TOP STORIES
Intersil Corp., Irvine, will sell its discrete power unit to Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. for $338 million Corning Inc. broke ground on an optical networking devices plant in Fountain Valley where it plans to consolidate its 200 OC employees and potentially grow to 800 local workers in two years Bergen Brunswig Corp., Orange, expanded a five-year agreement to supply pharmaceuticals to CVS ProCare Pharmacy Inc., adding an estimated $1.6 billion in new business Fidelity National Financial Inc., Irvine, increased a planned offering from 6 million to 7 million shares and priced them at 33.
TECHNOLOGY
Gateway Inc., San Diego, will eliminate 140 assembly-line jobs at its Lake Forest plant Shares of Newport Corp., Irvine, fell 23% to 83 15/16 after the company trimmed its growth forecast for this year to 40% from 50% Conexant Systems Inc., Newport Beach, was downgraded by four investment banks after it said it expects to post a loss for the current quarter; meanwhile, Conexant said its to-be-spun-off Internet equipment unit will be called Mindspeed Technologies and have the slogan “Build it first” Broadcom Corp., Irvine, posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter results and said it expects sequential revenue growth in the first quarter to be 22% to 23%; however, its shares fell 17% to 104 after Credit Suisse First Boston lowered its price target from $300 to $175; before the fall, Canada’s ATI Technologies Inc. sold its stake in Broadcom,acquired in Broadcom’s purchase of SiByte Inc.,for $65 million, a $54 million gain Boeing Co. said it will cut back from three work shifts to one on its Delta rocket assembly line in Huntington Beach and cut 400 to 500 jobs in an effort to cut power consumption; the company said many of the employees will be shifted to other roles within the space division Shares of Costa Mesa-based FileNET Corp. rose 29% to 28 3/8 after it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings (see Earnings column, page 10) Shares of QLogic Corp., Aliso Viejo, fell 16% after its fourth-quarter revenue failed to meet expectations Shares of Irvine-based Powerwave Technologies Inc. fell 16% to 39 after they were downgraded from “buy” to “hold” by UBS Warburg; later, Powerwave lowered its first-quarter earnings estimate and said it will take a charge for moving production to its new Santa Ana facility ESynch Corp., Tustin, is set to be acquired by Streamedia Communications Inc., New York Aspeon Inc., Irvine, sold two units to their managements for a total of $3.5 million TekInsight.com Inc., Irvine, acquired a minority stake in Milton, Mass.-based LaborSoft Corp. Epicor Software Corp., Irvine, said it has settled a legal dispute with a former customer of acquired company DataWorks Corp. and will take a $2 million fourth-quarter charge LMKI Inc., Irvine, sued a former director and three former officers, alleging breach of fiduciary duty and unjust enrichment … Mind Wurx LLC, Yorba Linda, received an order from Albertson’s for its theft-resistant shopping carts.
HEALTHCARE
ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc., Costa Mesa, warned that its 2000 earnings will be less than expected, and its shares fell 16% to 23 7/16 on the news; meanwhile, ICN said it was considering listing its proposed ICN International spin-off on the Swiss stock exchange Shares of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., Santa Ana, rose 34% to 23 after they were upgraded by Lehman Bros. Inc. from “market perform” to “buy”; meanwhile, PacifiCare named Gregory W. Scott CFO Trimedyne Inc., Irvine, received FDA clearance to market its Holmium laser system for treatment of enlarged prostates.
GOVERNMENT
A San Diego Superior Court judge approved the county’s EIR for the proposed El Toro airport; former El Toro base commander Brig. Gen. Art Bloomer, ret., was named executive director of the OC Regional Airport Authority, which supports the airport plan The Huntington Beach City Council voted to oppose a state bill that would fast-track permitting for the refitting and restarting of two boilers at AES Corp.’s seaside power plant in that city Attorney General Bill Lockyer said a state investigation of the aborted sale of the 91 Express Lanes in 1999 likely will be ended soon with no charges being filed; meanwhile, Lockyer personally argued before an OC commissioner against the county’s lawsuit that seeks to overturn Measure H, which directs that most of the county’s share of the national tobacco settlement be spent on healthcare programs Fountain Valley City Councilman Chuck Conlosh quit his job as a Huntington Beach police officer and checked himself into a hospital for reasons that were not disclosed.
FINANCE
Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., Newport Beach, plans a $1 billion sale of securities First American Title Insurance Co., Santa Ana, acquired Androscoggin Title Co., Auburn, Maine American National Financial Inc., Orange, launched a unit to handle tax-deferred real estate exchanges BYL Bancorp, Orange, said it will take a fourth-quarter charge of $727,000 on the sale of a pool of securities at a loss Three former employees of Costa Mesa-based DiTech Funding Corp. sued the firm alleging they were forced to work overtime without pay.
WHAT’S NEW
Oakley Inc., Foothill Ranch, said it expects fourth-quarter earnings to beat estimates Kevin Relyea, CEO of Irvine-based Prandium Inc., acquired 95.8 million shares of the struggling firm from an investment group for $15,000, boosting his stake to 54.5% Second Cup Ltd., Toronto, lowered its stake in Irvine-based Diedrich Coffee Inc. from 8.0% to 6.8% The Samueli Foundation pledged $10 million to the OC Performing Arts Center’s capital campaign Saddleback Valley Unified School District superindendent Peter Hartman died A 6-year-old girl lost her left index finger in an accident at Disneyland’s Tom Sawyer’s Island playground Cal State University, Fullerton refused admission for their sophomore year to 183 students because they did not pass remedial English or math classes as freshmen.
