Los Angeles Economic, Social, and Demographic Data

[Westsidelife]

Health Net launches foundation, donates $1.35M to AHA

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 6, 2007

Health Net Inc. has launched the Health Net Foundation with a three-year, $1.35 million grant to the American Heart Association, the company said Wednesday.

The donation will support the American Heart Association's Start! movement in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties in California and in San Antonio, Texas, according to a release. The program is intended to help Americans of all ages improve heart health by walking.

Health Net Foundation is a nonprofit corporation that will make charitable contributions to organizations that promote wellness and preventative care, combat childhood obesity and support health-related programs for military families, according to a release. It was created in 2007 as a philanthropic arm of Los Angeles-based Health Net (NYSE: HNT).

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Lasco cuts production in Ga.

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 6, 2007

Lasco Bathware is temporarily suspending manufacturing and temporarily cutting about 100 production jobs at its Cordele, Ga., facility in response to lower demand.

The Anaheim-based acrylic and gelcoat bath fixtures company said it will continue to use the Cordele facility as a product distribution center, with about 50 employees in warehouse, administration and shipping positions.

"With nine production facilities across the country, we are constantly shifting production capacity to meet demand and ensure that we're operating as efficiently as possible," said Stuart Leigh, president of Lasco Bathware. "With these adjustments, it's important to stress that our existing customers will not be affected and will continue to receive the quality and level of customer service they have come to rely on."

As regional business conditions improve, the company said it will investigate the possibility of bringing back manufacturing at the Cordele plant and possibly rehiring employees.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Northrop Grumman receives $17.5M contract

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 6, 2007

Northrop Grumman Corp. has received a $17.5 million contract from the U.S. Army to provide more than 500 hand-held laser target locators to assist soldiers in locating and identifying enemy targets, the company said Thursday.

The company will conduct the work on its Mark VII product at its Apopka, Fla., unit. The first deliveries are scheduled for April 2008, with final deliveries due in August 2009.

The Mark VII is a hand-held device that can locate an enemy day or night. It can be used for surveillance or target enemy positions for air or artillery engagement.

Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) is a global defense and technology company.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Warner shows to appear on ABC broadband player

Sep 6, 2007

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Walt Disney Co's ABC television network and Warner Bros announced an experimental deal on Thursday for four Warner-produced ABC shows to appear on ABC's Web-based broadband media player.

ABC already makes several shows from its own production arm, ABC Studios, available for free to viewers on the ad- supported broadband player.

Since its launch in September 2006, the player has streamed all or part of 134 million episodes, ABC data shows. ABC was the first broadcast network to offer its prime time shows for free on the ad-supported player.

The network will sell ads and keep the revenue for the Warner hits, "Men in Trees" and "Notes from the Underbelly" and new shows "Big Shots" and "Pushing Daisies," which all appear on ABC.

Jana Winograde, ABC Entertainment's executive vice president of business affairs, said consumer demand drove the network to seek an agreement with Warner Bros.

"They have come to expect it with serialized shows ... that if they miss their favorite show that they can find it on abc.com," Winograde said.

In the second year of the agreement, Warner holds the rights to stream the previous year's shows to an unlimited number of Web outlets and may sell digital downloads and DVD box sets of those shows.

The episodes will carry ABC branding and will promote the network.

As with the ABC-produced shows, the Warner episodes will appear on abc.com the day after their broadcast premieres and will be available for online viewing for up to four weeks.

Warner Bros is a unit of Time Warner Inc.

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Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/techn...38149320070906

[Westsidelife]

Northrop subsidiary wins Navy submarine contract

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 11, 2007

Northrop Grumman Corp.'s AMSEC LLC subsidiary has won a contract from the U.S. Navy for submarine work in San Diego, the company said Tuesday.

AMSEC is the prime contractor for the work, according to a release. It is one of multiple winners of an indefinite-delivery indefinite-quantity contract with a potential maximum value of $15 million collectively, according to a release.

The contract includes repair, maintenance and alteration to U.S. Navy submaries visiting or home-ported in San Diego and purchasing long-lead time material for the activities, according to a release. Work is expected to be complete by August 2012 and will be performed in San Diego.

Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman (NYSE: NOC) is a global defense and technology company. Its AMSEC LLC is a subsidiary of Northrop's Newport News sector.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

IMT Capital opens Austin office

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 11, 2007

IMT Capital LLC is opening a regional office in Austin.

The Los Angeles-based private equity firm focuses on multifamily residential properties and multifamily development. The Austin office will focus on acquiring multifamily properties in major metropolitan areas in Texas including Austin, Dallas and Houston.

The Austin office will be headed by Michael Hooks, who previously was vice president at Capmark Capital.

