News & Media

For the first time since 2004, all of Superior Industries International Inc.’s major customers – the Big Three U.S. auto makers – posted profits last year.  Sounds like it should be full speed ahead for the Van Nuys manufacturer of aluminum wheels, but not so fast [...] Though Superior’s sales rose last year, its profits are on track to fall by close to 10 percent when final numbers are released next month. The blame falls mostly on deals the company made while the auto makers were struggling.

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Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp., a Woodland Hills entertainment technology firm, is positioning itself to be an independent films distributor and a provider of alternative content for theater chains [...] “The partnership with New Video was a solid demonstration of management’s commitment to the indie film and alternative content distribution space,” said Eric Wold, an analyst with B. Riley & Co., who follows Cinedigm.

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B Riley Research has earned #1 ranking from Integrity Research Associates for our Buy and Sell recommendations over the three years ending December 31, 2011, generating a 238% return to investors.  Our analysts far outperformed the closest three competitors whose returns were listed at 151%, 139% and 83%.

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Entertainment To Feature Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation “Big Fighters, Big Cause Charity Fight Night”

LOS ANGELES, CA, February 16, 2012--B. Riley & Co., LLC, (B. Riley) www.brileyco.com, a leading independent investment bank which provides a full array of corporate finance, research, sales and trading services announced that its 13th Annual Investor Conference will be held May 21-23, 2012 and has been expanded to feature 200 public companies in a three day format.

Set for the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, presenting companies will represent a broad range of sectors, including: Technology, Telecom, Software & Continue Reading >

Yahoo! Inc.’s discussions to sell its stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and its Japanese operations in a tax-efficient manner have reached an impasse, according to a person briefed on the matter.

Representatives of Alibaba and Softbank Corp., co-owner of Yahoo Japan Corp., are prepared to approach Yahoo Chief Executive Officer Scott Thompson to explore another arrangement that would let companies buy back their stakes, said the person, who asked not to be identified as the talks are private.

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Saehan Bancorp (OTCBB:SAEB) announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hana Financial Group, based in Seoul, South Korea, for the sale of newly issued shares of common stock and a 51 percent ownership position on a fully diluted basis upon its proposed completion.

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Sameet Sinha, an Internet analyst at B. Riley & Co., said one way for Yahoo to get closer to people’s “purchase decisions” and take a cut of transactions would be to acquire a company such as Bankrate Inc., which helps consumers find mortgages or other investments; Angie’s List Inc., which publishes reviews of contractors, doctors and other service providers; Yelp Inc., which also provides information on local businesses; or Trulia Inc., which helps people search for real estate.

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“It’s another great acquisition,” said B. Riley & Co. analyst Jeff Van Sinderen. “The price they’re paying for this business appears to be reasonable. It’s immediately accretive. And it allows them to take their business in Canada into their own hands and grow it more aggressively.”

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Alibaba.com Ltd. (1688) suspended its shares from trading in Hong Kong as the company prepares a statement about a transaction involving its parent, which is raising about $3 billion to buy back stock held by Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO)

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Groupon’s (GRPN) stock plummeted in after-hours trading Wednesday, after the daily deals leader’s Q4 financial report lagged analyst expectations.  The company reported a loss of 2 cents per share, minus special items. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had expected a profit of 3 cents a share. The stock was down 15% after hours, after the company released its first quarterly results since its $700 million initial public offering in November.

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Reviewing performance for the period December 31, 2008 through December 31, 2011, as tabulated by Investars, the research firms with the best performance for buys and sells were B. Riley, MKM Partners and MPT, with 238%, 151% and 139% performance respectively.  Each of these firms also showed strong performance for the buy recommendations alone.  Also notable was Haugen Custom Financial Systems with 3 year buy recommendation performance of 146%.

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B. Riley & Co. has arranged a $25 million financing package for Prestige Corporation. The $25 million of capital is a combination of subordinated debt and preferred equity securities.  St. Cloud Capital, a leading private investment firm providing growth capital to lower middle market companies, led the investment. The capital will be used by Prestige Corporation to execute its growth plan that includes further penetration within its core New York Tri-State market and expansion into additional geographic regions.

B. Riley’s President, John Ahn, and Managing Director, Ryan Bernath, led the banking team for this transaction.

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The analyst wrote in a research report: “ARR reported preliminary estimates of Q4 2011 operating results. Well below Street consensus and our own estimates, these were, to say the least, disappointing. Particularly disturbing was the continued erosion in book value, notwithstanding falling interest rates—even if one is to make allowances for the pricing of increased prepayments into agency MBS. “

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A possible valuation of $75 billion to $100 billion for the world’s largest social networking company encouraged some investors to lift valuation estimates on other companies in the sector, according to Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B. Riley & Co.

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Coinstar, operator of more than 34,000 rental kiosks, is the second DVD-rental service to reject Warner’s effort to make consumers wait 56 days before renting the latest releases, following Dish Network Corp.’s Blockbuster. Getting DVDs sooner from other suppliers may attract more customers, making up for the higher per-unit prices Coinstar will pay, said Eric Wold, a B. Riley & Co. analyst who recommends buying its shares

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Global Specialty preannounced weak calendar fourth-quarter 2011 results, including an expected $12 million sequential decline in Ebitda [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization] to well below our $41.7 million estimate; we’re lowering our estimates accordingly. (The quarter included a number of nonrecurring items.)…We’re maintaining our $19.25 price target.

