Around the Valleys

ANTELOPE VALLEY LANCASTER Calabasas-based Marcus & Millichap has announced the sale of Lancaster Village, a 13,463-square foot retail property located at 1137 West Avenue I in Lancaster, which has sold to an undisclosed buyer for $1,025,000, according to James Brian Markel, regional manager of the firm’s Encino office. Senior Managing Director Investments Brandon Michaels in Encino held the exclusive listing to market the property for seller AA Real Estate Investments. CONEJO VALLEY THOUSAND OAKS A subsidiary of Thousand Oaks-headquartered Teledyne Technologies Inc. is partnering Dutch company ASML Holding N.V. to produce a membrane used to fabricate semiconductors. ASML, the largest supplier in the world of photolithography systems for the semiconductor industry, has produced pellicles – more than 1,000 times thinner than a human hair – that allow transmission of ultraviolet photons and protect photomask layers during the semiconductor fabrication process. “Having manufactured Micro Electro Mechanical Systems for over 20 years and with state-of-the-art 200 mm processing tools, Teledyne has amassed extensive intellectual property and experience in the production of extremely thin films with precise control of mechanical, optical and electrical properties,” Chief Executive Robert Mehrabian said in a statement. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BURBANK The March 14 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing of San Antonio-based iHeartMedia, the biggest U.S. radio station operator, could have a major long-term impact on the Los Angeles radio market. The corporation owns the three most popular radio stations in Los Angeles, according to Los Angeles Business Journal’s compiling of October 2017 Nielsen Audio ratings. Those stations, KBIG-FM, KOST-FM and KIIS-FM, are all based at 3400 W. Olive Ave. in Burbank. Wendy Goldberg, spokesperson for iHeartMedia, said that during the reorganization, “iHeartMedia and all our stations are operating business as usual, and listeners won’t notice any difference in the programming, on-air personalities and stations they love.” iHeartMedia has private equity owners Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners while its creditors include Liberty Media LLC, which also has a controlling stake in iHeart competitor, satellite radio company Sirius XM. GLENDALE ServiceTitan, a Glendale-based software app for service professionals founded in 2012, has announced $62 million in Series C funding, which is led by Battery Ventures and will be used to expand the company from 400 to 500 employees by year’s end. “We’re thrilled to deepen our partnership with Battery, who have decades of experience in specialized software markets,” said Ara Mahdessian, ServiceTitan co-founder and chief executive, in a statement. Added ServiceTitan president and co-founder Vahe Kuzoyan, “We’re proud to have established partnerships with industry manufacturers and distributors like Honeywell who see the same potential in equipping tradespeople with a cutting-edge SaaS [software as a service] solution.” As part of the deal, Bessemer Venture Partners and ICONIQ Capital added to their existing investments. In related news, Battery Ventures partner Michael Brown will join the ServiceTitan board. TOLUCA LAKE The city of Los Angeles has approved L.A. developer Frost/Chaddock to build a five-story multifamily residential complex totaling 96 residential units, including eight very-low-income apartments, per website Urbanize.LA. Located at 11036 W. Moorpark St. on about 1.32 acres of Toluca Lake land, land, the Frost/Chaddock project has broken ground at the site, located near the 101 and 134 freeways interchange. Venice’s Reed Architectural Group will design. VAN NUYS Isaac Larian, chief executive of Van Nuys toy manufacturer MGA Entertainment Inc., has (along with unnamed investors) pledged $200 million to an online public crowdfunding campaign he created to save Toys “R” Us out of bankruptcy. Larian has set a $1 billion goal for the campaign, which he would use to bid on all or some of the U.S. assets of the ailing company, which filed to liquidate on March 15. The assets include 735 store locations. Last week, Larian bid to acquire Toys “R” Us’ Canada division, which totals 80 stores. A spokesman for Larian confirmed that the bid is still on the table. MGA Entertainment’s L.O.L. Surprise Tots. were the No. 1 best-selling toy last year, according to NPD Group Inc., a New York-based retail market research firm. Despite retail giants such as Walmart and Amazon carrying their products, Larian may still need a healthy Toys “R” Us to ensure MGA’s continued success. “If there is no Toys “R” Us, I don’t think there is a toy business,” he said in the statement. SANTA CLARITA VALLEY SANTA CLARITA A shopping center at 23460 Cinema Drive has sold for $9.2 million, or $284.45 a square foot, according to Calabasas brokerage Marcus & Millichap Inc. The 32,343-square foot Santa Clarita retail property, for years known as Valencia Entertainment Center, sold March 1 for 97 percent of its listed price and is 100 percent occupied. The center consists of 13 suites with 15 tenants, anchored by Valencia Laser Blast. Marcus & Millichap Senior Vice President Marty Cohan and Neda Rassouli, associate in Marcus & Millichap’s West Los Angeles office, held the exclusive listing for the property on behalf of the seller, a limited liability company. The offering attracted multiple offers and was ultimately sold to a local investor in a 1031 Exchange, according to Marcus & Millichap. Data provided by Costar Group details how the property has changed hands on several occasions. In July 2014, BRAD Management of Santa Clarita purchased the center from Peter Kraus of Miami Beach for $7.4 million, or $228.02 per square foot. Kraus had bought it from the original Sherman Oaks-based owner Eugene Shamoon in August 1998 for $7.2 million, or $221.07 per square foot. SYLMAR Second Sight Medical Products Inc. has named John Blake as its new chief financial officer for the Sylmar medical device firm, which has developed a prosthetic retina that can restore a form of vision in blind patients. Blake replaces Thomas Miller, who resigned in June 2017 but agreed to remain with Second Sight until a successor was found, the company said. Blake joins Second Sight from aTyr Pharma Inc., where he had been senior vice president of finance since 2015. Blake previously oversaw global financial planning and analysis at publicly traded medical device firm Volcano Corp., where he worked alongside Will McGuire – now president and chief executive of Second Sight – from 2013 to 2015. VENTURA COUNTY SANTA PAULA Limoneira Co. made money in the fiscal first quarter thanks to a tax benefit, the company announced in March. The Santa Paula citrus producer reported an operating loss of $1.7 million, but a $10.6 million income tax benefit gave the company a net income of $8.5 million (58 cents a share) for the quarter ended Jan. 31, compared to a loss of $2.2 million (-16 cents) for the same quarter a year ago. Revenue grew 12.8 percent to $31.6 million. Analysts on average expected a loss of 13 cents on revenue of $28.8 million, according to Thomson Reuters. “We are updating our fiscal 2018 EPS guidance to reflect the reduction in our federal corporate income tax rate,” Chief Executive Harold Edwards said in a statement. “Our core citrus business is performing consistent with plan and we are encouraged by the early results from our strategic alliance with Suntreat, which is advancing our competitiveness in the orange and specialty citrus category.” Also, see the article that begins on page 1 of this issue about Limoneira’s big housing development in Santa Paula. – Compiled by Michael Aushenker