CONEJO VALLEY CAMARILLO Semtech Corp. beat Wall Street estimates on adjusted earnings and revenue in its 2017 fiscal second quarter. The Camarillo semiconductor manufacturer reported adjusted net income of $22.7 million (35 cents a share) for the quarter that ended July 31, compared with net income of $15.6 million (24 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Revenue increased by 8 percent to $136 million. Analysts on average expected earnings of 33 cents on revenue of $135 million, according to Thomson Financial Network. Chief Executive Mohan Maheswaran said the quarter’s results were driven by the Internet of Things and smartphone markets. THOUSAND OAKS Amgen Inc. has acquired worldwide development and commercial rights for a phase 1 multiple myeloma drug from German pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim. BI 836908, now called AMG 420, is an anti-cancer therapy that was originally licensed to Boehringer by drug developer Micromet Inc. of Rockville, Md. prior to the acquisition of Micromet by Amgen in 2012. Under the conditions of the contract, Amgen in Thousand Oaks will collaborate with Boehringer to take over clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory activity and commercialization. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. WESTLAKE VILLAGE The IMT Westlake Village apartment complex has traded for more than $88 million, according to Calabasas commercial real estate firm Marcus & Millichap Inc. The 253-unit complex at 603 Hampshire Road sold for $88.3 million, or about $348,814 a unit, to a buyer identified by CoStar Group Inc. as Jones & Jones Management Group in Woodland Hills. The seller was IMT Capital, whose parent company, IMT Residential, is in Sherman Oaks. IMT bought the property in 2008 for $68.5 million, or $270,751 a unit, according to CoStar. The 13-building complex was built in 1971. SAN FERNANDO VALLEY CHATSWORTH Capstone Turbine Corp. has named Paul Chase as its new vice president of manufacturing. In that role for the Chatsworth maker of microturbines, Chase will head up the manufacturing operation, overseeing the functions of quality and facilities. Prior to joining Capstone, Chase had been director of nuclear quality assurance for Ruhrpumpen Inc. Industrias E.G., S.A. de C.V, a manufacturer of centrifugal pumps based near Monterrey, Mexico. Capstone Chief Executive Darren Jamison said the company will look to Chase to implement process improvements, lean manufacturing and improved business performance. GLENDALE Acco Engineered Systems has acquired a Covina plumbing company in a bid to strengthen its position as the largest mechanical contractor in the western United States. Terms of the deal between Acco in Glendale and All Area Plumbing were not disclosed. Jeff Marrs, president of the mechanical construction group, said the addition of All Area Plumbing brings a needed and complementary expertise in plumbing construction and service to Acco’s offerings. Acco was founded in 1934 and designs, manufacturers and services commercial and industrial HVAC, plumbing, process piping, electrical, and building automation control systems. All Area Plumbing was started in 1993 to provide commercial and industrial plumbing and mechanical piping services in the Southern California construction industry. SYLMAR ITT Technical Institute in Sylmar and Oxnard have closed following an announcement by parent company ITT Educational Services Inc. that all campuses nationwide cease operations. The move comes just two weeks after ITT was notified by the Department of Education that its programs were no longer eligible for government-subsidized financial aid, such as student loans and Pell Grants, on account of the company’s failure to meet standards set by its accreditor, the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. ITT Educational Services issued a statement officially confirming the dissolution of its ITT Tech Institutes and denouncing the Department of Education’s decision to revoke its access to federal funding. WOODLAND HILLS Financial software developer BlackLine has opened a new office in Frankfurt, Germany. The office will serve customers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland where the Woodland Hills company is seeing an increased demand for its software from mid-size and large organizations. Chief Strategy Officer Mario Spanicciati said the marketing opportunities in that part of Europe made opening an office in Germany a logical step. BlackLine customers include more than 100 companies operating in the Germany and Austria region. The Frankfurt office will be headed up by Petra Ellmerich, a 30-year software industry veteran with sales and management experience at such market-leading companies as Infor, Oracle, Cognos and Siemens. Farmers Insurance Group has named Suzie Elliott its new head of human resources. Prior to her appointment, Elliott served as Farmers’ human resources business partner for head of claims, a role in which she oversaw a team of HR professionals in executing a number of business strategies. She also played an active role in developing the Inclusion@Farmers initiative, building on experience she obtained in her former post as the first group head of diversity and inclusion for Zurich Insurance. SANTA CLARITA VALLEY SANTA CLARITA The Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce has appointed Lois Bauccio as chief executive. Bauccio, a 25-year veteran of business development and nonprofit management, will assume the post Sept. 27. Bauccio has served as the executive director of the Child and Family Center Foundation in Santa Clarita since 2006, where she is credited with increasing the nonprofit’s net proceeds by 71 percent. She was named the Signal Newspaper’s 2016 Woman of the Year and has ranked among the publication’s list of Santa Clarita Valley’s most influential people for the last four years. Townhomes at Lost Canyon, an apartment complex in Santa Clarita, has sold for $61 million, according to its buyer, Beverly Hills real estate investor Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc. The company bought the 157-unit complex at 18179 W. Terra Verde Place for $388,535 per unit. The seller was Resmark Cos., which bought the complex in 2013 for an undisclosed price, according to CoStar Group Inc. The complex was built in 2013 and sits on 12.5 acres. Two-story units include three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms and two-car garages. The complex has a pool, spa, fitness center, dog park and children’s playground. SIMI VALLEY SIMI VALLEY AeroVironment Inc. is providing its Wasp drone to Australia, the first of the company’s unmanned aircraft to be used by the Australian military. The Monrovia company is partnering with three other companies for delivery and maintenance of each aircraft system made up of two 2.8-pound Wasp aircraft and one ground control system. AeroVironment develops, builds and tests its unmanned aircraft in Simi Valley. The company joined with Xtek Ltd., a procurer of security and protective equipment for the Australian homeland security market; Sentient Vision Systems, specializing in video analytics; and General Dynamics Mediaware, a supplier of digital video technology. The Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce has named Rana Ghadban its new chief executive. The former business owner and past president of the Chatsworth and Calabasas Chambers will assume the post Sept. 19. “I’m honored and grateful to the board for the opportunity to lead this exceptional organization,” Ghadban said in a statement. “This is a terrific opportunity that any leader in the chamber industry would welcome.” Ghadban will take the place of Kathi Van Etten, who has for the past few months served as interim chief executive of the chamber. – Compiled by Stephanie Henkel
