– The Walt Disney Co.
announced a major restructuring of its theme park and resort businesses, creating an eight-member executive committee that would develop strategy to tie together Disney’s global operations in Florida, California, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong.
The committee, which reports to Jay Rasulo, chairman of the parks and resorts division, will be headed by Al Weiss, a 33-year veteran of the company who was named president of worldwide operations.
Disney said the reorganized division is aimed at letting the group rapidly roll out new projects and be more consistent in its business practices.
– j2 Global Communications Inc.
announced it has acquired Puma Unified Communications Limited, a United Kingdom-based provider of messaging services. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The L.A.-based company said the financial impact to j2 Global would be “immaterial.”
The acquisition is part of j2 Global’s ongoing strategy to expand its services throughout Europe, the company said in a statement.
– Computer Sciences Corp.
won a $51 million contract to develop plans, processes and tools for the Department of Defense’s transportation- and distribution-related IT systems. The contract, which has one base year and four one-year options, is valued at approximately $51 million if all options are exercised.
El Segundo-based CSC will team with Dynamics Research Corp., MCR Federal LLC, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, SRA International Inc. and Unisys Corp.
– IMPCO Technologies Inc.
said it is still unable to file its third-quarter financial statements because it is continuing to examine its full-year 2004 results, as well as those for its first and second quarters. The company began the review after its management found errors while examining the previously reported statements.
On Nov. 9, the Cerritos-based company first announced it would be late in filing its third-quarter results. The 2004 restatement is anticipated to increase the reported net loss by nearly $1.6 million to $15.8 million. The basic and diluted net losses per share for the fourth quarter and fiscal year 2004 are expected to be restated from 88 cents and 77 cents per share to 96 cents and 85 cents per share, respectively.
– Boeing Co.
‘s C-17 program, which has been on the chopping block as the Defense Department has sought to trim costs, took another hit today from the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During a Pentagon news briefing, Admiral Edmund Giambastiani said the Air Force won’t need anymore of the transports other than the 180 now on order.
The statement contravenes with lawmakers’ efforts to save the program, as well as the conclusion of the Pentagon’s Defense Science Board, an independent advisory group that said the Pentagon should consider keeping the program alive. The C-17 is manufactured at a plant in Long Beach that employs 6,500 workers.
