Other items of interest Orange County Business Journal
FINANCE
Newport Beach-based Pacific Investment Management Co. launched the PIMCO Credit Absolute Return Fund, the latest in its push into the exchange-traded funds. Portfolio Manager Mark Kiesel, writing on Pimco’s website, described the Credit Absolute Return fund as a way to allow hedging strategies “for investors who want exposure to credit with greater flexibility than a traditional benchmark-constrained approach.” Another “hedge-style” fund of Pimco’s, the Unconstrained Bond Fund, has about $17 billion in assets.
LAW
Michael Flynn joined Los Angeles-based Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as a partner practicing corporate law in its Irvine office. Flynn had specialized in mergers and acquisitions and capital market transactions for Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth in Newport Beach, and chaired its corporate and securities practice. He also served as a member of Stradling’s executive committee. Chris Ivey and Mark Skaist, both shareholders at Stradling Yocca, were named to lead the firm’s corporate practice. Flynn is handling the pending sale of the Balboa Bay Club and Newport Beach Country Club on behalf of owner Newport Beach-based International Bay Club Inc. The two properties are being acquired by Chinese investor Winston Chung’s Seven-One Capital Business Inc.
MANUFACTURING
Shares of Newport Beach-based American Vanguard Corp. rose by more than 8% to a market value of about $341 million on a recent court decision that clears it for sales of one of its fungicides. The boost for the maker of agricultural and specialty chemicals came on a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to void a “Stop Sale, Use or Removal Order” issued by the Environmental Protection Agency. The order affected sales of the pentacholoronitrobenzene (PCNB) product line by wholly owned subsidiary Amvac Chemical Corp. The EPA contended that American Vanguard does not identify trace impurities in lists of ingredients for new pesticide or chemical formulations. American Vanguard challenged the regulatory agency’s move, and the court found that the EPA official who signed the order lacked authority to do so. The case has been sent back to the EPA for reconsideration.
REAL ESTATE
The Irvine City Council gave tentative approval to plans to develop about 5,000 homes, shops and office buildings around the Orange County Great Park at the former El Toro Marine base. The approval calls for Aliso Viejo-based developer FivePoint Communities to provide $40.5 million in fees to the city over five years. The agreement is expected to become final in coming weeks, pending a formal agreement with the developer. FivePoints Chief Executive Emile Haddad said the company will “work around the clock” to work out details. The agreement would allow work on streets and utilities to begin by the end of the year. The first homes could be for sale as early as 2013, with the full project expected to take about 10 years. The vote for approval split the Irvine City Council (see OC Insider, page 3).
OTHER NEWS
Spending on the grand opening party for John Wayne Airport’s new Terminal C will be limited to $25,000 from the airport’s budget, a cut from $50,000 initially planned for the Nov. 14 event. Orange County Supervisor Shawn Nelson raised objections to a $50,000 budget for the party, and his colleagues voted to cut spending and instruct airport staff to seek sponsorships to offset as much of the cost as possible. Spending on grand openings for similar projects in San Francisco and San Jose have ranged from $500,000 to $1 million. Orange County spent $300,000 for the grand opening of John Wayne’s existing terminal in 1990.
Authorities have arrested two suspects in connection with the 2010 disappearance and presumed murder of Laguna Beach businessman Christopher Ryan Smith. Orange County Sheriff’s Department investigators took Edward Younghoon Shin into custody on Aug. 28. They arrested Kenny Roy Kraft on Aug. 30. Shin was Smith’s partner in advertising agency 800xchange. Investigators believe the two had a falling out, and Smith expected Shin to buy him out for $1 million at a meeting in their San Juan Capistrano office. Kraft was a personal assistant to Shin, and investigators contend he helped Shin dispose of Smith’s body and vehicle.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
UP: The outlook on the economy and employment in Orange County and the rest of Southern California, according to the California State University, Fullerton’s Southern California Leading Economic Indicator, which rose .76% to 102.32 in the second quarter. It was the seventh-straight quarterly increase. The second-quarter results followed a first-quarter increase of 1.29%. The increase indicates the economy and employment should grow enough to avoid a return to recession over the next six months, according to CSUF economists.
UP: The trend on bankruptcies in Orange County in July, when filings by individuals and businesses fell by 17.5% compared to 2010, the first year-over-year decline for the month since 2006. The county saw 1,414 bankruptcy filings. The decline was tempered somewhat by the possibility that it was driven in large part by banks slowing down on home foreclosures, which tend to trigger bankruptcy filings.
