MOLLUSKS: U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials in Los Angeles last week announced the largest seizure of Giant African Snails ever caught entering the Los Angeles. The mollusks are considered an invasive pest species that will eat not only hundreds of plants but stucco, too. The 67 snails were being delivered from Lagos, Nigeria, to San Dimas.
BANKRUPT: Love Culture, part of L.A.’s clothing industry, is seeking new ownership after filing for Chapter 11 protection in New Jersey. The women’s apparel company has a network of more than 70 stores across the United States, but its leaders expect to close low-performing shops as they attempt to restructure debt and consider selling virtually all of the company. The high cost of improving its electronic infrastructure was blamed in part for the financial problems.
MERGER: Banc of California is confident that its planned acquisition of 20 Popular Community Bank branches in Los Angeles and Orange counties will succeed despite objections raised by an activist group. The Community Reinvestment Coalition, which lobbies for banks to do more in low-income communities, called upon the Irvine-based Banc of California to publish a plan outlining how it plans to serve low-income customers. Banc of California replied that releasing such a plan could compromise proprietary information, but noted that federal regulators have previously given the institution favorable reviews for its compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act, which encourages investment in moderate and low-income communities. The branch purchases could close by year’s end.
AVIATION: Century City’s Air Lease Corp. has gone on a buying spree, announcing its purchase of nearly $4 billion worth of Boeing Co. jets in addition to an order for dozens of Airbus passenger aircraft. Air Lease, which leases aircraft to airlines, also announced plans to buy a further $2.4 billion worth of jet engines for its growing fleet of Boeing and Airbus craft. The announcements were made as aviation industry figures gathered for serious deal-making at the Farnborough International Air Show in the United Kingdom.
TRADE: The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach reported an increase in traffic for the month of June. Both ports saw imports increase at a faster pace than exports, and that development is a likely sign that retailers are stockpiling goods in advance of any labor problems on the West Coast. The Pacific Maritime Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union are still negotiating a new contract for dockworkers, whose contract expired at the end of June.
BLAST OFF: Hawthorne’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp., or SpaceX, came closer to winning the ability to launch rockets for the military after the U.S. Air Force granted certification to the private company’s Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX still needs to satisfy additional requirements, but certification is the most important milestone for companies seeking to bid on Air Force contracts. SpaceX said its 10th successful launch of the Falcon 9 took place Monday, when one of its rockets carried six communications satellites into orbit.
IPO: Commerce warehouse retailer Smart & Final is planning to return to the ranks of publicly traded companies. The company filed paperwork in June seeking to raise $100 million through an initial public offering. The company is owned by Century City’s Ares Management, which acquired it for $975 million from New York’s Apollo Global Management in 2012. Smart & Final was a public company before Apollo purchased it in 2007.
GERMANY: Downtown L.A. real estate firm CBRE Group Inc. has announced its second German acquisition of the year, revealing plans to buy Preuss Gesellschaft for an undisclosed sum. Preuss is a product management firm specializing in new real estate projects and large redevelopments. The company has offices in Munich, Berlin, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter and is subject to German regulatory approval. CBRE acquired real estate consultancy Valteq Gesellschaft earlier in the year.
EARNINGS: Mattel Inc. reported net income of $28.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, down from $73.3 million for the year-earlier period.
