Panavision Inc

Panavision Inc., a Woodland Hills-based movie-camera maker controlled by billionaire Ronald Perelman, said Chief Executive John Farrand resigned and the company has begun searching for a new CEO. Panavision will be led by Perelman, who is chairman, and an office of the president composed of Chief Financial Officer Bobby Jenkins, Chief Operating Officer Will Paice and General Counsel Eric Golden, Panavision said.

When producer John Wells was preparing to shoot his crime drama "Southland," he chose a digital camera that few had heard of a few years ago. The Red One was inexpensive, easy to use and enthusiastically endorsed by his friend and director Steven Soderbergh, who used it to film his two-part movie last year about Che Guevara. Wells was so taken with the Red camera that he even used it to film the final six episodes of "ER." That was a blow to Panavision Inc.

Panavision Inc. completed its previously announced acquisition of Visual Action Holdings PLC in London for $61 million in cash. Visual Action has camera rental businesses in the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Asia and in the United States. Panavision, based in Woodland Hills, is a supplier of cameras for film and television productions.

Panavision Inc., the longtime supplier of motion picture camera equipment, has replaced Chief Executive William M. Campbell -- after just 10 weeks on the job. The Woodland Hills company, controlled by investor Ronald O. Perelman, said in a statement that William C. Bevins, a longtime associate of Perelman's, had replaced Campbell, the former president of Discovery Networks USA who also had been an executive at ABC, CBS and Warner Bros. Television.

Panavision Inc. in Woodland Hills reported a net loss of $3.8 million compared with a net loss of $2.2 million for the same period last year. Revenue rose to $54.2 million over $53.5 million. Panavision designs and manufactures camera systems and accessories for the film and television industries.

Trizec Properties Inc. said it has signed a $20-million lease deal with Panavision Inc. at Warner Center. The film equipment manufacturing and rental company will rent 152,454 square feet on 10.46 acres, the property management company said. Panavision is expected to take occupancy by June, 1996. Panavision is currently located in Tarzana. The current occupant of the Warner Center site, Dataproducts Corp., is expected to move to Simi Valley later this year, Trizec said.

Panavision Inc., Woodland Hills, reported a net loss of $600,000 for the quarter that ended Sept. 30, compared to income of $600,000 for the like quarter in 1998. Revenues increased slightly to $53.5 million from $50.7 million. Panavision designs and manufactures precision camera systems for lease to the entertainment industry.

Panavision Inc. of Woodland Hills reported a net loss of $9.5 million for the second quarter ended June 30, compared with a loss of $7.7 million for the same period last year. Revenue was $46 million compared with $47.2 million. Panavision designs and manufactures high-precision camera systems for the motion picture and television industries.

Panavision Inc. of Woodland Hills reported a net loss for the third quarter that ended Sept. 30 of $3.8 million, compared with a net loss of $2.2 million for the third quarter last year. Revenue rose to $54.2 million from $53.5 million. Panavision designs and manufactures camera systems and accessories for the film and television industries.

Four years ago the picture was bleak for Panavision Inc. Massive debt, bad management decisions and rapidly changing technologies threatened its stature as Hollywood's gold standard for cameras and lenses used in shooting television shows, movies and commercials. Now Panavision, whose logo on film credits has been familiar to moviegoers for decades, is regaining its focus.

Panavision Inc. said a board committee had approved an $8.50-a-share offer from controlling stockholder and co-Chairman Ronald Perelman for all of its publicly traded stock. The offer by Perelman's MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. marks an increase from $8 a share, Woodland Hills-based Panavision, a maker of movie cameras, said in a regulatory filing. Perelman controls 97% of the company, according to Bloomberg data, and Sony Corp. owns 714,300 shares, or 1.8%.

Shares of Panavision Inc., a maker of movie cameras, more than doubled after co-Chairman Ronald O. Perelman offered to buy the portion of the company that he didn't already own. In a letter to Panavision's board, Perelman's MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc. offered $8 a share in cash for Woodland Hills-based Panavision, the company said in a government filing.

Panavision Inc., the leading provider of cameras and lenses to Hollywood, said Wednesday that it named Technicolor Inc. executive Robert Beitcher as its president, effective April 14. Panavision, based in Woodland Hills, is 84% owned by billionaire financier Ronald O. Perelman, who remains its chairman and chief executive. Beitcher, 48, succeeds John Farrand, who resigned in January amid efforts by Panavision to overcome financial losses caused mainly by a heavy debt load.

Billionaire dealmaker Ronald O. Perelman hit one of his first home runs by buying and later selling Technicolor Inc., the venerable movie film processor, for a fat profit in the 1980s. He pulled off a similar feat a decade later with the television-production firm New World Communications Group. Now Perelman is trying to score again in Hollywood with Panavision Inc., the dominant provider of cameras for shooting movies and TV shows.

Panavision Inc., a Woodland Hills-based movie-camera maker controlled by billionaire Ronald Perelman, said Chief Executive John Farrand resigned and the company has begun searching for a new CEO. Panavision will be led by Perelman, who is chairman, and an office of the president composed of Chief Financial Officer Bobby Jenkins, Chief Operating Officer Will Paice and General Counsel Eric Golden, Panavision said.

* Calabasas-based Cheesecake Factory Inc. reported fourth-quarter net income of $2.9 million, or 24 cents per diluted share, compared with $506,000 including charges, or 5 cents, a year ago. * Camarillo-based Power-One Inc. reported fourth-quarter earnings of $3.5 million, or 20 cents per diluted share, compared with $626,000, or 2 cents, a year ago. * Woodland Hills-based Panavision Inc. reported fourth-quarter net income of $5.5 million, or 29 cents per diluted share, compared with $5.

Panavision Inc. saw its net income more than double in its first quarter while its revenues climbed by 24%. The Woodland Hills-based camera equipment concern posted net income of $3.5 million in the quarter that ended March 31, compared to $1.2 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenues in the latest quarter rose to $31.2 million, up from $25.2 million. The company attributed its improved results in part to its acquisition of Lee Lighting last July.

COURTS * M&F Worldwide Inc. won a judge's approval to settle a lawsuit challenging the fairness of the company's $128-million purchase of billionaire Ronald Perelman's stake in movie camera maker Panavision Inc. Licorice processor M&F and controlling director Perelman were sued in Delaware Chancery Court in 2000 by shareholders who said the financier was selling his 83% stake in Panavision to get rid of an under-performing investment.

Ronald Perelman canceled the $128-million sale of his stake in movie-camera maker Panavision Inc. to another company he controls, settling investor claims that he arranged the deal to get out of a bad investment. M&F Worldwide Inc., which is controlled by the billionaire financier, agreed to return the 83% stake in Panavision and debt that Perelman sold it in exchange for $90.1 million in cash and stock he valued at $48 million, M&F officials and shareholders said Monday. M&F shares rose $1.