Compiled by Julie Leupold
TOP STORY
Oracle Corp. is buying Irvine’s Relsys International Inc., a maker of software for drug makers. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The acquisition is set to close in the second quarter. Relsys makes software that helps drug makers comply with regulations and to manage safety data in clinical trials.
Shares of Irvine-based Allergan Inc. got a boost on speculation that the drug maker could be bought. A report on Web site DealReporter.com said Allergan could be a target of GlaxoSmithKline PLC, whose predecessor SmithKline Beecham PLC acquired Allergan in 1980 and later spun off the business. Allergan Chief Executive David Pyott said his company plans to acquire companies itself but didn’t rule out a buyout in the case of a “very compelling proposition.” Fullerton-based medical diagnostic company Beckman Coulter Inc. also saw a rush in options trading by investors betting it could be a takeover target. There were no specific reports about Beckman takeover rumors.
TECHNOLOGY
Irvine’s SmartReply Inc., which creates marketing campaigns for retailers, bought San Francisco-based mSnap Inc., which runs a network for mobile advertising via text messaging. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Fountain Valley-based Kingston Technology Co. is considering investing an undisclosed amount in struggling Japanese memory chipmaker Elpida Memory Inc., according to reports. Two Elpida units plan to raise about $470 million by selling shares and bonds to shore up the finances of their parent company. Elpida is asking Kingston to invest about $100 million, according to technology Web site Digitimes.
HEALTHCARE
Clarient Inc., an Aliso Viejo-based cancer diagnostics company, said it plans to raise up to $50 million through a private placement of its stock with Oak Investment Partners, a Westport, Conn.-based venture capital firm. Clarient said it would sell $40 million in stock in two separate transactions, and the additional $10 million could be sold upon mutual agreement of Clarient and Oak.
REAL ESTATE
The price of an existing OC home rose more than $10,000 in February from a month ago, the California Association of Realtors said. The median price for an existing stand-alone OC home sold in February was $433,690, a 2.5% increase from January but a 29% decrease from a year ago. Sales in OC were up 10.5% in February from January, and up 45% from a year earlier, according to the Realtor association.
Allergan is paying $22 million to buy 18581 Teller, an 86,087-square-foot building that borders the company’s campus near John Wayne Airport, from Los Angeles-based landlord Maguire Properties Inc. The company had been leasing space in the office building, which is full with two other tenants. The sale translates to a price of about $256 per square foot and net proceeds of $1.8 million for Maguire, which had a $20 million mortgage on the property.
APPAREL
Foothill Ranch-based mall retailer Wet Seal Inc. reported a quarterly profit of $9.6 million excluding charges that beat expectations of $7.5 million. Sales at the company were $154.9 million, down 14% from a year earlier and just shy of the $155.2 million analysts expected. For the three months through April, Wet Seal expects a $2 million to $6 million profit, in line with analysts’ expectation of $5 million. Sales are seen coming in at $131.2 million to $137.5 million, compared to the $135.1 million expected by analysts.
EDUCATION
Lennar Corp. and California State University, Fullerton, reached a lease agreement for the university’s classroom space in Irvine’s planned Great Park. The deal,details of which weren’t disclosed,will keep the satellite campus on the land through August 2010.
University of California, Irvine announced it will admit 550 fewer students next year and will charge 9% more tuition.
GOVERNMENT
The Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station will receive $7.7 million for construction and technology projects as part of the $787 billion nationwide American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Naval Weapons Station will receive funding for three solar cell projects and upgrades to the base’s administration buildings, according to a statement.
OTHER NEWS
The NAMM Show, a musical instruments trade show that’s the largest convention held in Anaheim, signed up to stay in the city through 2013. The show, held each January, draws about 85,000 people. Terms of the deal with the Anaheim Convention Center weren’t disclosed. NAMM has the option to keep the show in Anaheim for 2014 and 2015.
OC auto sales fell faster than the national yearly average in February but did slightly better than the rest of the country in the past three months, according to the Orange County Automobile Dealers Association. Last month, sales at local dealers fell 46% from a year earlier to 5,446 autos. The decline was steeper than the 41% drop for U.S. auto sales. Local dealers did a little better in the three months through February. Sales for that period were off 36% to 22,174 autos, slightly better than the national 38% decline.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Down: Housing permits, as OC builders filed permits to build 156 houses in January and February, down 85% from a year earlier, according to the Building Industry Association of Southern California.
