Business Briefs: DreamWorks, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Maguire, Guess, Disney

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– DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.

has been hit with its first shareholder lawsuit since going public: a proposed class action suit accusing company officers of misrepresenting DVD sales of “Shrek 2.” The lawsuit filed by Abbey Gardy, LLP in Los Angeles federal court said DreamWorks Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Katzenberg and board Chairman Roger Enrico failed to disclose in the first quarter that sales of the animated movie’s DVDs were declining more than expected, that Glendale-based DreamWorks was shipping products to retail stores in excess of the actual demand, and that stores were returning “massive amounts” of unsold DVDs.


DreamWorks Animation reported on May 10 that first-quarter DVD sales for fell short of the company’s earlier projections and that the studio would realize no revenue from the title in the quarter. The news caused the price of DreamWorks stock to drop more than $4, the suit said.



– Big 5 Sporting Goods Corp.

delayed a potential delisting for now, as Nasdaq granted the company an extension until August 12 to file its annual report for the year ended Jan. 2 and its report for the quarter ended April 3. The El Segundo-based sporting goods retailer’s stock will continue to be listed on the Nasdaq while the filings are pending.


Big 5 said late Wednesday it received an additional non-compliance notice from Nasdaq for failing to file its quarterly 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company had previously received a notice for not filing its annual 10-K on time as well.



– Maguire Properties Inc.

agreed to sell two four-story office buildings in Austin, Texas, for nearly $55 million to an undisclosed buyer. The buildings, which comprise nearly 272,000 square feet, are part of the Austin Research Park. The sale is expected to close in the second quarter, and the identity of the buyer will be held until the sale is complete. Proceeds will be used to pay down Maguire’s $450 million term loan, the L.A.-based real estate investment trust said. Maguire acquired the buildings earlier in the year as part of a $1.5 billion office portfolio.



– Guess Inc.

reported that comparable store sales in May rose 1.9 percent, meeting Wall Street expectations. The L.A.-based apparel company said total retail sales for the month rose 10.8 percent to $39.7 million from $35.8 million a year earlier. Analysts had expected the company to post same-store sales growth of 1.9 percent, according to analysts at Thomson Financial. Guess owns and operates 298 retail stores in the U.S. and Canada.





Standard & Poor’s boosted

Walt Disney Co.’s

corporate credit rating to “A-” from “BBB+.” The outlook is stable. Standard & Poor’s said the upgrade was due mainly to the Burbank-based media company’s reduction of debt and higher levels of cash flow from its recovering theme parks, as well as consistent performance from its studio entertainment operations. The rating had been placed on CreditWatch with positive implications on May 24.


Disney had $13.2 billion of debt as of April 2. Disney’s A-2 commercial paper ratings were affirmed as well, Standard & Poor’s said.

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