CENTRAL AREA
HOLLYWOOD
Internet Deal: Friendgiftr, a Hollywood-based service that lets users send online gift cards to friends and family, has been acquired by Aurora Borealis Investments, an Anchorage, Alaska, private-equity firm. Friendgiftr founder and Chief Executive Rob Carpenter will be leaving the company.
LOS ANGELES
Game On: Mention Mobile, an L.A. developer of social gaming apps, has received another round of investment from billionaire Mark Cuban, owner of several media properties and the National Basketball Association’s Dallas Mavericks. The size of the investment was not disclosed. Cuban made a $250,000 investment in Mention in November.
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY
VAN NUYS
Taking Off: Elite Aviation, a jet-chartering business at Van Nuys Airport, has formed a partnership with STA Jets Inc., a Santa Ana jet-chartering business with operations at John Wayne Airport. The partnership will give Elite a second base of operations and access to STA Jets’ fleet of aircraft.
South of the Border: Cherokee Inc., a Van Nuys clothing brand marketer and manager, has announced the launch of its Sideout brand in Soriana retail stores in Mexico. With 567 stores, the Soriana chain, owned and operated by Organizacion Soriana in Monterrey, is Mexico’s second largest retailer. The Sideout Brand collection will include apparel, swimsuits, footwear and accessories for the junior, men’s, boys and girls categories.
SHERMAN OAKS
Land Purchase: IMT Capital LLC, a real estate investment firm in Sherman Oaks, has purchased 2.37 acres in Sherman Oaks for $4.28 million from a private owner. The location, on Magnolia Boulevard just west of Van Nuys Boulevard, is zoned for both multifamily and single-family homes. There is one house and a duplex currently on the site. IMT is considering its options for the site.
NORTH COUNTY
VALENCIA
Shot in the Arm: Sheila R. Veloz Breast Imaging Center, located on the campus of Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, has received a $40,000 grant from the Los Angeles County affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a Dallas-based non-profit organization focused on breast cancer research and treatment. The grant will allow the center to provide breast cancer screening and diagnostic procedures to the underinsured and underserved, particularly women and men under 40 who have symptoms of the disease, are at high risk of getting breast cancer or have a strong family history of the disease.
WESTSIDE
CENTURY CITY
French Accent: OpenGate Capital LLC, a Century City private-equity firm, has acquired French consumer magazine Reponse a Tout (Answers for Everything) from Groupe Ayache, a Paris magazine publisher. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Reponse a Tout will be added to the stable of Fleurus Presse, a Paris magazine publisher acquired by OpenGate in 2009.
