ANTELOPE VALLEY LANCASTER Lex Reddy will serve as interim chief executive and Pam Hinson as the new chief operating officer for Antelope Valley Hospital. Reddy, currently chief executive of Alecto Healthcare Services LLC, a health care management company based in Irvine, will hold the hospital’s top position until a permanent chief executive is found. Last month, Antelope Valley Hospital entered into a management agreement with Alecto. Dennis Knox, the hospital’s former chief executive, resigned in July citing personal reasons. CONEJO VALLEY AGOURA HILLS American Homes 4 Rent, the country’s largest publicly traded single-family home landlord, is buying competitor American Residential Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust based in Scottsdale, in a transaction valued at $1.5 billion. The combined company is expected to own more than 47,000 homes in 22 states and to have an equity market capitalization of $5.5 billion. Under the merger agreement, each share of American Residential Properties common stock will be exchanged for 1.135 common shares of American Homes 4 Rent. The combined company will maintain its headquarters in Agoura Hills. WESTLAKE VILLAGE LTC Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust, purchased two skilled-nursing facilities in Texas for $23 million. The two properties will be a part of an existing master lease with Senior Care Centers LLC in Dallas, Texas. The facilities have a combined 254 licensed beds and should increase cash flow for LTC by 8.25 percent. According to the agreement, the properties’ rents will increase by 2.5 percent through mid-2021, and from there will increase by 3 percent every year after. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BURBANK Nearly two dozen former Walt Disney Co. employees filed complaints with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over being replaced by foreign workers. The action taken by 23 information technology workers is the first step to filing a lawsuit alleging discrimination. Last year and early this year, Burbank media giant Disney laid off more than 100 employees in Orlando and had them train inexpensive replacements brought into the U.S. from India through the H-1B visa program. In a statement, Disney said, “We comply with all applicable employment laws. We are expanding our IT department and adding more jobs for U.S. IT workers.” Burbank City Manager Mark Scott will retire in February after a 38-year career in local government. Scott, who previously served as the city manager of Beverly Hills and Fresno, clashed with the City Council last month over a personnel matter. In a statement, Scott said, “I am thankful for the privilege of serving the Burbank community, working with such a dedicated City Council and talented staff team. Burbank residents value their community and so do I. It is an extraordinary community.” Scott was hired by Burbank in August 2013; his last day with the city is scheduled for Feb. 5. CALABASAS Brokerage Marcus & Millichap’s Institutional Property Advisory service is adding an office and industrial division, headed up by Senior Vice President Alan L. Pontius. “The time is right to extend IPA’s network of advisory services to major office and industrial property investors,” Pontius said in a statement. “Recent gains to payrolls nationwide and continuing limitations on new supply have begun to translate into a faster pace of recovery for the U.S. office sector.” The brokerage also cited changes in industrial demand due to the rapid expansion of online retail transactions and the impact of the Affordable Care Act, which has generated demand for single- and multi-tenant medical office buildings. Netsol Technologies Inc. announced a U.K. bank selected its LeaseSoft software as the new platform for the bank’s finance and leasing operations. The Calabasas company, which provides software for auto and equipment leasing and financing, expects the deal will deliver revenue of more than $2.5 million. The LeaseSoft system is expected to improve business by enhancing the bank’s IT functionality in order to manage all back office requirements. NetSol did not disclose the name of the bank. “This is an important new win for NetSol, further building upon our efforts in the U.K. and throughout Europe,” Naeem Ghauri, president sales at NetSol, said in a statement. CANOGA PARK Diane Duke is stepping down as the chief executive of Free Speech Coalition, an adult entertainment trade association. Duke has headed up the Canoga Park group since 2006 and in the past few years has led the industry’s response to mandatory condom laws promoted by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation in Hollywood. L.A. County voters approved mandatory condom use for adult film performers in 2012 but the coalition defeated three attempts for statewide legislation. The foundation has collected enough signatures for a statewide ballot measure next year. Jeffrey Douglas, chairman of the coalition’s board, will be interim chief executive until a permanent replacement for Duke is named. PANORAMA CITY Los Angeles shopping center developer Primestor Development purchased the 148,000-square-foot Panorama Mall in an off-market transaction. Macerich Co., a publicly traded real estate investment trust based in Santa Monica, sold the retail center for an undisclosed price. The mall is nearly fully leased, with a La Curacao store and a two-story Wal-Mart Stores Inc. outlet. The acquisition comes on the heels of another major transaction in Panorama City, the $12.5 million purchase of the Panorama Tower at 8155 Van Nuys Blvd. by Los Angeles developer Izek Shomof in September. The long-vacant eyesore is undergoing renovations by Grand Pacific 7-28 LLC, a Shomof-led partnership. SUN VALLEY A joint venture of Xebec Realty Partners of Seal Beach and Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers of Hartford, Ct. acquired 15 acres in Sun Valley to build a $48 million industrial park. The Sun Valley Industrial Park will comprise two Class A warehouses totaling more than 360,000 square feet at 11063 Pendleton St. The buildings, one about 97,000 square feet and the other just over 264,000 square feet, are being built on spec, reflecting the strong demand for warehouse space in the San Fernando Valley, where the third-quarter industrial vacancy rate stood at 1.3 percent, according to Colliers International. UNIVERSAL CITY Universal Studios Hollywood has announced that its attraction “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter” will open on April 7. The original Wizarding World opened at Universal’s Islands of Adventure theme park in Orlando, Fla. in 2010. The Hollywood version will share some similarities with its Florida counterpart, including the signature Hogwart’s Castle, Zonko’s Joke Shop, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride and Flight of the Hippogriff, which will be Universal Studios Hollywood’s first outdoor roller coaster. The Harry Potter movie franchise, produced by Warner Bros. in Burbank, generated $7.7 billion at the global box office. SIMI VALLEY AeroVironment Inc. received a $13 million contract to supply its Puma unmanned aircraft to the Marine Corps. Delivery of the small drones by the Simi Valley company is expected within 12 months. The order came from ADS Inc., a Virginia Beach, Va. procurement specialist. The 13.5 pound, hand-launched Puma aircraft will be used by the Marines for remote scouting in conjunction with two other AeroVironment drones, the Raven and Wasp. “The Puma unmanned aircraft delivers situational awareness directly to its operator in ground, riverine and maritime operations,” Kirk Flittie, vice president and general manager of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems business segment, said in a prepared statement. – Compiled by Karen E. Klein