TOP STORIES
Compiled by Alisha Gomez
Shares of Santa Ana’s Advanced Medical Optics Inc. fell to a low for the year last week on a contact lens solution recall and a lowering of its outlook for this year and next. Advanced Medical’s shares fell nearly 9% on the news. The company said it found bacteria in three lots of its Complete MoisturePlus multipurpose solution in Japan and recalled 18 batches made at the same Chinese plant and shipped to the U.S. The tainted solution could cause eye infections, though Advanced Medical said it hasn’t heard of any incidents in the U.S. Advanced Medical is recalling 2.9 million bottles of Complete, though only about 183,000 made it into the U.S. from China. Production in China is suspended for 10 to 12 weeks. Advanced Medical said it now expects to earn $77 million to $82.9 million on sales of $985 million to $1 billion in 2006. That’s down from an earlier profit forecast of $109.8 million to $112.7 million on revenue of $1.01 billion to $1.02 billion. The company also cut its outlook for 2007.
Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc. is paying $110 million for an Idaho maker of protective goggles for soldiers, police and firefighters. The buy of Sun Valley, Idaho-based Eye Safety Systems Inc. is set to close early next year. The company stands to add about $30 million in sales to Oakley’s $650 million in yearly revenue.
Aliso Viejo-based Quest Software Inc.’s senior vice president of corporate development and former chief financial officer resigned after declining to be interviewed in the company’s probe of stock option grants. M. Brinkley Morse, who handled the company’s investment and acquisition strategy since 2005 and was financial chief from 2001 to 2005, resigned earlier this month. Before leaving, Morse’s lawyer told a special board committee that he declined to be interviewed as part of an investigation into the timing of option grants.
Lake Forest-based Newport Media Inc., a designer of chips for watching TV on phones and other handheld devices, raised $30 million in a third round of funding. The round brings Newport Media’s total money raised to $66 million.
The Irvine office and warehouse that served as the headquarters for athletic shoemaker American Sporting Goods Corp. could wind up being redeveloped as office and industrial space instead of condominiums. The site was set to become homes, part of a wave of condo development near John Wayne Airport. Developer Hines Interests LP of Houston and Newport Beach-based investor Buchanan Street Partners bought the 2323 Main St. site this week for an undisclosed price. The 260,000-square-foot office and warehouse will be renovated in the next year and marketed to companies seeking a combination of low-rise office and warehouse space.
Irvine-based developer SunCal Cos. bought 57,000 acres of historical New Mexico land with plans for a masterplanned community. A $250 million offer to acquire the land’s owner, Albuquerque-based Westland Development Co., was approved last week by Westland’s shareholders, the companies said. The deal is expected to close by year’s end. SunCal plans to build homes, shops and commercial space on the land along the banks of the Rio Grande.
The Airport Land Use Commission ruled eight proposed high-rise condominums in Costa Mesa are too tall and should be scaled back for safety reasons, delaying city approval. The towers are being pursued by five separate developers and would encircle the city’s major arts venues, including South Coast Repertory and the new Ren & #233;e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. One of the projects calls for relocating the Orange County Museum of Art from Newport Center and capping the museum with 80 condos.
A shareholder that built up a 9% stake in Irvine’s Autobytel Inc. to spur changes at the online auto marketer has sold off most of its shares. Palo Alto-based Liberate Technologies cut its Autobytel stake to 2.3%, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing. In July, Liberate said it planned to talk with management about Autobytel’s “undervalued” shares. At the time, Liberate said it could seek to buy more shares and push plans for a sale of the company. Last year, Autobytel hired Merrill Lynch & Co. to pursue a sale but dropped the effort earlier this year.
Willdan Group Inc., an Anaheim company that handles engineering, security and financial consulting jobs for cities and counties, debuted last week in a public offering worth about $29 million. The company offered 2.9 million shares at $10 apiece, the midpoint of its $9 to $11 range. The company also came out with an additional 100,000 shares, up from the original 2.8 million it announced last week. Willdan expects proceeds of $6.3 million to be used for general purposes, including paying down $1.6 million in debt, possible acquisitions and distribution to existing stockholders.
Santa Ana-based vocational colleges operator Corinthian Colleges Inc. wrapped up its stock options probe and said it expects a $5.7 million charge in a restatement of its annual results through June 2005. Corinthian also said it plans to apply a $500,000 charge to its earnings for the June quarter of this year. For the current quarter, Corinthian said it expects to see about $1.8 million in legal fees and other expenses related to the options inquiry. More expenses could be coming, including from a Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry into the company’s option grants that started in August.
