Compiled by Julie Leupold
TECHNOLOGY
Irvine telecommunications gear startup Aktino Inc. raised $14 million in a third round of venture funding. The funding brings its total raised to $41 million.
A New York hedge fund has taken a sizable stake in Epicor Software Corp. with an eye toward the Irvine business software maker “exploring strategic alternatives.” Elliot Associates LP disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had a 10% stake in Epicor, which had a recent market value of about $500 million. The hedge fund operator said it has asked Epicor’s board to consider ways to boost shareholder value.
HEALTHCARE
Four local hospitals were among 18 statewide that were fined by regulators for violating laws regarding quality care. They were Anaheim General Hospital, Coastal Communities Hospital in Santa Ana, Fountain Valley Regional Hospital, Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach and Los Alamitos Medical Center.
REAL ESTATE
McAllister Ranch, a stalled 6,000-home development near Bakersfield overseen by Irvine-based SunCal Cos., is set to go to auction. In April, SunCal defaulted on a $224.5 million loan for the project. The auction could lead to the property’s ownership reverting to one of SunCal’s main financial partners, New York-based Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Officials for SunCal said they still were in talks with Lehman to restructure the loan, which could lead to the auction being cancelled or postponed. Debt on McAllister Ranch is tied to two other SunCal projects in Riverside County, which also are slated to be auctioned off.
Orange County supervisors approved a plan to give control of 1,200 acres of open space to a land trust backed by Rancho Mission Viejo LLC, which supports building a six-lane toll road through the area. Rancho Mission Viejo says it plans to add the land to its own 17,000-acre open space preserve and maintain it as undeveloped land giving the area access to a $200 million endowment.
A $90 million condominium building with stores and offices was approved last week for Fullerton’s downtown. Newport Beach’s John Laing Homes and Huntington Beach-based Pelican Properties plan to build a six-story building with 124 condos and 40,000 square feet of commercial space. Condos could sell from $450,000 to $1.5 million. Construction could start in two years.
APPAREL
Anaheim-based mall retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. reported quarterly earnings that met expectations but warned that profits for the current quarter and the following three months through January could come in well below what Wall Street had been expecting. The outlook sent shares of Pacific Sunwear down more than 20% Friday on a market value of $400 million.
Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. reported quarterly results and offered an outlook for the current quarter that largely fell in line with Wall Street expectations. For the current quarter, Wet Seal gave a mixed outlook that wasn’t bad compared to what other retailers have been reporting and sparked a 10% Friday rally on a market value of $400 million.
FINANCE
Irvine-based Hines Horticulture Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection and plans to sell off its operations. The grower of plants, shrubs and flowers blamed its bankruptcy filing on the economic and housing downturn, high costs for materials and fuel, poor weather and pressure for lower prices from customers. Hines hasn’t reported quarterly results since November when it had quarterly sales of $32 million, down 11% from a year earlier. The company lost $7.7 million, down from a loss of $30 million a year earlier.
OTHER NEWS
Seal Beach-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a provider of natural gas that’s backed by T. Boone Pickens, bought a Dallas landfill gas processing plant for $19 million. Clean Energy said it acquired Dallas Clean Energy LLC from Britain’s Camco International Ltd. The company is part of Pickens’ push toward alternative sources of energy. Earlier this year, he called for $1 trillion in government and private investment in windmills to cut dependence on foreign oil.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Down: Orange County’s median home price of $461,000, off $34,000 in July from June, according to DataQuick Information Systems.
Down: OC construction jobs, off by 19,300 workers in the past year, making up 65% of job losses in the county.
