Around the Valleys

– San Fernando Valley Glendale Technicolor SA has closed down its film lab, the last of the entertainment service company units operating in the country. The 1763 Flower St. facility was shuttered last month due to less demand for film prints as the entertainment industry transitions to digital distribution. About 39 employees are in danger of losing their jobs at the location, with the company working on reassigning them elsewhere. A storied name in movie history, the original Technicolor changed hands over the years before it was acquired by Thomson SA, a French company that in 2010 changed its name to Technicolor SA. The first IHOP outlet has opened in Saudi Arabia. The restaurant, a unit of DineEquity Inc. of Glendale, is located inside “Le Mall” in the Red Sea city of Jeddah. It is the fifth IHOP restaurant opened in the region since last year as part of a franchise agreement with M. H. Alshaya Co. WLL of Kuwait. The agreement allows for the development of 40 restaurants throughout the Middle East and North Africa. DineEquity operates more than 3,600 restaurants in 19 countries through its two chains, IHOP and Applebee’s. LegalZoom plans to sell $200 million worth of its privately held shares to an affiliate of a British private equity fund, rather than go public. The Glendale company, which sells online legal services and documents, reached a financing deal with Permira, a London private equity firm that plans to take a majority stake. LegalZoom plans to use the funds for acquisitions and new products. Permira, founded in 1985, entered the U.S. market in 2002 and has offices in New York and Menlo Park. It is backed by pension funds and other institutional investors. North Hollywood The Toyota dealership in North Hollywood is planning some $10 million in renovations that will include a pedestrian walking bridge over Lankershim Boulevard. The bridge will connect dealership buildings on the east and west side of the boulevard. Renovations will include demolishing at least one building and the construction of a new showroom. The dealership is owned by Hankey Group of Los Angeles, which owns several other companies, including Knight Insurance Group and Westlake Financial Services. No start date or timeline on the renovations have been announced. Burbank Marvel Entertainment, a unit of Walt Disney Co., will publish “Star Wars” comics and graphic novels starting in 2014. The move represents a homecoming for the comics, which have been published since 1991 by Dark Horse Comics Inc. of Milwaukie, Ore. Previously, Marvel published the first Star Wars comics in 1977, going on to sell more than 1 million copies of “Star Wars #1.” The series went on for nine years. Disney acquired Marvel Studios in 2009 in a $4 billion deal that has been hugely successful, spawning the Ironman and other franchises. Warner Bros. led all movie studios with $4.95 billion in worldwide box office in 2013. The Burbank company hit home runs with its “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” and “Gravity.” Walt Disney Co. in Burbank came in second with about $4.68 billion in global sales, led by “Iron Man 3,” “Frozen” and “Oz the Great and Powerful.” Universal Studios in Universal City came in a distant third with $3.68 billion in sales, led by sequels such as “Fast and Furious 6” and “Despicable Me 2.” Calabasas Audio product manufacturer Line 6 Inc. has been acquired by Yamaha Corp. Line 6 is a developer of guitar processing products, professional audio equipment and computer audio accessories. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company was backed by Sutter Hill Ventures, a Palo Alto private equity firm that invests in technology startups. Other investors included Peter Gotcher, a venture capitalist with a background in digital audio. Under the acquisition agreement, Line 6 will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Japanese electronics company. Sherman Oaks Shareholders of Signature Group Holdings Inc. have approved a proposal to reincorporate in the state of Delaware. The holding company is the successor to Fremont General Corp., a Santa Monica subprime lender that came out of bankruptcy in 2010. The reorganized company has a war chest of $900 million in net operating loss credits that it plans to use to shield new acquisitions from taxes. Chief Executive Craig Bouchard said the reincorporation would provide more flexibility in growing the company’s business. – Antelope Valley Lancaster Antelope Valley Transit Authority has purchased two battery-powered buses as part of its clean transportation program. The 40-foot buses were made by BYD Co. Ltd, a Chinese vehicle manufacturer with a recently opened plant in Lancaster. The purchase was financed by a $1.9 million grant from Proposition A funds, a 1990 L.A. County ballot initiative that dedicates a half-cent sales tax to local transportation projects. The grant was arranged by L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich, who represents the Antelope Valley. Americas United Bank has purchased the deposits and branch office of Silvergate Bank in Lancaster. The acquisition will give Americas United its third branch in addition to its headquarters in Glendale and a site in Downey. The Lancaster branch at 539 W. Lancaster Blvd. comes with $46 million in deposits. Americas United will pay a deposit premium of 0.5 percent. Loan assets tied to the branch were not included in the transaction, but no further financial details were disclosed. Silvergate is a La Jolla bank that has four remaining branches, all in San Diego County. – Santa Clarita Valley Valencia Flight Line Products Inc., a maker of seats for commercial airplanes, has doubled its space in Valencia. The company leased 58,000 square feet at 28939 N. Ave. Williams in the Vista Business Park. It previously occupied about 28,000 square feet at 28732 Witherspoon Parkway, also in Valencia. The value and terms of the lease were not disclosed. – Conejo Valley Thousand Oaks Two of the longest tenured members on the board of directors for energy crop company Ceres Inc. are stepping down. The Thousand Oaks agricultural biotech announced in a regulatory filing that Pascal Brandys, who has served since December 1997, and Edmund Olivier, who has served since the company’s 1996 founding, will not seek reelection at the annual stockholders meeting in March. Ceres said the departures do not reflect any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to operations, policies or practices. Nordstrom Inc. of Seattle plans to open a 40,000-square-foot Nordstrom Rack outlet next year at the Janss Marketplace in Thousand Oaks. The two-story Nordstrom Rack will occupy a portion of the existing Sears location at 145 W. Hillcrest Drive. Nordstrom Rack is known for heavily discounted fashion items from previous seasons. The Janss Marketplace, a 616,000-square-foot shopping center, is about a mile from The Oaks mall and is anchored by Marshalls, Burlington Coat Factory and a nine-screen Regency Theatres. – Simi Valley Steve Bronson, chief executive of Qualstar Inc., has purchased more than 85,000 shares of the company’s stock in the last two weeks, pushing up his stake to more than 21 percent of outstanding shares. The Simi Valley maker of tape storage equipment was the subject of a takeover battle last year between previous management and Bronson, the company’s second-largest shareholder. In June, shareholders voted in a new board and put in Bronson as interim chief executive. Bronson holds most of the shares through Boca Raton, Fla. investment firm BKF Capital Group Inc., a publicly traded investment firm he controls. – Around the Valleys – To be considered for publication, submissions should be emailed to: [email protected]. Please put ATV in the subject line. For more information, call (818) 316-3123.