SURVEY SAYS: A survey by the Los Angeles County Business Federation finds that local business owners and executives are more optimistic about the economy this year, but concern over higher taxes, fees and government regulation is dampening expansion and hiring. The latest BizFed BizPOLL survey of members finds that 61 percent of respondents believe business conditions this year will be better than last year, up slightly from the same time last year. It’s also up significantly from the fall survey, released in October, when less than one-third of respondents believed the economy would get better in the next six months. Only 34 percent of 421 respondents in the new survey plan to increase their work force this year, compared with 31 percent at the same time a year earlier. One in six businesses is forecasting layoffs this year, down from one in three a year ago.
DISNEY DEPARTURE: Rich Ross quit as chairman of Walt Disney Co.’s movie studio in the wake of one the studio’s biggest flops. Ross, who had been president of the Disney Channel before Chief Executive Robert Iger promoted him to studio chief in October 2009, was unable to duplicate his successes on the TV side of the Burbank entertainment giant’s business. Ross, who built up Disney Channel franchises such as “High School Musical” and “Hannah Montana,” had mixed results at the film studio. He inherited production of “John Carter,” a science-fiction epic with a budget that grew to more than $250 million. Disney said in March it expected the film to lose more than $200 million. “I no longer believe that the chairman role is the right professional fit for me,” Ross told his staff in an e-mail leaked to media.
JAKKS TALKS: Jakks Pacific Inc. has agreed to talk with Oaktree Capital Management Funds about Oaktree’s buyout offer. The toymaker also announced a share buy-back and expansion of its board. The Malibu company last fall rejected a takeover bid from Oaktree, arguing that the offer undervalued the company. The affiliate of downtown L.A. private-equity firm Oaktree Capital Group LLC in September made an unsolicited bid of $20 a share, totaling $670 million. That was a 25 percent premium to Jakks’ share price at the time. Oaktree, which owns about 5 percent of Jakks’ shares, earlier this month wrote the board asking it to reconsider its position. Another institutional shareholder, Clinton Group Inc. of New York, urged Jakks to consider the offer and take other actions to improve shareholder value.
NEW CFO: Newegg Inc. has named Harry Amsden chief financial officer. Amsden, who will also hold the title of senior vice president, comes to the privately held City of Industry electronics e-commerce retailer from Tribune Co., where he was senior vice president of financial operations at the media company. He has 30 years of experience in strategic and operational business analysis, financial reporting and risk management. Amsden earlier was the vice president of finance and administration at Everyday Learning, a Tribune educational publishing subsidiary, and controller at the Orlando Sentinel newspaper. He began his career as an auditor at Chicago’s Arthur Andersen.
TURKEY MOVE: Amgen Inc. plans to acquire Turkish generic drug maker Mustafa Nevzat Pharmaceuticals for nearly $700 million cash in a bid to expand its overseas business. The Thousand Oaks biotech said it will acquire 96 percent of Istanbul-based Mustafa, which is considered a leading supplier of pharmaceuticals to hospitals and a major supplier of injectable medicines in Turkey. The private company had revenue of about $200 million in U.S. dollars last year, and on average has grown at double-digit rates over the past five years. Amgen established a Turkish affiliate in 2010 as part of a broad international expansion strategy.
CHINESE DEAL: Coda Holdings has signed a contract with China’s Great Wall Motors Co. to co-develop all-electric cars and light trucks for worldwide distribution. The L.A. developer of all-electric vehicles and advanced battery systems initially signed a letter of intent to supply its advanced battery and drive train to the Baoding vehicle manufacturer. The new contract formalizes and expands that partnership. Coda sold its first U.S.-made car in February. “This marks the launch of our partnership with Great Wall Motors that will enable us to bring EVs to global markets in a very efficient and cost-effective manner,” Chief Executive Phil Murtaugh said in a statement. “We’re excited to work with Great Wall Motors to develop the second product in Coda’s portfolio, to bring another solution to a global problem and together make high-quality clean technology accessible.”
WYOMING DRILL: BreitBurn Energy Partners LP plans to spend $98 million to acquire oil drilling land in Wyoming. The downtown L.A. independent oil and gas production partnership said the deal will be immediately accretive to its cash flow. The fields, located in Park County in the Big Horn Basin, are owned by Legacy Energy Inc., a unit of NiMin Energy Corp. of Carpinteria. The fields produce about 600 barrels of oil per day and will add to the BreitBurn holdings in the state. The company, which built its name producing oil from mature fields in the Los Angeles Basin, last year paid $58.1 million for oil properties in Wyoming’s Niobrara County. The Park County deal, which must still be approved by NiMin shareholders, is expected to close within 90 days.
EARNINGS: Teledyne Technologies Inc. reported quarterly net income of $35.7 million compared with $32 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 5.5 percent to $494 million. … Amgen Inc. reported quarterly net income of $1.18 billion compared with $1.13 billion in the same period a year ago. Revenue rose 9 percent to $4.05 billion. … OSI Systems Inc. reported quarterly net income of $12.6 million, compared with net income of $8.8 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue climbed 19 percent to $208 million. … Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s reported first quarter net income of $1.56 billion, compared with $1.55 billion in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 9.5 percent to $6.27 billion.
