News & Media by Category

By Michael White and Christopher Palmeri - Apr 25, 2013

AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the second-largest U.S. cinema chain, settled a revenue-sharing dispute with Walt Disney Co. (DIS) over “Iron Man 3,” leaving two big U.S. chains in a stalemate over the first big summer movie.

Tickets are available for showings starting at 9 p.m. on May 2, Kansas City, Missouri-based AMC Entertainment said today in an e-mailed statement. Terms of the revenue-sharing agreement weren’t disclosed.

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“They redeveloped a lot of their product lines, and they came up with new product in a lot of different segments,” said analyst Jeff Van Sinderen of B. Riley & Co. “That product has been gaining strong traction for the last couple of quarters.”

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Eric Wold, analyst with B. Riley & Co. in Los Angeles, contends the recent launch of Redbox Instant by Verison could undermine Netflix’s disc rental ace card going forward.  “Redbox Instant [has] the potential to siphon off some of Netflix’s high-margin DVD subscribers, we continue to believe this could be a drag on [second half 2013] profitability trends,” Wold wrote in an April 23 note.

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B. Riley & Co. analyst Eric Wold said that such a low figure, along with the rest of the company’s results, “clearly demonstrates the power of Netflix’s original-programming effort, as streaming subscribers exceeded expectations.”

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In advance of Netflix‘s (NFLX) Q1 report this evening, the shares are up $11.54, or 7%, at $174.91, after B. Riley & Co.’s Eric Wold raised his rating on the stock to Neutral from Sell, and raised his price target way up to $165, from $90, writing that after a 17% drop in the past month (through Friday’s close), “We view this as a solid opportunity to move to the sidelines ahead of the Q1 earnings report tonight.”

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B. Riley & Co. analyst Eric Wold said Cinedigm is looking for creative ways to effectively promote their indie films to the right audiences and for the right cost.  Wold said Cinedigm has made mixing up traditional distribution of movies a hallmark of its business plan. It distributes indie movies and TV shows via 11,600 digital theatrical screens with 269 exhibition partners, DVD and Blu-ray Disc, electronic sellthrough, and transactional and subscription VOD.

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Taking into account the buy of New Video and a refinancing of debt last month, Eric Wold, an analyst for B. Riley & Co., gives the company a “buy” rating. “The acquisition of New Video gives them an entire ecosystem,” Wold says.

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The company gets most of its money from admissions at its theme parks, and relies on sales of food and merchandise. Its average ticket price is higher than those of two main rivals, Six Flags and Cedar Fair, according to a research note from Ian Corydon, an analyst with B. Riley & Company. Still, SeaWorld is trying to attract a broad swath of visitors.

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Through its Pixar, Lucasfilm and Marvel units, Disney controls many of Hollywood’s most popular movie properties, including “Star Wars” and “The Avengers.” The studio is trying to use its box-office muscle to win better terms on future releases, said Eric Wold, a cinema-industry analyst at B. Riley & Co. in San Francisco.

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B. Riley’s expansion in the Los Angeles County market has allowed the firm to move up in the Los Angeles Business Journal’s Listing of Investment Banks.  The list ranks firms by the number of investment bankers and total number of employees in LA County offices only.  Our other offices have also seen dramatic growth in the last few years with 15 professionals in our NY office and 13 professionals in our San Francisco office.

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“Undoubtedly, a weak consumer and seasonality hurt the demand side, but we believe much of the weakness resulted from abnormally high cold-storage inventories that were piled up by bar-and-grill operators fearing a supply shortfall,” he wrote. “That shortfall never arose, and that supply continues to get worked through the system.”

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“The possibility of a Starz Encore/AMC merger forces us into a more sanguine view of the story,” he wrote in an April 12 note. “With that, our 12-month target moves to $61 from $47 [per share].”

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“I suspect with the new CFO that this [kiosk] business will be de-emphasized considerably,” R. Scott Tilghman, senior analyst with B. Riley & Co., wrote in an email. “I understand it is largely franchised with some very unhappy franchisees, and not [a business] Best Buy will give much attention to going forward.”

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Competitive pressures on Netflix’s 8 million disc subscribers continue to undermine the subscription video-on-demand pioneer’s aggressive push to expand operations globally, according to B. Riley & Co. analyst Eric Wold.

