TOP STORY
Orange County’s job losses continue to improve from their lows of the recession with 55,800 jobs lost in September from a year earlier. The unemployment rate here was 9.4% last month, down from a revised 9.8% for August, according to the state Employment Develop-ment Department. The county saw a 3.8% drop in nonfarm employment in September from a year earlier. The 55,800 jobs lost is sizable but marks a pullback from the recession’s high of 72,600 annual job losses in April. The retail industry and related sectors drove the yearly job loss last month with 16,900 layoffs, more than half among retailers. Healthcare added about 1,600 jobs in the past 12 months.
TECHNOLOGY
The long-running bidding war for Santa Ana’s MSC.Software Corp., a maker of simulation software for aerospace, military and industrial uses, ended last week as Palo Alto-based private equity firm Symphony Technology Group LLC took over the company. Symphony’s $390 million counter offer beat out offers from two private equity firms believed to be San Francisco’s Vector Capital Corp. and Golden Gate Capital. Symphony installed Dominic Gallello as chief executive officer and Jim Johnson as chief financial officer. It’s unclear if Symphony will keep other MSC managers or if there will be further job impacts.
The highflying shares of Santa Ana-based STEC Inc. continued their month-long pullback last week. Behind the drop appears to be ongoing concerns about looming competition for solid state drives. Before slipping in mid-September, STEC’s shares were up some 800% since the start of the year. The recent pullback has cut that to less than 500%.
Irvine’s Lantronix Inc., a maker of networking gear for industrial uses, received a delisting notice from Nasdaq after it failed to boost its stock above $1 per share. Lantronix initially was notified in late 2007 by Nasdaq after its stock closed at less than $1 per share for 30 consecutive days. The company can appeal the delisting decision in front of a panel or request approval for a reverse stock split.
HEALTHCARE
A court-appointed receiver says he has a tentative deal to sell a healthcare financier’s $55 million interest in Santa Ana-based hospital operator Integrated Healthcare Holdings Inc., according to court records. Receiver Thomas Seaman said he’s reached a “tentative agreement” to sell an interest that Tustin-based Medical Capital Holdings Inc. has in the four-hospital Integrated chain. Seaman said that he anticipated exchanging a letter of intent “in the next few days”.
REAL ESTATE
Orange County’s median home price last month saw its first yearly increase since August 2007 to $429,000, a 1% increase from a year earlier, according to San Diego-based MDA DataQuick. Prices inched up a little more than $1,000 from August. Median home prices still are down nearly a third from the peak of the market in June 2007. There were 2,828 home sales in OC in September, an increase of a little more than 1% from August and a 6% increase from a year earlier.
Lake Forest-based construction and engineering company Primoris Services Corp. acquired a Texas contractor that specializes in water, utility and other projects. Primoris said it bought Houston-based Cravens Partners Ltd. for an undisclosed amount of cash and stock. The deal also includes bonus payments if Cravens hits financial goals. The company’s management is expected to stay in place.
Highridge Partners has completed a $31 million cash acquisition of the 246,819-square-foot 3 MacArthur office tower in Santa Ana. The real estate investor bought the property, which is 78% full, from Tishman Speyer, which paid $83.7 million for it in 2007. Highridge Partners bought it as part of a $500 million investment program targeting upscale office buildings in California.
San Clemente-based Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. plans to sell 20 million shares at $7.20 each to raise $144 million before fees. The money is expected to go toward regular operations, including “one or more hotel acquisitions,” Sunstone said, which is a departure from the financial troubles the hotel investor has been having.
APPAREL
An analyst said Pacific Sunwear of California Inc.’s turnaround strategy is showing signs of taking hold and the mall retailer could beat conservative expectations for the current quarter. FBR Capital Markets analyst Adrienne Tennant raised her rating on the shares from “market perform” to “outperform,” suggesting her clients buy the stock.
FINANCE
Costa Mesa-based bank operators Pacific Mercantile Bancorp and Pacific Premier Bancorp Inc. announced plans to raise money through stock sales. Pacific Mercantile said it would raise $15.5 million in a private stock sale that it would use for lending, growth and strengthening reserves. Pacific Premier announced a $20 million common stock offering.
OTHER NEWS
A Walt Disney Co. veteran who was on hand for the opening of Disney’s California Adventure is returning to run the company’s Anaheim operations. George Kalogridis, who has been with the company for 38 years, was named Disneyland Resort president early last week. He’ll oversee the company’s two Anaheim theme parks, three hotels and Downtown Disney District shopping center. Kalogridis most recently served as chief operating officer for Disneyland Resort Paris.
