Other items of interest Orange County Business Journal
ECONOMY
Orange County’s unemployment fell last month as the pool of individuals looking for work apparently shrank while different sectors saw a mix of drops and gains in employment. The jobless rate fell to 9% from 9.3% in July and 9.8% a year ago, according to the state Employment Develop-ment Department. The rate fell even as the county lost 4,600 jobs in August, with non-farm employment at 1.36 million. The numbers showed improvements from a year ago. The county added 11,700 jobs compared with August 2010.
FINANCE
Newport Beach-based distressed-debt specialist Sabal Financial Group LP acquired a $158 million portfolio of performing and nonperforming commercial loans of the failed FirsTier Bank of Louisville, Colo. Sabal Financial manages a portfolio of assets of nearly $3 billion.
Irvine-based subprime auto lender Consumer Portfolio Services Inc. purchased a $237 million portfolio of automobile loans from Fireside Bank, a subsidiary of Chicago-based insurance holding company Kemper Corp. Consumer Portfolio Services has assets of $742.9 million and a market value of about $20.6 million.
REAL ESTATE
A federal bankruptcy court cleared the way for about 400 creditors of bankrupt Crystal Cathedral Ministries to move to vote on a plan that calls for the sale of its 40-acre campus and buildings in Garden Grove. Bidders include the Roman Catholic Diocese or Orange, which has offered $53 million in cash; Chapman University in Orange, at $46 million with a provision to allow the ministry to lease back some of the buildings, and an option for a possible buy-back; My Father’s House International Church in Norco, which has offered $50 million with few details on financing; and Oklahoma City-based arts-and-crafts retailer Hobby Lobby, at $47.5 million with lease-back and buy-back provisions. Newport Beach-based developer Greenlaw Partners, which made the first offer at $46 million in May, is no longer listed as a bidder, according to the bankruptcy court. The creditors have until Oct. 24 to vote. A final decision will have to be approved by the bankruptcy court.
Newport Beach-based homebuilder William Lyon Homes met a Sept. 14 deadline to make a delinquent loan payment, staving off the possibility of defaulting on a note with nearly $78 million of outstanding principal. The builder said last month it didn’t make a $2.9 million semi-annual payment tied to a 7.5% senior note that was due Aug. 15, raising some eyebrows about the financial health of the company, which still is dealing with the down real estate market. The notes were part of $150 million raised by William Lyon Homes in early 2004. Of the initial $150 million, $77.9 million remained outstanding as of June 30. The builder said last month that it planned to take advantage of a 30-day grace period that ran until Sept. 14. The iconic builder was taken private in 2006, near the peak of the housing boom. The company still reports financial results for its bondholders.
RETAIL
The Block at Orange mall has been renamed Outlets at Orange by The Mills, a subsidiary of Indianapolis-based owner Simon Property Group. The name change is reflected on the retail center’s website and will be added to signs, brochures and other promotional materials over the next 30 days.
TECHNOLOGY
Irvine-based job search firm CyberCoders Inc. expanded to a 32,000-square foot office in a shift of its headquarters to a building on Irvine Center Drive, where it plans to add 20 employees in the next several months. CyberCoders maintains a network of 11 million job seekers and employs about 100 in Orange County and 160 altogether. It also moved its Los Angeles office, taking 10,000 square feet.
EDUCATION
Milton Gordon said he will step down as president of California State University, Fullerton, after 21 years in the post. The 76-year-old said he’ll retire upon the appointment of a successor. Gordon’s tenure saw enrollment at the college grow from about 26,000 to more than 36,000, and the addition of a number of new buildings, and the advent of satellite campuses in Santa Ana and Garden Grove, and a South County branch now located in Irvine.
OTHER NEWS
San Diego State University has opened the Center for Surf Research. The school bills it as the first academic research center focused on the business and culture of the $7.1 billion yearly market for equipment and apparel inspired by the sport.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
MIXED: The housing market in Orange County in August. Sales rose 9.5% from a year earlier and 13.2% from the prior month, according to DataQuick Information Systems. The median price fell 4.5% from a year earlier and 4% from the prior month. There were 2,780 sales in August, the highest monthly total since a temporary program of tax breaks for home buyers ended late last year. The median price of $420,000 in August was the lowest here in six months.
