The Santa Ana-based company Grubb & Ellis Co. has announced Thomas P. D’Arcy as the new president and chief executive on Monday. D’Arcy will be joining the commercial real estate brokerage and investor firm by next week.

D’Arcy is heading the Inland Real Estate Corp. as the chairman of the corporation. Inland is a real estate investment trust of $1.5 billion. D’Arcy was associated with the corporation since 2005 as an independent director. D’Arcy also served as a principal in Bayside Realty Partners, which is a private investment and development firm before he joined Grubb & Ellis Co.

Grubb has done a thorough and complete research for finding a suitable CEO and have finally appointed D’Arcy for the position. The company was headed by Irvine Co.’s former executive Gary Hunt on an interim basis since July 2008 Scott Peters, the former chief executive of the company departed.

The necessity of hiring a new chief executive occurs in less than a month’s time when the company announced a plan of refinancing that could bring in $100 million of investments for the company. Hunt would be replaced by D’Arcy on the company’s board member’s list. He also has another experience of working with Bradley Real Estate Inc., which is also a real estate investment trust, from the year 1989 to 2000.

On Tuesday, the third-quarter result of Quest Software Inc., which is an Aliso Viejo-based business software developer, has been announced by the company. The company is into developing software to improve and manage other business programs from Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp. and more such companies. The sales of the company have not been up to the mark of the analyst’s expectations, whereas the profits have surpassed their expectations.

The analysts were hoping for sales of $172 million which was met with $171 million by the company, indicating a 9% low from the last year. The profits were reported at $31 million excluding other charges and costs. The short-term assets and cash were reported at gross $362 million. Any future prospects for the next quarter were not announced by Quest. The analysts were expecting sales of $191 million fetching a profit of $34 million in the next quarter.

A lawsuit filed in the year 2006, regarding the backdating of stock options, was agreed upon to be settled down at $29 million. It is just waiting for the approval from the court. A case with the Securities and Exchange Commission was settled down in the month of March that fined 3 executives for a similar probe. The executives involved in the probe were Vinny Smith, Kevin Brooks and John Laskey. They all hold very responsible positions in the company. As per the terms of the settlement, they were fined for $300,000 and were not given any option to admit or deny the conditions.

Last year only, a restatement bill of $137 million was posted by the company, which is the second largest bill after Broadcom’s bill of $2.2 billion.

The Irvine based company Local.com Corp. said that the news of Microsoft Corp. acquiring it is totally wrong. A fake press release went out last Thursday saying that the company was bought by Microsoft.

The rumor increased the share value of Local.com in the afterhours trading on Thursday. Speculators were seeing betting that Local.com could be the next Google Inc. that further made its shares chart board favorite.

Local.com runs a search engine that allows users to search for businesses and advertisers to target potential customers. It was said in the fake press release that Microsoft was buying Local.com for nearly $200 million or more, which is twice the company’s $80 million market value.

It is said that the news could bring back early days memories of Local.com as Interchange Corp., which experienced a big stock run-up in the beginning of this decade. The shares of company crashed in 2005 and since then have traded at a third or less than what they did in 2004.

It seems that Irvine-based nursing home operator Sun Healthcare Group Inc. is on an acquisition spree these days. The company has made another move by acquiring a Massachusetts Hospice Company.

Last week, some insiders of Sun Healthcare Group Inc said that the company has bought Allegiance Hospice Group Inc., which is a privately held company in Lowell, with some 300 hospice patients. However, the terms and conditions of this deal have not yet been disclosed. Let us hope an update in this regard will be available very soon.

It is said that Sun will be able to increase its revenue by 70% to $43 million with this mega deal. The company has projected revenue of $1.9 billion for the year 2009 that will mostly come from around 200 nursing homes running across the country. Apart from this, the company also runs Sun short-term rehabilitation centers which are backed by highly qualified and experienced staff.

As per the reports, last year Sun spent $7.7 million for Holisticare Hospice based in New Jersey. The company’s hospice arm serves ill patients in the final months of their lives. Overall, it can be said that Sun Healthcare Group Inc. is picking up very fast in the business.

Irvine-based drug makers, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Allergan Inc. announced Tuesday that they received ‘Fast Track’ designation from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for their bladder cancer drug candidate. The fast track designation is designed to speed up the development and review of drugs that intended to treat serious illness or demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs.

The FDA granted a faster review of the companies’ drug, EOquin or apaziquone which is intended to treat bladder cancer that has not spread deep into a patient’s muscle layer. According to Spectrum and Allergan, the non-muscle invasive bladder cancer accounts for an estimated 70 percent of new bladder cancer diagnoses and it affects more than a million patients in the U.S. and Europe.