"IMT believes that the long-term demographic growth and economic development in the Texas market will continue. We have a long and successful history of investments in the region and look forward to the continuation of that tradition," says Hooks.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Jacobs wins two new contracts

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 11, 2007

Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. has received new contracts from Vopak Dupeg Terminal Hamburg GmbH and the BORDET Institute, the company said Tuesday.

Vopak Dupeg Terminal Hamburg GmbH
Jacobs has received a contract from Vopak Dupeg Terminal Hamburg GmbH to provide engineering, procurement and construction management services for the relocation of tank terminal facilities in Hamburg, Germany.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Jacobs will work on the project from its Cologne, Germany, office supported by a team on site in Hamburg. Vopak is integrating two current Hamburg terminals into one to make space for increasing container activity in the Port of Hamburg, according to a release. One terminal will be closed, and the other will serve all major refinery and chemical owners in the northern region of Germany.

BORDET Institute
Jacobs received a contract from the BORDET Institute to provide owner-engineer support for a new hospital in Brussels, Belgium.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Jacobs has already completed a conceptual study for the project, according to a release, and under the new contract will provide services including programming and advice for technical and functional project definition, support of contractor selection, change management assistance, and will ensure hospital functions remain stable during construction. Jacobs will manage the project from its healthcare center of excellence in Paris, France, the company said in a release.

Pasadena-based Jacobs (NYSE: JEC) provides technical, professional and construction services globally.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

CBRE Wins 7M-SF ING Clarion Assignment

By Bob Howard
September 11, 2007

LOS ANGELES-New York City-based ING Clarion Partners has named CB Richard Ellis to manage a national portfolio of 26 class A office buildings in CBD and suburban markets in seven states, making it the locally based company's largest third-party office property management assignment. Eight of the properties are located in the Washington/Baltimore region, with the others in Atlanta, San Francisco, Boston, Denver, Los Angeles, Connecticut and South Florida.
Drew Genova, Washington, DC-based senior managing director of strategic accounts for CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com that the individual buildings range from approximately 100,000 sf to 500,000 sf and that the occupancy of the portfolio is in the high 90% range. Genova and Tony Long, Dallas-based president of Americas asset services with CB Richard Ellis, created the account model that won the assignment for CBRE.

Genova and Long and will continue as senior advisers to ING on the management of the properties, which ING formerly managed in-house. As Genova explains to GlobeSt.com, the model for managing the new account calls for John Greenwood of CBRE's Wayne, PA office to manage the account’s day-to-day activities under the title of alliance director.

"We really looked at this, in large part, in the same way as we look at the corporate side of our business," Genova says. Whereas properties under third-party managers traditionally have been run by a local office in contact with the local representative for the building ownership, Genova says, "In this instance, given that it's a national assignment crossing multiple markets, we felt that it was much better to assign a person that the client can communicate with regardless of where a property is located."
Genova explains that one result of this structure will be "to have us look like ING in delivering day-to-day services so that we maintain the ING brand's image in the market." Greenwood, as point person on the account, will have true account oversight on the ING portfolio.

"This will mean his full involvement with the client and with each of the individuals at CBRE who will be responsible for delivering the day-to-day services," Genova adds. Greenwood, in addition to the CBRE asset services organization, will be supported by more than 50 ING Clarion employees who will join CBRE as part of the agreement.

Winning the ING Clarion account, "speaks to our platform and our depth," Genova comments. He says that ING focuses intently on providing high-quality management for its properties and that CBRE's model is designed "to operate the properties at the same level high level of quality" as ING did in managing the properties itself.

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Source: http://www.globest.com/news/989_989/.../163905-1.html

[Westsidelife]

Another Deal in the Works for Countrywide

By ALLEN P. ROBERTS Jr.
September 11, 2007

Countrywide Financial Corp. is working on putting together another billion-dollar bailout plan as the nation's largest lender struggles amid a global credit crunch and rapidly declining housing market.

The New York Post reported that the Calabasas-based lender is working with Goldman Sachs and law firm Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz to structure another investment similar to the deal it inked with Bank of America last month.

The paper reported that a group that could include J.P. Morgan and Citigroup as well as several hedge funds has expressed interest in Countrywide and is hammering out a deal that could be announced as soon as the end of the month.

Last month, Bank of America paid $2 billion for a series of non-voting preferred stock in the struggling lender that provide an annual dividend of 7.25 percent and can be converted into common stock at $18 per share.

Countrywide also announced plans late last week to cut its workforce by as much as 20 percent, or 12,000 jobs, in an effort to cut costs – prompting analysts at Merrill Lynch and UBS to cut their profit estimates for the company, sending shares down as much as 5 percent. The stock, which has fallen nearly 60 percent this year, closed at a four-year low of $17.21 Monday and was dropping further Tuesday.

