribution of its disk drives in Brazil with contract electronics maker Digitron da Amazonia Industria e Comercio Ltda. The deal is expected to produce an estimated $175 million worth of drives in the first year. In other Western Digital news, the company’s shares surged late last week on word of private equity interest in key rival Seagate Technology PLC of Northern California.
HEALTHCARE
Irvine-based CoreValve, a unit of Minnesota’s Medtronic Inc., received Food and Drug Administration approval to test a new type of heart valve. The approval allows CoreValve to try the valve—which is inserted via a catheter and doesn’t require open heart surgery—in 1,200 patients at 40 U.S. sites. The valve is the closest rival to a similar valve from Irvine-based Edwards Lifesciences Corp. that has an early lead with a U.S. trial under way. The catheter valves are seen as the biggest advancement in heart valves in years.
REAL ESTATE
The Anaheim City Council approved a 20-year timeline for Irvine Company to develop as many as 2,500 houses on 3,000 acres near the Riverside (91) Freeway and the Foothill (241) Toll Road. Construction on the Mountain Park project is likely three to five years away, according to Irvine Co.
Rich Mayo of Irvine-based Spyglass Realty Partners is leading a group that won the bidding to buy 11 office buildings and lease them back to the state of California. California First LLC includes Spyglass, Houston’s Hines Interests LP and Antarctica Capital LLC of New York, which has an Irvine office. The buildings are expected to generate more than $200 million in annual rents in the next 20 years. None of the buildings are in Orange County.
San Juan Capistrano gave tentative ap-proval to a 154-acre development that’s been trimmed back to 130 apartments and condominiums, less office and commercial space and facilities for 500 horses. An earlier plan called for 94 single-family homes and room for 775 horses. The City Council is expected to consider a developer agreement and certification of an environmental study on Nov. 2. Developer Advanced Real Estate Services of Lake Forest said it is “satisfied” with the revised proposal.
FINANCE
Redondo Beach-based Bay Cities National Bank opened executive offices in Irvine and changed its name to Opus Bank after a $460 million financing. Longtime OC banking executive Stephen Gordon is the new chairman and chief executive of the bank, which has $710 million in assets. Gordon joined with Elliot Management Corp., Fortress Investment Group LLC and Starwood Capital Group to invest in Opus Bank. The bank leased 46,000 square feet of office space in Irvine, where Gordon is based. It continues to operate branches in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates and Torrance.
RESTAURANTS
Huntington Beach-based BJ’s Restaurants Inc. is expected to post a 33% gain in profits to $4.3 million for the third quarter from a year earlier and continue to outpace most other dining chains for the next several periods, according to an analyst. BJ’s runs some 100 casual restaurants and has grown through the extended dining downturn. But BJ’s shares aren’t projected to go much higher after a 50% run-up this year, according to Brad Ludington of Cleveland-based KeyCorp’s KeyBanc Capital Markets.
OTHER NEWS
Foothill Ranch-based aluminum products maker Kaiser Aluminum Corp. is paying $90 million in cash for Chandler, Ariz.-based Alexco LLC. Alexco makes parts for planes. Kaiser shapes custom aluminum pieces for customers in the aviation, defense and auto industries.
Irvine-based Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc. received a $1.4 million grant for the development of a hybrid powertrain for electric, plug-in and hybrid vehicles. The company said it will use the money from the state Energy Commission to upgrade its plant in Lake Forest, where it plans to make 30 to 40 hires. Quantum Fuel Systems develops powertrains for Irvine-based Fisker Automotive Inc. (see related story, page 1).
Irvine-based Consolidated Horticulture Group LLC, which operates Hines Horticulture Inc., filed for bankruptcy. The filing came after Hines, a seller of plants and shrubs through home improvement stores, laid off about 100 people in Oregon. It’s the second bankruptcy filing in as many years for Hines.
