DirecTV to Buy Satellite Firm
DirecTV has agreed to acquire United States Satellite Broadcasting Co. in a stock and cash deal valued at around $1.3 billion.
El Segundo-based DirecTV has long been involved in a partnership with USSB that many analysts consider inefficient, and Wall Street has long anticipated an acquisition. DirecTV sold several frequencies on one of its satellites to USSB in 1994, and ever since the two companies have promoted each others’ services while keeping separate operations. Nearly all of USSB’s 2 million subscribers also subscribe to DirecTV.
The final purchase price will be set at the deal’s close. USSB shareholders have the option of accepting all cash or 0.375 share of General Motors Corp. Class H stock (GM is the parent of DirecTV owner Hughes Electronics Corp.).
Slower Growth Projected
Statewide nonfarm employment will grow by 2.4 percent in 1999 following a 3.2 percent gain in 1998, according to the UCLA Anderson Forecast.
UCLA economists say that despite the hiring gains, unemployment in California will actually stay at its present level of around 6 percent next year because of continuing population growth. Real personal income, which expanded by 5.4 percent this year in California, is expected to grow by only 3.1 percent next year and 3.0 percent in 2000.
The hottest area of job growth will be business services, according to forecasters. That sector posted job growth of about 6.5 percent in 1998, and while that is slower than in previous years, it is still three times the rate of the state’s overall economic growth. Also, despite slowdowns in entertainment-industry growth, UCLA forecasters expect Hollywood to add 17,000 jobs over the next three years.
Changes in Jury System
Starting in May, L.A. County will begin modifying its jury duty system, requiring prospective jurors to be released after one day unless they are selected to participate in a trial.
Currently, jurors are forced to remain on call for 10 days or to serve on one trial per year. The new system will start in May in some outlying areas, and be expanded to the entire county by the end of 1999.
In addition, court officials are considering other radical changes, including allowing jurors to ask questions during trails and allowing jurors to discuss the case among themselves before the end of the trial. The per-diem juror payment might also be raised from $5 to $20.
Wiltern Theatre Sold
The Hertz Group, a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in historical buildings, has bought the landmark Wiltern Theatre complex for about $19 million.
General Electric Co. had foreclosed on the former owner, Wayne Ratkovich, who purchased and saved the 67-year-old building at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in 1981.
The complex encompasses an entire city block and includes the 2,355-seat theater, the 12-story Pellisier office building, street-level retail, a Ralphs grocery store and four-level parking garage. The distinctive green building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Other Hertz-owned properties include the Oviatt Building, the Park Plaza Hotel in the Westlake District, the Popular Center, California Jewelry Mart and University Club Building. In addition, Hertz has offers out on several other buildings in downtown L.A. and along the Wilshire Corridor, according to a company official.
Republic Buys L.A. Dealerships
Giant auto retailer Republic Industries has bought 31 new-car franchises around the country, including three in L.A. County.
The local dealerships are Arrow Volvo in Compton, Gunderson Automotive Group in El Monte and Peyton Cramer Acura in Torrance. Officials did not disclose the price for those dealerships, but Republic paid a total of $230 million in cash for the 31 franchises.
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based Republic is the nation’s largest auto dealer, with 277 new-car dealerships and 40 used-car superstores that operate under the name AutoNation USA.
Victory for Longshoremen
A federal judge has rejected efforts by shipping lines to prevent union workers from conducting work stoppages at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach that have allegedly cost tens of millions of dollars.
The Pacific Maritime Association, a trade association for West Coast shippers, was seeking a court order to prevent further work stoppages by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. The association claimed the actions violate the no-strike clause in the union contract.
But a U.S. District Court judge said the Norris-LaGuardia Act restricts the ability of federal courts to intervene in labor disputes, except in certain circumstances and the type of work stoppages involved don’t fall under those circumstances.
Minority Firms Not Seeking Loans
Minority-owned businesses in South Central Los Angeles are failing to seek loans in many cases because their owners believe that banks can’t help them or that they will be discriminated against, according to a survey by the Greenlining Institute.
According to the survey, 77 percent of the South Central firms didn’t bother to seek loans or lines of credit in 1995 and 1996, and of those, 75 percent said they believed their requests would be denied. Of the firms surveyed, 93 percent had been in business for three years or more and 75 percent reported annual revenues of $100,000 or more.
Nearly all the respondents were minorities, with 42 percent African American. The Greenlining Institute, a non-profit group promoting inner-city lending, used the survey results to argue that banks should be allowed to track loan applicants by ethnicity and gender, which is currently prohibited by federal law.
Perez Enters Race
Labor leader John A. Perez has joined nine other candidates seeking the City Council seat held by Richard Alatorre, who has reportedly told his staffers that he intends to run for reelection despite allegations of cocaine abuse and the fact that he is targeted by a federal corruption investigation.
Perez is considered to have an advantage over the rest of the field because he has the support of Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, and several other influential community leaders. He is also the cousin of state Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, D-Los Angeles.
Perez, 29, is executive director of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union.
Compiled by Dan Turner
