EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Compiled by Mike Mason
TOP STORY
Orange County surpassed the San Francisco Bay area as the nation’s most costly housing market in the second quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors. OC’s median home price was $655,300, versus $647,300 for the Bay area The National Football League is talking with the city of Anaheim about building a stadium complex in Anaheim to bring a professional team back to OC in 2008. The talks, called “exploratory, but substantive,” focus on a site next to Angel Stadium of Anaheim Irvine-based Newport Corp., a maker of chip making gear, plans to close two factories and lay off as many as 100 of its 2,100 workers. The cuts aren’t expected to affect the company’s 440-person staff here. Newport is closing plants in Chandler, Ariz., and Northern California’s Oroville. Newport said it could bring jobs here as part of the move, boosting its local workforce to 500. The company is combining its operations with those of Spectra-Physics, a laser maker that Newport bought from Thermo Electron Corp. in July for about $300 million.
TECHNOLOGY
Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. was tapped by Acer Inc. to provide chips for Bluetooth wireless networking in 13 of its portable computers. Terms weren’t disclosed Gateway Inc., which is moving from Poway to Irvine in September, struck a deal to sell its portable and desktop computers and monitors through Micro Center and its 20 electronics stores Aliso Viejo-based Smith Micro Software Inc. unveiled a product that allows wireless networking users to easily search for the strongest wireless access point in public places.
Orange-based Sybron Dental Specialties Inc. is buying Toronto’s Innova LifeSciences Corp., a dental-implant maker for $44 million cash Irvine drug maker Allergan Inc. sued rival Alcon Inc. in federal court in Delaware over patents relating to a glaucoma drug. Alcon has sought permission to sell eye drops that would violate the patents, Allergan charged … Irvine-based Cardiac Science Inc. said it won a $3 million deal with Britain’s Department of Health to be its sole supplier of automated heart defibrillators. The deal was won under a public program in Britain designed to put defibrillators in 2,000 ambulances and public areas Shareholders of San Clemente-based Biolase Technology Inc. filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the company, alleging some executives violated federal securities laws by omitting details about Biolase’s financial performance.
Newport Beach-based The Koll Company started building a $27 million business park at the Irvine Spectrum. Plans call for 27 small buildings for sale to business owners REEF America LLC bought the five-building, 483,000-square-foot Summit Office Campus at Aliso Viejo for undisclosed terms from the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio Michael Harrah’s Caribou Industries Inc. sold three Santa Ana office buildings for $58 million to Birtcher Anderson Realty of Laguna Niguel Health Care Property Investors Inc., which moved from Newport Beach to Long Beach earlier this year, settled an age-discrimination suit brought by former chief financial officer James G. Reynolds. The company will pay $900,000 with insurance covering another $750,000. Reynolds, who was demoted in January to executive vice president, filed a complaint seeking unspecified damages before resigning.
Auto financier United PanAm Financial Corp. of Newport Beach told investors it would restate two years of earnings because it failed to adequately account for loan losses. The restatement covers 2002, 2003 and the first quarter of this year. United PanAm also sold the deposits of its thrift, the largest Hispanic-controlled savings association in the state.
Kmart Holding Corp. plans to sell 18 stores,including ones in Huntington Beach and Orange,to Home Depot Inc. South African gas and oil company Sasol Ltd. chose Aliso Viejo’s Fluor Corp. to provide project management, engineering, procurement and construction services at a plant in South Africa. The deal is valued at $176 million Roxy, the women’s clothing arm of Quiksilver Inc. in Huntington Beach, named Mary Kwan as senior vice president of merchandising and design. She replaces Carol Christopher, who became Quiksilver’s U.S. retail president Costa Mesa-based Ceradyne Inc. said it won a new contract to supply body armor to U.S. troops, pushing its shares up 15% on the news. The company said the deal order could be worth as much as $461 million during the three-year life of the contract. Separately, Ceradyne completed its buy of Germany’s ESK Ceramics GMBH for $142 million including debt New York clothier Warnaco Group said it completed its buy of Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp. in Irvine for $40 million. Jaguar, part of Ford Motor Co.’s Irvine-based Premier Automotive Group, may announce as early as this week that it intends to cut production amid slack demand for its luxury cars. Jaguar’s U.S. sales dove almost 25% in July and are down 7% for the year … The Air Force is nearing completion on its review of Boeing Co.’s attempts to improve its ethics. The Air Force has had a ban on Boeing after it illegally obtained more than 25,000 documents from rival Lockheed Martin Corp. during bidding for a 1998 contract. The Air Force could not say with certainty when the ban would end … Anaheim-based Bridgford Foods Corp. lost $623,000 in its fiscal third quarter ended July 9, compared with net income of $412,000 a year earlier. The company blamed the loss on slow sales and rising prices for commodities, fuel, storage rents and higher pension expenses and workers’ compensation costs Investors in troubled teen clothier Wet Seal Inc., based in Foothill Ranch, filed a class action lawsuit last week, alleging top executives failed to give shareholders a realistic forecast about the company’s future.