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Eric Wold, with B. Riley & Co. in Los Angeles, said Netflix is bouncing back strongly from last fall’s PR gaffes as evidenced by management’s disclosure that more than 2 billion hours of content was streamed in Q4. Netflix also commanded 55% of the subscription/transactional video-on-demand market in 2011, which The NPD Group said accounted for 31% of all video rentals.

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Paid clicks—a measure of how frequently consumers click on its ads—rose 34% in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier, but the average amount paid by advertisers every time someone clicked on their ad fell by 8%...Some analysts voiced concerns that as more people access the Web through their mobile devices and click on Google ads that cost less than ads viewed on desktop computers, it was negatively affecting revenue. Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B. Riley & Co., said that potentially, growth in mobile was “cannibalistic” to desktop ad revenue.

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B. Riley Continues to Lead in Investars League Tables and Introducing our 13th Annual Investor Conference: It’s good to start the year with high accolades.  Once again, B. Riley Research continues to lead in the Investars Research League Tables, with our returns on Buy recommendations ranking us #1 in the Regional category at 71.24% for the 4-year period (1/02/2008-12/31/2011), outperforming by more than double the best of the Fundamental & Bulge Bracket firms.

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If history is any guide, the ugliest stocks on Wall Street could surprise their doubters and turn out to be this year’s beauties.  While investors often like to chase after the previous year’s winners, it’s often the losers that wind up scoring big.

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Fast Food Deals Combat Winter Sales Slump

Famous chains are rolling out cheap eats

Fast food restaurants are rolling out new deals and bringing back previous popular offers. They're hoping they can boost sales during the slower winter months.

To combat the usual slump in winter sales, fast food chains are serving up cheap eats to kick off the new year.

Low prices and bundled meal deals are likely an effort to lure in families who cannot afford to visit a casual dining restaurant.

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We have acted as exclusive financial advisor to Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc. (Kratos) (NASDAQ: KTOS) in a $20 million acquisition.

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B. Riley analyst Eric Wold says it will in a major look-forward report today for the film business. He predicts 4% growth in box office sales this year — the result of a 1% uptick in attendance and a 3% rise in average ticket prices. What makes him so confident, especially following the 3.9% drop in 2011? Wold says that more consumers would have gone to the movies last year if Hollywood hadn’t released so many dogs.

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“In the long run, the bank’s focus on commercial borrowers, helped keep CVB alive when other banks fell victim to the housing crash,” Gladue said.

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Bryant Riley, chairman of B. Riley & Co., talks about his investment strategy in the technology industry and opportunities in the semiconductor group. He speaks with Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg West.” Jon Erlichman also speaks. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Jeff Van Sinderen, senior retail analyst at the investment banking firm B. Riley & Co., said that it’s hard to predict which local stores will close as a result of the dismal performance.  But closing stores is probably the right move, Van Sinderen said.

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“To sum up the whole season, I would say extremely focused on bargains, that’s where the consumer’s mindset is, and the retailers generally, overall, delivered pretty compelling bargains, they gave the consumer a reason to shop,” said B. Riley & Co senior analyst Jeff Van Sinderen.

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Redbox may be ditching 28 day new release delay for Warner titles

by Rich Fiscus

As rumors fly that Warner is trying to delay new releases in Redbox kiosks by more than two additional weeks, one analyst is suggesting they are overestimating their leverage.

The introduction of 28 day delays between the time titles are released for sale and when they are offered for rental is a scheme the studios came up with in 2009. It is intended to be an incentive for consumers to Continue Reading >

“It was historically volatile,” said Bryant Riley, chairman of West L.A. investment banking firm B. Riley & Co. “A lot of the performance this year has to do with the macro world, whether it’s Europe, whether it’s the deficit. It’s been a very, very difficult year.”

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“We do not believe that Warner Bros. (or Universal Studios Home Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) holds all the cards in the DVD agreement negotiations,” Wold wrote. “While Redbox was forced into a workaround two years ago on minimal notice, the workaround plan developed since that time has been developed as a long-term replacement to a studio agreement (with copyright law in the company’s corner).”

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“In general, companies have been sitting on their hands, although they want to do things; that has created a dynamic of everybody being slow to react,” said Bryant Riley, chairman of the Los Angeles-based investment bank B. Riley & Co., which has an office in Newport Beach. “That’s going to change. At some point, banks are going to have to originate loans. We’re going to see much more transactions and activity in the next year.”

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“There’s a bunch of movies that look very strong next year,” Eric Wold, analyst with investment bank B. Riley and Co said, pointing to a new “Spider-Man” movie and sequels to “Men in Black” and “The Dark Knight.”

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B. Riley & Co., LLC (B. Riley) www.brileyco.com, a full service securities broker dealer providing research, sales and trading, and investment banking services, announced that it has acted as the sole underwriter in the successful completion of a $13.8 million common stock offering for BofI Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ:BOFI)

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Eric Wold, analyst with B. Riley & Co. in Los Angeles, said the Verizon deal likely occurred because the telco could provide Redbox with both an existing digital platform and requisite content license agreements—the latter increasingly expensive to attain in a market driven by Netflix and Hulu Plus spending, among others.

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“I think that’s a positive for Netflix,” said Eric Wold, a senior analyst at B. Riley & Co., in an interview with MarketWatch. “Up to now, they haven’t been able to connect to Facebook and Twitter. This can create a lot of marketing possibilities, as their customers can share what movies and TV shows they’ve been watching on Netflix.”

