Compiled by Mike Mason
Richard Cohen, chief executive of Irvine-based St. John Knits International Inc., resigned for “family reasons.” Cohen led the maker of high-quality women’s wear for a year and a half. Philip B. Miller, a former chief executive of Saks Inc.’s Saks Fifth Avenue, is taking over Cohen’s post on an interim basis.
Miller has been a St. John director since 2003. He headed Saks Fifth Avenue from 1993 to 2000. Cohen, who used to head the U.S. arm of Italy’s Gruppo Ermenegildo Zegna, brought dramatic change to St. John, including a push to appeal to a younger set of women with the hiring of Gisele B & #252;ndchen and Angelina Jolie as models. During Cohen’s time, key members of the founding Gray family stepped back from the company. Longtime operations man Bruce Fetter left soon after Cohen’s arrival.
Shares of Santa Ana-based Powerwave Technologies Inc. nose-dived after the company said it would miss revenue estimates for the first quarter. Powerwave had expected quarterly sales of $240 million to $250 million. Now it sees $190 million to $200 million. The company gave no profit estimate. Powerwave blamed stronger seasonality factors and slower-than-expected demand from a major North American wireless network operator for the shortfall Aliso Viejo-based Smith Micro Software Inc. said it plans to pay $4.9 million in stock to buy N.Y.-based PhoTags Inc.
Costa Mesa-based Valeant Pharma-
ceuticals International said it plans to restructure its operations to cut costs and boost earnings growth. The restructuring includes focusing its research and development efforts on drugs in the late stages of its pipeline. The company also said it plans to report break-even adjusted earnings in the first quarter, excluding the impact of restructuring charges Newport Beach-based Sybron Dental Specialties Inc. said it bought the infection prevention product line of Marlboro, N.J.-based Dental Disposables International Inc. for undisclosed terms. The product line had about $5 million in sales last year Ahmed Hussein, a dissident shareholder and board member of Irvine-based Quality Systems Inc., said he would appeal the Orange County Superior Court’s recent ruling that rejected his request to set aside the company’s board vote in September.
William “Bill” Halford, the former head of The Irvine Company’s office division, was named president and chief executive of Bixby Land Co. Halford replaces Terrance “Terry” Dickens, who is retiring after nine years at the helm of the company. The privately held company is relocating its headquarters to Newport Beach,to an office building owned by the Irvine Co. The move is expected to be done in May. Halford left the Irvine Co. in early February, where he had been since 1994 … Tustin approved the plan by master developer Tustin Legacy Community Partners to remake 820 acres of the former Tustin Marine base into 2,100 homes, hotels and up to 6.7 million square feet of commercial space Newport Beach-based William Lyon Homes Inc. recorded a 26% drop in new home orders to 647 in the first quarter.
Huntington Beach-based nuVision Financial Federal Credit Union opened a branch in Lakewood.
The University of California, Irvine’s business school rose 11 spots to rank No. 38 on this year’s U.S. News & World Report’s America’s Best Graduate Schools. Among public schools, UC Irvine ranked No. 19 … The Orange County Transportation Authority said the cost to widen the Garden Grove (22) Freeway is likely to cost $22.7 million more than earlier forecasts. The total cost of the projects is $549.6 million.
Shareholders of Newport Beach-based Water Pik Technologies Inc. approved a $380 million buyout offer from Coast Acquisition Corp. Washington, D.C.-based Carlyle Group owns 80% of Coast with France’s Zodiac SA owning the rest. The deal is expected to close this week KDOC-TV, an independent TV station in Irvine, is being sold for $150 million. Atlanta-based Ellis Communications Inc., headed by TV station veteran Bert Ellis, is buying KDOC. The deal is pending Federal Communications Commission approval. Golden Orange Broadcasting, a group partly owned by singer Pat Boone, is selling KDOC Richard Boyd was suspended as co-trustee of the majority of shares of privately held Irvine-based In-N-Out Burgers Inc. Boyd, who was ousted as a board member and vice president of real estate and development earlier this year, has filed suit against In-N-Out claiming a grandchild to cofounder Esther Snyder is working with an executive to take control of the company from the 86-year-old woman. The company has filed suit against Boyd, alleging fraud. Some of In-N-Out’s claims against Boyd were tossed out by a judge last week Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. opened its first three One Thousand Steps shoe stores. The stores debuted at the Galleria at Tyler in Riverside, Los Cerritos Center in Cerritos and the Mall of America in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, the retailer reported a lower than expected 11% drop in March same-store sales and cut its profit estimate for the first quarter Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. said its same-store sales in March rose 16%, higher than analyst expectations.
