SCHOOL TIE: UCLA’s Anderson School of Management plans to opt out of public funding as the University of California system faces cuts due to the state’s $20 billion budget deficit. The proposed shift will bring higher tuition for M.B.A. students. The Anderson financial self-sufficiency plan, which has been supported by UCLA’s leadership and endorsed by faculty, will soon be sent to UC system President Mark Yudof for his approval. Anderson Dean Judy Olian said the school would remain in the UC system.
HARD TIME: Daniel Laikin, the former chief executive of Hollywood-based National Lampoon, was sentenced in Philadelphia court to 45 months in prison for a stock manipulation conspiracy. Prosecutors said Laikin paid people to buy National Lampoon shares to inflate the price and then sell part or all of the company. The goal was to raise the price from about $2 per share to $5, but when investors learned of the scam, shares lost 80 percent of their value in three days. National Lampoon was later delisted from the American Stock Exchange. The company owns the rights to the “Vacation” and “Animal House” movies..
REAL ESTATE: Kennedy-Wilson Holdings, a Beverly Hills real estate investment firm, has formed a $278 million partnership with Fairfax Financial Holdings in Toronto. In its first deal, the partnership is gaining whole ownership of a Japanese apartment company; Kennedy-Wilson had held a minority stake. The name of the company was not disclosed, but Kennedy-Wilson said it owns 50 apartment buildings, mostly in Tokyo, valued at about $600 million. Fairfax, which acquired Woodland Hills workers’ compensation insurer Zenith National Insurance Corp. this year, previously invested more than $132 million in Kennedy-Wilson’s convertible preferred stock.
FAX PACT: J2 Global Communications, an Internet fax messaging service in Los Angeles, has acquired a competitor named Venali in Miami for about $17 million. The buyout ends a lawsuit between the companies that started in 2006, when Venali sued J2 alleging unfair competition. Venali’s messaging business generated about $10 million in revenue in the last 12 months. “We are excited to bring Venali and its numerous Fortune 500 customers to J2 Global,” Chief Executive Hemi Zucke said in a statement.
PLANE DEAL: Semco Instruments, a Valencia manufacturer of aerospace components, has been acquired by Cleveland-based TransDigm Group in a deal valued at $74 million. Semco makes components for aircraft engine manufacturers, including Pratt & Whitney, Honeywell and General Electric. It had annual revenue of $38 million in 2009. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the year.
PRIVATE WATER: The California Public Utilities Commission has approved the acquisition of SouthWest Water Co. by an investment partnership that will take the company private. The L.A. water utility, which operates in California and four other states, announced in March that it agreed to be acquired for about $275 million in cash, plus assumption of debt, by a partnership of Water Asset Management LLC and J.P. Morgan Asset Management. Shareholders will receive $11 per share.
MGM MANGEMENT: L.A.-based movie production company Spyglass Entertainment has signed an agreement to take over management of MGM, according to various media outlets. Spyglass founders Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum hope to name Ken Schapiro MGM’s chief operating officer once they gain control of the studio. Schapiro is owner of Enlightenment Productions. MGM owns a film library that includes the James Bond and Pink Panther movies, and is struggling under a $4 billion debt load.
ASIAN VOYAGES: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and L.A.-area officials and business leaders left for Asia on overlapping trade missions, hoping to bring home investment and jobs to a region starved for economic boosts. Schwarzenegger led a delegation to China, Japan and South Korea on a six-day trip his office said could result in billions of dollars in commerce for California companies. Separately, Lancaster leaders left for China on a nine-day trip that will likely include efforts to entice BYD, a Chinese manufacturer of electric cars and solar panels, to build a manufacturing plant in the Antelope Valley. BYD plans to establish its North American headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.
FONDA FITNESS: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. in Santa Monica has signed a home entertainment distribution deal with actress Jane Fonda, who is launching a line of fitness videos aimed at aging baby boomers. The Oscar-winning actress, 72, has released more than 20 fitness videos since 1982. Her first video release sold more than 17 million copies. But the Lions Gate line will be her first fitness product since 1995. The first Fonda video is scheduled for release Nov. 30. The company also has fitness video deals with Jillian Michaels of the reality TV series “The Biggest Loser” and fitness icon Denise Austin.
OUTSIDE HELP: Hipster brand American Apparel Inc. is in talks to bring in an outside restructuring firm as the manufacturer and retailer struggles to fix its flagging operations, sources said. Its main lender, Bank of America, pressed the L.A. company to hire the firm, a specialist in corporate turnarounds. The firm is not being brought in to arrange a bankruptcy, Reuters reported, but to help improve operations and its financial condition.
EARNINGS: Korn/Ferry International reported net income of $10.9 million for the second quarter, compared with a loss of $14.3 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 49 percent to $183 million. … AeroVironment reported a net loss of $3.4 million for the second quarter, compared with a loss of $3.6 million for the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 1 percent to $38.2 million. … Cherokee Inc. announced net income for the second quarter of $2.5 million, down from $2.9 million a year earlier. Revenue declined 7.4 percent to $7.5 million.
