Also

* KBS Realty Advisors acquired Conexant Systems Inc.’s headquarters building in Newport Beach for $100 million; Conexant will continue to occupy the MacArthur Boulevard building under a lease.

* Kia Motors Corp., South Korea’s second-biggest automaker, said it would invest $70 million to build headquarters for its U.S. unit in Irvine to accommodate growth in the world’s largest auto market. Seoul-based Kia plans to open the 236,000-square-foot office for Kia Motors America in December 2006.

* A U.S. judge said Owens Corning was liable for $7 billion in claims from people exposed to asbestos, rejecting estimates of as high as $11 billion from victims’ lawyers.

* Yahoo Inc. said Chairman and Chief Executive Terry Semel made $230 million by exercising options in 2004. His salary of $600,000 didn’t change from 2003.