Roundup: Keystone, Exodus

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FRIDAY

Automobile parts distributor

Keystone Automotive Industries Inc.

said it plans to relocate some of the company’s senior executives including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer from Pomona to new executive offices in Nashville, Tenn. over the next several months. A company spokesman said Keystone plans to keep the majority of its accounting, IT and marketing operations, employing around 125 people, in California, and said that there has been no decision to move corporate headquarter from Pomona. Chief Executive Richard Keister said in a statement that the company has grown significantly over the last ten years and employs more than 3,700 people across North America, with the majority of the company’s operations now east of the Mississippi. “The decision to relocate the offices of certain corporate executives to Nashville reflects this strategic evolution and the practical benefits that we expect will be realized from locating more of the senior team to a central geographic location,” Keister said.



The Weinstein Company

announced that it will represent all domestic international distribution rights to Venice-based

Exodus Film Group’s

first feature-length CG-animated comedy “Igor.” Written by Chris McKenna (Fox’s “American Dad”), “Igor” is being produced by John D. Eraklis and seasoned animation executive Max Howard, who has collaborated on such animated blockbusters as “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” “Space Jam” and “The Iron Giant.” The announcement was made today by Glen Basner, The Weinstein Company International president. The Weinstein Company will distribute the film in North America and will begin selling the international territories at the Cannes Film Festival. The release date for the film is scheduled to be announced later this spring.



THURSDAY

Satellite television provider

DirecTV Group Inc.

has become the first U.S. provider to offer the BabyFirstTV channel to its customers starting Thursday. The new offering is part of El Segundo-based DirecTV’s effort to attract subscribers by offering programming not available on broadcast or cable television. BabyFirstTV aims to offer a unique interactive co-viewing experience for children and parents. The channel was created by leading experts in child development and education to provide interactive opportunities for parents and baby to bond, learn and explore together. Content on the channel is designed to be adaptable to the different levels of a baby’s development. Each show offers elements that can appeal to younger babies and older toddlers simultaneously, so children at various levels and age groups can focus on something different within the same program. BabyFirstTV also features video-on-demand capabilities to offer parents access to content when and where they want it.


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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday announced the appointment of several entertainment industry colleagues to the

California Film Commission

. Among Schwarzenegger best known appointments are actor-directors Clint Eastwood and Danny DeVito, and award-winning TV producer Tom Werner. Also joining the board are director Bill Duke, producer and entertainment executive Joe Hartwick, producer Stanley Mark Brooks, entertainment industry labor leader Michael Miller, producer Albert Ruddy, entertainment executive Keith Weaver and Fresno Mayor Alan Autry, a former TV and film actor who owns a Fresno-based production company. The film commission is a one-stop shop for filmmakers, issuing permits for filming on state-owned and operated property and offering filmmakers assistance in California. DeVito, Eastwood, Hartwick, Werner and Duke are current commission members, which are unpaid positions.



WEDNESDAY


Yahoo! Inc.’s

Internet service and Burbank-based

NBC Universal Inc.’s

Telemundo broadcast network will merge their Spanish-language Web sites in the U.S. to better reach a growing Hispanic market, the companies announced. Yahoo en Espanol and Telemundo.com will combine staff and share advertising income, the newspaper said. Yahoo said the move will let advertisers more easily reach Hispanics in the United States, an estimated audience of more than 11.5 million people. Yahoo Telemundo will include content offerings tailored to first, second and third generation Hispanics through Spanish-language, bilingual and English-language content sections.


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In an extension of their multi-year strategic alliance,

Activision Inc.

and

DreamWorks Animation SKG

said that Santa Monica-based Activision will be opening a dedicated studio facility on the DreamWorks’ Glendale campus. The move, which the companies say will establish an unprecedented level of collaboration between a Hollywood studio and a video game company, will facilitate simultaneous co-development between DreamWorks’ CG feature films and Activision games based on those films. In November 2005, Activision signed a multi-year agreement with DreamWorks Animation for the exclusive video game rights to all current and future console platforms, PC, and handheld devices for DreamWorks’ upcoming feature films –“Bee Movie,” “Kung Fu Panda,” “Rex Havoc” and “How to Train Your Dragon.” The deal also extended Activision’s rights beyond “Shrek the Third” to include potential future films in the “Shrek” franchise. The company’s alliance with DreamWorks has resulted in more than $300 million in video game sales worldwide.


