Compiled by Alisha Gomez
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The median price of an Orange County home sold in November was $616,000, according to DataQuick Information Systems,the same as in November 2005. That marks the first time in 9.5 years that local home prices failed to post an annual gain. Sales of homes continued to come in below year-ago levels for the 13th straight month, with 2,475 sold, according to DataQuick, a unit of Canada’s MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates. That’s the slowest November since 1992. November was the fifth straight month that prices dropped since hitting a record of $646,000 in June.
The Irvine Company made its second big apartment buy this year in San Diego, picking up the Torrey Villas Apartments for a reported $172.5 million. The price puts the complex’s 463 apartments at $365,000 apiece. In August, the Irvine Co. paid New York-based ING Clarion Partners $183 million for the 668-unit The Villa Dorado at Mission Valley Apartments. The Irvine Co. has spent more than $800 million on San Diego apartment and office deals this year. Meanwhile, the company was ordered to pay $37.5 million to a San Diego developer. The Irvine Co. said it would appeal the verdict, which came after six years of litigation. Cisterra Partners’ lawsuit accused the Irvine Co. of interfering with the San Diego developer’s planned purchase of land in the city’s Golden Triangle business district.
Emulex Corp. Executive Chairman Paul Folino joined the board of Irvine’s Solarflare Communications Inc., a maker of networking chips and one of the county’s best-funded startups. Folino, who grew Costa Mesa-based Emulex into a major player in electronics for data storage networks, is seen helping Solarflare as its looks to generate more sales. Solarflare has raised about $80 million since 2001.
Aliso Viejo-based Red 5 Studios, the game studio from the team that developed the “World of Warcraft,” said last week it raised $18.5 million in venture funding. The round was led by Benchmark Capital and Sierra Ventures. The money’s set to go toward creating multiplayer games.
Valeant Pharmaceuticals International said last week that it started a fourth-phase clinical trial of hepatitis C drug Infergen with ribavirin for treating patients who didn’t respond to previous treatments. Costa Mesa-based Valeant acquired Infergen in January from InterMune Inc. for $113.5 million. Meanwhile, Valeant and a partner said they are selling rights to a hepatitis B drug to Schering-Plough Corp. The deal, which is expected to close in the first quarter, calls for Schering-Plough to pay $19.2 million to Valeant for the rights to pradefovir. In 2000, Valeant licensed the drug from Metabasis Therapeutics Inc. San Diego-based Metabasis will get $1.8 million from Schering-Plough. Valeant stands to make another $65 million in additional fees from the deal and will receive royalties from Schering-Plough for any product that makes it to market.
Shares of Cooper Cos. fell nearly 10% on news that its quarterly profit fell short of analysts’ expectations because of production and shipping delays and other problems. The Lake Forest-based maker of contact lenses and women’s surgical devices said its quarterly profit was up 55% from a year earlier,still short of expectations. The company also cut its outlook for 2007. Cooper made $14.1 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30. Sales were down 2% from a year earlier to $216 million.
Fullerton-based Beckman Coulter Inc. named Jim Mazzo as a new member of its board of directors. Mazzo, chief executive of Santa Ana-based Advanced Medical Optics Inc., is set to join the board Feb. 14.
Irvine drug maker Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. said last week that it is seeking arbitration in a dispute with its German partner. The dispute with GPC Biotech AG is over a licensing deal for satraplatin, a prostate cancer drug candidate. Spectrum charges GPC excluded it from sublicensing fees from Pharmion GMBH, another German company that works with Spectrum and GPC on the drug. GPC has received $37 million from Pharmion and has a commitment for $22 million more, according to Spectrum.
Surfwear maker Quiksilver Inc. saw a big jump in earnings and sales that topped forecasts for the quarter ended Oct. 28, thanks to Skis Rossignol, which it acquired in late 2005. The Huntington Beach company’s net income for the quarter rose 94% from a year earlier to $65.3 million. Sales rose 22% to $778.4 million, easily topping the average $747.5 million estimate of analysts and Quiksilver’s own projected $745 million to $750 million. Quiksilver also named Heidi Ueberroth to its board of directors. Ueberroth is president of global efforts for the National Basketball Association. She’s also the daughter of Peter Ueberroth, head of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Diedrich Coffee Inc. shareholders last week approved a $13 million sale of up to 40 of its coffeehouses to Starbucks Corp., which could begin converting some Orange County stores by next month. Irvine-based Diedrich Coffee said in September it planned to sell Diedrich Coffee and Coffee People stores to Starbucks for $13.5 million. Franchisees are expected to keep running coffee houses under the brands. Diedrich plans to focus on selling coffee to restaurants, specialty stores and other customers.
