Compiled by Mike Mason
Irvine-based Quest Software Inc. said it plans to buy Vintela Inc. of Lindon, Utah, for $56.5 million. Vintela makes software that helps products made by Microsoft Corp. work with the free, open source Linux operating system.
San Clemente-based ICU Medical Inc. plans to move production of its medical devices from Orange County to a newly acquired plant in Utah. ICU said it plans to shift plastic molding and automated assembly operations from its San Clemente base to Salt Lake City. The move follows ICU’s $35 million buy earlier this year of the Utah plant from Lake Forest, Ill.-based Hospira Inc., a big ICU customer … Advanced Medical Optics Inc. of Santa Ana said it wrapped up its $1.3 billion cash and stock buy of Visx Inc. Shareholders of both Advanced Medical and Santa Clara-based Visx approved the deal two weeks ago … Tustin-based Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. got the go-ahead from the Food and Drug Administration to start clinical trials on its Tarvacin drug for chronic hepatitis C infection. The drug maker said the trial is set to include up to 32 patients who will help determine safe dosages of Tarvacin … The FDA gave Irvine-based Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. the OK to go ahead with trials of a prostate cancer treatment, its SPI-153 hormone.
Twenty-four design firms submitted proposals for the makeover of the former El Toro Marine base. A group of architects is set to meet Friday to choose six finalists
to redesign the 3,700-acre base into a mix of homes, shops and park land San Clemente-based Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. sold 9 million shares. The real estate investment trust sold 3 million shares of its own stock, with affiliates of Westbrook Partners LLC selling 6 million shares. Sunstone plans to use its share of the funds to buy and renovate hotels, and for general corporate purposes … Irvine-based New Century Financial Corp. said its May loan volume rose 7% to $4.4 billion, versus a year ago. The subprime lender’s volume was down from April’s $4.5 billion in loans.
Irvine-based Oryxe Energy International Inc. and Afton Chemical Corp. said they plan to build a plant in Texas to make diesel fuel additive Or-Led. The additive is set to be sold in Texas by the end of the year.
The county of Orange has tapped Goldman Sachs Group Inc. as the lead underwriter for the sale of $600 million in bonds to refinance the county’s bankruptcy debt. The county is looking to retire more costly debt issued in 1995 and 1996,after the county’s 1994 bankruptcy,with lower-interest bonds.
Newport Beach Republican Congressman Christopher Cox was tapped by President Bush to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission (see story, page 1) … The University of California, Irvine, said it was awarded $40 million to set up the Pacific-Southwest Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases Research. The grant, awarded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is the largest in the university’s 40-year history.
Irvine-based Autobytel Inc. named Michael Schmidt as chief financial officer. The position had been open since Hoshi Printer resigned in November after accounting-related issues were discovered at the company. Schmidt joined Autobytel in April 2004 as senior vice president in charge of finance. Meanwhile, Autobytel submitted restated reports for 2004 and its quarters ended Sept. 30, 2004 and March 31, 2005. The company also filed an amended quarterly report for its quarter ended June 30, 2004. Nasdaq said the company faced delisting unless it filed its past-due financial reports Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. reported a 57% jump in same-store sales in May, versus a year earlier. Total sales rose 21% to $40 million Surfwear retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. of Anaheim said its same-store sales rose 0.4% in May, versus a year earlier. Total sales were up 11% to $81 million … Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. was tapped by Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Basic Industries Corp. to build water and power supplies for a petrochemical complex. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The work is slated for Saudi Basic’s Yanbu National Petrochemicals Co. complex on Saudi Arabia’s western coast … Sunglasses maker Oakely Inc. released a new version of its sunglasses with a built-in digital music player. The newest model, a 512 megabyte version of Oakley’s Thump sunglasses, doubles the amount of storage for songs. The sunglasses have a digital music player and ear speakers built into the frame.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Up: Orange County’s housing market in the first quarter, with the value of a home up 24.5%, versus a year earlier, according to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. OC ranked No. 20 in the nation based on the data.