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London-based

PA Sport

, a leading sports information provider, has agreed to acquire SportsTicker from

ESPN

. The new entity will be called PA SportsTicker and will build on SportsTicker’s position as a key player in delivering real-time content to the North American market. The two companies have had a long relationship in supplying content to each other and PA SportsTicker will continue to be a supplier of worldwide sport information to ESPN, the companies said. SportsTicker has been a leading content provider in the United States since 1909 and, like PA Sport, developed a capability for delivering real-time sport to such clients as Yahoo Sport, Microsoft, Sportsline.com and Fox Sports.

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Los Angeles-based classmate relationship Web site

Reunion.com

and

Yahoo! Inc.

announced that Yahoo! Personals, an online dating service, and Reunion.com have developed a strategic partnership. Reunion.com members who are looking for past connections and focused on dating will be directed to Yahoo! Personals to continue to meet and communicate with others who match their dating needs. Yahoo! Personals will also provide relevant services and helpful tips through content and offers to the millions of Reunion.com members who have indicated they are interested in dating. Similarly, Yahoo! Personals’ users will be directed to Reunion.com to find, reconnect and stay in touch with others by accessing Reunion.com’s People Search and Who’s Searching for You? features.

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Agoura Hills-based

THQ Inc.

announced the acquisition of the Stuntman franchise from

Atari Inc.

Originally released in 2002, Stuntman won critical praise for its unique concept and innovative gameplay, with shipments of more than 1.6 million units. The Stuntman franchise is in development for next-generation systems at an Atari subsidiary, Paradigm Entertainment, creators of several well-known action games. THQ also said it has exercised its option to acquire Dallas-based Paradigm Entertainment and subject to successful due diligence, expects to close the transaction in the coming weeks.

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Calabasas-based

The Cheesecake Factory Inc.

announced on Wednesday that it recently repurchased 1.5 million shares of its common stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $50 million. The repurchase was made pursuant to an existing share repurchase authorization provided by the restaurant chain’s board of directors to buy back up to 6,000,000 shares in the open market from time to time as market conditions warrant. There are approximately 2.4 million shares remaining in the current repurchase authorization, although the authorization does not require the Company to purchase shares and may be terminated at any time.


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Steven P. Erwin has been appointed senior vice president and chief financial officer for Woodland Hills-based

21st Century Insurance

, the company announced Wednesday. Before joining 21st Century Insurance, Erwin served as CFO of Health Net Inc and earlier at U.S. Bancorp. Earlier in his career, he was treasurer for BayBanks, Inc. and Senior Vice President, CFO and Treasurer for Old National Bancorporation, and served on the audit staff at Coopers & Lybrand. “Steve’s experience in the CFO role is an important addition to the management team. His broader financial services perspective and his commitment to staff development will be greatly appreciated,” said CEO Bruce W. Marlow in a statement.


TUESDAY


Warner Bros.’s

Los Angeles-based video unit on Tuesday announced plans to sell movies and TV shows for legal downloads to

BitTorrent Inc.

, which operates a Web site once blamed for enabling swapping of illegally copied films and programs. In November, BitTorrent agreed with the Motion Picture Association of America to work with them to help stem illegal swapping of digital movies and TV shows by removing links to pirated copies. Executives from both companies said the MPAA agreement and BitTorrent’s new digital rights management software were key elements in bringing the parties together. Warner Bros., a unit of

Time Warner Inc.

, will make available at BitTorrent.com this summer more than 200 films, including hits such as “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and TV shows like “Babylon 5”. The shows will be available on the same day and date they are put on retail sale, but must reside on a computer drive and not be copied or burned onto a DVD.


