TOP STORIES
The Board of Supervisors terminated the contract of County Executive Officer Jan Mittermeier and named Health Care Agency Director Michael Schumacher interim CEO, pending a search for a permanent replacement … Boeing Co. will eliminate up to 900 jobs over the next two years at its Huntington Beach plant, about 11% of the plant’s work force … Conexant Systems Inc., Newport Beach, will acquire San Jose-based HotRail Inc. for $394 million in stock … Bergen Brunswig Corp., Orange, will sell its medical-supplies distribution unit to Cardinal Health Inc. for $181 million … Quest Software Inc., Irvine, acquired FastLane Technologies Inc., Ottawa, for about $100 million in cash and stock … State Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush resigned … FutureLink Corp., Irvine, received a $10 million investment from Microsoft Corp. and the two companies will set up an R & D; lab and two applications demonstration centers for software vendors; meanwhile, FutureLink said it will offer 6 million shares at $7 in a secondary offering.
TECHNOLOGY
ADC Telecommunications completed its $1.51 billion acquisition of PairGain Technologies Inc., whose shares stopped trading … Lantronix Inc., Irvine, said it hopes to raise up to $124 million in its planned IPO … Newport Corp., Irvine, acquired U.K.-based International Metrology Systems … EMachines Inc., Irvine, will make an Internet appliance using Microsoft Corp. software for the consumer market … Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Irvine, and BuyNow.com, Aliso Viejo, signed a distribution deal to sell Toshiba’s cable modems online … The board of Pixelon Corp., San Juan Capistrano, fired acting CEO Paul Ward and agreed to file for bankruptcy protection, the Los Angeles Times reported … The sale of Irvine-based MAI Systems Corp.’s hospitality unit to California Software Corp., Irvine, was called off because of California Software’s declining share price … EJets, Aliso Viejo, received $2 million in initial funding from Scott Blum’s ThinkTank LLC … ECompany, Corona del Mar, received $5 million in funding from a group led by Fay, Richwhite & Cie … The board of Santa Ana-based Cyberbuck Corp. removed Tony Mazzamuto as president and CEO after learning he had concealed two criminal convictions and fabricated his educational history; Gary Koopman was named to replace him … ETM Entertainment Network Inc., Costa Mesa, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation … Sixty-two percent of OC residents are frequent computer users, 54% use the Internet often and 40% make purchases online, according to a UCI survey.
HEALTHCARE
European investment group Special Situation Partners increased its stake in Costa Mesa-based ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. to 3.3% with options for another 4.5% and urged ICN to retool its plans to split into three companies and to make the resulting companies independent of each other … Edwards Lifesciences Corp., Irvine, filed separate patent infringement suits against Minneapolis-based Medtronic Inc. and St. Jude Medical Inc., St. Paul, Minn. … PacifiCare Health Services Inc., Santa Ana, and Compaq Computer Corp. formed a joint venture, SeniorCo, to operate a senior-oriented Web portal … Cardiac Science Inc., Irvine, raised $9.7 million in a private placement … The board of Medstone International Inc., Aliso Viejo, approved the repurchase of up to 250,000 shares, about 5.4% of its outstanding shares … ChromaVision Medical Systems Inc., San Juan Capistrano, unveiled a test for the spread of breast cancer beyond breast tissue … The board of Newport Beach-based Health Care Property Investors Inc. approved a new poison pill to replace one that expires July 30 … Anaheim Memorial Medical Center’s board may close its outpatient tower, the former Martin Luther hospital.
FINANCE
Pacific Mercantile Bancorp, Newport Beach, raised $20 million in an IPO … First Bank & Trust, Newport Beach, will move its headquarters to San Francisco.
REAL ESTATE
The Irvine Co. and the Donald Bren Foundation created a $20 million fund for projects to preserve and enhance more than 30,000 acres the company has dedicated or has earmarked for dedication as open space … Moody’s Investors Service downgraded its rating on the debt of Nationwide Health Properties Inc., Newport Beach … Michael D. Grubbs was named senior VP and CFO of William Lyon Homes Inc., Newport Beach, replacing David Siegel, who resigned.
GOVERNMENT
After the U.S. Supreme Court voided California’s open primary law, Jim Righeimer and Bruce Matthias said they will go to court to be declared winners of two OC Republican Assembly primary elections … The Navy proposed to pay $8 million of the estimated $35 million cost of environmental cleanup at the former El Toro base in return for a release from liability for any further contamination discovered; county officials said they oppose the plan; meanwhile, the State Lands Commission voted to transfer law-enforcement jurisdiction for the former base to Orange County; county officials said talks to hire former John Wayne Airport director O.B. Schooley as interim director of El Toro planning had stalled and appointment of a county employee to the job was possible; an air traffic controllers union official said that if OC creates a commercial airport at El Toro it should halt jet operations at John Wayne Airport for safety reasons … … The Federal Aviation Administration said it will install a new ground-radar system at John Wayne Airport to reduce the number of near-collisions on runways and taxiways there … The county repaid a $480,000 construction reimbursement to the FAA after the federal government learned that the county never paid for the construction.
WHAT’S NEW
Prandium Inc., Irvine, completed the $115 million sale of its El Torito restaurant chain to Long Beach-based Acapulco Acquisition Corp. … A joint venture of Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. and Duke Energy Corp. won a contract to build a power plant near Philadelphia for Columbia Energy Group … Tickets.com Inc., Costa Mesa, acquired the assets of Alaska-based CarrsTix from a unit of Safeway Inc.; the firm also received an exclusive contract from Major League Baseball to provide online ticketing services on its teams’ Web sites, starting in December … Diedrich Coffee Inc., Irvine, issued a fourth quarter and fiscal year sales and earning warning and said it is trying to renegotiate its bank debt; the company’s shares fell 26% to 2 1/8 on the news … Aliso Viejo-based Buy.com and two other retailers agreed to change their advertising of “free” or “low cost” computers to settle a federal complaint … Freedom Communications Inc., Irvine, will acquire Thomson Corp.’s Arizona newspapers, including four dailies … Hines Horticulture Inc., Irvine, named president and CEO Stephen P. Thigpen chairman, named Robert A Ferguson president of the nursery unit and named Thomas L. Fortner president of the newly formed color product lines unit … Robert Bein, William Frost & Associates, Irvine, changed its name to RBF Consulting … Mitsubishi Motors Corp. will consolidate its four U.S. units into Mitsubishi Motors America Inc., which will be based in Cypress … Daewoo Motor America Inc., Compton, will open a Western U.S. office in Huntington Beach, to be headed by John Dorsey.
