Compiled by Mike Mason
Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc. said they plan to buy bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp.’s assets for $17.6 billion. Adelphia provides cable service to 18 Orange County cities. Its local assets are set to be taken over by Time Warner … Sales at Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. fell in the first quarter, but the chipmaker still managed to boost profits and said it expects the inventory problems in the past few quarters to largely be over. Broadcom said revenue fell 4% to $550 million in the period. Net income was up 73% to $69 million. The results narrowly beat Wall Street estimates. The chipmaker said it expects sales to grow 4% to 5% in the second quarter to about $575 million … Newport Beach-based Acacia Research Corp. said a unit filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Intel Corp. and Texas Instruments Corp. The subsidiary,Microprocessor Enhance-ment Corp.,alleged Intel’s Itanium line of microprocessors and some digital signal processors sold by Texas Instruments violate the company’s technology … Santa Ana software maker MSC.Software Corp. said the Securities & Exchange Commission has subpoenaed “certain documents” related to the company’s yearlong internal investigation of its past financial accounting … Conexant Systems Inc. said it pushed enough inventory out the door in the past quarter that phase 1 of its revamp is done. The struggling Newport Beach chipmaker reported sales of $170 million in the quarter ended March 31, down 30% from a year ago. But the company said its operating loss narrowed by more than half, to $61 million … Costa Mesa-based Irvine Sensors Corp. said its contract to develop a handheld night viewer grew by $1.2 million. The company already won a $1.3 million contract in September to develop its Personal Miniature Thermal Viewer. The thermal viewer allows a person to see in total darkness, smoke or fog.
Irvine-based drug maker Allergan Inc. said it plans to cut some 160 jobs from its operations at Mougins, France, and other European locations. The jobs primarily are in research and development, plus some sales and administration workers … Apria Healthcare Group Inc. said Medicare reimbursement cuts ate into its profits in the first quarter. The Lake Forest-based provider of home healthcare services said its net income in the period fell 9% to $25 million, versus a year earlier, on a 6% rise in revenue to $372 million. Apria said the Medicare reimbursement rate cuts that went into effect Jan. 1 hurt its results, as did its decision not to renew a contract with Gentiva CareCentrix Inc. … Shares of ICU Medical Inc. jumped 11% after the company reported first-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street expectations. The San Clemente-based device maker said that its first-quarter revenue rose 22% $27.1 million on increased sales of its core needle-free medical device. Net income rose 7% to $4.4 million.
Fariborz Maseeh, an Iranian immigrant who sold his technology company to Corning Inc. in 2000 for $750 million, has pledged $2 million to the University of California, Irvine. The money is set to fund a research center focused on Persian history, cultural and art. The center is set to be called the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture, named for a missionary in the early 1900s who became a leading educational figure in Iran.
San Clemente-based Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. said it plans to buy the Sutton Place Hotel in Newport Beach for undisclosed terms. Sunstone is set to hire Fairmont Hotels & Resorts to manage the hotel, which will take the Fairmont name. Sunstone plans to spend $22 million to renovate the hotel, which was bought by Tarsadia Hotels of Newport Beach from a Hong Kong businessman last year … Chicago-based Arbor Private Investment Co. and its operating partner, Steven Zoll, bought Brea-based Center Meat Co. for undisclosed terms. Center Meat has about 175 workers. It was founded in 1952 by Eugene Schlesinger, who will remain vice chairman. Former co-owner John Reese will remain president of the company … Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc. said it won a couple of orders for its ceramic body armor. The military contracts include an $8.5 million deal to provide body armor systems and a $1.1 million pact for its smaller, lightweight ceramic body armor inserts … Corinthian Colleges Inc. said the Securities and Exchange Commission has completed its review of the company’s 2004 financial report. The Santa Ana-based operator of for-profit schools said that the SEC didn’t have “any further comments at this time” about the report. Corinthian said it agreed to the SEC’s request to include more disclosure on how it values some intangible assets … Sunglasses maker Oakley Inc. raised 2005 expectations after reporting sales and profit gains in the first quarter. Sales of the Foothill Ranch-based company’s digital music-playing Thump sunglasses, glasses for the military and new clothing and accessories keyed the quarterly gains. Oakley said its first-quarter sales grew 10% to $142 million, versus a year earlier. Operating profit rose 64% to $11 million. The results beat Wall Street expectations. The company now expects to post sales for the year in the top end of its 10% to 15% forecast. Earnings are seen rising at the high end of its 15% to 20% projection.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Up: Orange County’s apartment market, with the average rent rising 4.9% to $1,347 a month in the first quarter, versus a year earlier, according to RealFacts.
Down: Local auto sales, with the number of cars and trucks sold to OC residents in February down 5% to 14,272, versus a year earlier, according to the Orange County Automobile Dealers Association.