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Cadiz Inc. (NASDAQ: CDZI) announced the appointment of Mr. Bryant Riley to its Board of Directors. Mr. Riley joins the Company’s Board with significant corporate management expertise and over 20 years of experience in the investment banking industry.

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Shares of the San Diego-based company have climbed 23 percent this year as a turnaround plan helped expand margins and health-care stocks led the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index. CareFusion, which has one business that makes devices for pumping fluids and drugs into patients and another that supplies antiseptic products applied before surgery, could be acquired by a private-equity firm and then broken into pieces to boost returns, B. Riley & Co. said.

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“Amazon has focused more on hardware and digital media in the past couple of years, both areas of focus for Apple,” said Scott Tilghman, an analyst at B Riley & Co. “So it makes sense for them to be added in to Amazon’s peer group.”

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Meanwhile, Linda Bolton Weiser, an analyst at B. Riley, said the Ireland market is likely “immaterial” to Avon’s top line, while the unnamed underperforming markets are likely ones in which sales are “very small,” with Avon either breaking even or perhaps losing money. She pointed to Mexico and the U.K. as important markets, where Avon needs to improve its performance.

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Redbox had an estimated 16% drop in average revenue per kiosk in the first quarter (ended March 31) due in part to a back-weighted new release schedule and assimilation of defunct Blockbuster Express units, according B. Riley & Co. analyst Eric Wold.

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Some analysts believe that the slowdown in the domestic market for 3D is a momentary blip. Eric Wold, an analyst with B. Riley & Company, said that movies like “Iron Man 3” and “Man of Steel,” which will be released in 3D, should ensure that the format has a stronger showing this year.

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B. Riley & Co’s David Miller was less impressed, calling the drop over a holiday weekend “a concern for bulls on the stock” — contrasting it to How To Train Your Dragon whose domestic box office tally fell 34% in its second weekend. He’s leaving his global box office estimate of $420M unchanged and reminds investors that “The Croods needs to get to $340M [worldwide] in order to avoid a write-down.”

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“The worst is behind as consumers begin to show signs of recovery and new product cycles hint at emerging upticks in some categories,” said B. Riley & Co. analyst Scott Tilghman.

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B. RILEY announced that it has acted as Co-Manager in an offering involving $206 Million in senior secured notes for American Apparel Inc., (NYSE MKT: APP). The transaction closed April 4, 2013.

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B. Riley & Co. announced that it has acted as Co-Manager in a $77.2 Million Follow-On Public Offering of an aggregate of 8,350,000 American Depository Shares (ADS) for RDA Microelectronics, Inc. (NASDAQ: RDA).

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B. Riley & Co. analyst Eric Wold believes Coinstar is worth more. He estimates Coinstar’s shares are worth $80, or 5 times his calculation for the company to earn $499 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.

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Largest misconception: Nobody rents DVDs anymore. We estimate the physical rentals will still generate $5.3 billion in revenues in 2013 (of which kiosks represent about 43%). We believe that a large number of investors do not understand that the significant price difference between DVDs and video-on-demand (VOD), the higher level of content and quality on Blu-ray along with the lack of necessary broadband access in some areas has kept the physical rental market vibrant (and should for years to come).

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“We continue to believe there is a large group of consumers that prefer and will continue to prefer renting DVDs or Blu-ray Discs for a number of understandable reasons: the large cost differential between DVDs and VOD, a lack of appropriate broadband access or a desire for the better quality and enhanced content of Blu-ray vs. downloads (i.e., alternative endings, additional features, etc.),” Wold wrote in a note on Monday.

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“Jamba Juices seem to be streamlined for efficiency,” says Conrad Lyon, a senior equity analyst at B. Riley & Co. “In some locations, there literally might just be a bunch of blenders, and that’s it.” Even so, a single Jamba Juice outlet generates about $700,000 in annual revenue.

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With the influx of subscription video-on-demand services, subsequent decline in the numbers of video stores, and Wall Street hype, the assumption consumers aren’t renting movies on disc anymore is gaining traction.  Which would be a mistake, according to B. Riley Caris’ Eric Wold. The Los Angeles-based analyst contends shuttering video stores represent a largely underappreciated asset to Redbox and its newly launched Redbox Instant by Verizon multiplatform rental service.

