L.A.'s Most Significant 'Deals' Of 1999?; The Los Angeles Business Journal Shares its Top Choices

Business Wire, Dec 29, 1999

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 29, 1999

If you had to list the top deals of 1999 most significant to the economy of Los Angeles, what would they be? The award-winning Los Angeles Business Journal has made its annual assessment of the 50 most significant "deals" of the year.

To be released in its Monday edition, the Business Journal list includes corporate mergers, acquisitions, sporting victories and defeats, legal settlements of "mice and men," and "well-educated" retirement packages.

As compiled by the Los Angeles Business Journal, the top eight deals of 1999 are:

   1.    EToys goes public -- shares skyrocket
   2.    Arco purchased by BP Amoco
   3.    DreamWorks pulling out of Playa Vista
   4.    NFL deal -- or lack thereof -- with L.A.
   5.    L.A. lands Democratic National Convention
   6.    Ruben Zacarias negotiates retirement package
   7.    Falcon Cable acquired by Charter Communications
   8.    Yahoo buys GeoCities

"We always hear of how large deals are financially, what we have focused on is how large an impact a deal has had or will have on us," said Mark Lacter, editor of the Los Angeles Business Journal. "For example, Etoys put L.A. on the technology map as a serious player and the sale of Arco represents the loss of a major L.A. corporation. All this reflects on how the business scene in L.A. continues to diversify."

To obtain the complete listing in advance, or to gain an in-depth perspective with Mark Lacter as to how the top 50 were chosen and their specific importance to L.A., please contact Scott Mann at 213/891-2822, Ext. 226.