REVIEW
October 3-9
Done Deal: NBC reached a final agreement to acquire Vivendi Universal SA’s U.S. media assets in a deal valued at $14 billion, giving the network a Hollywood studio and three cable networks. Under terms of the agreement, NBC parent General Electric Co. will assume $1.7 billion in debt and commit $3.8 billion of stock in exchange for 80 percent of the combined company, which will be called NBC Universal.
La Opinion News: The family that founded the Spanish-language newspaper La Opinion has hired UBS Investment Bank to try to buy back the 50 percent stake controlled by Tribune Co., owner of the Los Angeles Times. The Lozano family wants to regain control of the paper because the partnership has been “restrictive,” according to a spokeswoman for the paper. Tribune inherited its stake in 2000 when it bought Times Mirror Co.
Oil Delays: Shares of Unocal Corp. fell after the company lowered production estimates mainly because of delays at a new field in Indonesia. Production from the field averaged 5,000 barrels of oil equivalent in the third quarter, below the expected 20,000 barrels. Even with the reduced output, the El Segundo-based oil and natural gas producer affirmed a previous third-quarter earnings estimate of 65 cents to 75 cents a share.
Cheaper Gas: L.A. gasoline prices continued their downward ways, despite uncertainty about the direction of oil prices. For the week ended Oct. 6, the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular was $1.87, down from $1.93 a week earlier. Gasoline prices had peaked at $2.14 in late August.
Flower Power: FTD Inc., the flower delivery service via phone and now the Internet, will be acquired by Los Angeles-based Green Equity Investors for about $420 million, or $24.85 a share. Downers Grove, Ill.-based FTD, which had been on the block for several months, reported a 12 percent increase in sales for the year ended in June, to $363.3 million. Green Equity is a unit of Leonard Green & Partners.
Subpoena Disclosed: Tenet Healthcare Corp. disclosed that a claims processing company it has a large stake in has received a subpoena from federal prosecutors in New Orleans. The subpoena doesn’t indicate the nature of the investigation. The Santa Barbara-based hospital chain is currently under investigation by at least three government agencies concerning its billing practices.
New Accountant: Homestore Inc., whose founding managers were implicated in a scheme involving ad revenues, fired its accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. In an SEC filing, the Westlake Village-based online real estate company gave no reason for the dropping Pricewaterhouse. The company’s new firm is Ernst & Young.
TV Deal: Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc. will license its interactive program guide technology to AOL Time Warner Inc.’s Time Warner Cable unit, the nation’s second-biggest cable operator, with 10.9 million customers. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Stock Drop: Shares of Staar Surgical Co. dropped nearly $3 last week following a mixed decision by a Food and Drug Administration panel on the Monrovia company’s new implantable contact lens, which the company views as a potential competitor to laser eye surgery. The panel approved the lens but expressed safety concerns that one analyst said could limit its sales.
PREVIEW
October 13-19
Hello Columbus: By now we all know that Columbus was not the first to discover America, nor was he the first to land in America. Some trace the myth of Christopher Columbus to Washington Irving’s “biography” of the famous explorer. Whatever, Columbus Day is a federal holiday and banks and many government offices will be closed. The stock exchanges will be open but the bond market is closed.
Economic Reports: Wednesday (15th): consumer price index for September. Thursday (16th): August business inventories, industrial production, capacity utilization. Friday (17th): September housing starts, mid-October consumer sentiment from the University of Michigan.
Earnings Season: The trickle of third-quarter results turns into a steady stream this week as local companies report their results for the July-September quarter.
Sports Beat: It’s only an exhibition game, but expect lots of coverage on Thursday (16th) when the Lakers host Cleveland at the Staples Center, the first game in L.A. since the Kobe Bryant case broke. As if Bryant’s appearance weren’t enough, there will be the Cavaliers’ rookie sensation LeBron James. The next night the Lakers are home against Phoenix. The Kings open their home season on Wednesday (16th) against Ottawa and then it’s Boston on Saturday. In college football on Saturday (18th), USC is at Notre Dame and UCLA is home to California. In soccer, the Galaxy is home on Saturday (18th) against San Jose.
Peres Talk: Former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres kicks off the eighth season of Distinguished Speaker Series on Wednesday (15th) at Pasadena’s Civic Auditorium at 8 p.m. For information: 626-449-7360.
Economic Outlook: Biotech prospects in the San Gabriel Valley will be among the topics discussed on Tuesday (14th) at the annual economic outlook conference, hosted by the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership. Among the speakers: Sheldon Schuster, president of the Keck Graduate Institute of Applied Life Sciences. For information: 626-856-3400.
About Death Row: Author Scott Turow discusses his new book “Ultimate Punishment: A lawyer’s Reflections on the Death Penalty” on Thursday (16th) at 7 p.m., as part of the speaker series at L.A.’s Central Library. Turow recently served on the Illinois commission that was influential in the commutation of the sentences of 164 death-row inmates. For information: 213-228-7025.
