Compiled by Alisha Gomez and Julie Leupold
TOP STORIES
Lake Forest-based home healthcare provider Apria Healthcare Group Inc. is being bought and taken private by private equity investor Blackstone Group LP in a deal valued at $1.6 billion, including debt. Shares of Apria were up nearly 30% after the news with a market value of $890 million. Blackstone’s offer for Apria’s shares is 33% more than what they were valued at before the deal. The company said it’s also opening a $280 million line of credit with the deal’s underwriters to pay down debt and cover tax liabilities. Bank of America Corp., Wachovia Corp. and Barclays PLC are financing part of the acquisition. Blackstone is using cash for the rest.
Broadcom Corp. cofounder Henry Nicholas pleaded not guilty last week in Santa Ana to federal stock fraud and drug charges, while the chipmaker’s former chief financial officer pleaded not guilty to fraud charges related to stock options.
Trials for the two men were scheduled for July 29. Nicholas faces two trials: one over his alleged role in stock options backdating while serving as Broadcom’s chief executive until 2003, and a second one over charges he used and distributed drugs. Former finance chief Bill Ruehle is set to go to trial for stock options charges and isn’t involved in the drug case.
TECHNOLOGY
Two former executives of Irvine-based Epicor Software Corp. (see story page 1) have started an investment company to buy and combine business software makers. Mark Duffell, Epicor’s former president and chief operating officer, and Michael Piraino, former executive vice president and chief financial officer, started M2 Technology Partners LLC in Laguna Hills. The pair received an undisclosed investment from Accel-KKR, an investment fund backed by private equity firms KKR & Co. and Accel Partners.
HEATHCARE
Irvine drug maker Allergan Inc. said the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug to treat retinal disease. Trivaris is a steroid that reduces swelling in the back of the eye. Inflamed retinas can lead to blindness.
EDUCATION
The Huntington Beach City Council voted last week to buy Huntington Beach City School District’s Le Bard Elementary School, a closed campus currently used for district offices. The city agreed to pay the district $7 million and deed to the district a 3.5-acre property near the proposed Poseidon desalination project. This deal, which still needs approval from the district, will allow the city to resell the school site for about $3 million. A private school has already contacted the city about buying the buildings.
REAL ESTATE
Los Angeles-based landlord Maguire Properties Inc. plans to sell the sprawling Park Place campus in Irvine. The 105-acre campus includes the new 3161 Michelson office tower along with other buildings, a shopping center and undeveloped land. Maguire paid $475 million for Park Place in 2004. Maguire also said that it is in talks with potential buyers for other OC buildings it owns. Also, William Flaherty, the company’s top OC executive, is stepping down in July.
Irvine-based homebuilder Standard Pacific Corp. reported a decrease in orders for the past two months. New home orders, or contracts to buy a Standard home, fell 12% in April and May from a year earlier. The company’s stock has lost more than 80% of its value in the past year and has been among the hardest hit in the housing downturn.
San Clemente-based hotel owner Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. hired a president who’s set to become chief executive a year from now. Arthur L. Buser is set to take over as chief executive from company founder Bob Alter in July 2009. Alter is set to remain executive chairman.
APPAREL
Carlsbad-based sunglasses maker Dragon has been bought out from Oakley Inc. of Foothill Ranch. The deal comes a few months after Italy’s Luxottica Group SPA acquired Oakley for $2.1 billion. At the time, analysts speculated that Oakley could discontinue or sell some businesses. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
FINANCE
A deal for Maryland-based CapitalSource Inc. to buy the bank assets of Brea’s Fremont General Corp. won approval from regulators. Fremont General filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, in part to complete the sale of its banking arm to CapitalSource. The filing allows the sale to be made without shareholder approval, something Fremont said it was unable to solicit. The banking unit, Fremont Investment & Loan, isn’t part of the bankruptcy.