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“If you look at the progression of e-commerce, you see you always have to try to do something extra, like adding incentives, and now that means getting as close to every transaction as possible,” Sameet Sinha, analyst at B. Riley & Co., told the E-Commerce Times.

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We believe Regal Entertainment is well positioned to benefit from a stable domestic-box-office environment, and should demonstrate improving margins and FCF trends into 2012, as we enter a full digital world. We also remain optimistic about the long-term potential of the Open Road Films joint venture (including a potential future initial public offering). With our Nov. 9 initiation, we were cautiously optimistic about the 4Q movie slate, with some concerns about the clustering of family films around Thanksgiving; unfortunately, we weren’t cautious enough.

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BofI Holding, Inc. (NASDAQ: BOFI), parent of BofI Federal Bank, announced the pricing of a public offering of 750,000 shares of its common stock at a price per share of $16.00. The Company has granted the underwriter an option for 30 days to purchase up to 112,500 additional shares of common stock.

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We acted as exclusive financial advisor to Craftmade International Inc. in connection with the Company’s sale to Litex Industries Limited.  B. Riley also provided a fairness opinion to the board of directors of Craftmade.  Since November 2009, B. Riley had provided Designated Advisor for Disclosure (D.A.D.) services to the Company in support of its listing on the OTCQX marketplace.  Litex Industries Limited acquired Craftmade for $4.25 per share, corresponding to a total equity value of $24.5 million.

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“If you’re not promotional and you don’t have great product, I think you’re going to have a very challenging time this holiday season,” said Jeff Van Sinderen, senior analyst at B. Riley & Co.

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Brunswick controls several best-in-class assets that should allow it to grow faster than its end markets, while driving exceptional returns. The company [which makes marine, fitness, bowling, and billiards equipment] has revolutionized much of its core marine businesses over the past several years, emerging from the marine-industry depression with a leaner, more agile business model.

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Eric Wold, analyst with B. Riley & Co. in Santa Monica, Calif., believes Netflix’s defections could reach 4.7 million, which he said represent upwards of $445 million in disc rental revenue up for grabs.  In a Nov. 16 note, Wold surmised that the majority of the aforementioned defectors would downsize their monthly rental activity since a-la-carte rentals carry a higher perceived cost than a monthly subscription.

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With the rental agreement between Warner and Redbox set to expire Jan. 31, 2012, B. Riley & Co. analyst Eric Wold doubts Redbox management would agree to a 56-day or longer embargo on new-release Warner titles — even with built-in per-unit discounts.

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This month, we acted as exclusive financial advisor to Kratos (Nasdaq: KTOS) in its $17.5 Million Acquisition of SecureInfo, in addition to a few other engagements; from Research,  we initiated research coverage of the media & entertainment industry and our Research tops the 3-year performance table by Investars.  Three new hires join the 12 senior hires we added back in October.

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B. Riley & Co. LLC acted as Kratos’ exclusive financial advisor for Kratos’ acquisition of SecureInfo. Bryant Riley, B. Riley & Co.‘s Founder and Chairman, provides strategic advice to Kratos and assists Kratos in the execution of its strategic business plan.

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“If, as we anticipate, elevated levels of prepayments subside next year and rates at the intermediate section and long end of the yield curve stabilize—and perhaps turn up in the second half—Anworth is well positioned for 2012 and beyond.”

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Jimmy Baker, with B. Riley & Co., wrote that engine sales are expected to be up 4 percent this quarter, compared with the same period last year, and that boat sales should be up 11 percent year over year, driven largely by a solid uptick in wholesale volume.

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Pressure from the GSEs has “definitely stanched the flow of credit to the mortgage market, but we had clearly gone too far,” said Richard Eckert, an analyst in San Francisco at securities firm B. Riley & Co. who wrote research on subprime lenders during the housing boom and then joined a hedge fund betting against property loans during the collapse. “We’ve got to return to some kind of happy balance.”

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“We try and find things that are out of favor,” Chairman Bryant Riley said. “As long as you’re investing in companies with good businesses and solid cash flow, the volatility is a benefit. We absolutely try and take advantage of that.”

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The Sunnyvale, Calif., Internet company, which is now shopping itself to potential buyers, on Tuesday said that its third-quarter profit dropped 26% from a year earlier while revenue fell 24%. Yahoo also reported its fourth consecutive quarterly slowdown in the growth rate of its display-ad sales—its most important business, which includes graphical, interactive and video ads. Display-ad sales revenue was flat from a year earlier.

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B. Riley is pleased to report the hiring of 12 professionals in Institutional Sales and Equity Research, significantly ramping up our presence in both the Bay Area and New York City; Senior Research Analyst Laura McGuigan, CFA, has launched coverage of the life sciences & diagnostics sector with the initiation and “Buy” Rating on three stocks: Genomic Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: GHDX), Myriad Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ: MYGN) and Vermillion, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRML); B. Riley’s first annual Defense & Cybersecurity Conference, held September 20 in Santa Monica, drew a standing room only audience of institutional investors, global defense company representatives and industry experts.

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We are pleased to announce a major expansion with the hiring of 11 professionals in Institutional Sales and Equity Research, significantly ramping up our presence in both the Bay Area and New York City.  The largest number of new hires — nine — join from Merriman Capital; the others come from Guggenheim Securities, Leerink Swann and Roth Capital. Almost all have held senior positions at their former firms; five have served as department heads.

