The Cheesecake Factory Inc. said today that it is in compliance for continued listing on Nasdaq. The Calabasas Hills-based restaurant company had delayed several financial filings as it reviewed its stock option practices, prompting a warning from the exchange. Cheesecake Factory has restated a number of financial reports and has said it is now up to date.

Aramark Corp. has agreed to a buyout by an investment group led by Joseph Neubauer. Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of ARAMARK will receive $33.80 per share of common stock held. The deal is valued at $6.3 billion. Other investors included in the transaction are GS Capital Partners, CCMP Capital Advisors and J.P. Morgan Partners, Thomas H. Lee partners and Warburg Pincus LLC. Aramark, a Philadelphia-based food services, facilities management and uniform company, includes Aramark Uniform Services, a Burbank-based unit.

Women Entrepreneurs of Santa Clarita Valley December Mixer All Corked Up 26340 Diamond Place Santa Clarita 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. (661) 713-8907 Weofscv.com

The Calabasas medical staffing firm On Assignment Inc. has purchased a Utah physician staffing company. The company will pay $41 million in cash and an earn-out provision to acquire VISTA Staffing Solutions, based in Salt Lake City. The new company will have a pro forma annual 2006 revenue of more than $345 million. The purchase is expected to add to next year’s earnings. The earn-out provision is determined by VISTA’s performance next year and 2008, which could add $8 million to VISTA shareholders and option holders over the following two years.

An European investment company has acquired a majority stake in Cushman & Wakefield. The investor, IFIL Group, acquired a 67.5 percent stake in the brokerage for $563 million in cash. When the deal closes, IFIL will replace Rockefeller Group International Inc. as controlling shareholder of Cushman & Wakefield and Cushman’s management and employees will retain up to a 32.5 percent share. Four members of IFIL along with Cushman’s Bruce Mosler, John Cushman and John Santora will make up Cushman’s board. IFIL is the investment company dominated by the Agnelli family, most closely associated here with Fiat, but whose investments span numerous industries and whose members are among the most powerful business tycoons on the global scene. The company’s portfolio is worth about $11.7 billion and in 2005, IFIL reported net earnings of $1.43 billion. Its stock is traded on the Italian exchange. Cushman & Wakefield operates 197 offices internationally with 11,500 employees. Last year, the company recorded revenues of $1.23 billion. This year, the company said it expected to record EBITDA of $110 million. The Rockefeller Group acquired the company in 1976, providing capital for its international expansion.

Former senior management with Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. improperly backdated the dates of stock options over a number of years, a special committee to the company’s board reported Tuesday. The backdating resulted in lower exercise prices for the stock options. The same former executives tried to conceal the backdating by creating or altering documents, the committee’s report said. The backdating scheme is expected to cost the Camarillo-based company as much as $120 million, the special committee reported. The committee’s investigation was the result of an ongoing probe by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission into improperly awarded stock options. Vitesse is one of several San Fernando Valley companies under investigation. The company is not releasing the names of the former management involved with the backdating of the options. However, in May, CEO Louis R. Tomasetta, Chief Financial Officer Yatin Mody, and Executive Vice President Eugene F. Hovanec were terminated from the company. (Tomasetta continues to serve on the Vitesse board of directors.) The special committee found no evidence that any current board members other than Tomasetta were aware of the improper practices or benefited from them. The Nasdaq National Market delisted Vitesses common stock in June because the company failed to file financial reports for the quarter ending March 31.

The Sherman Oaks paint and auto body repair company Earl Scheib Inc. reported its second quarter income dropped 68 percent from the same period last year, a product of poor sales and high gas prices, the company reported Tuesday. Income for the quarter totaled $100,000, or $0.02 per diluted share, compared to $315,000, $0.07 a share, from the same 2005 period. Revenue totaled $12.0 million, 5.4 percent lower from last year.

Calabasas Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors Meeting 5 p.m. Acura 101 West 24650 Calabasas Road, Calabasas (818) 222-5680 Calabasaschamber.com

The Graciela Burbank, a 99-room boutique hotel near Warner Bros. Studio Ranch, has been sold to a Maryland hotel developer. LaSalle Hotel Properties will pay $36.5 million for the hotel at 322 N. Pass Ave. and a nearby 7,270-square-foot parcel of land. The four-story property, which opened in 2002, includes 15 suites, 64 rooms with kitchens and 11 apartment-style rooms. The facility also houses a 44-seat lounge, 1,400-square-foot meeting space and 840-square-foot rooftop space. The property will be managed by Encino-based Outrigger Lodging Services, which also runs LaSalle’s three properties in West Hollywood.

Joseph Barbera, the animator whose Valley studio created cartoon icons Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear and the cat and mouse team of Tom and Jerry, died Monday at his home in Studio City. He was 95. Barbera and partner William Hanna founded their eponymous animation studio Hanna-Barbera in 1957, one of the first independent animation houses in the business. The duo for years operated out of futuristic studio on Cahuenga Boulevard near Universal City, which opened in spring of 1963. The studio was eventually acquired by Warner Bros. “Joe Barbera was an animation and television legend,” said Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer, in a statement. “The characters he created with [Hanna] are not only animated superstars, but also a very beloved part of American pop culture.” Born in New York City, Barbera worked as a banker until the 1930s when Collier’s magazine published some of his hand-drawn comics. He honed his skills at the Van Beuren animations studios and was hired by MGM in 1937 where he met Hanna, a director and story editor. The pair’s first collaboration at MGM was “Puss Gets the Boot,” which led to the creation of Tom and Jerry. After founding their studio, Hanna and Barbera collaborated on “The Huckleberry Hound Show,” “Quick Draw McGraw,” and “The Flintstones,” the first animated show to air in primetime. Hanna died in 2001. Barbera’s legacy will be his memorable characters and original story ideas, said Sander Schwartz, president of Warner Bros. Animation, in a statement. “Joe’s contributions to both the animation and television industries are without parallel,” Schwartz said. “His influences upon generations of animation professionals have been extraordinary.”