EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORY
New York-based Warnaco Group Inc. offered to buy Irvine-based Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp. for $40 million plus $1 million in assumed debt. Op, which is owned by San Francisco in-vestment group Doyle & Boissiere LLC, was founded in 1972, filed for bankruptcy 12 years ago and said its licensees posted $400 million in sales last year. Op’s headquarters and its 23 workers are expected to remain in Irvine once regulators approve the deal.
TECHNOLOGY
Santa Ana-based Ingram Micro Inc. has banned its workers from buying company stock through its 401k plan because auditor Kushner, Smith, Joanou & Gregson LLP didn’t register with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Workers must wait to buy shares until a new firm does an audit, and company executives can’t buy stock until the audit is performed. Meanwhile, six people, including one Romanian, were indicted for allegedly stealing $10 million in computer gear from Ingram Micro. The group was accused of making fraudulent orders and having them mailed to different locations in the U.S. and Romania … Yorba Linda-based netGuru Inc. won a $5.5 million, five-year contract from Canada’s Dowco Consultants Ltd. to do construction drawings.
HEALTHCARE
Costa Mesa-based Valeant Pharmaceuti-cals International sold its Czech Republic drug unit, Chemoprojekt AS, for an undisclosed sum … Tustin-based Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it finished enrolling patients in its phase 1 colorectal cancer drug trial. Peregrine and Stanford University researchers are evaluating its Cotara treatment before moving to a wider trial … Irvine-based Allergan Inc. said it received an approvable letter from the Food and Drug Administration for its glaucoma treatment, Lumigan. Regulators have asked the drug maker to carry out more clinical investigation for the treatment, which Allergan said it plans to finish by the end of the year … San Clemente-based ICU Medical Inc. was denied a preliminary injunction in its patent infringement case against Alaris Medical Systems Inc. ICU is suing Alaris for allegedly violating its needle-free valve patent. Alaris will be able to sell its own device until the case is tried.
REAL ESTATE
California Coastal Communities Inc. said it would withdraw its offer to sell part of the Bolsa Chica mesa unless the Coastal Commission approves its 379-home development on a separate parcel … Santa Ana-based First American Corp. said it bought Midland Title Agency of Northwest Ohio Inc. for undisclosed terms.
FINANCE
Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc. said it plans to close its 270-worker Fullerton loan processing operation. The thrift is shifting focus to consumer banking as rising interest rates cut into its once-thriving mortgage lending operations.
GOVERNMENT
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled his plan to restructure the state government that he says would save as much as $32 billion. Five hearings on Schwarzenegger’s California Performance Review are set, starting this month. One suggestion: selling the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa for development. Costa Mesa officials said they would fight any plan to move the fair … Attendance at the Orange County Fair jumped 9.3% to a record 963,850, versus a year earlier. The prior record was set in 2002 … The California Transportation Committee earmarked up to $160 million for 17 road projects in OC.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Shares of Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc. fell 45% to 10.2 after the for-profit school operator warned its earnings in the quarter ended June 30 would fall short of expectations. Corinthian also said 2005 results would be lower than projected because of revenue shortfalls and higher marketing, advertising and education costs. Meanwhile, Corinthian said same-school population rose 15.1% in the June quarter, versus a year earlier. The school operator said that company officials had voluntarily met with the California Attorney General’s in July 21 and provided them with information they had requested regarding three previously settled lawsuits. Corinthian, which faces a number of class-action lawsuits over its falling stock price, and other for-profit colleges recently have been investigated for their financial aid and admissions policies … Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. named a new chairman, four new directors and two retirees from its board. Former Chairman Irv Teitelbaum has stepped down to focus on his struggling lingerie retail chain, Montreal’s La Senza Corp. Teitelbaum, who remains a director of Wet Seal, was replaced by Chief Executive Peter Whitford. La Senza recently sold its 10% stake in Wet Seal; Teitelbaum, who’s been chairman of Wet Seal for 20 years, has a $3.4 million stake in the company. Meanwhile, Wet Seal said its same-store sales in July fell 14.7%, versus a year earlier … Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. said its same-store sales rose 6% in July … A venture of Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. and Britain’s AMEC PLC won a $139 million extension on its contract with Woodside Energy Ltd. to build a floating oil production facility off Australia’s west coast … Kohl’s Department Stores Inc. said it plans to open stores in Yorba Linda and Santa Ana. Kohl’s said it will hire 300 workers for the fall openings.