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Real estate investment trusts that buy U.S. mortgage debt rose, erasing losses that had reached the steepest since December 2008 amid concern that their main source of financing could be roiled by European bank woes…Declines in mortgage REIT’s may have also reflected concern about the companies’ investment opportunities, said Richard Eckert, an analyst at B. Riley & Co.

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B. Riley & Co. analyst Rich Eckert thinks the government “should get out of the way” of the housing market, and discussing the potential effects of mortgage refinancing programs.

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B. Riley’s Liu, who has a “buy” rating on the company’s stock, points to the stability of Stamps’ subscription business as a sign that the company’s recent stock gains aren’t a fluke. “Investors might be more comfortable with a model like that than a transaction-based one,” he said. “Stamps is getting respect from them.

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John Ahn, president of B. Riley & Co. LLP, a West L.A. investment banking firm, said dilution should not be a major concern for existing shareholders because they will have the option to snap up even more stock.

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To provide investor clients with timely and actionable information on possible winners, B. Riley is hosting its First Annual Defense & Cybersecurity Conference September 20, 2011 at Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica featuring presentations from 11 public companies.  Also, Bloomberg Television’s Editor-at-Large Cory Johnson joined B. Riley investors and companies for a live broadcast from our Optical Bus Tour in San Francisco held September 8th.  Dubbed by Bloomberg West Show news anchor Emily Chang as the “Magical Optical Tour in Silicon Valley”, Bloomberg viewers joined the tour around the peninsula with bus stops at Oplink Communications, JDS Uniphase, Finisar and Oclaro.

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B. Riley & Co. analyst Andrew Stapp said signs show the economic recovery slowing. While saying a recession doesn’t appear imminent, Stapp said the likelihood of one is increasing.  The strong asset quality and profitability of some banks prompted him to boost his recommendation to “Buy” from “Neutral” on CVB Financial Corp., Home Bancshares Inc., PacWest Bancorp and Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc.

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A focal point of board discussions are Yahoo’s Asian holdings—a 40% stake in China-based Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and a 35% stake in Yahoo Japan—which represent one-third to one-half of Yahoo’s overall value, according to analysts from B Riley & Co. and Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Yahoo has a market capitalization of about $18 billion.

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Following Brunswick’s announcement, Jimmy Baker, an analyst with B. Riley, noted, “While this increases the total Boat Group dealer count by a mere 1 percent, we note it is the quality, not quantity of dealers that drive sales. For instance, MarineMax represents less than 3 percent of the total Brunswick dealer network, and yet it accounts for 20 percent of total Boat Group sales. We recognize certain of these dealers … as significant dealers in other lines; given the brand strength of Sea Ray and the high ASP nature of Meridian, these new dealers could become meaningful contributors to Brunswick sales growth and should accelerate Brunswick’s market share gains.”

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“If the SEC were to regulate [mortgage REITs], to make their strategies unprofitable or unable to generate the necessary returns, they would be stanching a good bit of the flow of private capital to the housing and housing finance markets,” said analyst Rich Eckert of B. Riley & Co., LLC.

He said mortgage REITs can play “an even larger role in the post-Fannie and Freddie world when you are eventually able to privatize the mortgage market. Why would you want to shut these players out?”

Eckert, who covers real-estate companies including American Capital Agency Corp., Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation and Hatteras Financial Corp., said he does not think the SEC will ultimately remove the exemption for all mortgage REITs.

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B. Riley & Co., LLC, (B. Riley) www.brileyco.com, a leading independent investment bank providing a full array of corporate finance, research, sales and trading services, announced that it served as exclusive financial advisor to K1 Speed, Inc. in a private placement of subordinated debt through New York-based Praesidian Capital. B. Riley’s banking team was led by Managing Director Mike Lowell and Senior Vice President Chris Ankley.

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“This is refreshing news for the local business community,” said Greg Presson, senior managing director for B. Riley & Co. LLC in West Los Angeles. “There’s been lots of gloom and noteworthy exits of local publicly traded companies, so this is a welcome psychological boost.”

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Analyst Joe Gladue at Santa Monica investment bank B. Riley & Co. said Popular is simply recognizing the drawbacks of focusing only on Latinos as it tries to improve its profitability on the mainland.  “I think that people with a Puerto Rican background will still recognize the name and the brand, so Popular loses nothing by changing the brand to make it little more generic sounding,” Gladue said.

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Regardless of who follows Bartz, Sinha said the next CEO must focus on reinvigorating employee morale and updating technology. “[Yahoo] employees have been disheartened for the last four years,” he said. “There are so many fast-growing companies out there that tech employees can leave and get a job anywhere. They need to stop the exodus of people leaving Yahoo.”  But he emphasized that breathing new life into a tech company past its prime has not proven to be an easy path. Numerous CEOs have tried—and failed—to revive Yahoo. Meanwhile, at competitor AOL, CEO Tim Armstrong is struggling through his own company’s rehabilitation. EBay is the rare company with a turnaround success, which was largely thanks to PayPal, Sinha said.

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B. Riley & Co. analyst Conrad Lyon believes if Krispy Kreme doesn’t see much improvement with beverage sales over the next 18 to 24 months in association with its new coffee blends, the company might move toward a well-known coffee brand to drive beverage sales. Lyon said there have been examples in the past of franchisees having success utilizing a popular coffee label if the in-house brand fails to resonate with customers.

