TOP STORY
Portions of Louisiana and Mississippi were devasted by Hurricane Katrina. The storm caused levees to break, submerging historic New Orleans and crippling Biloxi, Miss., and many other cities. Hundreds, if not thousands, are expected to be among the dead. More than 30,000 National Guard troops were called to the area. The hurricane caused eight U.S. oil refineries to shut down and another 12 to cut back production, according to the American Petroleum Institute. (See page 3 for coverage of the local impact, page 59 for an editorial.)
TECHNOLOGY
Aliso Viejo-based QLogic Corp. agreed to sell its struggling disk drive controller business for $225 million to Sunnyvale-based Marvell Technology Group Ltd. The sale comes after the division dragged down QLogic’s results in the past couple of quarters Irvine-based Epicor Software Corp. won a software and services pact with South Carolina Federal Credit Union, which has 140,000 members. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed Fremont-based NextWeb Inc. said it bought Huntington Beach-based Internet service provider 1st Universe LP for undisclosed terms Irvine-based Comarco Inc. landed contracts worth $4.3 million to upgrade road-side call boxes in Southern California. The maker of wireless network testing gear and mobile power adapters is set to transform 2,500 analog call box systems to digital wireless technology in Orange, Riverside and Santa Barbara counties.
HEALTHCARE
The combination of Irvine-based Cardiac Science Inc. and Bothell, Wash.-based Quinton Cardiology Systems Inc. closed. The deal was announced in February and was approved by shareholders last week. The combined company’s headquarters is set to move to Bothell, a Seattle suburb.
REAL ESTATE
Birtcher Development & Investment Co. bought the former Costa Mesa regional headquarters of State Farm Insurance Cos. for $29 million. Irvine-based Birtcher Development plans 300,000 square feet of home furnishings showroom space off the San Diego (I-405) Freeway near an Ikea store. Its proposed eight-building, $90-million South Coast Home Furnishings Centre should include room for 30 showrooms, shops and eateries … GMAC Institutional Advisors and a partner are paying $224 million for the Bella Terra Shopping Center in Huntington Beach, which is undergoing a major facelift. GMAC, part of General Motors Corp., is working with San Jose’s DJM Capital Partners Inc. on the deal. Developer J.H. Snyder Co. has been remodeling the 777,000-square-foot center, formerly known as Huntington Beach Mall.
FINANCE
CommerceWest Bank said it closed a $4.8 million stock sale and plans to use the proceeds to fund growth. Los Angeles-based investment bank Seidler Cos. led the offering of 385,000 shares at $13 each. Seidler has an option to buy up to 57,750 more shares of the Irvine-based business bank.
GOVERNMENT
Dionel Aviles, undersecretary of the Navy, transferred the former El Toro Marine base land to Lennar Corp., which paid about $650 million for 3,700 acres set for residential, commercial and park land development. The ceremony included the last changing of the guard at the base Huntington Beach’s former mayor, Pam Houchen, was among several people who agreed to plead guilty in a condo conversion scam that included forged documents. They face jail sentences and fines in the scheme, which allegedly netted Houchen $500,000 in profit Garden Grove’s City Council voted to explore a project that would bring a resort and Indian casino to Harbor Boulevard. The city is looking to fix a projected $6.7 million deficit in 2007-08.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Macy’s stores at Fashion Island and Westminster Mall will shutter as part of Federated Department Stores Inc.’s buy of May Department Stores Co. earlier this year. Federated previously said it planned to close a Macy’s store at The Shops at Mission Viejo and a Robinsons-May store at Westfield Shoppingtown Mainplace in Santa Ana to settle antitrust concerns Irvine-based Elpac Electronics Inc., a maker of power supplies and other electronics, has been acquired by Chicago’s International Components Corp. for undisclosed terms. Elpac counts an estimated $20 million in yearly revenue and about 200 employees Foothill Ranch-based retailer Wet Seal Inc. said its second-quarter sales were up nearly 20% from a year earlier to $126.3 million. The retailer cited a jump in same-store sales at Wet Seal and Arden B. chains, reversing a sales drop a year earlier. Wet Seal reported an operating loss of $10.4 million, down from $67 million a year ago … Costa Mesa-based Experian Information Solutions Inc. said it bought Carmel, Ind.-based Baker Hill Corp., a software company. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Baker Hill sells credit origination, portfolio risk management and relationship management software San Clemente-based Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. said it plans to sell about 6.7 million shares in an offering slated to help fund its buy of the Century Plaza Hotel & Spa in Century City. Sunstone’s share of the stock sale is $151 million Foreign automakers with U.S. headquarters in OC reported August sales: Cypress-based Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc., part of Japan’s Mitsubishi Motors Corp., sold 10,945 vehicles, up 2% from the year-ago period; Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America, a unit of South Korean automaker Hyundai Motor Co., said its U.S. sales rose 9% to 42,113 in the period; Irvine-based Kia Motors America, also part of Hyundai, posted a 12.7% increase in August auto sales to 23,820; Irvine’s Mazda North American Operations, a unit of Japan’s Mazda Motor Corp., sold 22,135 autos in August, up nearly 4.3% from a year earlier; and Brea-based American Suzuki Motor Corp., the U.S. arm of Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp., said its August sales were up 15% to 7,216 autos in the month.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Up: The economic outlook for Southern California in the third quarter, with California State University, Fullerton’s leading economic indicator up 0.3%, signaling continued expansion.
