EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORIES
Voters are set to go to the polls Tuesday; among the OC measures to consider: Irvine’s Measure GG, which would cut business taxes in the city by about $3.5 million; County advisory Measure B, which would require the Navy to clean up the shuttered El Toro Marine base before handing it over to the county; and Measure E, which would authorize Rancho Santiago Community College District to sell up to $337 million in bonds for added facilities and services Late last week Aliso Viejo-based QLogic Corp. and Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. were jostling for the title of OC’s most valuable technology company: QLogic’s market value was $3.35 billion, with longtime front-runner Broadcom at $3.4 billion Santa Ana-based technology products distributor Ingram Micro Inc. said its third-quarter operating profit grew 67% to $42.5 million vs. a year ago on a 4% decline in sales to $5.6 billion; the industry bellwether said its fourth-quarter sales would be $5.75 billion to $5.90 billion; Ingram’s sales were 4.6% higher than the second quarter on strength in Asia and a licensing deal with Microsoft Corp.
TECHNOLOGY
Deloitte & Touche LLP resigned as Santa Ana-based SRS Labs Inc.’s auditor, citing “contradictory statements” from the company over the possible rehiring of a former chief financial officer who the accounting firm had previously questioned; meanwhile, two directors quit the SRS board to “pursue other interests,” according to the company, which has delayed filing its quarterly earnings results until it hires an auditor Irvine-based SSP Solutions Inc. said it gave up one of its leases and renegotiated another; in return, SSP will issue some 960,000 shares of the company to Irvine-based landlord Research Venture LLC Irvine-based Microsemi Corp. said it will take a $2.6 million charge to wind down its 15-worker Carlsbad-based medical chip design group and its 500-employee Semcon Electronics Private Ltd. in Bombay.
HEALTHCARE
Shares of Cypress-based PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. jumped 22% to 29.91 after the company reported its third-quarter operating profit increased 80% to $90 million vs. a year ago on a 6.2% decline in revenue to $2.8 billion; PacifiCare’s revenue fell on lower senior and commercial membership, though the company said its per member premiums were higher Rancho Santa Margarita-based Gish Biomedical Inc. agreed to be bought by Woburn, Mass.-based CardioTech International Inc. for about $6.2 million in stock Two healthcare company financings: Irvine-based Allergan Inc. sold $577 million of convertible bonds and Fullerton-based Beckman Coulter Inc. filed to sell $500 million in stock and debt that could be used to fund projects or pay off existing debt The University of California, Irvine’s Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center will receive $18 million in research funds from the National Cancer Institute.
GOVERNMENT
The Santa Ana Planning Commission voted down a proposal for a Sav-On drug store in the Artists Village because it doesn’t fit with the city’s vision of the area and the 79-year-old building would be torn down under the plan; the property owner has threatened to sue the city if the City Council also rejects the Sav-On proposal Huntington Beach plans to issue a credit card with the city’s logo and “Surf City” moniker, with a percentage of sales going to programs or the city’s general fund; officials say it could bring in $1.2 million a year Laguna Beach Mayor Wayne Baglin was indicted on conflict-of-interest charges over a real estate deal that netted him a commission of $54,000 on the sale of two properties to the city two years ago; Baglin’s lawyer said the charges are politically motivated and that city council members knew of Baglin’s role in the deal, but did not stop him from doing it Chapman University is negotiating to buy OC’s last operating citrus packing house, the four-acre Villa Park Orchards Association’s packing house that employs 75 workers.
REAL ESTATE
Costa Mesa-based Meyers Group said homebuilders had just one-day supply of homes to sell,about 20,in OC at the end of September, the lowest number in a decade.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Shares of Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc. surged 16% to 39.74 after the company said its September-quarter operating profit rose 122% to $23.2 million vs. last year on a 57% increase in revenue to $115.6 million; Corinthian said it expects sales to grow 42% to 45% this year and 20% to 25% “in the next several years” Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp.’s Mexican unit, ICA Fluor Daniel, won a $137 million contract to build two gas-processing plants in northeastern Mexico for Petroleos Mexicanos Irvine-based Meade Instruments Corp. completed its $19.6 million buy of Thomasville, Ga.-based Simmons Outdoor Corp.; the telescope maker raised about $7.9 million to pay for the deal through a sale of unregistered shares to private investors Santa Ana-based Troy Group Inc. asked Nasdaq for a hearing after being told that it is in danger of being delisted for failing to file its September-quarter earnings report; Troy has delayed filing its report while it looks into inventory that went missing after the company consolidated two plants The Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel ranked No. 14 and the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort & Spa No. 37 on the Zagat Survey of the top-50 U.S. resorts Anaheim awarded Los Angeles-based Nederlander Organization the booking contract for The Grove of Anaheim; James Nederlander Sr., the company’s namesake, is one of several people reportedly interested in buying the Anaheim Angels from Walt Disney Co. Australia’s Billabong International Ltd. said Chief Executive Matthew Perrin resigned from the company; the departure came after shares of the apparel maker, which has its U.S. operations based in Irvine, fell sharply when Perrin sold 8 million of his 13 million shares Masco Corp., the parent company of Santa Ana-based Behr Process Corp., will pay $107.5 million to settle a class-action suit that charged Behr with selling a faulty wood sealant.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Mixed: Venture capital raised by Orange County-based companies in the third quarter, up 40% to $140 million vs. the second quarter, but down 10% vs. a year ago, according to a survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers, Venture Eco-nomics and the National Venture Capital Association. Nationwide, $4.5 billion of venture capital was invested in the quarter, the lowest amount in more than four years.
