Compiled by Julie Leupold
TOP STORY
A federal judge rejected a plea deal for Broadcom Corp. cofounder and former chairman Henry Samueli on a charge of lying to federal investigators about his role in granting stock options at the Irvine chipmaker. The judge called the deal too lenient and said he would rather wait until after a criminal trial of Broadcom cofounder Henry Nicholas and former financial chief William Ruehle next year before sentencing Samueli. Their trial is set to start in April. Under the proposed deal, Samueli was set to pay $12.2 million in fines and avoid prison. He was set to see three to five years probation.
3M Co. is acquiring Irvine-based car care products maker Meguiar’s Inc. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The deal, set to close in the fourth quarter, is likely sizable as Meguiar’s has yearly sales of more than $100 million. San Francisco-based private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners and members of the Meguiar family are selling the company.
TECHNOLOGY
Aliso Viejo’s Quest Software Inc., a maker of business software, said it bought Phoenix-based NetPro Computing Inc. for $78 million in cash. NetPro makes software that helps optimize Microsoft Corp.’s programs geared toward managing technology at big corporations. A few NetPro executives plan to join Quest as the two companies consolidate operations. It has some 175 workers. Quest, which had a recent market value of about $1.5 billion, is set to combine the two companies’ development, sales, marketing and services teams.
HEALTHCARE
Lake Forest-based home healthcare provider Apria Healthcare Group Inc. released second-quarter results delayed by accounting issues and forecast slower 2008 revenue growth on the sale of a business. For the second quarter, net income rose more than 20% from a year earlier to $23.2 million, above analysts’ expectations. Revenue came in 36% higher at $531.2 million, boosted by last year’s $350 million acquisition of Denver’s Coram Inc. For the rest of the year, Apria sees revenue growing slightly less than prior expectations, at 30% to 33% to about $1.9 billion. The company earlier forecast revenue growth of 33% to 35%.
HealthTronics Inc. withdrew its unsolicited $26.9 million cash buyout offer for Irvine device maker Endocare Inc. Endocare rejected Austin, Texas-based HealthTronics’ bid last month, saying it undervalued the company.
REAL ESTATE
Makar Properties LLC has failed to pay the city of Huntington Beach $22 million in fees after missing two deadlines, city officials said. City leaders said they don’t plan on pressing charges for the delinquent payment but would rather see Makar Properties follow through on building a senior center that the $22 million is designed to fund. Makar denied missing any deadline.
Santa Ana-based First American Corp. said its $37.9 million investment in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will decline in value because of the takeover of the mortgage investors by the government. The title and business information company said it holds $30.3 million of Fannie Mae’s perpetual preferred securities, and an additional $7.6 million of perpetual preferred securities in Freddie Mac.
ENERGY
Seal Beach-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a provider of natural gas for fleets that’s backed by oilman T. Boone Pickens, is acquiring a Canadian maker of natural gas refueling equipment for $17 million. Clean Energy is buying Toronto’s FuelMaker Corp. from the U.S. arm of Honda Motor Co. and the FuelMaker Trust. The deal is set to close by early October.
FINANCE
Bond fund manager Bill Gross of Newport Beach’s Pacific Investment Management Co. has donated $1.5 million in rare stamps for auction to benefit needy African communities. In May, he auctioned off his Scandinavian stamp collection for $1.6 million for Columbia University’s Millennium Villages Project. The auction will be held Oct. 3 at Spink Shreves Galleries in New York.
Federal regulators reprimanded Newport Beach-based Downey Financial Corp., ordering it to maintain higher levels of cash and take other steps to protect consumer deposits, including developing a business strategy, reducing assets and developing a plan to sell foreclosed homes. Another order says the savings and loan unit must not pay dividends without regulatory approval.
OTHER NEWS
Irvine-based Fisker Automotive Inc. has raised $65 million in one of the largest venture funding rounds seen in the county. Fisker raised the money from an arm of the Qatar Investment Authority, the state-run investment fund of the Arab emirate, as well as prior venture capital investors. The money is set to be used for development of the Fisker Karma, a luxury sports car with a combination electric and gas engine developed by Irvine’s Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc. Fisker expects to start production of the car in late 2009.
