EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORY
Newport Beach-based The Irvine Company said it’s moving forward with plans to build a 204-room resort near the Pelican Hill Golf Club in Newport Coast. The Irvine Co. said construction on the long-proposed Pelican Hill Inn could begin by late 2004. A restaurant, spa, shops, meeting space and 120 timeshare villas also are planned.
TECHNOLOGY
Aliso Viejo-based QLogic Corp. denied it violated Bothell, Wash.-based Vixel Corp.’s patented storage connection technology. A Vixel lawsuit is in the discovery stage … Newport Beach-based chipmaker Conexant Systems Inc. named Lewis Brewster chief operating officer and Scott Blouin chief financial officer. The promotions come as Conexant reorganizes ahead of the spinoff of its Mindspeed Technologies unit.
HEALTHCARE
Cypress-based PacifiCare Health Systems Inc. said it wants to sign members of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, which dumped the health plan provider last year. CalPERS’s members face premium hikes of up to 18% this year, which PacifiCare said it can beat … Covington, Ky.-based Omnicare Inc. said it plans to buy the SunScript Pharmacy unit of Irvine-based Sun Healthcare Group Inc. for up to $90 million. Omnicare expects the unit to post yearly revenue of $180 million … San Clemente-based Biolase Technology Inc. filed to sell up to 2.5 million shares in a public offering. The maker of dental lasers plans to use the funds to repay debt, buy equipment and pursue acquisitions. Shares of Biolase were trading at 12.14 late last week.
REAL ESTATE
The Anaheim City Council OK’d a plan to build 125 condominiums as part of the city’s $100 million downtown retail and residential makeover. Up to 413 apartments also were approved as part of Los Angeles-based developer CIM Group Inc.’s plan … Glendale-based real estate investment trust PS Business Parks Inc. bought the 437,000-square-foot Orange County Business Center in Santa Ana from Orange County Business Center LP for $46 million.
ECONOMY
Chapman University revised its 2003 economic forecast, pegging OC job growth at 1% or 13,000 workers this year, down from the university’s December forecast of 23,000 jobs.
FINANCE
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was found guilty of contributing to fraud in its dealings with bankrupt Irvine-based mortgage lender First Alliance Corp. Lehman, which gave First Alliance a $150 million credit line and packaged its loans into securities, must pay $5.1 million, according to the verdict. First Alliance, which shut down in 2000, and its founder paid a $75 million fine to settle its fraud case. Meanwhile, Florida’s attorney general filed suit against Lehman Brothers, seeking at least $20 million to cover losses by 1,000 homeowners, plus $10 million in other penalties … Christian Weber, Huntington Beach, was ordered to pay a fine of $504,000 and repay $2.3 million for his part in currency trades that the federal Commodities Futures Trading Commission said were illegal. The commission had accused Weber, Irvine-based MAS Financial Services and two others of illegal trading … Commerce National Bank in Fullerton won preliminary approval from regulators to operate and plans to raise $8.3 million to $10 million to fund its operations … Irvine-based Westcorp said it expects a profit of $2.80 per share this year and $3.50 per share in 2004. The lender’s updated guidance reflects a planned stock offering of 4.6 million shares. Westcorp said it will use the $144 million raised in the stock sale to fund more auto loans … Costa Mesa-based investment bank RSM EquiCo Inc. opened an office in Chicago.
GOVERNMENT
Supervisor Chuck Smith was voted out as the board’s representative on the Southern California Association of Governments, which allots federal money for transportation projects in the region. Smith recently supported an effort by the city of Los Angeles to turn the former El Toro Marine base into an airport rather than the commercial, residential and park development that county officials plan for the site. The Navy, which owns the land, said it plans to oppose Los Angeles’ bid for the airport here.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Alan Bell, chief executive of Irvine-based Freedom Communications Inc., said bidding for the family owned company would begin this week … Three creditors of Anaheim-based Clothestime Stores Inc. moved to force the retailer into involuntary bankruptcy. The creditors said Clothestime owes them $704,000 and has unpaid bills in excess of $30 million. Clothestime was bought by JM Associates earlier this year … Newport Beach-based Galardi Group Inc. bought the privately held Tastee-Freez ice cream chain for an undisclosed amount. Galardi owns the Wienerschnitzel hot dog restaurant chain, which serves Tastee Freez ice cream at 56 of its sites … Four former workers at Abercrombie & Fitch’s South Coast Plaza store joined five others to file a discrimination lawsuit against the retailer. The lawsuit, filed by the fired Asian and Hispanic workers, accuses Abercrombie of favoring white workers, a claim that the store denies.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Mixed: Orange County’s jobs picture in May, with the number of nonfarm workers down 0.4% to 1,404,200, versus a year ago, but the unemployment rate improving 0.3% to 3.6%.
Mixed: OC’s housing market in May, with the median price of all homes sold up 15% to $398,000 versus a year ago, but the number of homes sold down 6.8% to 4,747.
