TOP STORY
Downey Financial Corp. filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy last week after its savings and loan was seized by federal regulators on Nov. 21. Federal regulators shut down struggling Downey Savings and shifted its deposits to Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp’s U.S. Bank. Downey had been the largest savings and loan based in the county with assets of $12.8 billion and deposits of $9.7 billion. (see story page 14)
TECHNOLOGY
Irvine’s Microsemi Corp., which makes chips for industrial users and the military, is wrapping up a plant closure in Colorado that has been hung up for years. Back in 2005, Microsemi announced it was set shutter its 130,000-square-foot factory in Broomfield, Colo., as part of a cost cutting plan. The original date of closure was slated for mid-2006. Microsemi disclosed in a government filing last week that the Broomfield site is expected to close next year.
Newport Beach-based chipmaker Conexant Systems Inc. renewed a credit line for $50 million through November 2009. Conexant renewed the accounts receivable credit line with Wachovia Corp., which is being bought in a rescue deal by Wells Fargo & Co. A year ago, Wachovia lent Conexant $80 million based on money it was due from customers.
The former wife of Henry “Nick” Nicholas is suing the beleaguered Broadcom Corp. cofounder to break up a joint trust that controls about 30% of the Irvine chipmaker, according to the Orange County Register. The suit by Stacey Nicholas seeks to suspend the Nicholas Family Trust, which is worth $600 million without Broadcom stock and about $1.1 billion including the shares. The lawsuit, which alleges Nicholas misspent $60 million of their fortune and threatened to kill his former wife, appears to be part of ongoing di-vorce proceedings related to the couple’s assets.
HEALTHCARE
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said that mid-stage trial results for a hepatitis C drug candidate were encouraging. The Aliso Viejo-based drug maker is looking to license the rights to taribavirin.
Anaheim General Hospital has lost a national quality accreditation, the latest blow in a string of patient safety concerns for the facility that treats many of the county’s poorest residents. The Joint Commission made the denial recently, citing “a threat to patients” found during a March visit. The commission evaluates hospitals on categories including national patient safety goals, infection prevention and medical staffing. Hospital officials say they plan to seek to renew its accreditation.
REAL ESTATE
The price of an existing stand-alone Orange County home is nearly $200,000 below its year-ago price, after slipping another $5,650 in October from September, the California Association of Realtors said last week. The median price for an OC home, excluding condominiums, in October was $490,360, a 1.1% decline from September and a 28.6% decrease from a year ago. Sales were up 5.3% in October from September and jumped up 108% from a year earlier, according to the association.
A bankruptcy judge in New York has denied a motion by Irvine-based SunCal Cos. to pursue alternate funding for the stalled Marblehead Coastal housing project in San Clemente, plus 19 other developments elsewhere in California. SunCal filed bankruptcy petitions for the housing projects in hopes of arranging $75 million in additional financing from D.E. Shaw Group & Co., a hedge fund. SunCal hoped to use a bankruptcy court provision that would put Shaw first in line for repayment, ahead of Lehman entities that have lent about $2.3 billion to the projects. SunCal needs court approval from a New York bankruptcy judge before it can proceed before a Santa Ana bankruptcy judge.
Shares of Santa Ana-based title insurer First American Corp. surged last week on word that Virginia’s LandAmerica Financial Group Inc. filed for bankruptcy reorganization and said it is selling three subsidiaries to Fidelity National Financial Inc., a Florida-based title insurer and primary rival of First American. In November, Fidelity said it planned to buy all of struggling LandAmerica for $126 million. That deal was called off on Nov. 21. Investors see First American gaining business from LandAmerica’s bankruptcy and the sale of its Lawyers Title Insurance Corp., Commonwealth Land Title Insurance Co. and United Capital Title Insurance Co. units to Fidelity.
GOVERNMENT
Orange County has imposed an across-the-board hiring freeze and begun preparations to trim more than $60 million from its budget, officials said last week. The freeze comes as budget officials confront a drop in sales tax revenue, possible reductions in state financing and another byproduct of a down economy,fewer people willingly leaving their jobs.
OTHER NEWS
The Orange County Register has settled a long-running lawsuit brought against it by a group of 5,000 carriers who deliver the daily newspaper, according to the paper and a lawyer representing the carriers. The Register, part of Irvine-based Freedom Communi-cations Inc., agreed to pay $22 million in damages and legal fees. A lawyer for the carriers is seeking an additional $12 million.
