EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Roger Bloom
TOP STORIES
ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc., Costa Mesa, spun off its Ribapharm unit in a public offering that raised $260 million; shares were priced at $10, below the $13-to-$15 target range, and had risen to 10.48 in late trading Friday; in the face of investor opposition, ICN dropped a plan to grant stock options in Ribapharm to company executives; meanwhile, a group of dissident shareholders nominated three candidates for the board of ICN, with the election set for May 29 (see Healthcare column, page 60) Broadcom Corp., Irvine, plans to acquire Santa Clara-based Mobilink Telecom Inc. for $190 million The federal government has posted three parcels totaling 235 acres at the former Tustin air base for sale in an online auction The Navy was reported to be considering including the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station in a round of base closings scheduled for 2005 Ford Motor Co. is considering moving control of its Lincoln-Mercury division from the Irvine-based Premier Auto Group to its Dearborn, Mich., headquarters, The Financial Times of London reported.
ENERGY
The state Attorney General’s Office sued four energy companies, alleging price gouging and seeking $2 billion in penalties California Public Utilities Commission president Loretta Lynch told a U.S. Senate subcommittee that five Enron affiliates sold power back and forth among themselves to drive up prices during the state’s energy crisis The Legislature passed and sent to Gov. Gray Davis a bill that would allow state regulators to inspect offline power plants to ensure they were shut down for legitimate reasons The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights sued the Public Utilities Commission in the state Supreme Court, alleging its plan to allow Pacific Gas & Electric to use ratepayer funds to pay off its debts is illegal.
TECHNOLOGY
Powerwave Technologies Inc., Santa Ana, posted better-than-expected quarterly results and raised its estimates for the year, and its shares were up 8% in late trading Friday on the news Newport Corp., Irvine, will sell its industrial metrology systems unit to Sweden’s Hexagon AB for $10 million to $12 million SM & A;, Newport Beach, received a $10.3 million contract from Boeing Co.’s Seal Beach-based Space and Communications unit to provide support services for part of the missile defense program HireRight Inc., Irvine, received $7.2 million in a second round of financing that included Baird Venture Partners, Mellon Ventures and St. Paul Venture Capital Intheairnet LLC, Irvine, acquired Passenger Networks LLC, Santa Ana KleenAir Systems Inc., Fullerton, plans to acquire Malibu-based Carbon Cloth Technologies Lantronix Inc., Irvine, said its results for the quarter ended March 31 will be 10% below previous estimates.
HEALTHCARE
Interpore International Inc., Irvine, said its first-quarter sales will not meet analysts’ expectations, and its shares fell 8.9% to 9.88 on the news; meanwhile, Investec PMG initiated coverage of Interpore with a “buy” rating Christopher Wing, former chief executive of Cypress-based PacifiCare of California, was named president of Health Net of California, Woodland Hills Cardiac Science Inc., Irvine, received an order for “several dozen” heart defibrillators from the city of Maastricht, Netherlands.
GOVERNMENT
Standard & Poor’s upgraded OC’s bonds from A to A+ The Alameda Corridor, a $2.4 billion cargo rail project linking the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles with the downtown Los Angeles rail yard, opened The Cypress City Council took the initial step toward acquiring by eminent domain an 18-acre parcel owned by Cottonwood Christian Church, declaring a retail center anchored by a Costco store the highest and best use of the land A jury awarded $5.2 million to a Yorba Linda man who was severely injured in a traffic accident at a construction site and had sued the city, the construction firm and the water district.
REAL ESTATE
Standard Pacific Corp., Irvine, will acquire Miami, Fla.-based Westbrooke Homes for $95 million The Irvine Company named nine builders for the 610-home first phase of its Quail Hill development in Irvine.
FINANCE
Capital Pacific Holdings, Newport Beach, dropped Arthur Andersen as its auditor and hired Ernst & Young (see story, page 1) Resources Connection Inc., Costa Mesa, will acquire Ernst & Young LLP’s British human-resources unit.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Corinthian Colleges Inc., Santa Ana, will acquire Wyoming Technical Institute from Allied Capital Corp., for $85 million Paul Folino, chief executive of Costa Mesa-based Emulex Corp., and his family were named as the source of $7.5 million in previously anonymous donations to South Coast Repertory’s capital campaign; Folino, a former SCR board president, has contributed $10 million in all to the $50 million campaign Prandium Inc., Irvine, said a sale of its Hamburger Hamlet chain fell through and the company expects to file a reworked prepackaged bankruptcy in May Wet Seal Inc., Foothill Ranch, plans a 3-for-2 stock split Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., Anaheim, said same-store sales rose 7.5% year-to-year in March The Keith Cos., Costa Mesa, received four contracts totaling $3 million for engineering, permit-processing and site-preparation work on masterplanned community projects in San Diego, Ventura and Los Angeles counties Ritz Interactive Inc., Irvine, acquired PhotoAlley.com.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
Mixed: Apartment rents and vacancies in OC in the first quarter, according to M/PF Research Inc., which put the average monthly rent at $1,268, up from $1,249 in the first quarter of 2001, and the vacancy rate at 5.5%, up from 3.3% a year earlier.
