Praise for Allergan Ongoing; El-Erian’s OCSA Lunch Tab

Belated validation has been pouring in lately for the job that the leadership of erstwhile Allergan Inc. did in fending off the raiding team of hedge funder Bill Ackman and Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The Wall Street Journal went so far as to call the recent crash of Valeant “vindication” … Another nod came during the Forum for Corporate Directors 2016 Director of the Year Awards at the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel last week, when Michael Gallagher, was honored under the heading of “Enhancement of Economic Value.” The one-time CEO of Playtex Products Inc. was lead independent director of Allergan during the hostile takeover attempt and played a key role in a defense that ultimately landed a price of $72.5 billion from Actavis, now called Allergan PLC—a huge premium any way you cut it … Gallagher cut it one other way from the podium, noting that the deal the raiders proposed involved a lot of the same Valeant stock that has plummeted to the point where their best offer would be worth around $21 billion based on current valuations … Others honored at the FCD event: local VCer extraordinaire Bill Link; Northrup Grumman Chairman Emeritus Ronald Sugar; Pepperdine University Vice Chancellor Janet Kerr; and retired Starbucks CEO Orin Smith … There was about as much executive timber for the March 19 gala opener of the Musco Center for the Arts at Chapman U in Orange. The talent was top-notch: Placido Domingo, Milena Kitic and Deborah Voigt led a cast of gorgeous voices. The acoustics were fantastic—world-renowned Yasuhisa Toyota earned his keep. And Paul and Marybelle Musco covered the bases, hosting Bishop Kevin Vann and Abbott Eugene Hayes of St. Michael’s Abbey in their box … Another note from the Musco: No one does blue at a black-tie affair like Jim Mazzo, who sported a mohair number the Insider will call Cobalt Dusk from Austin Taylor’s Ron Viggiano. … The big night drew plenty of folks from various parts of the local music scene, too, including the Segerstrom Center’s Terry Dwyre; John Forsyte of the Pacific Symphony, a tenant of the Segerstrom and now one of the Musco Center’s “first artistic affiliates;” Irv Chase, whose Yost Theater in downtown Santa Ana offers a platform for very different sorts of entertainment vibes; and Ralph Opacic of the Orange County School of the Arts—also a big beneficiary of the Musco family’s generosity … A suggestion for a future booking at the Musco: the quartet of Alisa Melendez, Hayley Ayers, Anika Braganza and Emi Meron, who brought the house down with a rendition of “Ain’t No Other Man” during OCSA’s annual gala on March 12. The event raised more than $900,000 for the Santa Ana charter school … Kevin Tiber, COO of Farmers & Merchants Bank, put an exclamation point on the Long-Beach based institution’s strong OC ties, accounting for $1,750 of OCSA’s total with a winning silent-auction bid for lunch with Allianz exec Mohamed El-Erian … Impressive timing and targeting by S.F.-based Instacart, an app-driven grocery delivery service that’s holding onto its “unicorn” status and expected to enter the OC market in a matter of days. The local splash follows word that it’s signed H Mart as a retail affiliate and will offer goods from the fast-growing, New Jersey-based Asian goods specialist in select zip codes here and in L.A., Houston, Atlanta and suburbs around Chicago and Washington, D.C.