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David Miller, B. Riley & Co.: (Forecast: $41M domestic open leading to combined domestic and international BO of $420M.) “Should The Croods open with a [domestic box office] score less than $35M, our sense of dynamics around the stock is such that the stock would trade off measurably. Such a scenario is certainly a possibility given a notable sophomore follow-through last weekend from Oz: The Great and Powerful, which continues to have legs in the marketplace.”

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B. Riley announced that its 14th Annual Investor Conference will feature management presentations from nearly 200 public companies, with a concentration in the technology and consumer sectors. The event is scheduled for May 20-22, 2013 at Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel.

Industry sectors represented include: Consumer Products; Retail; Apparel & Footwear; Restaurants; Internet; Auto, Marine, Trucking & Power Sports; Media, Entertainment, and Advertising; Telecommunications; Optical Components; Software & Services; Semiconductors; Special Situations; and Aerospace & Defense.  Many are appearing at B. RILEY for the first time; covered by top ranked analysts who joined as part of B. RILEY’s recent acquisition of Caris & Company.

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B. RILEY announced that it has acted as Co-Manager in a $141.3 Million common stock offering for Kennedy Wilson Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: KW).  The underwritten public offering consisted of 9,000,000 shares priced at $15.70 per share. Kennedy Wilson also has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,350,000 additional shares of common stock. The transaction closed March 20, 2013.

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“If somebody comes in, a Google for instance, and says you can list with us and we will give you wide exposure at much lower cost, that would be a problem for Amazon,” said Scott Tilghman, an analyst at B. Riley Caris.

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When TV literary agent Peter Micelli March 8 disclosed at an entertainment symposium that Redbox Instant was in discussions for original programming, it is safe to assume user data will be involved in determining what that content is, according to B. Riley Caris analyst Eric Wold.

“Given that both Netflix and Amazon are moving forward with original programming based on internal data, that is the one thing that can truly differentiate one SVOD offering from another,” Wold said.

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“I believe that if Redbox were to announce that it would be utilizing a small portion of that [funding] to at least test out a season of one or more original programming series (especially in the early stages of Redbox Instant’s launch), it would be received well by investors given that a major bearish comment on Redbox Instant has been that the content is available on other platforms and not unique to Redbox Instant,” Wold said.

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“It’s a smart move to refinance now,” said Eric Wold, a San Francisco analyst who covers the company for B. Riley & Co. “It’s going to free up a lot of cash flow to give back to shareholders. The question now is how much they decide to increase the payout.”

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“You’re going to see opportunities for bigger [strategic buyers who see that] some of these midsized to larger companies also are having difficulty with their ability to fund trials because they now have a new tax burden,” said Greg Presson, a managing director in B. Riley’s Newport Beach office.

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The first major tentpole film release of 2013, Oz: The Great and Powerful, hits screens this weekend and, we believe, should represent an important indicator ahead of the key summer film slate for both RealD and Imax.

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Analyst Eric Wold weighed in on the company’s prospects in a note earlier Friday: “Given that Coinstar’s operations for at least the next 2-3 years (barring any major acquisitions) are still almost entirely dependent on the growth of Redbox – a business that still has a significant number of skeptics regarding its outlook, we are not all that surprised that investors would assign a little more risk.”

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NEW YORK -- Shares of Accuride Corp., which makes parts for commercial vehicles, rose Friday on predictions that the company will continue to grow.

THE SPARK: B. Riley analyst Jimmy Baker backed his "Buy" rating for the company, and boosted his price target by 50 cents to $6, saying that its profits will continue to improve sequentially through the year.

THE BIG PICTURE: Accuride shares took a hit in 2012, as the sluggish economy reduced shipping needs and demand for commercial trucks. But since the beginning of the year, the company's shares have been on Continue Reading >

B. RILEY has acted as advisor in an $83.5 Million comprehensive debt refinancing package for Cadiz, Inc. (Nasdaq: CDZI).  The refinancing establishes two separate debt instruments, a $30 million senior secured mortgage, and a $53.5 million convertible bond.

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By Pamela McClintock

Theater stocks slide and grosses drop 15 percent as "Jack the Giant Slayer" leads a season of discontent and a glut of grim action flops leaves few studios unscathed.

