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Chris Anderson, publisher of the Orange County Register and a key executive for parent Freedom Communications Inc. of Irvine, is leaving the company. Terry Horne, chief executive and publisher of the Phoenix area’s East Valley Tribune, Freedom’s third largest paper after the Register and Colorado’s The Gazette, is replacing Anderson as Register president and publisher. Horne is set to report to Jonathan Segal, president of Freedom Newspapers Inc. The company also realigned operations to put the once independently run Register in the same group as other papers. Anderson started as editor of the Register in 1980 and has been in charge of the county’s largest newspaper since 1999. He spearheaded reader-friendly changes and prevailed in a coverage war with the Los Angeles Times. As head of Freedom Orange County Information, the unit that publishes the Register, Anderson has overseen magazines, a weekly Spanish-language paper, Web sites and the launch of a second daily newspaper, the OC Post. Freedom has struggled with declining advertising at the Register and other big papers. Last year, Anderson turned over oversight of Freedom papers in Arizona and Colorado to focus on the Register and OC Post. He’s set to leave on Sept. 15 and serve as a consultant for an interim period.
Irvine-based subprime lender BNC Mortgage Inc. is closing, according to parent company Lehman Brothers Holdings Corp. About 1,200 workers will lose their jobs, Lehman Brothers said. BNC employed about 400 people in its Irvine office as recently as last year. Lehman bought BNC, which funds subprime and slightly less risky Alt-A loans from brokers, in 2004. It announced another 500 layoffs in June. Meanwhile, another struggling lender, Irvine’s Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc., said it is laying off 350 workers, most at its new headquarters off Jamboree Road.
Maguire Properties Inc. is selling 18301 Von Karman, an 11-story office tower in Irvine, for $112 million. The Hearn Co., a privately held real estate investor, is buying the building. The deal should close by the end of the year. At 230,605 square feet, the building is selling for nearly $486 per square foot, which is at the top end of prices paid for the area’s office towers.
The city of Anaheim last week approved AMB Property Corp.’s plans for homes, offices and shops at the Platinum Triangle near Angel Stadium of Anaheim. AMB’s plans include 1,208 homes and 150,000 square feet of office and shopping space on 17.5 acres. AMB has owned and operated Stadium Business Park, a nine-building industrial park totaling about 283,000 square feet, since 1994.
Irvine-based Yard House Restaurants LLC has sold a 70% stake to San Francisco-based private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners. Steel Platt, a company founder and chief executive, plans to continue running the restaurant operator. Platt and some other roughly 100 investors, including employees, sold stakes in the company. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. The company has 16 restaurants in California, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas and Nevada. It generates about $115 million in yearly sales and employs 600 workers in OC.
Santa Ana-based Synchronous Aerospace Group, a maker of aerospace and defense parts, was acquired by private equity firm Littlejohn & Co. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. It’s worth at least $100 million as it required Federal Trade Commission approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. Los Angeles-based investor Hancock Park Associates sold Synchronous Aerospace. Synchronous makes parts for commercial and defense aerospace companies. It employs about 230 people at three local facilities and about 650 people across the country.
Restructuring retailer Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. lost $10.5 million for the quarter ended Aug. 4, versus a profit of $9.7 million a year ago. Charges drove the loss. Excluding one-time costs to close about 75 demo stores selling urban fashions, Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear earned $4.8 million. The profit after charges was in line with Wall Street expectations. Revenue for the quarter rose nearly 10% to $344.2 million, above expectations. Pacific Sunwear runs mall stores selling surfwear, shoes and hip hop clothes.
Foothill Ranch-based Wet Seal Inc., which runs clothing stores for girls and young women, saw a profit of $6.8 million for the quarter ended Aug. 4, up 54% from a year earlier. The profit was slightly ahead of Wall Street expectations. Sales were $143.3 million, up 10% and in line with estimates. The company warned about results for the current quarter, offering a forecast below what Wall Street had expected. Sales at stores open at least a year could be flat to down 3% for the quarter, Wet Seal said. Profits could be as much as $9.6 million, below Wall Street’s expected $10.5 million.
