This past week’s news from www.ocbj.com and other sources
ECONOMIC INDICATOR
Mixed: Chapman University’s Orange County Composite Index for local manufacturing, which is at 61.2 for the fourth quarter, was down slightly from the third quarter but well above the 34.2 recession low hit in early 2009.
TOP STORIES
Irvine-based Microsemi Corp. struck a deal to buy Mountain View’s Actel Corp. for $430 million. The move is expected to bolster Microsemi’s business selling chips for security, defense, aerospace and other uses. The deal is Microsemi’s third in recent months and is projected to bring an additional $18 million to $23 million in profits by the end of 2011 (see story page 3).
The San Juan Capistrano City Council gave the preliminary OK to plans for a 124-room hotel with stores and a restaurant at Ortega Highway and El Camino Real. Final approval could come Oct. 19. Gretchen Stroscher Thomson plans to develop the site, which has been owned by her family for more than 100 years. City officials said the hotel could bring $360,000 in bed taxes in the first year of business. Thomson said she hopes to complete the project by 2012.
Cypress-based Manhattan Beachwear LLC bought Los Angeles-based Apparel Ventures for undisclosed terms. Both companies make women’s swimsuits under their own labels and licenses from other brands. Allan Colvin, chief executive of Manhattan Beachwear, is set to lead the combined company. Cleveland-based Linsalata Capital Partners Inc. acquired a majority of Manhattan Beachwear earlier this year and said it was looking to take the company beyond its $65 million in yearly sales with acquisitions.
TECHNOLOGY
Aliso Viejo-based networking electronics maker QLogic Corp. upped its profit forecast for the recently ended quarter to $34.9 to $36 million, up from an earlier forecast of $31.6 million to $34.9 million. The company attributed the improved outlook to stronger sales and lower expenses. QLogic expects sales of $146 million to $147 million, up 2% to 3% from the prior quarter and at the high end of an earlier forecast.
Irvine-based Epicor Software Corp. projected third-quarter profits at the high end of its forecast of $8.2 million to $9.5 million, based on strong sales of its Epicor 9 suite of business software. Epicor boosted its revenue projection slightly, to $109 million to $111 million. It’s the second time since July that Epicor has boosted its third-quarter outlook.
REAL ESTATE
Shares of Santa Ana-based title insurer First American Financial Corp. slipped last week amid investor concerns about “robo-signers”—officials at mortgage lenders or special servicers who signed off on large amounts of home foreclosure documents in a short amount of time. Some of the documents have been found to have errors, raising the prospect of legal action and implications for title insurers, which write policies protecting homeowners against competing ownership claims.
HEALTHCARE
A federal judge approved a settlement by Irvine-based Allergan Inc., in which it is set to pay $600 million and pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge, to settle a government probe of its marketing practices for flagship drug Botox.
RETAIL
Foothill Ranch-based retailer Wet Seal Inc. reported a smaller than expected decline in September same-store sales amid a surprisingly strong back-to-school shopping season. Sales at Wet Seal stores open at least a year declined 0.7% from a year earlier, beating analysts’ expectations of a 2.3% drop. The 512-store retailer posted a 2% increase in overall sales to $51.2 million for September. Wet Seal said it expects profits of $3 million, near the high end of its estimate, for the three months through October.
Home Depot Inc. is in talks to open a 135,000-square-foot home improvement store at a former industrial site in Buena Park. It would be the 24th store in the county for Home Depot.
OTHER NEWS
A federal court approved a framework for Irvine-based Claim Jumper Restaurants LLC’s bankruptcy claim. Los Angeles-based Private Capital Partners has emerged as a key bidder for the company’s assets, with an initial offer of $52.8 million. Competing bids are due by Oct. 26.
Irvine-based WebVisible Inc., which helps businesses buy and target online ads, named NetZero Inc. cofounder Ron Burr as chief executive after he spent the past year as chief operating officer. WebVisible founder Kirsten Mangers stepped down as chief executive but will remain on the board.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim owner Arte Moreno said he is committed to sign- ing new players to fill talent gaps that brought the baseball team’s first losing season in years. “We know where we have to go to market,” Moreno told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s going to cost money, but our fans need to know we’re committed to winning.”
