Cooper Companies

Nu-Med Inc. in Encino said its PsychGroup Inc. unit agreed to sell three psychiatric hospitals to a unit of The Cooper Cos. In exchange, Cooper will effectively retire $21.7 million of Nu-Med debt it holds and receive an undisclosed amount of cash. The facilities are Hampton Hospital in Westhampton Township, N.J., Hartgrove Hospital in Chicago, and Meadow Wood Center in New Castle, Del. They are being sold to PSG Acquisition Inc.

Vision care products maker Cooper Cos. said that it agreed to buy rival Ocular Sciences Inc. for $1.2 billion in cash and stock, in a bid to create the world's third-largest contact lens company. Pleasanton, Calif.-based Cooper said it was offering $44 a share in cash and stock for Ocular, including $600 million in cash and 10.3 million new Cooper shares. Ocular Sciences, based in Concord, Calif., is the No. 5 maker of contact lenses and has projected 2004 revenue of $342.4 million.

The Lake Forest manufacturer of specialty health care products said net income for the first fiscal quarter totaled $6.3 million, or 43 cents a share, 43% higher than the $4.4 million, or 31 cents a share, posted a year ago. Sales for the quarter ended Jan. 31 rose 21% to $48.9 million.

A unit of Lake Forest-based Cooper Cos. has acquired the gynecology business unit of MedAmicus Inc. for $4.7 million, the companies said Wednesday. The acquisition by CooperSurgical Inc. is expected to add to Cooper's earnings per share at the end of 12 months. Cooper's shares rose $1.35 to $44.05 on the New York Stock Exchange, while MedAmicus stock was off 10 cents a share, closing at $5.15 in Nasdaq trading.

Monty Lunde and Rock Hall, former Disney special-effects technicians, ran their company for a decade in an awkward string of three buildings in Burbank. When they decided to consolidate the operation in a Valencia industrial park, they met with city officials to sell them on the rewards of bringing a new employer to town. When they needed quick approvals and permits, Lunde says, they realized just how much those personal relationships helped. * We moved to Valencia in late 1993.

The Cooper Companies Inc., Irvine maker of medical products and contact lenses, said net income for the second fiscal quarter ended April 30 declined 16% to $7.1 million, or 51 cents a share, from $8.5 million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 11% to $41.7 million from $37.5 million.