Also adding to the fire, French investment firm Alliance Capital Management, which is owned by giant French insurance company AXA SA, sold about 31 million shares of Countrywide in August and Barclays Global Investors dumped nearly 25 million shares.

Shares in Countrywide were down 5.6 percent, or 96 cents, to $16.25 in afternoon trading Tuesday.

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Source: http://www.labusinessjournal.com/art...88&aID2=117367

[Westsidelife]

DaVita Acquires Stake in HomeChoice

By DEBORAH CROWE
Los Angeles Business Journal Staff
September 11, 2007

El Segundo-based dialysis services provider DaVita Inc. said that it has acquired 85 percent of HomeChoice Partners Inc. for approximately $65 million in cash in a bid to diversify its business.

HomeChoice, based in Norfolk, Va., provides infusion therapy services to patients with conditions, ranging from chronic pain to cancer, that can be treated at home or at an ambulatory infusion suite. Infusion therapy involves the administration of medications into the bloodstream, under the skin, or membranes surrounding the spinal cord.

DaVita currently does not provide infusion services, but Vice President LeAnne Zumwalt said the business plays to many of DaVita’s strengths, such as the ability to manage small geographically diverse offices around the country and treating complex and chronic medical conditions in an outpatient setting.

We may eventually expand in this area, but HomeChoice is a good start,” Zumwalt said.

HomeChoice reported approximately $37 million in trailing 12 month revenue and currently serves more than 2000 patients in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The acquisition is expected to be neutral to earnings in the first year, DaVita said in a press release late Monday. The remaining 15 percent ownership interest will be retained by HomeChoice’s senior management.

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Source: http://www.labusinessjournal.com/art...89&aID2=117365

[Westsidelife]

Mattress Gallery Sold to Houston Firm

By SARAH FILUS
Los Angeles Business Journal Staff
September 11, 2007

Los Angeles-based Mattress Gallery, which owns and operates 53 mattress stores in Southern California, is set to be purchased by Houston-based Mattress Firm, the number three retailer of mattresses with 450 stores in 21 states.

Upon completion of the purchase of Mattress Gallery, Mattress Firm will enter the California market for the first time and become the number two mattress retailer ahead of Select Comfort.

Financial terms of the acquisition, which is expected to close in 60 days, were not disclosed.

Mattress Gallery stores will be converted into Mattress Firm stores, and will expand product selection.

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Source: http://www.labusinessjournal.com/art...89&aID2=117346

[Westsidelife]

Kennedy Wilson buys Thousand Oaks office building

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 12, 2007

Kennedy Wilson and two of its sponsored funds have purchased a 354,341 square foot, 3 story office building located on 43 acres in Thousand Oaks, the company said Tuesday.

The sponsored funds involved in the deal include KWI Property Fund I and KW Property Fund II, according to a release.

Built in 1982, the building was extensively renovated in 2007 and designed by Los Angeles architect A.C. Martin. The property is currently at 79 percent occupancy and major tenants are Baxter Healthcare, Verizon and HMS Capital, according to a release.

Beverly Hills-based Kennedy Wilson (OTCBB: KWIC) is a real estate and investment firm with 20 offices throughout the U.S. and Japan.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

Ducommun subsidiary gets $28M commercial aircraft deal

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 12, 2007

Ducommun Inc.'s subsidiary Ducommun AeroStructures Inc. has won contracts from Latecoere International Inc. to supply fuselage and door skins for the Embraer ERJ 170/190 family of commercial aircraft, the company said Wednesday.

Under the five year contract, valued at more than $28 million, Ducommun will continue to supply fuselage skins for the Embraer ERJ 170/190 Regional Jet platform, the company said in a release. The company will also provide Latecoere with door skins for the same program under a new three-year contract, according to a release. Ducommun AeroStructures has been providing the fuselage skins to Latecoere since the beginning of the program.

All work on the contract will be done at Ducommun AeroStructures' facilities in Gardena and Orange.

Los Angeles-based Ducommun (NYSE: DCO) provides engineering and manufacturing services to the aerospace and defense industry.

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Source: http://losangeles.bizjournals.com/lo...l?surround=lfn

[Westsidelife]

CSC wins $20M outsourcing contract from Wilton Re

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 13, 2007

Computer Sciences Corp. has won a $20 million business process outsourcing contract with Wilton Re to support the company's growth strategy, the company said Thursday.

Under the 10-year deal, CSC will transition about 80,000 insurance policies acquired by Wilton Re to CSC's insurance BPO operations and provide full back-office administration services, according to a release. CSC will also provide the scalable foundation for future Wilson Re acquisitions, the company said in a release.

