EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORY
Sunnyvale-based ArthroCare Corp. agreed to buy San Juan Capistrano-based Opus Medical Inc. for $130 million plus performance-based payments based on Opus revenue. Privately held Opus raised about $24 million in venture funding since its 1999 founding. The company makes a device to repair soft tissue … N.Y.-based IAC/InterActive Corp. said it plans to buy Irvine-based Home Loan Center Inc. for undisclosed terms. The deal is expected to close in three months. Home Loan Center has about 800 workers in Irvine, with plans to double its staff in the next year. The company is expected to be folded into IAC/InterActive’s LendingTree mortgage arm, with Home Loan Center Chief Executive and founder Anthony Hsieh taking over the LendingTree operation.
TECHNOLOGY
Newport Beach-based Acacia Research Corp. said New York-based Bloomberg LP has agreed to pay a licensing fee for Acacia’s video streaming technology. Terms weren’t disclosed … Santa Ana-based Troy Group Inc. sued Costa Mesa-based Westar Capital LLC, who has made an offer for the company that Troy declined. Troy said Westar’s attempt to buy the company is designed to disrupt trading of its shares and the proposed buyout of Troy by Dirk Inc., which is controlled by Troy’s founders. Westar’s offer for the company is almost 50% higher than Dirk’s.
The Federal Trade Commission asked Lake Forest-based Cooper Cos. and Concord-based Ocular Sciences Inc. to provide more information related to Cooper’s pending $1.2 billion buy of Ocular.
Palo Alto-based Essex Property Trust plans to sell 4,646 apartment units to Highland Ranch, Colo.-based United Dominion Realty Trust for $756 million. The sale involves 2,750 apartments in OC, including Villa Venetia in Costa Mesa and Huntington Villas in Huntington Beach. Essex will own about 2,323 apartments in OC after the deal closes, with United Dominion holding some 4,834 … Santa Ana-based First American Corp. completed its buy of Pittsburgh-based Basis100 Inc. for $33 million and the redemption of $11 million of convertible notes.
Irvine-based New Century Financial Corp. said it made $3.2 billion in loans in August, up 7% versus a year earlier. The subprime mortgage lender also reconfirmed its 2004 earnings and loan volume projections … Newport Beach-based Pacific Life Insurance Co. said it’s taking a $60 million stake in Asset Management Finance Corp., an East Coast investment banking unit of Montreal-based National Bank of Canada.
The Federal Communications Commission tentatively OK’d the sale of PBS affiliate KOCE-TV in Huntington Beach to its foundation. The sale has been challenged by religious broadcaster Dallas-based Daystar Television Network, which made its own bid for the station … Garden Grove city officials are being investigated by the Orange County District Attorney for their secret meetings with a Las Vegas developer who wants to build a casino in Garden Grove … La Habra’s City Council gave final approval for Costco Wholesale Corp. to build a 143,000-square-foot store. The city first approved the project 19 months ago, but neighbors challenged it on traffic and noise grounds.
Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Michael Eisner said he plans to step down in 2006 when his contract expires. Eisner survived a dissident shareholder uprising six months ago, when he gave up his chairman role … Boeing Co. won a $54.6 million contract from the Air Force to design the next version of the Joint Tactical Radio System’s radios. The work was assigned to Boeing’s Anaheim operations … Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. said it’s cutting 60 sales workers, including 45 in Cypress. Mitsubishi will have 818 workers in Cypress after the layoffs. The slumping auto maker also said it won’t fill 28 job openings … Tustin-based Mimi’s Cafe said same-store sales at its restaurants rose 2.9% in August, versus a year earlier. Columbus, Ohio-based Bob Evans Farms Inc. bought Mimi’s earlier this year. Bob Evans reported an overall 4.6% decline in sales in the period … Tampa-based Outback Steakhouse Inc. bought a 39% stake in Newport Beach-based Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar from founders Bill Allen and Paul Fleming for $39 million plus $14.7 million in assumed debt. Outback now owns 90% of the steakhouse chain … Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc. opened a sales office in the Washington, D.C. area to spur sales of its lightweight ceramic armor used in military ground-based vehicles. Marc King, a former military officer and senior executive in military and defense-related equipment matters, will head the unit as vice president of armor operations … Shares of Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. rose more than 8% to 24.5 after the surfwear maker reported a 47% jump in operating income to $31.5 million on a 34% rise in sales to $337.9 million for the quarter ended July 31, versus a year earlier. Quiksilver cited its recent buy of DC Shoes for at least half of the sales boost in the period.
