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Pixel Magic opening digital studio in Lafayette
Pixel Magic will open a Louisiana studio at the LITE facility in Lafayette, creating 12 jobs within a year and ramping up to a total of 40 jobs in three years, company, state and Lafayette-area officials announced this morning. Pixel Magic provides digital visual effects for movies and television. Its capabilities include visual effects services in 2-D and 3-D. Pixel Magic has done work for Miramax, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks on major films, such as “Marley & Me,” “Get Smart,” “300,” “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” and “The Last Samurai.” Louisiana Economic Development’s Office of Entertainment Development, working with regional and local partners, encouraged Pixel Magic to expand in Louisiana in conjunction with its work on Disney’s film Secretariat, currently filming in Acadiana. LITE is the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise, a high-tech state-funded supercomputing facility capable of crunching data into graphic form and is designed to spur research and business innovation in the state and Lafayette area. “Pixel Magic is a great example of the kind of companies we hoped to position Louisiana to secure when we strengthened Louisiana’s film production and digital interactive media tax credits during the last legislative session,” Gov. Bobby Jindal said in an announcement with company and Lafayette-area officials. “Pixel Magic’s decision to locate in Louisiana will send a signal to Hollywood and to other leading digital media companies that Louisiana is a major player in the digital media industry,” the governor said.
BR’s Marucci Bat claims 10 World Series home runs
Ten out of 17 home runs in the most recent World Series were hit with a Marucci bat, Baton Rouge-based Marucci Bat Co. said today. The company said it supplied bats for a number of Yankee players, including Mark Teixeira, Jorge Posada, Melky Cabrera, Nick Swisher, Jose Molina, Johnny Damon and Robinson Cano. “We congratulate the Yankees on the franchise’s 27th title,” said Jack Marucci. “Also, we are excited that It was a phenomenal year for Marucci.” The Philadelphia Phillies also had several players who swung Marucci during the World Series, including Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez, Pedro Feliz, Shane Victorino, Greg Dobbs, Eric Bruntlett, Miguel Cairo, and John Mayberry Jr. As of 2009, nearly 300 MLB players, including 15 All-Stars and both American League MVP, Ryan Howard, and National League MVP, Albert Pujols, swing Marucci. Marucci, located in Baton Rouge, started handcrafting wood baseball bats in 2003 for a handful of players.
CF Industries rejects sweetened Agrium offer
NEW YORK (AP) — CF Industries Holdings Inc. — with a plant in Donaldsonville — has rejected rival fertilizer maker Agrium Inc.’s sweetened takeover bid, saying the $4.5 billion bid significantly undervalues the company. CF Industries, which is based in Deerfield, Ill., rejected the latest bid in a statement on Friday, a day after its Canadian rival had raised its unsolicited offer. Agrium has pursued CF since February, but has faced repeated rejections. CF started the acquisition trend in January, when it began its pursuit of another rival Terra Industries Inc., based in Sioux City, Iowa, also with a plant in Donaldsonville. CF’s advances continue to face resistance by Terra. On Thursday, Agrium raised its bid for CF Industries to $45 in cash plus one Agrium share for each CF share. That’s a $5 increase in the cash portion of the proposal. The total value of the deal is $92.99 per CF share, or $4.52 billion, based on CF outstanding shares as of Sept. 30.
Sealy & Falgoust adds property management
Sealy & Falgoust Real Estate is adding commercial investment properties and multi-family developments to its commercial real estate brokerage services. Sealy & Falgoust added property manager Greg Accardo to focus on property management and real estate brokerage. The company said in a press release it made the move because clients are increasingly requiring expertise in managing their real estate investment properties.
State work force agency ramps up training
The Louisiana Workforce Commission will train workers statewide at its Business and Career Solutions Centers, with an aim of plugging the estimated 4,000-job shortage of workers that possess career and technical education skills coveted by industry. One such training session continues today at Southern University. The session began Thursday and includes commission workers from an 11-parish region surrounding Baton Rouge. The commission has partnered with WorkSource7, a Louisiana-based consortium of training companies and Southern University’s College of Business and Learning Sciences Corp., which provides electronic learning expertise. “This training is designed to equip participants with strategies to become even more focused and business-driven,” said Terry Simmons, executive director of CBL, one of the consortium leaders. Diversity, customer service, stress management and other topics are included in the forums, which will continue statewide in the upcoming months.
Centennial to continue retail in parts of La.
Alexandria-based Centennial Wireless said its 63 retail locations in Louisiana and Mississippi will continue to operate independently as Centennial Wireless and will compete against AT&T and other carriers.
Centennial was just acquired by AT&T, but the U.S. Department of Justice had ordered AT&T to divest Centennial's wireless business and assets in eight markets in central Louisiana, the Acadiana region & southwest Mississippi to another buyer. That buyer has not been found yet, but Centennial’s retail locations are being run by a trustee appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice. AT&T previously announced in May 2009 that a definitive agreement had been reached with Verizon to purchase Centennial's business and assets in five of the eight divested markets. That transaction is ultimately expected to receive regulatory approval to close. Chuck Hollis, chief operating officer for Centennial Wireless said the company will continue focus on customer service, enhance its network and introduce innovative products and features that cover basic wireless voice and data, smart-phones, Blackberries, and fixed wireless devices.
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