When Bryan Singer sat down at his computer in mid-January and read Internet comments criticizing a new Warner Bros. poster for his big-budget epic Jack the Giant Slayer, he fumed. He didn't care for the cartoonish image of the film's stars brandishing swords and standing around a swirling beanstalk. So Singer complained on Twitter. "Sorry for these crappy airbrushed Continue Reading >

In a research note, analyst Eric Wold of B. Riley Caris called the $28 million opening of Jack the Giant Slayer “disastrous” and said the overall $83 million at the domestic box office over the weekend represented a 38 percent year-over-decline.

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B. Riley analyst Eric Wold says that the changes should cut $5M from annual interest expenses, and — by removing the recourse debt — eliminates what had been “a major overhang on the stock for years.” He also notes that Moody’s Investor Service just reclassified Cinedigm debt as investment grade, up from speculative. That could help the company to become “a major player in the distribution of indie films and alternative content,” Wold says.

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Groupon Goods, a service started in 2011 to help companies such as Dell Inc. (DELL) and Garmin Ltd. (GRMN) peddle thousands of marked- down items via two-day sales, has been bringing in a growing portion of revenue as demand cools for daily discounts. The e- commerce business is crimping profits as Groupon invests in infrastructure to store and ship physical goods, said Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B. Riley & Co.

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“They really never played in the kinds of brands that they’re going to have on Luxe810,” he said. “It opens them up to customers that they probably didn’t necessarily address before, at least for that kind of product — brands like Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana. That’s a true luxury customer.”

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“They have laid out some interesting ways to drive growth,” said Wold, who rates the shares buy.

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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 joint book-running manager in a $47.9 million common stock offering for CalAmp Corp. which closed February 20, 2013.

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Office Depot Inc will acquire smaller rival OfficeMax Inc in a $1.2 billion all-stock deal, the companies said on Wednesday, confirming an agreement inadvertently announced earlier in the day, before it was completed.

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A B. Riley & Co. analyst says that although stock at Brunswick Corp. is still undervalued, the company’s market opportunities for Mercury Marine are partially offset by challenges facing its boat group, particularly in the Sea Ray and Meridian brands.

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“On the registrar side there is potential for mergers and acquisitions,” said Sameet Sinha, an analyst with B. Riley Caris.

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“Android is gaining market share and the latest versions of the Nexus hardware are getting very good reviews,” said B. Riley analyst Sameet Sinha, referring to Google’s Android mobile operating system and Android-powered smartphones and tablets sold under the Nexus brand.

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“This move represents a solid use of the inexpensive capital availability and reinforces the main rationale behind our upgrade to buy from neutral on 12/19/12,” Eric Wold, an analyst with B. Riley Caris in San Francisco, said today in a note. “Regal is well-positioned to once again generate results above expectations in 2013 driven by its leading industry position on a robust film slate.”

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“If you can get an all-you can-eat children’s programming service for $8 a month and now it has dramatically more with DreamWorks and Disney content, (Netflix) definitely could be more attractive than the older content that others have,” says Eric Wold, an analyst with B. Riley Caris in San Francisco. “Netflix is definitely trying to make its mark in animated and kids programming in a way that others can’t easily replicate.”

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How has sell-side coverage changed over time?

We all know that since the dotcom bust, sell-side coverage has declined substantially. Some of the void has been filled by smaller, regional firms that do a great job.  Still it’s tough for small cap companies to get coverage.  Smaller firms like Barrington in Chicago and B. Riley in Los Angeles are less short-term focused than the larger sell-side firms. They look at the long-term potential over time.

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What they do: Full service investment bank; corporate finance, research, sales, trading
How long they’ve been doing it: Since 1997
Who runs it: Bryant Riley
Where are they located: Los Angeles, Newport Beach, San Francisco, NYC, Boston and Atlanta
Fact: This is a growing business. They recently acquired smaller rival Caris & Co.

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In-N-Out expanded to Texas in 2011, after building a warehouse and the patty facility. There are now 16 units in the state. Conrad Lyon, a Los Angeles-based senior restaurants analyst for B. Riley Caris, said additional expansion will continue to be gradual.

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Part of the stock’s rise has been driven by significant stock buybacks, using proceeds from a $7.6 billion deal to sell half of its 40 percent stake in Chinese Internet company Alibaba Group, said Sameet Sinha, an analyst with B. Riley Caris.

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“She’s not pounding Madison Avenue and saying, ‘Hey, advertise with us,’ she’s saying, ‘Let me take time to build a great product and then, when we prove we can get the eyeballs, then you can advertise with us,’” Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B Riley & Co., said in an interview.

