Mattel, in Tech Play, to Buy Electronic Line
n its first major acquisition since the late 1990s, Mattel Inc. has agreed to acquire a toy company best known for making electronic playthings that appeal to older children, the Los Angeles Times reports. Radica Games Ltd., a maker of games and other products such as 20Q, Play TV and Girl Tech products, agreed Tuesday to Mattel’s offer of about $230 million, or $11.55 a share, the companies said. That’s a premium of $1.24 a share over Radica’s closing price Tuesday. The deal is expected to be announced today.
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CalPERS Strategy Pays Off Big-Time
Signaling the wave of the future, fast-growing international stocks and private market investments led the California Public Employees’ Retirement System to a 12.3 percent gain for the fiscal year, the Sacramento Bee reports. The results, announced Tuesday, marked the third straight year of double-digit percentage gains and portend a shift in investment strategy by the nation’s largest public pension fund. In addition, the 2005-06 fiscal year saw CalPERS reach a milestone as the fund surpassed the $200 billion barrier for the first time and continue a comeback from three years of losses during the Wall Street downturn in the early 2000s. Assets grew to $208 billion, up from $189.8 billion in 2005.
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Condos to Rise by Red Line
he movement to place housing near public transportation gains ground in Los Angeles as work begins today on the first high-rise mixed-use project in Koreatown since the Metro Red Line reached it a decade ago, the Los Angeles Times reports. Developers are set to break ground on a $160-million condominium skyscraper over shops at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue, a western terminus of the Red Line subway connecting downtown to Koreatown and North Hollywood.
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Plan to Let Judges Cut Damages Is Blocked
A commission created by Congress to consider changing U.S. antitrust law defeated a proposal to let judges reduce damages for thwarting competition imposed on companies such as Microsoft Corp. The Antitrust Modernization Commission, meeting in Washington, voted 8 to 3 to preserve the existing law, which permits individuals and companies to collect triple damages if they can prove they were harmed by anti-competitive practices such as price-fixing or illegal protection of a monopoly.
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Report: Local Production Activity Slips
Location production activity in Los Angeles County for movies, television shows and commercials dropped by 6.8 percent during the second quarter of 2006, according to a report to be released today by FilmLA Inc., the Los Angeles Daily News reports. The decline followed a modest gain of 4.14 percent during the year’s first quarter and overall growth of 4.26 percent in 2005. It also comes on the heels of a disappointing pilot season for the region when year-to-year totals were down by an astounding 23 percent. Activity rose in other regions, especially those with significant financial incentives such as tax credits, which can significantly reduce a production budget.
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Supervisors Narrowly Back Zoning Law That Could Add Housing
Developers would gain more leeway to avoid zoning requirements in unincorporated areas under a state affordable housing law that was tentatively adopted Tuesday by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Copley News Service reported in the Daily Breeze. Under the new law, developers could qualify for exceptions to local zoning codes in exchange for building low-income units. A county planning official said the law would not lead to development that is out of character for residential areas, but some county supervisors fretted about the possibility of 11-story buildings cropping up in unincorporated neighborhoods.
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L.B. Port Approves $474M Budget
Long Beach Harbor Commissioners have approved a budget that boosts spending at the facility by 15 percent, or $63 million, over last year, the Long Beach Press-Telegram reports. The $474 million spending plan approved Monday is being forwarded to the Long Beach City Council for final approval. The new budget includes increased funding for port security, partnering with neighboring communities and environmental programs.
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