EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORY
The Navy said it has no plans to turn the former El Toro Marine base over to the city of Los Angeles, which would like to remake the site into a commercial airport. Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) said the federal Department of Transportation, which Los Angeles has petitioned in its bid for the base, told him it would be up to the Navy to decide what to do with it. The Navy has set land auctions for the fall, with plans calling for 3,700 acres of commercial, residential and other development at the former base. Meanwhile, 14 North County cities and two supervisors sent letters of support for Los Angeles’ airport idea to federal transportation officials.
TECHNOLOGY
Fremont-based ESS Technology Inc. said it plans to buy Newport Beach-based Pictos Technologies Inc. for $27 million in cash. Privately held Pictos, a maker of digital imaging chips, came out of Newport Beach-based Conexant Systems Inc. last year. Conexant is set to get $16 million from the deal … Irvine-based Exult Inc. said it bought the global outsourcing unit of Price-waterhouseCoopers for $17 million. Exult said the deal should boost its revenue by $25 million a year and be earnings positive in 2004. About 500 workers will join Exult as part of the deal … The Institute of Electrical Electronics Engineers OK’d a standard for faster wireless network technology called 802.11g. The standard gives a boost to communications chipmaker Broadcom Corp., Irvine, which already has been selling chips based on the faster standard, giving it a head start on rivals Texas Instruments Inc. and Intel Corp. … Irvine-based Rainbow Technologies Inc. said it opened a Hong Kong headquarters for its Asia Pacific operations … Garden Grove-based DPAC Technologies Corp. signed a licensing deal with San Diego-based DigiVision Inc. for a chip design used in infrared imaging systems in Navy F-18 Fighter planes … Yorba Linda-based netGuru Inc. said its fourth-quarter operating loss narrowed to $1.4 million, versus a loss of $3.7 million a year ago, on an 18% decline in revenue to $4.8 million.
HEALTHCARE
Costa Mesa-based Ribapharm Inc. said its board of directors will make a recommendation by June 23 on ICN Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s offer to buy the 20% of the drug maker it doesn’t own for $5.60 a share. ICN, also based in Costa Mesa, sold off 20% of Ribapharm last year … The University of California, Irvine, hired noted geneticist Wen-Hwa Lee from the University of Texas. UCI hopes Lee attracts research funds to the medical school, which stood No. 52 of 69 schools in the most recent U.S. News and World report rankings … Lake Forest-based Apria Healthcare Group Inc. said it is opening the nominating process for its board of directors to shareholders with at least 5% of its stock. The shareholders, who also must have held Apria stock for at least two years, can nominate up to two candidates per election … Prometheus Assisted Living, a unit of France’s Lazard LLC, said it plans to combine its Costa Mesa-based ARV Assisted Living Inc. subsidiary with its Louisville-based Atria Inc. unit. The new unit will take the Atria name but be based in Costa Mesa. Prometheus bought ARV in April for $68.1 million.
REAL ESTATE
Irvine-based subprime mortgage lender New Century Corp. reaffirmed its 2003 net income guidance of $8.75 to $9.25 a share. Meanwhile, the company said Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Cole, President Brad Morrice and Chief Financial Officer Ed Gotschall each sold 250,000 shares, which were trading at 46 at recent check. Patrick Flanagan, executive vice president, sold 53,157 shares. The executives said they sold shares for diversification and don’t plan to sell more this year.
FINANCE
Irvine-based Westcorp filed to sell 4.5 million shares of common stock in a secondary offering. Ernest Rady, Westcorp’s chief executive, and affiliates said they plan to buy 700,000 shares in the offering.
GOVERNMENT
Midwest Airlines could be a second new airline to fly out of John Wayne Airport. ATA Airlines had planned to ask for permission for airport slots but decided not to after learning it couldn’t park its planes overnight. Another carrier, Frontier Airlines, is set to begin flying out of John Wayne Aug. 31 if it gets county OK … Supervisors approved $700,000 for the county’s troubled Planning Department, which said it needs the funds to inspect 4,000 outstanding building permits. The funds will be released to the department only if planning officials prove they’re needed … The Orange County Transportation Authority OK’d a $182 million plan to widen the Garden Grove (22) Freeway. Work is set to be finished by 2007. Meanwhile, $9.6 million was approved to study possible routes for the CenterLine light-rail project, which recently was nixed as proposed by Irvine voters … Irvine-based Transportation Corridor Agencies OK’d $42 million in improvements to the San Joaquin Hills and Foothill/Eastern toll roads next year.
WHAT ELSE IS NEWS
Boeing Co. and three former workers at its Delta rocket operations in Huntington Beach were sued by Lockheed Martin Corp., which alleges Boeing used sensitive and internal Lockheed data to help it win government contracts … Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc. said it plans to buy Fremont-based Career Choices Inc. for $56 million. Corinthian gets 10 schools in California, Washington and Oregon under the Sequoia Institute, Ashmead College and Eton Technical Institute names as part of the deal, which is expected to close by the end of September. Meanwhile, Corinthian said it is buying East Coast Aero Tech LLC for $2.9 million. East Coast Aero has one campus in Bedford, Mass. … Aliso Viejo-based Fluor Corp. said it won a $135 million contract to build a 9.2-mile, four-lane toll road in San Diego near the Otay Mesa entry from Mexico. Completion is set for 2006.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Mixed: Orange County’s hotel occupancy rate, which hit 68.4% in April, down from 69.6% a year ago, but up from 67.3% in March.