“We are pleased that the FDA has accepted apaziquone for bladder cancer under its Fast Track program,” said Rajesh C. Shrotriya, M.D., chairman, president and chief executive officer of Spectrum. “In a marker lesion study, where patients had previously failed multiple therapies, apaziquone produced a 67% complete response and was well-tolerated. We look forward to continuing with Phase III studies evaluating the efficacy and safety of apaziquone, while working with the FDA to expedite the drug’s development, review and approval process so we can help address the substantial unmet needs of patients suffering from non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.”
Last October, Allergan paid Spectrum $41.5 million in order to get the rights to market EOquin as a bladder cancer treatment in the U.S., Europe and Canada. Spectrum would get an additional amount up to $304 million if the drug advances through development and is approved by the regulators and reaches certain sales milestones. Besides, Spectrum is also likely to receive royalties on sales of EOquin outside the U.S. Both companies plan to co-promote the drug in the U.S., with Allergan covering most of the development costs. Spectrum owns rights to EOquin in Asia.

Spectrum shares closed up 12 percent with a market value of $220 million, while Allergan’s shares were flat with a market value of $15 billion.

Telmar Network Technology Inc. announced on Tuesday that it has moved its headquarters from Irvine, California to Plano, Texas, consolidating some 150 workers there. Telmar sells new and used telecommunications gear and it has been in business for forty years now.

According to the company’s Chief Executive Steve Pickett, the relocation of headquarters to North Texas is a conscious move to be closer to its telecommunications manufacturers and service providers. However, Telmar is keeping its space near the Irvine’s Spectrum Center, but it is yet to be disclosed tthat how many workers were left there. (more…)

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher took time off from his busy schedule to give advice and encouragement to business owners and entrepreneurs at an Orange County Entrepreneur Community Meetup, (OCEC). Part of the evening was being taped for the show “Business in the OC” and hosted by Paul Higgins. Michael Banks the organizer of OCEC was also on hand with advice and words of guidance. The Meetup was hosted and recorded at Internet Business Systems’ studio in Irvine, California.

Members and guests of the OCEC, which is sponsored by American Express OPEN, spent considerable time networking and exchanging valuable business information. One guest whose advice business owners sought out was Scott Sorrell, from Sales Adrenaline, whose seminar “How to charge higher prices and have your client thank you for it!” was doling out pearls of wisdom on creating higher profits. Scott also was picked during the filming of the show to ask a few questions of Congressman Rohrabacher.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher grew up around Orange County and is known as the surfing congressman. His background also has a very serious side as a former reporter for the OC Register, senior speechwriter for Ronald Reagan at the White House and strong voice for lower government spending. His fiscal restraint position was very clear during the interview when he discussed the current government’s policy of spending $500 billion more than we take in. Congressman Rohrabacher said that it is important to “make sure we have those policies in place that owners can run their business.”

After the show was “in the can” Congressman Rohrabacher, wearing a sport coat plus his signature Hawaiian shirt and Puka shells, networked and mixed with the crowd addressing business owners concerns. Lisa Rodriguez, equestrian consultant, owner of Rosepine Ranch in Newport Beach and editor of Horse2Heart horse stories, asked the congressman’s advice on how to keep the equestrian industry in Orange County. Lisa is also an organizer for the largest equestrian Meetup in the county, the Orange County Horse Adventurers Meetup.

Congressman Rohrabacher acknowledged that horses are an important part of the county’s history and do have a positive economic impact. He suggested she work with county officials and other horse professionals to support this cause. Congressman Rohrabacher’s hometown, Huntington Beach, has one of the larger equestrian facilities in Orange County, Huntington Central Park Equestrian Center, and just over a year ago he had three hundred head of cattle driven down the beach in front of one of his favorite surf spots, the Huntington Beach pier, as part of the Orange County Fair’s Cowabunga theme.

When asked about how to bring an international level Equestrian Center to the Irvine Great Park the congressman in the true networking spirit offered some contacts that could help champion such an important cause as the Great Park Equestrian Center. According to the Orange County Great Park web site a study on this will take place in the future but needs public support. Give your feedback on “Keep Horses on the Ranch” to the Orange County Great Park. For more information on Great Park Equestrian Center visit The Equestrian Coalition of Orange County.

The Orange County Entrepreneur Community Meetup, (OCEC), under the guidance of organizer Michael Banks has been a breath of fresh air in the Orange County Venture Capital community. OCEC was founded in January 2003 and has seen very strong growth and is now the largest venture capital group in Southern California. This has been achieved by having dynamic interesting events and lots of strong networking. Michael has also managed to secure sponsors that add value such as American Express OPEN, Constant Contact, PR Newswire and Legal Zoom.

During the show Michael Banks explained that the, “OCEC is a business-networking group with a focus on business owners and entrepreneurs. It supplies members with a wide range of resources, referrals and advice.” He suggested Orange County business owners visit OCEC’s website for more information or to join.

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“Building the Team: From Start-Up to Employer of Choice” Tech Coast Venture Network Orange County Venture Capital and Angel Investor group Tech Coast Venture Group (TCVN) meetings are ideal for those trying to start a company in Orange County. Tech Coast Venture Group (TCVN) holds a series of monthly meetings on how to get start a new company and raise money. The next meeting is on “Building the Team: From Start-Up to Employer of Choice.” The discussion will be led by those who have started their own companies. The meeting will be on Thursday, April 26th at six o’clock. For more information visit www.TCVN.com.