Googling SunCal

From the OC Register March 4, 2008:

In the past 4 ½ months, eight lawsuits have been filed in Orange County accusing SunCal of failing to pay its debts or complete promised work on projects. Four properties planned for future developments either were foreclosed on or soon will be. ...

Q: What is happening with the cash flow at SunCal?

A: (David Soyka, SunCal senior vice president of public affairs)  SunCal Companies is made up of many companies. It's discreetly financed, which is common for a real estate development firm. It's how non-public companies are financed. No two are identical.

The real estate business is cyclical. We've experienced downturns like this before.  Like every other homebuilding and land development company, we are facing market challenges.  The entire industry is affected, and we're working with our lenders and Wall Street financial partners, both public and privately held companies, to decide how to adjust our business plans.

Commenter Stan is frustrated that no one in Albuquerque caught on earlier to SunCal problems and suggests no one has ever Googled SunCal.  But these stories would be unlikely to make any difference to development proponents here who put a positive twist on the meaning of the adage:  Every calculation based on experience elsewhere fails in New Mexico.

Comments

[Hunter]

I, for one, google SunCal on a regular basis. There is so much news out there that I limit my query to "SunCal March 2008" to limit the hits to the most recent. SunCal's well publicized dispute in Orange County over property across the street from Disneyland has probably overshadowed other events involving the company. Those include defaulting on land contracts for a Bakersfield Ca project, trying to do an end run around an adopted plan at Alameda Point Ca, stalling submittal of plans for a project in Apple Valley Ca, and walking away from in-process infrastructure development in San Clemente Ca. And there are more. It was noted in an earlier post that the funds to purchase the Westland property were obtained from Barclay's. The money was loaned to D E Shaw which is 20% owned by Lehman Bros. The way things are going lately, it's not out of the question that SunCal won't even be in the Westland picture a year from now if these hedge fund/venture capital firms fall victim the current credit crisis.

Highly unlikely that Lehman Brothers will not be around. About as unlikely is that SunCal will not be involved in Westland in a year.