Debentures

Microsemi Corp., a Santa Ana maker of computer chips, said it plans to sell $30 million worth of convertible subordinated debentures due in 2012. The company is the second mid-size electronics maker in Orange County in a week to announce plans for a multimillion-dollar debt offering. Analysts said small and mid-size high-technology companies throughout the nation are taking advantage of both the continuing low-interest rates and the current surge in stock prices of high-technology companies.

Nevada Manhattan Mining has filed suit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against a dozen holders of convertible debentures and four "related parties" that the company alleges are trying to depress the market for its common stock.

Burbank-based Compact Video said it filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a public offering of $55 million in subordinated debentures to finance unspecified future acquisitions. The offering of the debentures, which are a type of bonds, will be arranged by the Drexel Burnham Lambert brokerage firm.

Ingram Micro Inc.'s $400 million in debentures was priced to yield 5.375% in a private offering, the Santa Ana-based distributor of technology products said. Ingram Micro plans to use the money to repay outstanding debt.

Worlds of Wonder Inc., struggling to meet its creditors' demands, said today that it has laid off nearly half of its remaining work force. The once-prosperous toy maker, whose officials met Thursday in San Francisco with about 150 of its largest creditors, also confirmed that it had not paid $3.4 million in interest due last Tuesday on its convertible subordinated debentures. It said the debentures will be included in any debt restructuring.

Swiss financier Werner K. Rey has settled out of court a lawsuit filed against him last year by Beverly Hills Savings & Loan, his spokesman said Friday. Aloys Hirzel said the lawsuit sought $15 million in damages in connection with a mortgage transaction that Rey made with the savings and loan's predecessor, Beverly Hills Savings & Loan Assn., which the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corp. declared insolvent and took over.

Nu-Med officials say the company does not expect to default on two issues of debentures, despite missing interest payments totaling $7.8 million. Nonetheless, the announcement last week by the Encino health-care concern prompted Moody's Investors Service, a major credit-rating agency, to downgrade its ratings on the debentures. Moody's previously had given the two Nu-Med debentures a rating of single-B-1, meaning the rating agency considers the debt to be a speculative investment.

MAI Basic Four Inc., a Tustin-based manufacturer of business computers and software, said last week it plans to make a public offering of its common stock in June. The company said it will use part of the proceeds from the stock sale to redeem debentures and preferred stock that were issued to finance the purchase of Basic Four last year by Bennett LeBow. LeBow acquired the company for $105 million from New York-based Management Assistance Inc.

A group led by New York investor Rohit M. Desai has acquired a 5.4% stake in Fluorocarbon Co. of Laguna Niguel. The group, which includes Desai Capital Management Inc., an investment advisory firm, acquired $5 million of debentures that pay an interest rate of 8% and are convertible into common shares at $13.44 each, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

The rating on $135 million worth of convertible subordinated debentures for Bergen Brunswig Corp.'s electronics operations has been lowered to BBB- from BBB by Standard & Poor's, the nation's largest rating service. The debentures still are considered by Standard & Poor's to be of investment grade. A BBB- is the lowest that bond debt is ranked by the credit rating agency before it is considered speculative.

Ingram Micro Inc. said Wednesday that it plans to repay some of its debt by raising about $400 million through a private offering of debentures, a form of corporate IOU. The debentures are due in 2018. The Santa Ana-based distributor of technology products did not release the interest it has set for the tender offer. Ingram's stock price dropped 9.3%, or $4 a share, Wednesday to close at $39.

Saba Petroleum Co. said it is offering $11 million in debentures, primarily to repay debts incurred in acquiring oil and gas properties in Colombia. The debentures, which have been approved for listing on the American Stock Exchange, can be converted into Saba's common stock at an initial conversion price of $8.75 per share. Saba is an international oil and gas producer.

Nationwide Health Properties Inc. said Tuesday that it raised nearly $65 million from the sale of debentures--corporate IOUs--that pay investors a 6.25% interest rate. The debentures were underwritten by a group of brokerages headed by NatWest Securities Ltd. and co-managed by Alex. Brown & Sons Inc. and A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. The notes, with a $1,000 face value, were sold on the New York Stock Exchange. Until the debentures mature on Jan.

Standard Pacific Corp. said Friday that on April 15 it will redeem, at full face value plus accrued interest, all of its outstanding 12.75% and 13.875% subordinated debentures. The diversified home building, financial services and office furniture company said it will use proceeds of its recently completed $100-million offering of 10.5% senior notes to finance the redemption.

Foothill Group Inc. said it plans to redeem its 9.5% convertible subordinated debentures due Aug. 15, 2003, as part of its effort to reduce its debt costs. The financial services concern, which has executive offices in Agoura Hills and Los Angeles, said there are $7 million of the debentures outstanding, which will be redeemed Sept. 17. Holders of the debt can convert each debenture into 140.1 shares of Foothill's class A common stock, but debentures not converted on or before Sept.

Although I intend to recover losses I have incurred from the closure of Lincoln Savings, I must point out that in my experience, American Continental debentures were never represented as being federally insured. Granted, whenever I came into a Lincoln branch I would practically fall over the huge ads for these debentures, and they were heavily advertised in all the bank statements I received. But I saw nothing that said customers would be buying a CD. In fact, when I called the bank and inquired, I was told plainly what the offering was. The Lincoln story sounds to me like a hard sell with a little deception, a little greed and a lot of confusion.

ReadiCare Inc. said it has completed its previously announced acquisition of CHEC Medical Centers Inc. of Seattle, Wash., in a transaction valued at about $4 million. ReadiCare, the Irvine-based chain of drop-in medical centers, will acquire CHEC for 1.4 million shares, or 16.6% of its common stock. Dennis G. Danko, ReadiCare president, valued the transferred shares at about $2.1 million. In addition, ReadiCare issued warrants and $1.

Apache Petroleum Corp., a limited partnership that explores for, develops and produces oil and natural gas, will acquire the interest of Davis in the assets that APC, Apache and Davis acquired from Occidental Petroleum. The firms had jointly agreed to acquire the assets from Occidental on June 30 for $444 million. APC then entered into an agreement to purchase Davis' 50% interest by Dec. 31 for $222 million.

CII Financial, a Burbank-based provider of workers compensation insurance in California, said it plans a public sale of $50 million face value of convertible subordinated debentures, a type of debt that's convertible into CII stock under certain conditions. In a filing with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission, CII said proceeds from the offering of the 10-year debentures would be used to repay debt and expand operations, which are led by its California Indemnity Insurance Co. unit.