NEW PLAN: The Los Angeles City Council gave unanimous final approval to the Warner Center 2035 Specific Plan. The plan will pave the way for more large-scale development in the Woodland Hills area. The plan was designed to help stimulate job growth and economic development by using a transit-oriented development approach centered on the Metro Orange Line. The approval comes amid a deluge of development, including Westfield Group’s $500 million project connecting its two malls in the area.
PARED DOWN: Occidental Petroleum Corp. said it intends to sell part of its Mideast operations and part of its stake in a domestic pipeline company as part of a planned restructuring. The Westwood oil giant also will explore other strategic alternatives, such as selling or trading oil and gas interests in the Rocky Mountain region, North Dakota and Kansas. The operations overhaul is part of an effort to boost investor confidence.
ACQUISITION: Hermosa Beach private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners has announced plans to acquire telecom company Tellabs Inc. for $891 million. The $2.45-a-share bid is a slight premium to Tellabs’ price before the deal was announced. Tellabs, in Naperville, Ill., has posted losses for 11 straight quarters as it struggled against competition and faced a shrinking customer base due to consolidation among service providers.
PORT ACTIVITY: Year-over-year cargo volume at the Port of Long Beach rose in September, up 14.7 percent over last year’s activity. Imports were up 16.2 percent higher than last September, while exports rose by 17.2 percent. With more than 587,000 containers moving through the port, September was the second-busiest month of the year.
NEW UNIT: Beverly Hills private equity firm OpenGate Capital has launched a division to focus on media and publishing acquisitions. OpenGate Media Group will target underperforming publications or underdeveloped digital media assets, and includes a partnership with Jack Kliger and David Fishman of New York magazine consultancy Kliger Media Associates. OpenGate Capital owns six media, publishing and print-related businesses, including TV Guide Magazine and Pennysaver USA, that have combined annual revenue of about $1 billion.
BIG CONTRACT: Teledyne Technologies Inc. has signed a contract with Boeing Co. for avionics data and an information management system for updated versions of the 737, 747 and 777 jetliners. The Thousand Oaks company, which makes scientific instrumentation, digital imaging products and defense electronics systems, said the contract for its El Segundo-based Teledyne Controls unit covers aircraft data acquisition systems for several planes.
HOTEL CASINO: Gov. Jerry Brown last week went to Bell Gardens to help campaign contributor Bicycle Casino celebrate pending construction of its new luxury hotel. Brown said he was pleased that the future 100-room Bicycle Casino Hotel would be the first luxury hotel in the Mid-Cities region of south Los Angeles County. The casino expects the hotel project to create 300 jobs during construction and about 250 full-time hotel jobs when in operation. Ground-breaking is scheduled for next month, with completion expected by 2015.
ANOTHER JOB: Former L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is joining public relations firm Edelman, where he will serve as a senior adviser to the global public affairs division of the PR giant. Villaraigosa said he will work mostly for corporate clients on issues related to public policy, but will not lobby.
VENTURE FUNDS: Los Angeles County saw a noticeable uptick in venture capital investment in the third quarter, according to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. Local companies raised nearly $349 million, up from $277 million during the second quarter. Technology companies dominated the list, topped by Edgecast Networks Inc., a Santa Monica content-delivery company that raised $54 million in a round that included Burbank investor Steamboat Ventures.
DOLE ENDORSEMENT: Independent advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services has given its stamp of approval to an offer by Dole Food Co. Chairman-Chief Executive David Murdock to take the company private for $13.50 a share. The ISS report cited the “meaningful premium” Murdock offered to buy the Westlake Village produce company. Separately, Dole announced an offering of $275 million in senior secured notes. Net proceeds will be used to finance a portion of the merger.
EARNINGS: Amgen Inc. reported third quarter net income of $1.37 billion, 25 percent higher than in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 10 percent to $4.74 billion. … Skechers USA Inc. reported net income of $26.8 million, 143 percent higher. Revenue rose 20 percent to $516 million. … Cathay General Bancorp reported net income of $30 million, 15 percent higher. Net interest income rose 3 percent to $82.6 million, with noninterest income up 7 percent to $16.7 million.
