EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORY
Tustin-based Mimi’s Cafe Inc. plans to raise $85 million in an initial public stock offering, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mimi’s has 81 restaurants in 10 states, with sales of $68.3 million in the quarter ended March 31, up from $56.2 million a year earlier. Mimi’s plans to pay off debt and add more restaurants with the funds … Atlanta-based Home Depot Inc. said it plans to buy Costa Mesa-based White Cap Construc-tion Supply Inc. for an undisclosed amount. White Cap said it has sales of more than $500 million, 1,720 workers and 70 stores. Home Depot said it didn’t plan to cut any White Cap workers after the deal is completed, which is expected in the next 30 days.
TECHNOLOGY
Irvine-based Microsemi Corp. said Chairman Nick Yocca planned to step down. Yocca, a founder of Newport Beach law firm Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, will be replaced by Microsemi director Dennis Leibel … Poway-based Gateway Inc. hired Scott Bauhofer to head its Internet and phone sales operations. Bauhofer is the former senior vice president of online sales at Best Buy Co., where Gateway Chief Executive Wayne Inouye worked before taking over Irvine-based eMachines Inc. Gateway bought eMachines earlier this year and plans to move to Orange County by the end of summer … Lake Forest-based Western Digital Corp. said its board has OK’d a stock buyback plan for up to $100 million worth of its shares … Garden Grove-based DPAC Technologies Corp. said it plans to sell $2 million worth of stock and warrants in a private placement. Meanwhile, DPAC named interim Chief Executive Kim Early as permanent chief.
HEALTHCARE
Tenet Healthcare Corp., Orange County’s largest hospital operator with 10 facilities, said it plans to move its headquarters to Dallas from Santa Barbara. Struggling Tenet plans to sell four of its OC hospitals … Shares of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International fell 7% to 22 after the company said the launch of three generic versions of its hepatitis C treatment, Ribavirin, could cause a “significant” decline in royalties. Valeant said Ribavirin revenue fell 48% to $25.4 million in the first quarter, versus a year earlier. Overall, the drug maker reported flat sales of $157.7 million in the quarter, with an operating loss of $3.8 million, versus a profit of $32.4 million a year earlier … Irvine-based Ista Pharmaceuticals Inc. said it won approval from the Food and Drug Administration for its Vitrase drug.
REAL ESTATE
The Huntington Beach City Council said it’s considering a proposal to close off up to three blocks on Main Street on a trial basis this summer.
FINANCE
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against PEA Capital LLC, Pimco Advisors Distributors LLC and Pimco Advisors Management LLC for their part in an alleged late-trading stock fund scheme by Canary Capital Partners LLC. Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co., a manager of bond mutual funds, wasn’t named in the suit. The stock and bond funds are owned by Germany’s Allianz AG … Regulators shut down Irvine’s London Financial Group Inc. and Santa Ana’s National Consumer Council Inc., accusing the affiliated companies of misleading customers and violating the do-not-call registry. The Federal Trade Commission has sued London Financial and National Consumer, which advise people on renegotiating debt, for deceptive practices and fraud. About 250 workers have been cut in the shutdown … Irvine-based Balboa Capital Corp. said cofounder Shawn Giffin sold his stake in the leasing company to chairman and cofounder Patrick Byrne for an undisclosed amount.
GOVERNMENT
The Transportation Corridor Agencies submitted an analysis of six proposed routes for extending the Foothill/Eastern (241) Toll Road south … Dallas-based religious broadcaster Daystar Television Network filed an appeal seeking to block the Coast Community College District’s sale of Huntington Beach-based KOCE-TV Channel 50 to the PBS affiliate’s foundation … Newport Beach gave up its bid to gain control of John Wayne Airport, but said it’s seeking a management partnership with the county.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. won a $244 million deal to design and build diesel hydro-heaters at two Shell Oil Co. refineries in Canada … Boeing Co. said it bought Irvine-based Frontier Systems Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Frontier, which makes “drones,” or unmanned aircraft, has about 70 workers, who are expected to remain with Boeing … Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc. said its same-store sales in April fell 16.8%, versus a year earlier … Meanwhile, Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. said its same-store sales jumped 11.4% in April, versus a year earlier.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Up: California State University, Fullerton’s two-year job growth forecast for Orange County, with 75,000 new jobs expected in the period, three times as many as were created in the past two years.
Down: Housing affordability in OC, with 14% of residents able to afford a median-priced home in March, down from 22% a year earlier, according to the California Association of Realtors.
