& #8226;
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Credit Suisse First Boston are arranging $2.95 billion in financing for
DaVita Inc.
, an El Segundo-based provider of kidney dialysis, to help it buy Gambro AB’s U.S. clinics, Bloomberg News reported. The loan will include a $250 million revolving credit, a $500 million term loan that will be sold to banks, and a $2.2 billion term loan that will be sold to investors.
DaVita agreed to buy the U.S. clinics of Sweden’s Gambro in December for $3.1 billion in cash. The acquisition will allow DaVita to overtake Fresenius Medical Care AG of Germany, the world’s largest provider of dialysis.
& #8226; Tetra Tech Inc.
was awarded a contract with a value up to $125 million to provide program management and technical services to the Department of the Navy. The contract has a one-year base period and four one-year options. The Pasadena-based engineering services firm will perform work at U.S. Navy and Marine Corps sites in 28 states, Puerto Rico and the Bahamas Islands.
& #8226; WPT Enterprises Inc.
, the creator of the World Poker Tour television show, named co-founder Steve Lipscomb chief executive, replacing Lyle Berman, who became executive chairman. Berman will remain president of the West Hollywood-based company that develops products based on gaming themes. The appointments were effective April 1. World Poker Tour airs on the Travel Channel in the U.S. and in nearly 60 markets worldwide.
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TV Guide Publishing Group, a division of L.A.-based
Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc.
has named two executives to its new weekly publication, Inside TV, set to debut on April 21. The unit named Christine Petrillo as publisher and Debra Birnbaum as executive editor. Birnbaum will report to recently appointed Editor-in-Chief Steve LeGrice. Petrillo will report to Scott Crystal, senior vice president and publisher of TV Guide Publishing Group. The new magazine is based in New York.
& #8226;
Corbis, a Seattle-based provider of images and photographs for publishers and advertising agencies, acquired Beverly Hills-based celebrity representation agency
The Roger Richman Agency
. The Roger Richman Agency licenses historical personalities such as Mae West and The Marx Brothers to corporations, advertising agencies and other companies for merchandising and licensing projects. Financial details of the deal were not released.
& #8226;
Finisar Corp. has sued
DirecTV Group Inc.
, alleging the El Segundo-based satellite-TV operator infringed on its patent for technology used in on-screen program guides. Sunnyvale-based Finisar, which makes fiber-optics equipment for computer networks, said in a press release that its patent was filed in 1991 and granted in 1995. The company said it contacted DirecTV throughout 2004 and early this year about licensing the technology. The lawsuit was filed in Beaumont, Texas.
& #8226; Banyan Corp.
, an L.A.-based holding company for the healthcare industry, signed an agreement to acquire National Diagnostic Solutions Inc. Nearly $1.6 million of accounts receivable are included in the acquisition, the company said in a release. Other financial details of the acquisition were not announced. In January, Banyan signed a letter of intent to acquire a 40 percent interest in Phoenix-based National Diagnostic.
