EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TECHNOLOGY
Garden Grove-based Bridge Technology Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection. Bridge said it did so after defaulting under its main lending pact with a senior lender and after seeing a rapid decline in cash and an inability to get dividends from its Hong Kong subsidiary. The technology products distributor said it plans to emerge from bankruptcy in 2005 … Computer products distributor Ingram Micro Inc. reaffirmed its lowered second-quarter forecast of $5.6 billion to $5.8 billion in sales and net income of $21 million to $25 million … Tustin-based MTI Technology Corp. raised $15 million in a private sale of stock led by Boston-based private equity investor Advent International Corp. Michael Pehl, head of Advent’s technology venture group, joined MTI’s board as part of the deal … Canada’s Wi-Lan Inc. filed a patent infringement suit against Cisco Systems Inc.’s Irvine-based Linksys unit. Wi-Lan alleges Linksys uses its technology in its Aironet routers. Cisco said the wireless networking chips Wi-Lan claims are in violation aren’t even used in Linksys’ products … IT Management Partners Inc. said it’s moving its North American headquarters to Irvine from Atlanta.
HEALTHCARE
Warsaw, Ind.-based Biomet Inc. completed its $280 million buy of Irvine-based Interpore International Inc. … Irvine-based Cardiac Science Inc. said its Japanese partner, Nihon Kohden Corp., bought 1,250 automated defibrillators in the quarter ending June 30 to sell to Japanese customers.
REAL ESTATE
A judge upheld an environmental impact report for Irvine-based Rutter Development Corp.’s 162-home Saddle Creek and Saddle Crest development on 600 acres in Trabuco Canyon. Environmentalists and nearby residents alleged Rutter didn’t follow procedures in getting the project approved by the county. Groups opposing the development said they would appeal … The Mission Viejo City Council voted to study how commercial areas could be rezoned for affordable housing. The city is 154 housing units short of the state’s affordable housing requirements, which could lead to special interest group lawsuits.
ENERGY
The California Independent System Operator named Marcie Edwards interim chief executive. Edwards, general manager of the Anaheim Public Utilities, will take an unpaid leave of absence as the state’s electric grid operator looks for a permanent chief in the next three to six months.
FINANCE
Santa Ana-based First American Corp. said it bought the real estate services arm of Burrow Closing Management Corp., a unit of Cendant Corp. About 50 workers in the unit in Mission Viejo are set to move to First American’s headquarters in the next few months. Meanwhile, First American said it bought First American Title Co. of Marin for undisclosed terms. First American helped found the 69-person title insurance operation in 1969.
GOVERNMENT
Thom Reilly turned down an offer to become Orange County’s chief executive when Jim Ruth steps down in October. Reilly, the manager of Clark County, Nev., which includes Las Vegas, is the second candidate to turn down the post. Earlier this year, Riverside County’s top administrator, Larry Parrish, decided not to take over the position. Ruth took over as chief executive after Michael Schumacher was fired more than a year ago … Passenger traffic at John Wayne Airport in May rose 8.6% to 761,268, versus a year earlier. Total takeoffs and landings were up 5.5% to 31,838 … The University of California, Irvine cut 39 workers in its medical billing group … The Navy said it won’t reopen the commissary at the former El Toro Marine base because it would lose an estimated $1 million a year to run it.
The federal Department of Education said it found instances of fraud in the financial aid program at Corinthian Colleges Inc.’s San Jose campus. Shares of the Santa Ana-based for-profit school chain dropped 10% to 22.5 on the news. The Bryman College campus in San Jose has been blocked from receiving federal aid funds in advance of making loans while the investigation continues … Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. was named as Major League Baseball’s official fast-food restaurant sponsor. The three-year pact gives Taco Bell, a unit of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum! Brands Inc., advertising on regular season games on TV, as well as signage at the All-Star Game and the World Series … Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. and Mexico’s Empresas ICA Sociedad Controladora said their ICA Fluor venture signed four separate deals, each for the construction of offshore drilling platforms in the northeast region of Campeche Bay in the Gulf of Mexico. The contracts are worth nearly $169 million, and call for engineering, procurement, construction, load out, sea-fastening and technical assistance services … San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds has left Newport Beach sports agent Scott Boras’ agency. Neither Bonds nor Boras would talk about the split … The sale of bankrupt Costa Mesa-based gun maker Bryco Arms was postponed for 20 days after a judge said prior notice of the sale was inadequate. A former plant manager made a $150,000 bid for Bryco; Brandon Maxfield, who was left quadriplegic after being accidentally shot with a Bryco gun, plans to bid for the company so he can shutter it for good.