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Google Inc. has agreed to pay $500 million for carrying advertisements by online Canadian pharmacies targeting consumers in the United States, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

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The coveted doughnuts-and-coffee chain is planning a U.S. expansion, and we have our fingers, toes and eyes crossed that at least one store is gifted to the City of Angels.

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AOL has retained two of the biggest names in mergers and acquisitions, law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and investment banking company Allen & Company LLC. A team from those firms, including Wachtell, Lipton founding partner Martin Lipton and Allen & Co. managing director Nancy Peretsman, met with AOL executives in the company’s Manhattan offices Wednesday, Adweek has learned.

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First BanCorp (FBP.N) and Doral Financial (DRL.N), the No.2 and No.3 banking groups by assets in Puerto Rico, may be pushed into combining their operations to survive profitably in the Caribbean U.S. island territory’s overbanked market.

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AOL at 57 Cents on Dollar Gets Last, Best Hope in Private Equity: Real M&A By Joseph Ciolli and Rita Nazareth - Aug 17, 2011 For a private equity firm that’s looking for the cheapest way to get online, AOL Inc. (AOL) is trading for 57 cents on the dollar. The Internet pioneer spun off from Time Warner Inc. (TWX) in 2009 plunged to a record low last week after cutting this year’s profit forecast because of slowing growth in display advertising sales. With its market capitalization reduced to $1.3 billion from a peak Continue Reading >

For a company that’s holding on to a lot of cash, a repurchase may be a smart investment, Van Sinderen said. By decreasing the number of outstanding shares, a company can boost earnings per share and, as a result, drive up its stock price.

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It’s been a busy last few months, with capital raising brisk in a variety of sectors.  This month, we are launching our inaugural monthly News Briefs, to keep valued friends and clients apprised of what’s happening here at B. Riley. In this issue, we feature seven recently completed transactions as well as new additions to our firm.  Call us if you’d like more details on any of these transactions or to see how our extensive experience in financial services can be put to work for you.

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B. Riley Retail Analyst Jeff Van Sinderen on NBC commenting on big box retailers, altered spending habits by consumers and pent up demand for discounted products.

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OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM), the company that operates the world’s largest electronic marketplace for broker-dealers to trade unlisted stocks, announced that Destiny Media Technologies, Inc. (OTCQX: DSNY), a leading provider of secure digital content distribution solutions, is now trading on the OTC market’s highest tier, OTCQX®.

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Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. may struggle to duplicate the loyalty of its northeastern customers as the doughnuts-and-coffee chain expands across the U.S.

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Monday’s dip in the stock market could worsen problems for Philadelphia-area banks that are struggling to increase revenues and coping with increased compliance costs from the Dodd Frank financial services reform law.

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Yes, folks, even more reports continue to pour in regarding Google’s (GOOG) announcement this morning it will buy Motorola Mobility (MMI) fro $12.5 billion in cash.

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In September, Quiksilver Inc. is scheduled to open the new 585 Boardriders concept store in Los Angeles’ bohemian and boardsports-crazy Venice Beach neighborhood, a Quiksilver executive confirmed.

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27-Jul-2011

Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement, Creation of a Direct Financing

Item 1.01. Entry Into a Material Definitive Agreement

On July 21, 2011, Great American Group, LLC ("GAG"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Great American Group, Inc. (the "Company"), entered into a Loan Agreement (the "Loan Agreement") with Dialectic Capital Partners, LP, Dialectic Offshore Ltd., Dialectic Antithesis Partners, LP and Dialectic Antithesis Offshore Fund, Ltd. (collectively, the "Lender") and Continue Reading >

For investors who still tremble at the thought of investing in companies that rely on mortgage-backed securities to earn a buck, fear not, says Rich Eckert, an analyst for B. Riley & Co. LLC who initiated coverage of six agency mortgage REITs on Aug. 2. As the former CFO and risk manager of the hedge fund Lahde Capital Management, which shut its doors shortly after making investors a bundle in the subprime mortgage meltdown, Eckert watched the MBS market collapse in 2007 and 2008 but now sees an opportunity for MBS REIT investors, he tells SNL.

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Shares of Web.com Group Inc surged 35 percent on Thursday, as investors cheered the e-commerce company’s move to buy its largest competitor, cementing its leading position in the online services market for small businesses.

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Chicken processor Pilgrim’s Pride Corp announced Friday it will close a Dallas production plant in the next 60 days, eliminating 1,000 jobs.

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Senior Analyst Conrad Lyon at B. Riley and Company in Los Angeles says the company’s name may promote donuts, but it’s bread and butter moneymaker is coffee.

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“I do believe that you have enough transplants (in the west) that do know the brand and will probably search it out,” Conrad Lyon, senior research analyst at B. Riley told CNBC. “That being said, you simply just don’t have the densities of population out there and that will be a hurdle,” he added.

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We are pleased to announce that Ki Yom has joined our corporate finance group as a VP and will be based out of our Los Angeles office.  Mr. Yom previously worked for Morgan Stanley in the Investment Banking Division covering a wide range of industries such as Consumer Products, Retail and Industrials.

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Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:KTOS), a leading National Security Solutions provider, announced that it has priced a private offering of $115 million aggregate principal amount of its 10% Senior Secured Notes due 2017 (the “Notes”).