It was the most substantial discussion of Mayer’s strategy since she was hired in July, and could help convince investors that renewed focus on product innovation will eventually help drive Yahoo’s sales growth, said Sinha, who is based in San Francisco and rates Yahoo shares a buy.

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Eric Wold, analyst with B. Riley Caris in Los Angeles, said higher debt is not an issue, as Netflix has been operating with a significant level of content liabilities for some time. In addition, Wold reiterated that Netflix management was adamant that it planned on raising additional debt financing to refinance existing debt as well as help cover expected content spending near-term for its original programming.

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For Ms. Mayer, the results were enough that the “honeymoon period is going to last at least a couple of more quarters” while investors wait to see progress, said Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B. Riley & Co.

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Baker said in a client note that he is becoming less optimistic that the first quarter will see any benefit from a co-developed Bobcat product that’s not been introduced yet. He believes that near-term expectations may need to be adjusted lower.

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Investors may expect Coinstar to top fourth-quarter forecasts when it reports results on Feb. 7, said Eric Wold, an analyst with B. Riley & Co. in San Francisco. They also may be looking for improved performance in 2013, he said. Analysts are forecasting 76 cents a share in fourth-quarter profit, down from $1 a year earlier, the average of six estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

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Samsung, the world’s largest maker of mobile phones, TVs and computer-memory chips, said yesterday that it will maintain capital spending for this year at 2012 levels. Analysts had speculated that Samsung to reduce semiconductor spending by as much as 40 percent, said Ben Pang, an analyst at B. Riley & Co.

“Investors were concerned about which company would fill the gap,” Pang said. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., KLA’s largest customer, has said it plans to limit most capital outlays to the first half of 2013, he said. “Samsung can certainly fill the gap.”

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B. Riley’s Sameet Sinha today reiterates a Buy rating on the stock and a $26 price target, writing that “Our checks are indicating continued strength in Display advertising with Brand advertisers becoming increasingly comfortable with online advertising,” while adding that “for Search, YHOO continues to lose share of search queries, but site optimization and RPS guarantee from Microsoft should help.”

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“I can’t get to a valuation that makes any sense,” says B. Riley & Co. analyst Eric Wold, who rates Netflix a Sell and sees the share price falling to $90 in the next 12 months. “Competitive pressures will come into play this year.”

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“I can’t get to a valuation that makes any sense,” says B. Riley & Co. analyst Eric Wold, who rates Netflix a Sell and sees the share price falling to $90 in the next 12 months. “Competitive pressures will come into play this year.”

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After watching DIS bounce around the low $50s for the better part of 3 months, we are now re-upgrading the stock from Neutral to Buy and promoting a 12-month target of $63. Our call is not a play on F2013, but rather, a play on F2014, which we believe will be a “cleaner” year driven by higher Theme Park margins, a higher rate card at ESPN, and what looks to be a very strong film slate.

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“Business looked really strong, especially from a profitability perspective. They really grew their margins in the core business,” said Sameet Sinha, an analyst with B. Riley Caris. “Most of that strength seems to be coming from international markets which grew revenues quite substantially: up 23 percent year over year, versus the 15 percent growth in the third quarter.”

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Reporting Motorola Home separately made it seem that Google missed sales views badly, “but that’s not the true story,” said B. Riley Caris analyst Sameet Sinha. But if Motorola Home was included in core sales, Q4 revenue would have been $12.16 billion, still lower than forecasts.

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Eric Wold, B. Riley & Co.‘s Netflix analyst, has a Sell rating on the stock and a $45 price target. Wold believes that the stock could drop after earnings.

Wold told Benzinga he was concerned with the company’s content costs. In contrast to Wible, Wold believes that the Disney deal could burn Netflix shareholders, who might even have to sit through some capital raises.

“When Netflix lost their deal with Starz, they downplayed the importance of Disney,” Wold said. “Netflix said Disney was only about 2 percent of streamed content.”

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Eric Wold, Netflix analyst at B Riley & Co, has a Sell rating on Netflix and a $45 price target. Wold doesn’t think the company is “going away anytime soon,” but believes that lofty content costs will weigh on Netflix’s share price.

“This stock could have a big leg down after earnings,” Wold told Benzinga. “Next week, investors will see that they paid a lot for Disney’s content and their guidance for future subscribers will be conservative.”

