ENERGY
Edison International repaid in full and on time a $20 million note held by Orange County and said it expects this month to collect more money from customers than it will spend on electricity for the first time in the past twelve months A special state Senate committee headed by Sen. Joe Dunn, D-Santa Ana, voted to hold Reliant Energy Inc. in contempt for failing to turn over pricing records; the company says the committee doesn’t have the authority to demand the records.
TOP STORIES
Rancho Mission Viejo LLC proposed a development plan for the 25,000 acres it owns between San Juan Capistrano and Cleveland National Forest that calls for 14,000 homes in a series of villages, and 14,000 acres of opens space including a 10,000-acre area permanently devoted to farming and ranching and a 1,200-acre park Federal prosecutors proposed that Apria Healthcare Group Inc., Costa Mesa, pay $400 million to settle Medicare fraud allegations that could carry fines and penalties of up to $9 billion; the company had been telling investors and analysts it expected to settle the matter for about $7 million Lantronix Inc., Irvine, raised $48 million in a secondary offering (see story on page 1) Bergen Brunswig Corp., Orange, received a $3 billion, five-year contract to supply pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter products to Raley’s supermarkets ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc., Costa Mesa, sold $400 million in notes convertible to shares of Ribapharm after it is spun off.
TECHNOLOGY
SimpleTech Inc., Irvine, was chosen by Hitachi Semiconductor Inc. to make and market its flash memory cards in the U.S. FileNET Corp., Costa Mesa, said it had settled a legal dispute with Eastman Kodak Co. and will take a related $4 million charge in the second quarter Boeing Co. organized a new missile defense system division within its Seal Beach-based space and communication group Shareholders of MSC.Software Corp., Santa Ana, approved its acquisition of Advanced Enterprise Solutions, Santa Ana, for $132 million Cypress-based Universal Electronics Inc.’s Chief Executive Paul Arling was named chairman and said executive chairwoman Camille Jayne will leave that post but remain a board member and consultant Artesyn Technologies Inc., Boca Raton, Fla., will close its Huntington Beach facility and lay off all 50 technicians and some of the 18 engineers employed there Competisys Corp., Irvine, wired the American Canyon housing tract near San Francisco with 1-gigabit fiber-optic cable Seagull Holding NV will shut its Irvine software development operation Adaptive Digital Systems Inc., Irvine, won a $5.2 million Pentagon contract for parts for digital voice recorders William J. Schubert Jr., vice chairman and chief executive, and Shane H. Traveller, president and chief operating officer, resigned their positions at Irvine-based Trimedyne Inc.; founder and chairman Marvin P. Loeb assumed the duties of president and chief executive Starbase Corp., Santa Ana, cut its revenue projection for its fiscal 2002, said it will post a larger-than-expected loss for its fiscal first quarter and said it will return to profitability in the third fiscal quarter rather than the second Thomas Anderson will retire as VP and CFO of QLogic Corp., Aliso Viejo, in January and the firm began a search for a successor Richard Bjorkman resigned as chief financial officer of Smith Micro Software Inc., Aliso Viejo, and his duties were assigned to chief operating officer Robert Scheussler Anaheim-based Odetics Inc.’s Iteris unit received a $500,000 contract to upgrade the information processing, communications and control systems of the Bay area’s transportation agencies.
HEALTHCARE
PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., Santa Ana, posted better-than-forecast second-quarter earnings and its shares fell 9% to 18.27 on the news, which analysts cited as evidence of management disarray Beckman Coulter Inc., Fullerton, acquired Salzburg, Austria-based Anthos Labtec Instruments GMBH; also, Beckman Coulter signed a joint development and licensing agreement with Livermore-based Eksigent Technologies TriZetto Group Inc., Newport Beach, received a 10-year contract valued at $100 million from Utah’s Altius Health Plans Inc. for plan-management software and services Cooper Cos., Lake Forest, said calendar second-quarter revenue for its contact lens unit rose 20% year-to-year and it is comfortable with its current guidance.
GOVERNMENT
Orange County Transportation Authority bus drivers voted down a proposed contract that included a 12.5% raise over three years Corona sued Caltrans seeking compensation for alleged damages to its residents resulting from the agency’s contract with the 91 Express Lanes, which prohibits freeway improvements to ease traffic flow around the toll lanes.
REAL ESTATE
Health Care Property Investors Inc., Newport Beach, acquired 18 medical office and research buildings in the West from Boyer Co., Salt Lake City, for $126 million.
FINANCE
Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., Newport Beach, said its second-quarter earnings will exceed expectations.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Schwinn/GT Corp. will sell its cycling division for $60 million to Huffy Corp., which intends to lay off the unit’s 300 employees, including 111 in Santa Ana ConAgra Grocery Products is laying off 50 people at its Irvine regional headquarters Safeco Corp. will lay off 25 workers at its Fountain Valley regional office as part of a companywide downsizing Resources Connection Inc., Costa Mesa, plans to raise $5.1 million in a secondary offering and largest shareholder Evercore Partners LLC plans to sell 3 million shares valued at $76.5 million, which will cut its stake to 2.8 million shares, or 13.5% The board of Wet Seal Inc., Foothill Ranch, approved a 3-for-2 stock split The OC Performing Arts Center posted a $1.1 million operating surplus in its just-concluded season.
