Stories in this week’s Orange County Business Journal
TOP STORIES
Fullerton’s City Council voted to reconsider last year’s denial of plans by Chevron Corp.’s Pacific Coast Homes for the 760-home Coyote Hills project on a former oil site in the city’s north. Chevron sued the city after the vote. The company has agreed to drop the lawsuit if the decision is reversed. City approvals that come with terms Chevron is unwilling to accept would void the settlement. The City Council is expected to consider a final proposal next month.
Irvine’s Solarflare Communications Inc. reportedly is in talks to sell all or parts of its business to Santa Clara chipmaker Marvell Technology Group Ltd. Solarflare is one of the county’s best-funded chip startups, with more than $200 million in venture funding since starting in 2001. It makes networking chips and circuit boards that help bridge old networks with new ones. The company has yearly sales of about $10 million and expects to be profitable this year. Marvell makes chips for data storage and networking and had a recent market value of $10 billion. Representatives from Solarflare and Marvell declined to comment on the speculation.
Record sales in 2010 lifted Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. into the ranks of the world’s top 10 chipmakers. Broadcom was ranked No. 10 by Stamford, Conn.-based market researcher Gartner Inc., joining big names such as Intel Corp., Samsung Electronics Co., Toshiba Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc. Broadcom saw demand increase for its chips for tablet computers, smartphones, set-top boxes, broadband modems, networking gear and other products last year. Acquisitions also boosted Broadcom’s revenue, which rose 52% from a year earlier to $6.8 billion.
FINANCE
Bill Gross, cofounder and co-chief investment officer of Newport Beach’s Pacific Investment Management Co., will actively manage his first exchange-traded fund. Pimco’s Total Return ETF is a version of the company’s Pimco Total Return Fund—the world’s largest mutual fund. It will trade on exchanges like a stock. Gross has been known as the “bond king,” and some experts view his role in the new ETF as a turning point for the relatively new funds. Pimco manages $1.2 trillion in investments.
HEALTHCARE
Tustin-based Pacific Health Corp. plans to sell Anaheim General Hospital, which saw Chief Executive Tom Salerno resign last week. Salerno oversaw the hospital’s recertification for Medicare and Medicaid treatments and reimbursements, which had been suspended by federal officials over patient-safety violations. Pacific Health said 142-bed Anaheim General is losing money and is a drain on its other properties, which range from nursing homes to hospitals.
REAL ESTATE
Newport Beach-based luxury real estate agent John McMonigle filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, according to court records. His McMonigle Group Inc., one of the county’s top-selling brokerages for high-end homes, didn’t file for bankruptcy and is expected to continue operations. The personal bankruptcy filing came about a week after McMonigle’s wife, Robin McMonigle, filed for divorce, according to Orange County Superior Court records. In August, the Business Journal reported on construction being halted at Villa del Lago, a 12.5-acre estate being built by McMonigle in Newport Coast, because of loan issues. The estate has a $37 million price tag, down from an early $57 million asking price.
Newport Beach-based Irvine Company cut about 75 jobs in a restructuring, with most of the positions trimmed in human resources, accounting and finance at its headquarters. Company officials attributed the cuts to “challenges in the broader U.S. and California economies (that) have led to prolonged recession in the real estate market.” The Business Journal estimates that Irvine Co. employs about 2,700 people in Orange County.
RESTAURANT
A class action lawsuit against Irvine-based Taco Bell Corp. over beef used by the Mexican fast food chain has been voluntarily dropped by the Alabama law firm Beasley, Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles PC. Taco Bell, part of Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands Inc., did not offer any financial settlement or agree to any changes to its menu items or advertising, the company said.
FINANCE
The parent of Costa Mesa’s Pacific Mercantile Bank saw a big jump in first-quarter profits as it di not have to set aside any more money to guard against loans going bad. Pacific Mercantile, the largest bank based in the county, reported a profit of $1.7 million for the quarter, versus a profit of $126,000 a year earlier. It was a shift for the bank, which has wrestled with bad loans and regulatory scrutiny.
MANUFACTURING
Fujitsu Frontech North America said it is moving manufacturing from Foothill Ranch to Plattsburgh, N.Y. The company, which makes cash register terminals, self-checkout systems and others, is consolidating its manufacturing and distribution operations there.
