EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORY
Lake Forest-based Cooper Cos. said it planned to buy Concord-based competitor Ocular Sciences Inc. for $1.2 billion in cash and stock. The deal is set to close by the end of January … Vancouver, British Columbia-based Bosa Development Corp. said it plans to build four more 18-story condominium towers at the Park Place complex in Irvine. Bosa said it would pay Maguire Properties Inc. of Los Angeles $40 million to buy land for the development. The 566 proposed condos will add to Bosa’s ongoing build of twin 18-story towers at Park Place that are set to be completed in 2006. Meanwhile, Maguire paid Irvine-based Crow Winthrop Development LP $215 million for 90 acres at Irvine’s Park Place. The buy includes 317,000 square feet of office and shopping space, and the right to develop up to 2 million square feet of commercial space on the site. Maguire bought 1.7 million square feet of space at Park Place earlier this year.
Costa Mesa-based Westar Capital LLC offered about $48 million to buy Santa Ana-based Troy Group Inc. The bid is 47% higher than one by Dirk Inc., which is controlled by Troy founder Patrick Dirk and his family. Westar’s latest bid also is about 12% higher than its previous offer, which was rejected by the company. Dirk said neither he nor his family is interested in the latest bid … Yorba Linda-based netGuru Inc. said it replaced auditor KPMG LLP with Irvine-based Haskell & White LLP to cut its auditing costs … Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc. said it bought San Diego-based computer products distributor Nimax Inc. for an undisclosed amount.
HEALTHCARE
Shares of Cypress-based PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. fell 10% to 30.5 after the company reported second-quarter earnings results. PacifiCare said its operating profit in the period fell 2% to $135,278, versus a year earlier, on a 12% rise in revenue to $3 billion. The health plan operator said its medical loss ratio increased 130 basis points to 85.1% as Medicare-related costs rose … Irvine-based Endocare Inc. said the Securities and Exchange Commission planned to recommend filing civil suits against two former members and one current member of its board of directors. The members were part of its audit committee. The medical device maker is being investigated for its 2001 and 2002 financial statements … San Clemente-based Biolase Technology Inc. said Chief Financial Officer Edson Rood planned to retire.
REAL ESTATE
Santa Ana-based title insurer First American Corp. said it plans to cut 600 of its 30,000 workers amid cooling in the mortgage refinancing market in the second quarter. Meanwhile, First American said pretax income in the second quarter rose 1% to $152 million, versus a year earlier, on a 12% rise in revenue to $1.7 billion … Tustin’s Planning Commission approved a $150 million development on 87 acres of the former Tustin Marine base. Plans for District at Tustin Legacy call for a movie theater, stores and restaurants. Developer Vestar Kimpco Partners LP expects to open the first phase in 2006.
FINANCE
The state attorney general sued Garden Grove-based Housing Assistance Inc. and its owner, attorney Marc Alan Sheckler, for allegedly running a fraudulent mortgage service that promised to help homeowners in foreclosure. The state is asking for $2 million in penalties, plus repayment to clients who lost money … Irvine-based Commercial Capital Bancorp said it plans to open a branch in San Mateo in December.
GOVERNMENT
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger reached a compromise with legislators on a $103 billion budget. The state budget carries no new taxes, but does increase borrowing. California’s deficit under the budget is expected to be $10 billion for the next two years … The Orange County Transportation Authority said the state budget included $44 million for expanding the Garden Grove (22) Freeway … The Orange County Transportation Authority decided not to put the proposed CenterLine light rail project on the November ballot. Board members were considering the plan, which could have convinced Congress to help fund some $500 million of the $1 billion, 9.3-mile rail line that would link John Wayne Airport to the Santa Ana train station. Transportation officials instead will try to get support from the county’s cities.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
San Clemente-based Sunstone Hotel Investors LLC opened a $9 million, 80-room Residence Inn Rochester Mayo Clinic in Rochester, N.Y. The hotel will operate as a Marriott franchise … Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc. said Chief Executive Jim Jannard planned to buy 2 million shares of the sunglasses maker. Jannard said the company’s slumping stock price was undervalued.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Up: apartment rents in Orange County in the second quarter, with the average monthly rent rising 3.5% to $1,297, versus a year earlier, according to Novato-based RealFacts.
Down: the venture capital picture in OC in the second quarter, with startups nabbing about $53 million, down from $86 million in the first quarter and the lowest total in six years, according to the MoneyTree survey by Pricewater-houseCoopers, Thomson Venture Economics and the National Venture Capital Association.
