This past week’s news from www.ocbj.com and other sources
TOP STORIES
Foothill Ranch-based mall retailer Wet Seal Inc. tapped American Eagle Outfitters Inc. executive Susan P. McGalla as chief executive. She starts this week after 14 years at American Eagle., most recently as president and chief merchandising officer. Wet Seal’s dominant Wet Seal chain sells clothes for teen girls while its Arden B. chain sells clothes for young women. The hiring ends a search that started six months ago when outgoing chief Ed Thomas said he wouldn’t renew his contract.
TECHNOLOGY
Irvine-based chipmaker Broadcom Corp. could be looking to buy Taiwan’s Ralink Technology Corp., according to reports touched off by Asian technology website Digitimes.com. Ralink is a maker of Wi-Fi chips for a variety of consumer electronics, including routers, laptops, Blu-ray players and other devices. It’s publicly traded in Taiwan. Digitimes said Broadcom could offer roughly $800 million for Ralink. Ralink denied Broadcom was interested in a deal, according to a report in Bloomberg Businessweek. Broadcom declined to comment.
MANUFACTURING
Anaheim-based Electrorack Products Co. has been acquired by Legrand North America in West Hartford, Conn., part of France’s Legrand SA. Electrorack specializes in racks and casings for routers, computers and other networking gear. The company, which does not disclose revenue, has been in operation for 55 years. Legrand North America specializes in data rooms and other services for commercial buildings with an estimated $5 billion in annual revenue.
HEALTHCARE
Irvine-based heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences Corp. could use its $360 million in cash for buying companies and doesn’t plan on becoming an acquisition itself, according to Chief Executive Michael Mussallem. The “first use” for the company’s cash will be acquiring technology or companies working on heart valves and related technologies, Mussallem told Bloomberg. Edwards is riding high on Sapien, a replacement heart valve that is sold in Europe and is in a major U.S. clinical trial. Edwards expects to debut Sapien in the U.S. by late 2011 and is putting money into the launch. The valve has prompted speculation that Edwards could be an acquisition target for bigger medical device makers.
Newport Beach-based healthcare real estate investor Nationwide Health Properties Inc. bought six nursing home buildings in New York state for $100 million. Buffalo-based McGuire Group sold the buildings and plans to lease them back. Nationwide owns various healthcare properties, including more than 200 nursing homes for sick or injured patients (see story, page 5).
REAL ESTATE
Aliso Viejo-based Sunstone Hotel Investors Inc. is buying 62% of a Times Square hotel and plans to spend $1 billion buying other hotels this year. Sunstone, which owns all or part of 32 hotels across the country, is buying the rest of the 460-room Doubletree Guest Suites Times Square for $37.5 million. The deal follows an executive shakeup in December that saw former chief executive Art Buser leave because of what Sunstone said was a lack of buying on his watch.
APPAREL
Irvine-based Lost Enterprises is resuming design and production of its clothes, which had been handled by Irvine’s La Jolla Group Inc., a marketer of various action sports clothing brands under licensing deals. Lost said it will resume design and production of apparel later this year in a bid to better align the clothing with its surfboard and skateboard brands. La Jolla Group characterized the split as part of a strategy to focus on other brands in its stable, including O’Neill and Rusty, while “cultivating other areas of strong growth.”
SPORTS
Broadcom Corp. cofounder Henry Samueli, who owns the Anaheim Ducks hockey team, is trying to bring basketball’s Sacramento Kings to Honda Center, according to reports. Samueli reportedly offered the Kings a $100 million loan to help spur a move, according to reports. The Kings are in play amid financial issues with the Maloof family, which owns the team. A loan from Samueli would be used to help the Maloofs shore up finances and pay the National Basketball Association, the Los Angeles Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers fees for rights to play in Southern California. The Maloofs would retain ownership of the team. Samueli would gain a stake if they defaulted on the loan.
OTHER NEWS
The terms of a house-arrest detention for a convicted bank robber accused of stealing the identity—and a $1.4 million tax refund—of Irvine Company Chairman Donald Bren have been altered with a trial pending. Moundir Kamil will be allowed out of his house from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. “so that he may obtain information which could be helpful to his case,” according to court records. Kamil is accused of setting up an account at the Cerritos branch of East West Bank under Bren’s name. The bizarre story, first reported in the Business Journal, got national attention.
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
Up: The outlook for Orange County’s manufacturing sector, which is expected to add jobs in the quarter, according to a Chapman University index. The index is at 61.2, the same as in the fourth quarter. Any reading above 50 indicates employers could add jobs.
Down: New business formations with local fictitious name filings falling to 1,628 in December, down by 37% from a year earlier and nearly 40% from November.