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Thousand Oaks-based

Amgen Inc.

on Tuesday said the U.S. International Trade Commission has agreed to investigate efforts by Swiss drug maker

Roche Holding AG

to import a competing anemia drug, Cera, into the United States. Amgen, the world’s largest biotechnology company, claims that Roche’s pegylated recombinant human erythropoietin violates U.S. patents Amgen holds on its anemia drug Epogen. Amgen is asking the ITC to issue a permanent exclusion order to prohibit importation of Roche’s peg-EPO drug Cera into the United States. The ITC is a federal agency that protects U.S. companies and industries from unfair trade practices. In addition to the ITC investigation, Amgen is pursuing a federal lawsuit against Roche that was filed in November 8.


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Santa Monica-based interactive game maker

Activision Inc.

said that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Sunnyvale-based video game publisher

RedOctane Inc.

the publisher of the popular Guitar Hero franchise. The acquisition is designed to provide Activision with an early leadership position in music-based gaming, which the company expects will be one of the fastest growing genres. Guitar Hero is the fifth highest teen-rated game ever released on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system with a 92 rating. The game challenges players to be a lead guitarist of their own rock and roll band. The game is sold with a guitar-shaped controller that lets consumers simulate playing the guitar for more than 30 popular songs that were made famous by such artists as the Red Hot Chili Peppers, David Bowie, and Ozzy Osbourne. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Activision does not expect the acquisition to have a material impact on its fiscal 2007 forecast for earnings of 15 cents a share on $1.03 billion in sales.


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Woodland Hills-based

Youbet.com Inc.

said that the company and its IRG and United Tote subsidiaries shattered all previous records for betting volume on May 6, the day Barbaro streaked to victory in the 132nd Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Youbet.com processed nearly $5.6 million in wagers on Derby Day, a 34 percent more than in 2005. It’s the fourth year in a row that bettors drove Youbet’s handle to the highest one-day total in company history. United Tote processed a record $175.0 million in wagers for the full day’s race card at Churchill Downs. International Racing Group handled $4.3 million in live operator assisted wagers on race day, 69 percent of which went to the Churchill pari-mutuel pools. The company said its marketing initiatives this year enabled the company to sign up more than 6,000 new customers in the two days leading up to the Derby.


MONDAY

El Segundo-based satellite television provider

DirecTV Inc.

said in conjunction with several partners it will launch a new, professional video gaming league in 2007 that will rollout televised league play using new technology that takes viewers inside the actual game competitions. The Championship Gaming Series is being created conjunction with IGN Entertainment, Microsoft’s Xbox, Mountain Dew, Fox Interactive Media and Best Buy. The company said the concept is unique to the industry because it consists of an on-going series of competitions as opposed to the scattered gaming events now available. Throughout the season, teams across the country will battle each other for the coveted “Dew Cup.”


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Calabasas-based

NetSol Technologies Inc.

said it has entered into an agreement to acquire Burlingame-based McCue Systems Inc., a provider of lease and loan portfolio management software for banks, leasing companies and manufacturers. NetSol, a developer of proprietary software applications and provider of information technology services, said the acquisition will consist of a combination of cash and NetSol’s common stock, value not disclosed, and is expected to be completed by June 30.


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Calabasas-based

Digital Insight Corp.

, an online banking services provider, said it has completed a $50 million stock repurchase program that was originally announced on Feb.15. Digital Insight repurchased approximately 1.49 million shares under the $50 million program at an average cost of $33.50 per share. During the past two years, Digital Insight has invested $100 million to repurchase its common shares at an average cost of $24.79 per share.

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Los Angeles-based

Kilroy Realty Corp.

said it intends to issue and sell approximately 2 million shares of its common stock in a public offering and has granted the underwriter an option to purchase 300,000 additional shares, subject to customary closing conditions. Banc of America Securities LLC will act as the sole underwriter for the offering. The company expects to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund a portion of its development pipeline and for other general corporate purposes.

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