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Many retailers cleared out their Spring inventory with big sales during the Fourth of July weekend, but they’re not going to be able to take much of a break from the hustle of doing promotions, according to Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for market-research company The NPD Group.

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Google is investing in social features to lure Web surfers and advertising sales from Facebook, the world’s most popular social-networking site.

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Google Inc’s profit margins and its newly released social networking service will be in the investor spotlight when the Internet company reports its quarterly results after Thursday’s market close.

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We would like to welcome Adam Goldston, who has joined the corporate finance group as a Managing Director. Adam will focus on health care.

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B. Riley & Co., LLC (B. Riley) www.brileyco.com, a leading independent investment bank which provides a full array of corporate finance, research, sales and trading services announced that it served as Placement Agent and Exclusive Financial Advisor to National Technical Systems, Inc. (NTS) (Nasdaq: NTSC) in a $14 Million private placement of debt and equity. B. Riley also provided a fairness opinion.

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B. Riley & Co., LLC (B. Riley) www.brileyco.com, a leading independent investment bank which provides a full array of corporate finance, research, sales and trading services announced that it has acted as placement agent in an approximately $31 million private placement for API Technologies (NASDAQ: ATNY).

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It took guts to float a new issue just as the offering window opened after being shut tight during the recession.

But executives at silicon metal and silicon-based alloy producer Globe Specialty Metals (GSM) knew the timing was right when they took the company public on July 30, 2009.

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B. Riley & Co., LLC (B. Riley) www.brileyco.com, a leading independent investment bank which provides a full array of corporate finance, research, sales, and trading services announced that it has acted as Co-Manager in a $16.8 Million Common Stock Offering for Odyssey Marine Exploration Inc. (Nasdaq: OMEX).

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Taxpayers could lose more than $60 million of a $135 million bailout package the U.S. Treasury gave to Central Pacific Financial Corp., the parent of Central Pacific Bank, in January 2009.

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B. Riley & Co., LLC (B. Riley) www.brileyco.com, a full service securities broker dealer providing research and trading to institutional clients and investment banking services, announced that it has arranged a $23 million debt facility for The O’Gara Group.

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CalAmp is back. The Oxnard-based firm, which trades on the Nasdaq and has a 98,000-square-foot facility in the Tri-Counties, had a brush with death when it temporarily lost a huge customer and revenues halved. But analysts say the company’s turnaround team has righted the ship and handed off power to a new CEO.

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B. Riley & Co., LLC (B. Riley) www.brileyco.com, a full service securities broker dealer providing research and trading to institutional clients and investment banking services, announced that it has arranged debt financing in support of the acquisition by Dynamics Research Corporation (DRC) (Nasdaq: DRCO) of High Performance Technologies, Inc. (HPTi).

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“We think production is going to be up about 1% for the industry this year. Demand is improving, but it’s still a bit weak, especially in food service at restaurants. Consumer demand, I think, as the economy improves, will continue to improve.”

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B. Riley and Company acted as exclusive financial advisors to Kratos on the Gichner strategic acquisition. B. Riley also acts as Kratos advisor on critical strategic planning, capital structure planning, capital raising and the execution of Kratos’ business plan. B. Riley’s Founder and Chairman, Bryant Riley leads the B. Riley Team in working directly with Kratos’ leadership and executive management.

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With a stranglehold on wedding-related media, KNOT is a premium property on the Internet. But operational and execution missteps have hampered growth. We now believe the company has matured… and has strong operational leadership, which bodes well for cohesive execution and should help it achieve a larger market share of wedding-related media and commerce over the next few years.

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We are please to announce that Richard Eckert, CFA, will join our Financial Industries Group as a Senior Research Analyst.

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Shares of Silicon Motion Technology Corp. (SIMO) surged 17% to $6.38 after B. Riley upgraded its stock-investment rating on the Taiwan-based company to buy from hold, citing its projected revenue.

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B. Riley & Co., LLC (B. Riley) www.brileyco.com, a full service broker dealer providing research and trading to institutional clients and investment banking services, today announced that it has served as the exclusive financial advisor to Cardiogenesis Corporation (OTCQB: CGCP) in its sale to CryoLife, Inc. (NYSE: CRY).

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B. Riley & Co., LLC announced that its 12th Annual Investor Conference will include expert led informational sessions to complement the event that features 150 companies from a wide range of industries.

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Bringing on new employees is costly. Companies can barely afford to get it wrong, especially on key positions. Research shows that the best new hires provide a 40% return on their salary while bad ones equate to a 40% loss. How to get it right from the start?

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We are pleased to announce the addition of four professionals to the firm.

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B. Riley & Company and its founder Bryant Riley are strategic advisors to Kratos Defense & Security Solutions in the execution of Kratos’ strategic plan to build the premier technology based National Security contractor in the industry.

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Inventure Foods Inc. reported record financial results Wednesday, surpassing Wall Street expectations and lifting the stock more than 10 percent.

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In the recently released Wall Street Journal’s 19th Annual Best on the Street survey, B. Riley analyst Kevin Liu took the #1 spot in the Software category and analyst Dave Kang placed #2 in the Telecommunications Equipment category.

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Tix Corporation (“Tix” or the “Company”) (OTCQX: TIXC), a leading entertainment company providing discount ticketing services and branded event merchandising announced that the Special Committee of its Board of Directors has retained B. Riley & Co., LLC as its financial advisor.

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Lazard acted as financial advisor and B. Riley & Co. provided a fairness opinion to Evolving Systems for this transaction.