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“Growth just never comes easy; expectations have to be set appropriately,” said analyst Conrad Lyon at B. Riley & Co. “When you go into a new territory, there’s a nice honeymoon period where sales tend to be strong out of the gate, but then they slow down and could take years, if not decades, to build back up.”

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R. Scott Tilghman, an analyst with investment firm B. Riley & Co., said in a research note that shareholders are undervaluing OfficeMax stock and its 20 percent stake in Boise Cascade Co. Boise filed for an initial public offering late Monday.

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Shares of Angie’s List Inc. jumped Friday after a B. Riley Caris analyst upgraded the company’s stock, citing its positioning and opportunity.  THE SPARK: Analyst Sameet Sinha upgraded Angie’s List to “Buy” from “Sell” and more than doubled his price target, moving it from $7 to $18.

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Netflix is projected to post a fourth-quarter (ended Dec. 31) net loss of $6.9 million, as costs associated with ongoing foreign expansion, big-ticket content license agreements and conservative subscriber gains undermine the subscription video-on-demand pioneer’s bottom line, according to B. Riley & Co. analyst Eric Wold.

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“One thing CalAmp is looking for with this Wireless Matrix acquisition is to accelerate its own ability to offer software as a service and get to that market with its own service,” said Mike Crawford, an analyst with B. Riley & Co.

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We received our invitation for the beta test of Redbox Instant by Verizon Communications last week and have personally examined and tested the streaming offering.

While there have been a number of negative articles written about the service over the past few days, we actually believe there was nothing newly revealed through the beta testing that was not already known ahead of time (in terms of content availability or device support). We continue to stress that Redbox Instant [a joint venture between Verizon (ticker: VZ) and Redbox parent Coinstar (CSTR)] does not have to displace Netflix (NFLX) as the streaming video on demand (SVOD) leader in order to be either disruptive to the SVOD segment or profitable on its own. We remain positive on its potential as an incremental growth driver and see potential probability within 12 to 18 months.

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The turmoil suggests a new CEO is needed, says Sameet Sinha, an analyst at B. Riley & Co. “If this business model needs to be reset, that’s better done by an outsider,” he says. “Somebody new, if he gets the mandate from the board, can come in and do his own thing and not get too much push back from his employees or senior management.”

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“B. Riley’s depth of experience and relationships in the Optics and Aerospace and Defense industries played a key role in marketing to the appropriate suitors and in receiving the right value for our company. LightWorks received significant interest from multiple suitors and ultimately selected II-VI, which was an ideal fit because its culture, engineering and manufacturing expertise were similar to those of LightWorks.”

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Krispy Kreme, which introduced a new coffee lineup in 2011, and Jamba, the smoothie maker projected to post its first profit since 2005 this year, may be targeted for their well-known brand names and the chance to expand into grocery and mass retail stores, said B. Riley & Co. and Pacific Management Consulting Group.

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“we believe Coinstar has hired well ahead of the company’s growth curve and has built a deep management team that, most importantly, shares the same strategic views on the company’s direction and growth plans.”

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Di Valerio is likely to continue expanding Coinstar’s offerings, said Eric Wold, an analyst at B. Riley Caris in San Francisco, who recommends buying the shares.

“It’s somewhat of a disappointment in terms of how strong Paul Davis was in positioning the company for growth going forward with new businesses,” Wold said. “I don’t expect any major changes in their trajectory. They all agreed on the direction the company was taking.”

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Eric Wold, an analyst for B. Riley & Co., said share pressure was likely a knee-jerk reaction to the change in command inserting uncertainty about strategy. Mr. Davis, 55, has been instrumental in Coinstar’s growth so far and positioning it for more with new kiosk ideas, and investors will likely remain worried about possible changes in direction until new management provides clarity, Mr. Wold said. Mr. Davis joined Coinstar in 2008 as chief operating officer and became chief executive about a year later.

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“Los Angeles is well-represented in the sectors that were stronger over the past year, including media and entertainment, homebuilding and technology,” said Bryant Riley, chairman of B. Riley & Co. in West Los Angeles. “Fortunately, L.A. doesn’t have that many of the commodity companies that underperformed this year.”

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“Big companies are out looking for acquisition candidates to put money to work,” said Bryant Riley, chairman of investment bank B. Riley & Co. LLC in West Los Angeles. “You’re going to pay off debt you already have, you’re going to buy another company or buy your own stock. But mostly it’s used for acquisition.”

