Technicolor Buys Out Its Videotape-Making Partner Media & Technology by Carlos Martinez Camarillo-based Technicolor Home Entertainment, a unit of Thomson Multimedia Inc., has agreed to buy out its majority partner in Southern Star Duplitek Pty. Ltd., an Australian videotape maker and digital video and compact disc manufacturer. The company would not reveal terms of the agreement, but Southern Star said proceeds from the deal could amount to $26.5 million. Thomson said a final price on the deal will be set sometime after Duplitek completes the accounting of its fiscal year, which closed March 31. Technicolor is a distributor of motion picture film, compact discs, DVDs and commercial quality videotape. Technicolor CEO Lanny Raimondo said the move paves the way for the company’s expansion into the Pacific Rim and Asia where Southern Star is well positioned. In 2001, Thomson reported $298 million in net income on revenues of $9.3 billion, compared to a year earlier when the company netted $368 million on revenues of $8.3 billion. Thomson acquired Technicolor in 2001 for $2.1 billion from Canadian broadcaster, Carlton Communications PLC. The acquisition comes as Technicolor faces charges of record piracy by the Recording Industry Association of America, which claims the company illegally copied and distributed pirated copies of CDs by artists like NSync, the Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, Lauryn Hill, Will Smith, Julio Iglesias and Marc Anthony. The industry group filed suit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles last month, claiming the company’s Camarillo plant illegally copied the artists’ work. Technicolor said in a written statement that the company will fight the charges. The RIAA said it has evidence to prove its allegations. The industry group represents several music industry giants, including Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, BMG Entertainment and EMI Recorded Music. Studio to Expand Burbank-based Village Roadshow Ltd. and Warner Brothers Studios have agreed to expand their studio complex in Australia. A spokesman for Village Roadshow, an independent production company known for films like “Three Kings,” “The Matrix” and “Analyze This,” said the project will add two sound stages to the Warner Roadshow Studios complex located in the Australian state of Queensland. The $4.2 million project will increase the number of sound stages to eight along with more storage space for equipment and more space for production offices. The facility was built in 1999 as part of a joint venture between Village Roadshow and Warner Bros. Construction is scheduled to begin this month, with completion set for August. Salem Expects Growth in 2002 Edward G. Atsinger, CEO of Camarillo-based Salem Communications Corp., expects the company to grow in 2002 despite the sluggish economy. Atsinger said the company, which operates 80 radio stations in the U.S., including KRLA-AM in Glendale, is poised to improve its revenue due to an increase in advertising contracts. “We successfully renewed over 90 percent of our block programming contracts for 2002 at an average increase of approximately 5 percent over 2001,” he said, referring to special rates for advertising over a particular block of time. The company also operates the Salem Radio Network, a producer and distributor of religious and family-oriented programming. Last fall, Salem acquired five underperforming stations, including KEZY-AM in San Bernardino for $5 million, all of which have experienced revenue jumps with new formats, Atsinger said. The other stations acquired were KRLH-AM in San Bernardino for $5 million, KKFS-FM in Sacramento for $8.7 million and KIKN-AM in Port Angeles, Wash. for $500,000. “Taken as a whole, Salem is well-positioned for strong growth and we look forward to another record year,” he added. The company reported a 21-percent revenue increase in 2001 over a year earlier, but its net income declined by 67.4 percent during the same period. In 2001, the company reported net income of $4.4 million on $142 million in total revenue, compared to a year earlier when it reported $10.1 million in net income on $118 million in revenue. Atsinger cited the station acquisitions and the decline of ad revenue after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks for the slide in net income. The company’s revenue increase came primarily from its broadcasting operations which reported a 14-percent increase. Last week, the company’s stock hovered around the $24 mark, with a 52-week high of $29.35 and a 52-week low of $14.65. General Dynamics Gets Defense Contract Thousand Oaks-based General Dynamics Government Systems Corp. has been awarded a $25 million contract with the U.S. Air Force to modify its existing Imagery Exploitation Support System, an imaging system for computer displays. The company said the contract calls for developing an unspecified number of enhancements to the system used for tactical weapons. The work is scheduled to be completed by December. Other details were unavailable. Carlos Martinez may be contacted at (818) 676-1750 ext. 17 or by e-mail at [email protected].
