EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Roger Bloom
TOP STORIES
Intersil Corp., Irvine, said it will acquire Elantec Semiconductor Inc., Milpitas, for $1.4 billion and its shares fell 15% to 31.17 on the news (see story on page 3) Consumer Portfolio Services Inc., Irvine, completed its acquisition of MFN Financial Corp. for $104 million; meanwhile, Consumer Portfolio received $100 million in credit to be used to buy and hold automotive receivables The Irvine Company unveiled plans for the 3,600-acre North Sphere area north of the former El Toro base that call for 12,350 homes and 7 million square feet of industrial and commercial space Broadcom Corp. co-chairmen Henry Nicholas and Henry Samueli resigned from the board of the Orange County Performing Arts Center because some other board members are plaintiffs in a shareholder suit against Broadcom (see story on page 1).
ENERGY
The state Attorney General’s Office sued four energy suppliers for $150 million, alleging breach of contract in thousands of transactions from 1998 to 2000 A federal judge dismissed a shareholder suit against Edison International that alleged the company misled investors about losses at its Southern California Edison unit.
TECHNOLOGY
Quest Software Inc., Irvine, acquired BB4 Technologies Inc., Montreal Multek Inc., Irvine, will lay off 212 of its 600 workers Conexant Systems Inc., Newport Beach, took part in a $19.6 million funding round for SiRF Technology Inc., San Jose UBS Warburg lowered its target price for shares of Irvine-based Microsemi Corp. and the stock dropped 17% to 16.81 on the news CMD Technology, Irvine, a unit of Sunnyvale-based Silicon Image Inc., laid off 35 workers Broadcom Corp., Irvine, named George Farinsky, a former chief financial officer of Mattel Inc., to its board to replace the late Myron Eichen A federal appeals court upheld a lower court ruling in favor of DPAC Technologies Corp., Garden Grove, in a patent-infringement suit brought by SimpleTech Inc., Santa Ana.
HEALTHCARE
A second group of dissident shareholders in Costa Mesa-based ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc. threatened to run a slate to oppose management-backed directors in the spring if the company does not proceed with a planned restructuring; separately, ICN asked regulators to rule on the tax status of its planned spinoff of Ribapharm Inc. TriZetto Group Inc., Newport Beach, agreed to a $3.9 million settlement of its suit against bankrupt Maxicare Health Plans Inc.
GOVERNMENT
The Orange County Transportation Authority green-lighted $123 million in freeway improvement projects, most of which will get under way next year; the authority also awarded a $38 million contract to Parsons Brinckerhoff for preliminary engineering work on the CenterLine light rail project John Wayne Airport will raise parking, hangar and aircraft storage fees on April 1 The Irvine Unified School District notified 130 full-time teachers they may not be rehired for the next school year The FCC said it will not force cable Internet access companies to open their networks to rival service providers The city of Irvine and the Irvine Ranch Water District voted to oppose renewal of a federal waiver that allows the OC Sanitation District to discharge into the ocean sewage that has not been treated to meet federal standards.
REAL ESTATE
Rep. Darell Issa, R-Vista, proposed that the Navy swap land at the former El Toro base to a developer in exchange for construction of military housing at Camp Pendleton Kurt F. Strasmann was named executive vice president and managing director of Grubb & Ellis Co.’s OC operation TelePacific Communications, Los Angeles, said it will build a data center in Anaheim.
FINANCE
The Securities and Exchange Comm-ission may allow corporate clients of Arthur Andersen to file unaudited financial reports in the event the accounting firm collapses, Bloomberg News reported; the companies could file amended, audited statements after finding a new auditor South County Bank, Rancho Santa Margarita, hopes to raise $4.55 million in public stock offering.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
CKE Restaurants Inc. completed its acquisition of Santa Barbara Restaurant Group and moved its headquarters from Anaheim to Santa Barbara Berger Small Cap Value Fund sold its 6.1% stake in Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. Earnings for the quarter ended Jan. 31 at Quiksilver Inc., Huntington Beach, beat analysts’ expectations Hundreds of OC janitors and the Service Employees International Union filed suit against Merchant Building Maintenance, alleging the company did not pay overtime or allow breaks required by law A group of Florida farmworkers and local supporters demonstrated in front of Taco Bell Corp. headquarters in Irvine, demanding better wages and working conditions on the farms from which the company buys tomatoes Members of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union demonstrated in front of the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, where they have been without a contract since October The SEC filed a civil suit against two former officers of now-defunct Freedom Surf Inc., Huntington Beach, and a third man, alleging they defrauded investors by falsifying financial statements Eleven businesses were damaged or destroyed in a fire in the Mesa West Building Park in Costa Mesa The roof of the Hannam Super supermarket in La Palma partially collapsed, causing $250,000 in damage.