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Management changes, spending plans and regulatory risks will be in the spotlight when Google Inc reports its first-quarter financial results after the market closes on Thursday.

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Our 11th Annual Investor Conference, scheduled May 24-26, 2010 at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel, will feature more than 125 companies.

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Puerto Rican banks are likely to see a round of consolidation soon as regulators move to close underperforming lenders, giving Popular Inc (BPOP.O), the biggest player, an excellent chance to cash in.

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B. Riley & Co. was the top performing research provider on the Investars platform,  generating 117% return from its Buy recommendations and a further 39.6% from is sell recommendations. B. Riley & Co. is no stranger to this top position, having been at the top of the performance leader board multiple times over the last several years.

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B. Riley announced that it will hold its 12th Annual Investor Conference featuring 150 companies on May 23-25, 2011 at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.

To help support the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation and its work in juvenile diabetes, B. Riley will again co-host with Sugar Ray Leonard a Charity Boxing event on the evening of May 24th for conference attendees, special guests and foundation donors.

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“The M&A market has been pretty challenged over the last several years with any number of factors, but it has begun to show some signs of resurgence,” said Greg Presson, senior managing director and head of investment banking for Los Angeles-based B. Riley & Co., which has a Newport Beach office.

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A fierce battle is underway in the broadband space as various industry players from phone companies to dotcoms duke it out for market share. In the end, the Internet is the same no matter how you get there, but arriving fast and cheap is a top priority for consumers and businesses alike.

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The healthcare industry here already has seen a pair of big deals this year, and buyouts could be the story for the rest of this year.

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The window for bargains on mergers and acquisitions could be closing amid signs that private equity and corporate buyers are deploying stockpiles of cash amassed during the recent recession.

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Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz expressed concern over Popular Inc.’s finances Tuesday a day after a B. Riley & Co. financial analyst downgraded the local bank’s shares to “neutral.”

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We are pleased to announce the addition of six professionals to the firm.

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Some believe investors could cash in big on teen retailers. But which stocks make the grade? Jeff Van Sinderen, analyst at B. Riley & Company, Inc., and Dana Telsey, CEO at Telsey Advisory Group, take a look.

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“We are initiating coverage…with a Buy rating and a 21 price target. We believe the next 12 to 18 months should provide a win-win situation for investors: Either the management team will turn this company around, or the mounting investor discontent will force management to take steps to unlock value in its assets.”

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Six Flags Entertainment Corp. (SIX) shares have doubled since August, and management is betting the ride isn’t over at the popular theme-park chain.

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L.A.’s ultracompetitive Korean-American banking industry has a rate of turnover among top executives not seen at other local banks. Among Koreatown’s “Big Four” institutions – Nara, Wilshire, Center and Hanmi – all but Hanmi have changed CEOs since last year.

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Analyst Joe Gladue of B. Riley & Co. said he expects the shares to open around $22.51 or $22.52 next week after closing yesterday at $35.03. The stock rose $2.32, or 7.1 percent, yesterday as bargain hunters scooped up shares on the final day to be eligible for the company’s $20 million rights offering.

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Advanced Photonix, Inc. (NYSE-Amex: API) announced that it entered into an underwriting agreement with B. Riley & Co., LLC, providing for the sale of 1,200,000 shares of its Class A Common Stock at a purchase price of $1.97 a share, less an underwriting discount of $0.1182 a share.

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B. Riley & Co., LLC announced that it served as the exclusive financial advisor to Trojan Battery Company in completing a $100 million corporate financing for the Company.

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Optical-component makers are benefiting from Alcatel-Lucent’s upbeat 2011 outlook despite Cisco’s news because Alcatel-Lucent is much bigger in the optical transport-equipment market, says B. Riley.

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B. Riley & Co. is acting as the co-lead manager in a $64.75 million common stock offering of approximately 4.887 million shares for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Kratos) (NASDAQ: KTOS).

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Popular Inc (BPOP.O), parent of Banco Popular, will shift a chunk of its bad loans to a joint venture to offload the problem assets dragging its earnings for two years.

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Central Pacific Executive Chairman John Dean believes the bank will be profitable in 2011. Central Pacific Financial Corp., closing in on profitability and the completion of its $325 million capital-raising program, sharply cut its losses and finished just $2.1 million in the red during the fourth quarter.

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New Yorkers looking to pick something up at the Kenneth Cole shop in Rockefeller Center will now have to go elsewhere. The 17,000-square-foot flagship closed last week—part of an overhaul that includes shuttering roughly 15% of the Manhattan-based company’s full-price stores.

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The firm has been ranked #1 based on returns on its 2010 Buy recommendations—this according to the Research League Tables published by Investars.

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Some mortgage brokers must have wondered for a moment whether they were in a time warp when they received an e-mail Tuesday from their Bank of Internet USA account executive.

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B. Riley acted as the sole underwriter for Advanced Photonix, Inc. (NYSE-AMEX: API), in a $4.6 million offering.  In a press release issued by API on January 6, 2011, the company reported that the offering included the sale of 2,702,703 shares of API’s Class A Common Stock at a purchase price of $1.48 a share. B. Riley exercised its overallotment option to purchase an additional 405,405 shares of Class A Common Stock on the same terms and conditions.

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The fourth quarter saw banks’ capital-raising activity drop to its slowest pace in 2010 as concerns about some issuers’ credit quality and uncertainty about future capital standards kept a few transactions on the sidelines.

