CYBERSALE: CyberDefender Corp., which provides computer technical support and security services, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it plans to sell most of its assets to a unit of infomercial marketer Guthy-Renker Corp. In court documents, the company said the bankruptcy was necessary due to “the challenging economic climate” and the “inability to raise capital on the public market.” The L.A. company, which makes software for PC security, antispyware-antivirus, PC optimization and identity theft prevention, did not say in the filings or a separate press release how much buyer GR Match LLC would pay for its assets. It also said it will be open to higher bids from other potential buyers. CyberDefender, which filed in Wilmington, Del., lists $7.96 million in assets and $42.5 million in debt.
CONTRACT GONE: Molina Healthcare Inc. a Long Beach Medicaid managed care provider lost a key contract in Missouri and lowered its full-year earnings guidance. Molina said in a regulatory filing that the Missouri Office of Administration’s purchasing division informed the company that it had not been awarded a new state contract. The existing contract will expire June 30. The company’s licensed health plans in California and nine other states serve about 1.6 million members eligible for Medicaid, Medicare, and other government-sponsored health care programs. Molina said that revenue from Missouri represented 4.7 percent of the company’s totals as of Dec. 31.
AMGEN DEAL: Dako, a cancer diagnostic supplier based in Glostrup, Denmark, entered into a collaboration agreement with Amgen Inc. to develop a test for an experimental Amgen cancer drug. The Thousand Oaks biotech giant and Dako will be attempting something difficult to achieve in drug development: the concurrent development of a drug and a genetic test for a specific cancer. Dako Chief Executive Lars Holmkvist said the partnership furthers each company’s efforts in the emerging field of personalized medicine, in which a therapy is matched to a patient’s genetic makeup.
NEW CFO: Staffing company Korn/Ferry International said that its chief financial officer was leaving and a replacement has been appointed. The L.A. executive recruitment firm said that Robert Rozek is succeeding Mike DiGregorio, who resigned to pursue other interests. Rozek has more than 25 years of finance experience, Korn/Ferry said, most recently as chief financial officer and executive vice president at New York real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield Inc..
EARNINGS: Jakks Pacific Inc. reported a loss of $20 million, compared with net income of $8.9 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell 30 percent to $141 million. … Cheesecake Factory Inc. reported net income of $29.9 million, compared with $21.9 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 15 percent to nearly $478 million. … United Online Inc. reported net income of $12.5 million compared with $15.5 million reported in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell 6 percent to less than $218 million.