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With its acquisition of San Diego stock brokerage Caris & Co. last week, West L.A. investment bank B. Riley & Co. has ventured further into territory from which others are retreating.  The pickup adds about 25 employees to B. Riley’s sales, research and trading desks – at a time when demand for such services from smaller firms is waning. Several boutique stock brokerages have shuttered this year, including San Francisco’s ThinkEquity LLC and New York’s WJB Capital Group.

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With the looming tax-law changes still on the horizon, we would not be surprised if the industry saw an increase in merger-and-acquisition activity over the next week as sellers may look to remove that uncertainty. Our models continue to exclude any unannounced acquisitions and, given the attractive multiples recently paid by Regal Entertainment Group (RGC), Cinemark Holdings (CNK) and Carmike Cinemas (CKEC), we continue to believe there is an upward bias for our calendar 2013 estimates.

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For years, the Beverly Hills online dating company’s crown jewel was Jewish dating site JDate.com. But with that service now in decline, Spark is getting huge revenue growth from its newer sites aimed at Christian daters, especially ChristianMingle.com.

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Veteran media and entertainment analysts Eric Wold and David Miller are working for the same employer following investment bank B. Riley & Co.’s acquisition of research firm Caris & Co.

The Dec. 17 deal, which added nine analysts, 12 salesmen and four traders to Los Angeles-based B. Riley’s operations, including offices in San Francisco, New York, San Diego and Atlanta, resulted in B. Riley’s Wold overlapping coverage on five stocks also followed by Caris’ Miller – including coveted Netflix.

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B. Riley & Co. LLC Chairman Bryant Riley likes to take advantage of industry trends by moving into sectors when others are abandoning them and expanding his business when others are contracting.  The Los Angeles-based investment bank did just that with the acquisition of Caris & Co. Inc., a San Diego-based research-driven boutique investment bank. Riley noted that, with many brokerage firms going out of business or cutting back, it provides his firm with expansion opportunities.

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Given the significant embedded customer bases already using both Redbox (43.8 million email addresses) and Verizon (90+ million wireless connections), the attractively-priced SVOD plan driven by variable content costs and the ability to get DVDs the same-day at 40,000+ kiosk locations is a game changer, according to Eric Wold, analyst with B. Riley & Co. in Los Angeles.

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B. Riley & Co. Chairman Bryant Riley discusses his company’s recent acquisition. He speaks with Cory Johnson on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg West.”

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“We’re a lot deeper now in covering consumer and technology companies,” said Bryant Riley, who founded B. Riley in 1997. “This business is so challenging right now that our game plan is to keep our head down, try to take market share and hope we get into a better environment.”

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“We’ve always expanded when it’s difficult,” said Riley, who declined to say how much he paid for Caris. “This will add to the research and sales side at a time when there’s less and less firms out there servicing the institutional investor.”

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Move expands B. Riley’s Research, Sales, & Trading doubling its distribution capabilities, opens presence in new regions

Los Angeles, CA, -- B. Riley & Co., LLC, (B. Riley) www.brileyco.com, a leading independent investment bank today announced the acquisition of San Diego-based investment bank Caris & Company.

“This acquisition is consistent with our growth strategy to assemble experienced professionals who share our disciplined approach to research, sales, trading and investment banking,” said Bryant Riley, Chairman of B. Riley & Co.

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“‘The Hobbit’ in particular has done very well above what the prior ‘Lord of the Rings’ did,” said Eric Wold, an analyst with B. Riley & Co. in San Francisco. “Given that this movie is in Imax and 3D it bodes very well for the rest of the franchise.”

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B. Riley analyst Eric Wold said Redbox Instant’s content-payment model is another advantage for Coinstar. Unlike operators like Netflix, which pay large sums for deep caches of content, Redbox Instant buys content on a per-subscriber basis.

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While Redbox Instant will offer a smaller library than Netflix, the new service contains enough content from major Hollywood studios to make it an attractive alternative, said B. Riley & Co. analyst Eric Wold.

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“For somebody to buy it, you have to figure out what you are really paying for,” Sameet Sinha, a San Francisco-based analyst at B. Riley, said in a telephone interview. “Their existing customers are buying less and less. They have no technology really to talk about. Their sales force is declining. Frankly, what are you buying it for?”

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