Wilton Re Holdings Limited provides traditional life reinsurance and insurance Run Off Solutions through its wholly owned subsidiaries.

El Segundo-based CSC (NYSE: CSC) is a global information technology services company.

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Source: Los Angeles Business from bizjournals

[Westsidelife]

Maguire refinances KPMG Tower

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 13, 2007

Maguire Properties Inc. has completed a new $400 million 5-year financing for its KPMG Tower property in downtown Los Angeles, the company said Wednesday.

The loan is with Eurohypo AG, New York Branch and is at a variable rate of LIBOR plus 150%, according to a release. Maguire also entered a forward-starting interest rate swap agreement to hedge this loan, essentially fixing the interest rate at 7.06 percent, the company said in a release. Net proceeds of the refinancing were about $130 million after repayment of the existing $210 million mortgage loan and the payment of loan reserves and closing costs, according to a release.

Maguire said it will use about $110 million of the net proceeds to fully repay a $400 million term loan connected with its April 2007 purchase of the southern California Equity Office Properties portfolio.

The company said in a release that it has no borrowings outstanding under its $130 million revolving credit facility, and after the refinancing about 88 percent of its outstanding debt is fixed (or swapped to a fixed rate) at a weighted average interest rate of about 5.6 percent on an interest only basis. The remaining term on the debt is about eight years, according to a release.

Los Angeles-based Maguire Properties (NYSE: MPG) is the largest owner and operator of Class A office properties in the Los Angeles central business district.

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Source: Los Angeles Business from bizjournals

[Westsidelife]

CSC wins $25M contract with Woodside

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 13, 2007

Computer Sciences Corp. has signed a three year $25 million information technology services contract with Woodside, an international oil and gas group based in Australia, the company said Wednesday.

The contract follows a one-year information technology services agreement between the companies. Under the new agreement, CSC will continue to provide a range of IT services including data center hosting, enterprise monitoring, help desk, desktop support, database administration, data recovery, asset management, server support and change management, according to a release.

El Segundo-based CSC (NYSE: CSC) is a global information technology services company.

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Source: Los Angeles Business from bizjournals

[Westsidelife]

Northrop Grumman wins $12M Navy job

By Erin Killian, Washington Business Journal
Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 13, 2007

Northrop Grumman Corp. has won a $12 million contract modification to continue engineering support for the Navy.

The government contractor's mission systems division will specifically help develop, install, integrate and maintain combat simulation under the Aegis program.

Most of the work will be performed in Dahlgren, Va. at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, but the contractor will also do work in Arlington; Mount Laurel, N.J.; New Church, Va.; and San Diego.

Los Angeles-based Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC) is a global defense and technology company. It has annual sales of nearly $4 billion.

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Source: Los Angeles Business from bizjournals

[Westsidelife]

Ducommun wins $4.8M Missile Defense Agency contract

Los Angeles Business from bizjournals
September 13, 2007

Ducommun Inc.'s Ducommun Technologies Inc. subsidiary has won an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract from the Missile Defense Agency worth $4.8 million, the company said Thursday.

Ducommun Technologies' Miltec subsidiary, as a contract prime, will perform work focused on the coordination and integration of various payloads to support missile and space experimentation, according to a release.

Los Angeles-based Ducommun (NYSE: DCO) provides engineering and manufacturing services to the aerospace and defense industry.

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Source: Los Angeles Business from bizjournals

[Westsidelife]

Countrywide Gets Financing; Lending Dips

By ALLEN P. ROBERTS Jr.
September 13, 2007

Countrywide Financial Corp said Thursday that it has lined up $12 billion of secured financing to help it cope with reduced loan demand, a slumping housing market and declining investor confidence.

The announcement boosted shares in the beleaguered stock nearly 10 percent in early trading.

Countrywide said it lined up the financing through new or existing credit facilities but did not elaborate. This round of financing comes less than a month after the company drew $11.5 billion from credit facilities to fund loans because it was unable to sell short-term debt on the secondary market.

The company also said that it had funded $34 billion in mortgages for August, marking the slowest month this year for the Calabasas-based lender and more than 17 percent less than the same period a year earlier. Countrywide’s pipeline of unclosed mortgages also fell 17 percent from July to $52 billion.

Countrywide said that the summer slump in lending was partially due to the company not making home loans that don't meet its own heightened criteria, or making loans that aren't eligible to be backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie.

Countrywide’s pullback from subprime loans also continued. Of the loans issued in August, less than 4 percent were subprime – about the same as July, the company said.

Shares in Countrywide jumped 8 percent, or $1.35, to $17.97 in afternoon trading Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange.

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Source: Los Angeles Business Journal

[croyboy]

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