Compiled by Mike Mason
Raptor Networks Technology Inc. landed $7.7 million in funding in a stock sale led by Brookstreet Securities Corp. of Irvine. Santa Ana-based Raptor, which makes switching systems that speed up computer networks, said investors have the right to buy more shares that could boost the funding to more than $20 million Lake Forest-based Western Digital Corp. said it plans to buy back up to $150 million worth of its shares Yorba Linda-based netGuru Inc. closed the sale of its Research Engineers International business,nearly 70% of its annual sales,for $23.5 million to Exton, Pa.-based Bentley Systems Inc. Irvine-based DataLogic International Inc., a maker of tracking devices, said it bought network designer BluBat Inc. of Solana Beach.
Lake Forest-based contact lens and women’s surgical products maker Cooper Cos. said it bought NeoSurg Technologies Inc., a Houston-based company that makes devices that help maintain an opening when laparoscopes are used during minimally invasive surgeries. Cooper also said it acquired Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Inlet Medical Inc., a maker of pelvic floor reconstruction kits and trocar closure systems. Financial terms of the deals weren’t disclosed but Cooper said its earnings would be lower than expected during the next two years because of the buys. Meanwhile, Cooper lowered its profit and sales expectations for the quarter ended Oct. 31. The company cited soft sales of its two-week contact lenses, foreign exchange issues and hurricane-related disruptions for the weaker outlook Newport Beach-based healthcare software company TriZetto Group Inc. said it is buying Boston’s CareKey Inc. for $60 million, plus $40 million or more if the company hits financial goals. Directors at both companies have approved the deal. The buy is expected to close during the quarter. CareKey, which is privately held, runs Web sites that allow patients, doctors and insurers to track appointments and claims. TriZetto said it expects the buy to add to earnings next year Tustin-based Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it plans to sell $6.7 million in shares to an unnamed investor. The drug developer said it would use proceeds from the stock sale to pay for clinical trials for Tarvacin, its drug candidate for treating cancer and hepatitis C. Peregrine also said it would use funds from the stock sale to work with university researchers in assessing another of its drug candidates, Cotara, which is used to treat brain cancer. Earlier in the week Peregrine unit Avid Biosciences signed a manufacturing deal with the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center in San Diego. Avid is set to make a cancer treatment that Sidney Kimmel will test on animals.
Irvine-based Standard Pacific Corp. and four partners bought 2,675 acres in Las Vegas. The developers plan to build 12,000 to 14,000 houses, condominiums and apartments, as well as shops, parks and schools. Standard is teaming with Olympia Group, American West Homes, Astoria Homes and D.R. Horton Inc. to develop a masterplanned community. Olympia Group is set to be the project’s master developer. The partners won a land auction held last week by the Bureau of Land Management. The deal should close in May.
The Newport Beach City Council said it needed more time to study a proposed $48 million complex, which would include a city hall and fire station. Alternatives for the project’s location and financing will be reviewed by the council.
Surf apparel company Gotcha International LP, which was founded in 1978 and later filed for bankruptcy, is being sold to Miami-based Perry Ellis International Inc. Terms of the cash deal weren’t disclosed. The sale is expected to close in January. Newport Beach-based Gotcha, which owns and licenses apparel-related trademarks including the Gotcha and GirlStar names, is primarily owned by Marvin and Sherri Winkler … New York-based Trimaran Capital Partners said it wrapped up its buy of Irvine-based El Pollo Loco Inc. from American Securities Capital Partners LP of New York. Trimaran paid about $400 million for the Mexican food chain Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc. said one of its schools in Florida has received a subpoena from the state attorney general over its advertising and marketing, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Corinthian’s Florida Metropolitan University said the subpoena requests documents from the past five years related to advertising, complaints against the college and training and compensation for admissions workers at the school. Corinthian said it was cooperating with the inquiry and that it didn’t know of any claims made against the company by the attorney general.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Mixed: Orange County’s unemployment rate was 3.8% in October, up from a revised 3.7% in September but down from 4% a year ago, according to the Employment Development Department. Total OC nonfarm employment rose by 18,300 jobs in the past 12 months for a 1.2% increase.
