– Entravision Communications Corp.
said it is seeking to refinance its existing $400 million senior secured bank credit facility with one worth $650 million. The Santa Monica-based Spanish-language media company said the new credit facility will consist of a 7.5-year, $500 million term loan and a 6.5-year, $150 million revolving credit facility. Entravision said it plans to use the proceeds of the loans to refinance outstanding bank borrowings under its existing bank credit facility, to refinance $225 million of 8.125 percent senior subordinated notes due 2009 and for general corporate purposes.
Moody’s Investors Service assigned a “Ba3” rating to both components of the proposed credit facility and upgraded Entravision’s corporate family rating to “Ba3” from “B1.” Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services assigned its “B+” rating to the $650 million senior secured credit facility.
– Cathay General Bancorp
said it has entered into option agreements with shareholders of privately held Great Eastern Bank for the right to purchase 41 percent of the company’s shares. The value of the transaction would be approximately $28.4 million, if all options are exercised. The L.A.-based holding company for Cathay Bank is seeking to acquire all of the New York chartered bank’s stock, and has made related regulatory filings with Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. It will file applications with the New York State Banking Department shortly.
Great Eastern Bank is a commercial bank founded in 1986 with five branches in the New York Metropolitan area. As of Dec. 31, 2004, Great Eastern Bank had $306.7 million in assets.
– Pacific Energy Partners LP
said it plans to sell nearly 4.56 million common units under an effective shelf registration. Underwriters have been granted an option to purchase up to 682,500 additional units. The Long Beach-based crude oil distributor said it plans to use proceeds from the sale to fund part of the purchase of pipeline and terminal assets from Valero L.P.
– Northrop Grumman Corp.
was awarded a 21-month, $3.2 million contract to continue developing the U.S. Air Force’s Tactical Automated Security System, a security system that helps protect U.S. military troops and assets at bases. Under the terms of the agreement, Northrop will provide upgrades to assessment, communication and other subsystems. The original contract was awarded to Northrop’s Mission Systems division in August 2003 by the U.S. Air Force Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.
– North American Scientific Inc.
, a Chatsworth-based radiation therapy products manufacturer, reported a net loss of $3.3 million (20 cents per diluted share) for the third quarter ended July 31, compared with a loss of $21 million ($1.36) for the like period a year ago. Revenues fell to $8.06 million from $8.14 million in the year-ago period.
Last year’s third-quarter loss included charges from the company’s now-discontinued Theseus operations which totaled $6.4 million (42 cents per diluted share).
– Napster Inc.
announced a strategic agreement with Santa Ana-based SimpleTech Inc. to manufacture and market Napster-branded Flash memory and hard-drive storage products to aid storing digital music. The licensed products include external storage, USB Flash drives and Flash cards, and provide storage expansion, back-up and portability for music files. Initially, each of the products will include free song downloads and an extended trial offer for L.A.-based Napster’s digital music subscription service.
– AECOM
said that it merged with Westford, Mass.-based environmental consulting ENSR International. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The merger combines AECOM’s water and environmental management capabilities with ENSR’s environmental experience to extend both companies’ service lines and global reach. AECOM, an L.A.-based global design and management company, has 20,000 employees worldwide and annual revenues of $2 billion, according to a company press release.
