Compiled by Mike Mason
Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. said it’s likely to restate more than five years of earnings and take a charge of more than $750 million to account for the timing of stock options. Some option grants awarded from 2000 to 2002 were improperly backdated, the chipmaker’s audit committee said in a preliminary finding. That could affect financial statements for 2000 through 2005 and the first quarter of 2006.
Rick Snyder, acting chief executive and chairman of Irvine-based Gateway Inc., said the computer maker is on track to name a permanent chief executive by late September or early October. Separately, Gateway said it had selected its North Sioux City, S.D., complex for a new technical support center. First-year employment at the center is expected to be about 130 workers.
Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc. took a hit on Wall Street after the Anaheim company warned it would fall far short of its earnings expectations for the quarter ended June 30. The flexible circuit board maker said it now expects to earn between $7.5 million and $8.5 million compared to the $12.2 million to $13.6 million it forecasted in the spring. Higher labor and other costs were cited for the profit slump.
Advanced Medical Optics Inc. said it’s receiving $121 million from Alcon Inc. to settle a patent dispute over devices used in eye surgeries. Switzerland-based Alcon and Advanced Medical agreed to dismiss all existing patent litigation and not to sue on the patents at issue as part of the settlement. The companies also agreed to grant licenses for cataract surgery equipment.
Scottsdale-based medical device maker Medegen LLC said it filed a patent infringement suit against San Clemente-based ICU Medical Inc. Medegen claims ICU infringed on its valve technology to cut complications with the intravenous delivery of drugs and fluids.
Foster City-based Applera Corp. said its Applied Biosystems Group unit closed its acquisition of Agencourt Personal Genomics, a maker of products for genetic analysis. Fullerton’s Beckman Coulter Inc. had a 49% stake in Agencourt.
Newport Beach-based William Lyon Homes Inc. reported a decline in second-quarter home orders, with cancellations rising. Including the company’s operations in California, Arizona and Nevada, William Lyon reported a 52% drop in new home orders to 550, versus a year ago.
Meanwhile, Gen. William Lyon’s foundation has pledged $5 million to the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s $200 million expansion campaign. The gift from the General and Mrs. William Lyon Family Foundation brings the center’s fund-raising total to $138 million. Lyon, 83, is chairman and chief executive of William Lyon Homes.
Irvine-based mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. said it made more loans in the second quarter than a year earlier and boosted what it charges borrowers. New Century, which makes loans to borrowers with imperfect credit, said it did $16.2 billion in loans in the second quarter, up 21% from a year earlier.
John Wayne Airport officials said passenger traffic in June fell 0.4% to 852,422, versus a year earlier. Total takeoffs and landings rose 6.2% to 30,993, compared to last year.
Huntington Beach-based Morgan Sheet Metal Inc., which supplies steel panels to homebuilders, has been acquired by building products company MiTek Inc. based near St. Louis. Terms weren’t disclosed. Hardy Frames Inc., a MiTek subsidiary since 2001, acquired Morgan Sheet Metal.
Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc. said it started a review of past stock option grants. The options backdating review is going back to 1999, the year it went public. Corinthian said it’s informed the Securities and Exchange Commission of its review.
Palo Alto-based Liberate Technologies has built up a 9% stake in Irvine’s Autobytel Inc. and plans to talk with the online auto marketer’s management about its “undervalued” shares.
Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc., a maker of ceramic armor for troops and vehicles, said it bought a Quebec plant and a new product line for $14.1 million as part of its diversification strategy. Ceradyne plans to make material to contain nuclear waste under an agreement with Canada’s Alcan Inc.
