STANDOFF: The Los Angeles City Council and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power remained at odds over a proposed electricity rate increase, with the council last week rejecting a compromise deal brokered by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Under California law, rate increases can only be imposed on a quarterly basis, so the utility won’t have the chance to raise rates again for three more months. Council members wanted a hike that would have a smaller financial impact on ratepayers. But the DWP board endorsed a larger increase closer to what the mayor wanted to pay for some renewable energy initiatives.
JOBLESS: The Los Angeles County jobs picture brightened slightly in February as the county gained 24,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dropped one-tenth of a percentage point to 12.4 percent. The county had 3.75 million nonfarm payroll jobs in February, up 24,300 from January. Six of the county’s 11 major industry sectors showed job gains, led by private education, professional and business services, and the film industry. Retail trade and construction showed the largest declines. The county’s jobless rate is still well above the national rate of 9.7 percent and the 10.5 percent rate the county posted a year ago.
EXTENSION: Struggling movie studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. has received a six-week extension on a deadline to make interest payments on $3.7 billion in debt. MGM said that its 140-plus lenders have agreed to push back the deadline until May 14. That’s the fourth extension MGM has received since October. The move will give MGM’s stakeholders more time to decide between two bidders, one of them a $1.5 billion acquisition offer from Time Warner Inc. The studio might also opt for a restructuring that would enable it to remain an independent company.
EXPANDING: Premium denim maker Joe’s Jeans Inc. is stepping into the women’s shoe market with the signing of a manufacturing and distribution licensing deal with shoemaker Burano LLC. The L.A. company said its first shoes, ballet flats, are being shipped, and other styles will roll out later this spring and into summer. The initial term of the agreement with Burano is three years, with a minimum net sales commitment of $5.5 million.
ACQUISITION: J2 Global Communications Inc. has acquired the communications business of mBox Pty Ltd., which is based in Australia. J2, an L.A.-based outsourced messaging and communication company that provides services in 48 countries, said the acquisition will expand its customer base in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, and increase its network of local telephone numbers in those locations. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
COMPLETE: Electro Rent Corp. closed its previously announced acquisition of Telogy LLC, a leading provider of electronic test equipment, for $24.7 million. The Van Nuys company, which sells, rents and leases electronic test equipment, personal computers and servers, said it will transfer Telogy’s equipment inventory to its Southern California distribution center and integrate Telogy’s operations. Telogy was a reseller of electronic test equipment that filed for bankruptcy this year; Electro Rent won the auction for its assets.
MORE TIME: Walt Disney Co. reportedly is giving potential bidders time to firm up offers for its specialty film label Miramax Films. Among potential bidders are Miramax founders Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who sold the company to Disney in 1993. Alec and Tom Gores, brothers who run separate investment firms, are expected to submit a joint bid for Miramax’s library, which includes Oscar winners such as “Chicago,” “The English Patient” and “Shakespeare in Love.”
LEAVING: AeroVironment Inc. said Chief Financial Officer Stephen Wright has resigned to pursue other business opportunities. Wright had been CFO at the Monrovia maker of unmanned aircraft systems and electric-energy systems since September 2002. AeroVironment said Jikun Kim, who became AeroVironment’s controller in June, will serve as interim CFO.
RESIGNED: Response Genetics Inc. said that Thomas Stankovich has resigned as chief financial officer effective April 2 to pursue other interests. The L.A. company, which develops diagnostic tests used in cancer treatment, said it has launched a search for a replacement. Eric Alcorn, vice president of finance and administration, will assume Stankovich’s responsibilities in the interim.
NEW EXEC: Korn/Ferry International said Byrne Mulrooney has joined the company as chief executive of its Futurestep global outsourced recruiting business. Prior to Korn/Ferry, Mulrooney was chief operating officer at Flynn Transportation Services, a third-party logistics company.
Mulrooney succeeds Robert McNabb. As part of the company’s succession planning,
McNabb will now focus on initiatives in the office of the chief executive.
CLEANUP: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said 12 companies, most of them local, have agreed to pay $3.9 million toward the cleanup of a San Gabriel Valley site that received Superfund status in 1986. The 190-acre landfill in Monterey Park, run by Operating Industries Inc., accepted hazardous liquid and solid waste from industrial companies from 1948 until it closed in 1984.
BUYING TIME: Tribune Co. filed a motion in a Delaware bankruptcy court to extend until April 30 its exclusive right to propose a reorganization plan in its 15-month-old Chapter 11 case. Chicago-based Tribune, which owns the Los Angeles Times and KTLA-TV (Channel 5), previously filed four extensions. The most recent extension had been set to expire March 31. The company has struggled under $13 billion in debt incurred to finance a 2007 leveraged buyout led by real estate magnate Sam Zell.
EARNINGS: Unico American Corp. reported fourth quarter net income of $596,000, 70 percent lower than a year earlier. Revenue fell 9.7 percent to less than $10.1 million. … American Apparel Inc. reported fourth quarter net income of $3.1 million, 21 percent lower than a year earlier. Revenue rose 9 percent to $158 million.
