ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Flat: Businesses sold in OC as 94 deals were closed in February, compared to 92 a year earlier, according to BizBen.com.
TOP STORY
Nationwide Health Properties Inc. bought controlling interests in five medical office buildings from Pacific Medical Buildings LLC in a deal valued at $211 million. The two local acquisitions: a 140,000-square-foot building in Mission Viejo, on the Mission Hospital campus, and a 130,000-square-foot building in Orange, on the campus of St. Joseph Hospital-Orange. Nationwide said the Mission Viejo deal was valued at $67.3 million and the Orange deal at $62.3 million. The other three buildings are in Pasadena and San Bernardino.
TECHNOLOGY
Newport Beach-based chipmaker Conexant Systems Inc. sold nearly $250 million worth of bonds and stocks to pay off debt due in 2026. The company said it sold $175 million worth of bonds paying interest of 11.25% and due in 2015. It also sold 14 million shares for net proceeds of $52 million. The company plans to use the money to pay off $232 million in debt due in 2026. The bonds have an option for holders to demand repayment early next year and an interest rate of 4%.
Newport Beach-based chipmaker Mindspeed Technologies Inc. is looking to raise around $18 million in a public stock offering. Mindspeed is selling around 2.5 million of its common stock for $7.25 per share. The company said it intends to use the money it raises for operational capital as well as to refinance its debt.
An Orange County Superior Court jury late last week rejected a wrongful termination claim by a former assistant of billionaire Broadcom Corp. cofounder Henry T. Nicholas III. Katherine Nichols sued Nicholas in early 2009, alleging she was fired after she testified before a federal grand jury investigating Nicholas. Nicholas faced federal securities fraud and drug distribution charges until U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney recently threw out both cases.
HEALTHCARE
Irvine-based Allergan Inc. is licensing a potential pain drug for the body’s nervous system to Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. in a deal that could be worth more than $400 million. The company is getting an initial payment of $40 million and potential payments of up to $373 million if the compound known as AGN-209323 is successful. Allergan also would receive royalties if the compound is commercialized. In other Allergan news, a jury in Santa Ana last week decided the company wasn’t liable in the death of a 7-year-old Texas girl being treated for cerebral palsy with Botox.
The jury decided Allergan provided enough warning about the drug and wasn’t liable in the death. Also, Sean Lavin of Lazard Capital Markets LLC upgraded Allergan to “buy” from a previous “hold” in a research note, citing a survey of doctors and a “bullish meeting with management.”
Aliso Viejo drug maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International is spending $12 million for the rights to a wrinkle-reducing skin cream. Valeant said it is paying Fort Myers, Fla.-based Spear Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the rights to Refissa, and the companies are going to share profits. Valeant said that sales of the Refissa line totaled about $5 million in 2009.
APPAREL
Lake Forest-based Oakley posted double digit growth in 2009 despite the rocky economy, according to yearly results from parent Luxottica Group SPA of Italy. Oakley’s 2009 results were on top of double-digit growth in 2008, the company said, and were a result of growth in Europe and emerging markets. Luxottica did not break out specific numbers for Oakley.
February sales at Foothill Ranch-based mall clothing retailer Wet Seal Inc. rose an unexpected 4.7%, surprising analysts who were projecting a decline. Analysts were looking for a 2.9% fall in sales at stores open at least a year. Wet Seal, which runs 501 stores selling clothes for teen girls and young woman, said it saw higher same-store sales at both of its chains.
OTHER NEWS
Emeryville-based Peet’s Coffee & Tea Inc. has extended for a second time its offer to buy Irvine-based coffee seller Diedrich Coffee Inc. in the hopes a rival buyout bid is derailed by regulators. Peet’s said last week its offer to acquire Diedrich for $265 million in cash and stock is being extended for another month. The company made a similar move at the start of February. Diedrich is in the process of being acquired for $290 million in cash by Vermont-based Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc., which in December prevailed over Peet’s in a bidding war. Peet’s is keeping its offer alive in case Green Mountain’s buyout runs into regulatory issues.
Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America led an uptick in automotive sales for some of the county’s automakers that may be benefiting from recalls and bad press of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. Hyundai, part of South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co., saw an 11% gain in vehicle sales to 34,004 vehicles in February from a year earlier. Kia Motors America Inc. of Irvine saw sales up 9% to 24,052 vehicles in February.