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We would like to welcome industry veteran Richard “Rick” Waks to B. Riley as a Senior Sales Trader, based in our Los Angeles office.

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Orange County produced more dashed hopes than new public companies in 2010.  But 2011 starts with cautious optimism for a long-awaited return of initial public offerings.

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“The biggest question of 2011 is what will happen with pricing. How much price increases will be passed on to the consumer? We do not know how the consumer will absorb these higher prices, how much will go back to vendors and how it will take a bite out of [retailers’] margins,” Van Sinderen said.

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Home BancShares Inc. (HOMB, $20.17, -$2.80, -12.19%) declined after it said its fourth-quarter loan-loss provisions should surge to $60M-$65M related to its Florida and Arkansas markets. A B. Riley analyst said it’s “concerning…that this late in the game [Home BancShares] is coming up with such losses.”

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Finish Line Inc.‘s (FINL, $17.45, -$1.34, -7.13%) fiscal third-quarter earnings fell as a prior-year gain from ending a takeover masked the athletic outfitter’s better-than-expected results.

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“They are sitting on more cash than they ever had. The strategics are very, very active, and I think they are going to get more active over the course of the next year,” said Bryant Riley, chairman of West L.A. investment bank B. Riley & Co.

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“B. Riley provided sound advice, canvassed the market and talked with every logical buyer for TPI,” said Mitchell Francis, Chairman, CEO and President of Tix Corporation. “Their efforts helped refocus our company on our core business, which positions us for future growth.”

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Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:KTOS) announced that it has acquired Southside Container & Trailer, LLC (Southside), a privately-held, premier provider of National Security related Command and Control Center, Law Enforcement, Military Aviation and Data Center Products, Shelters and Solutions for the United States Department of Defense, National Security agencies and related customers. Southside also provides products and solutions for specialized war fighter and critical asymmetric warfare related missions.

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Jeff Van Sinderen, a senior analyst at West L.A.’s B. Riley & Co., said one of Hot Topic’s biggest challenges was to improve its fashion accessories business. He said a new merchandise buyer has changed the type of accessories the chain sells, and appears successful.

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We are pleased to announce the addition of Sameet Sinha as an analyst covering Internet & E-Commerce, based out of our San Francisco office.  Mr. Sinha has more than 10 years of experience on the sell-side covering a broad range of media companies - both online and offline - and across market capitalization.

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John Ahn has been named President and Head of Corporate Finance. The company also announced that Ryan J. Bernath and Bradley T. Nii have joined the firm as Managing Directors in Corporate Finance; all will be based in the Los Angeles office.

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acted as the exclusive financial advisor to Universal Electronics Inc. (Nasdaq: UEIC) in its acquisition of China-based Enson Assets Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of C.G. International Holdings Limited. The purchase was valued at $125.6 million.  The company, in a November 4, 2010 news release, announced a net purchase value of approximately $110 million.

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Our Research Department has earned #2 ranking in Integrity Research Associates’ 3-Year “Buy Batting Averages” Report.

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Despite third quarter declines, Conrad Lyon, restaurant analyst at B Riley Research and investment banking firm, sees a lot of momentum in the chains’ quickly recovering same-store sales, and expects an eventual payoff via refranchising and consumer product licensing efforts to include fruit cups and health drinks, the revenue from which Lyons believes will triple in 2011.

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We are pleased to welcome Nicolle Ortega to B. Riley.  Nicolle will be working as an Executive Assistant and will be supporting the Investment Banking Department in the Los Angeles Office.  Prior to joining B. Riley & Co., Nicolle worked as an Executive Assistant at Imperial Capital.

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B. RIley acts as the sole underwriter in a $24.6 million common stock offering of approximately 2.3 million shares for Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (Kratos) (NASDAQ: KTOS).  Kratos also has granted the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 230,000 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. The offering, priced at $10.20 per share, is expected to close on October 12, 2010, subject to customary closing conditions.

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B. Riley & Co. served as a financial advisor to Semtek Innovation Solutions Corporation as part of its acquisition by VeriFone Systems, Inc. (NYSE: PAY) and provided a fairness opinion.  B. Riley Managing Director Michael Lowell and Vice President Dennis Alshuler led the banking team in this engagement.

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We will be expanding our research to cover the restaurant sector. We are also announcing that Conrad Lyon, CFA, CPA has joined the firm as a Senior Research Analyst dedicated to covering the sector with a focus on casual dining.

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“We strongly believe that there is little downside to adding new insightful members to the board,” Sinderen wrote in a client note. He reaffirmed a “Buy” rating and $7.50 price target.

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B. Riley & Co., LLC will serve as Care Investment Trust’s Designated Advisor for Disclosure (“DAD”) on OTCQX, responsible for providing guidance on OTCQX requirements.

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Tix Corporation (TIXC 0.76, +0.04, +5.54%) , announced that it is exploring strategic alternatives, including the possible sale, for its live entertainment business segment which is comprised of two subsidiaries: Magic Arts & Entertainment and NewSpace Entertainment. The Company has retained B. Riley & Co. as its financial advisor. There can be no assurances that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in a transaction.

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We are serving as the exclusive financial advisor to Autobytel Inc. (NASDAQ: ABTL) in its acquisitions of Tampa, Florida-based Cyber Ventures, Inc. and Autotropolis, Inc.

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