– National Lampoon Inc.
, an L.A.-based entertainment company, reported a net loss of $1.8 million (52 cents per diluted share) for the third quarter ended April 30, compared with $1.4 million (45 cents) for the like period a year earlier. Revenue rose to $1.1 million from $500,769 in the year-ago period.
The third-quarter net loss included charges of $322,000 in dividends associated with the company’s Series B and Series C Convertible Preferred Stock and $160,000 in debt issuance costs.
– Capstone Turbine Corp.
said late Tuesday that it would not be able to file its annual report on time and asked securities regulators for a 15-day extension. The Chatsworth-based maker of microturbine systems was not able to complete the assessment of its internal accounting controls required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Capstone expects to file its 10-K annual report on or before June 29.
The company also said it expects to report a loss of $40 million (47 cents a share) for the year ended March 31, compared with a loss of $47.7 million (58 cents) in the prior fiscal year.
– Vivendi Universal Games
will buy UK-based independent game developer Swordfish Studios, the company said in a statement. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The L.A.-based game publisher, a unit of Vivendi Universal, said it would retain Swordfish Studios’ 45 workers and that the company’s office would remain in Birmingham, England. Swordfish’s Managing Director Trevor Williams will continue in his role and will now report to Peter Della Penna, the executive vice president and COO of product development for VU Games. Swordfish recently completed developing VU Games’ “Cold Winter” for Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 2 and is working on “Brian Lara International Cricket 2005.”
– Kilroy Realty Corp.
signed a lease agreement with Accredited Home Lenders for a new three-building corporate headquarters campus totaling 178,000 square feet in the Innovation Corporate Center in San Diego. The L.A.-based real estate developer said Accredited Home Lenders will lease two buildings totaling 103,000 square feet that are currently under construction and a third building with 75,000 square feet. The corporate center has eight buildings with 468,000 square feet, all of which are currently leased.
– DirecTV Group Inc.
said two units have closed their offering of $1 billion in unsecured senior notes due 2015. The El Segundo-based satellite television operator said it will use the nearly $1 billion in net proceeds to repay $500 million of borrowings under its current senior secured credit facility, and will hold the rest for general corporate purposes.
– Jakks Pacific Inc.
signed a licensing agreement with N.Y.-based 4Kids Entertainment Inc. to develop and market Plug It In & Play TV Games products based on the successful Yu-Gi-Oh! property. Originating in Japan, Yu-Gi-Oh! is a television series, trading card game, toy and video game franchise. No video game consoles are required for Malibu-based Jakks’ Plug It In & Play TV Games units, which plug directly into a TV.
