EDUCATION
The U.S. Department of Education fined a subsidiary of Santa Ana-based Corinthian Colleges Inc. $29.7 million for alleged misrepresentation of job placement rates in 947 cases by San Francisco-based Heald College. It alleges Heald counted as “placed” graduates doing part-time work on its own campuses; those in full-time work outside their fields of study; students whose jobs began before attending school; and those it had paid companies to hire for short-term work of as few as two days. Heald also improperly classified graduates as unavailable for work, the department said. A Corinthian spokesperson said, “Heald has a well-documented track record of providing quality education and significant value to its students,” and that the education department hadn’t let Corinthian “review, respond and rebut the charges” related to the fine.
HEALTHCARE
Allergan Inc., now a business unit of drugmaker Actavis PLC, will lay off 577 more workers in Irvine, according to a filing with the state Employment Development Department. The layoffs are effective June 4. Allergan, which makes Botox and other drugs, last year announced a companywide reduction of about 1,500 jobs as it fought a hostile takeover bid by Canadian drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and activist investor Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management LP. The company already had cut 371 Irvine jobs in November and 129 in October, plus workers in Goleta and Carlsbad. It’s unknown if the June round is the last of any announced cuts by the combined company, which is scheduled to take on the Allergan name this year.
Nihon Kohden America in Irvine named Wilson Constantine chief executive officer. Nihon manufactures patient-monitoring devices and provides sleep assessment, among other offerings. Constantine joined the company last year as chief operating officer. He replaces Fumio Izumida and previously served as president and chief executive of Monarch Medical Technologies in North Carolina.
INSURANCE
Madison Risk & Insurance Services in Huntington Beach was acquired by Itasca, Ill.-based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. on undisclosed terms. Madison provides retail insurance brokerage services for the healthcare industry. The firm specializes in coverage for physicians, hospitals, health systems and others. It was founded in 1997, and its employees are expected to continue operating from Huntington Beach. James McFarlane, head of Gallagher’s Western retail brokerage operations, will oversee Madison.
RESTAURANTS
Irvine-based American Restaurant Holdings Inc. said it signed an Orange County franchisee for Muscle Maker Grill, the restaurant chain in Colonia, N.J. that an affiliate acquired in January. The franchisee, Orange-based Veejay LLC, plans 10 locations in the next five years, the first expected this year. American Restaurant plans to open two company-owned locations in Irvine this summer, in addition to franchised locations Veejay would open under the deal.
Lake Forest-based Del Taco Holdings Inc. would cut its debt by more than 40% to $139 million if its acquisition by Chicago-based Levy Acquisition Corp. closes as planned in June, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company that would emerge from the acquisition—Del Taco Restaurants Inc.—would seek to trade under the ticker symbol TACO, the filing said. Levy currently trades under the ticker symbol LEVY.
Houston-based LA Crawfish said a franchisee plans to open the chain’s first restaurant in Orange County in Anaheim and that the company is negotiating with a Los Angeles-based restaurant operator for an area development deal to cover the rest of OC and L.A. The chain has six locations open—five in the Houston area and one in Temecula, with five in development.
TECHNOLOGY
Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc. Chief Financial Officer Tom Liguori resigned to pursue other opportunities, the Irvine-based printed circuit board maker said. He was appointed finance chief in 2008 and plans to leave the company in one month. The company said it’s starting a search for his replacement.
