Dick Clark Productions sold to Guggenheim Partners

Dick Clark Productions, the company that produces the Golden Globe Awards show and the New Year’s Eve broadcast hosted for nearly 40 years by its late founder, was sold to Guggenheim Partners and a group of investors on Tuesday. Guggenheim, a private Wall Street firm, teamed up with a pair of multimedia investors to buy the production company for an undisclosed sum. A person briefed on the matter said the deal was worth about $370 million, more than double the sale price in 2007.

That year, RedZone Capital Management bought Dick Clark Productions from another investment group for $175 million. RedZone is a private equity firm run by Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder. Clark, who died in April at age 82, had no ownership role in the company.

 HTA retains Williams as chairman 

Ronald Williams will serve a third consecutive one-year term as board chairman of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the agency announced Tuesday.

The agency also announced that Patricia Ewing, an HTA board member since 2006, has been appointed vice chair.

Williams, a Maui resident, is president and CEO of Atlantis Adventures. Ewing lives on Kauai and oversees operations at Kong Lung Historic Market Center in Kilauea.

Mike McCartney, HTA president and CEO, said the exper­tise and insight of Williams and Ewing have been invaluable assets, and that he looks forward to their continued leadership and service.

Hawaiian Air parent cuts revenue forecast

Hawaiian Airlines’ parent company on Tuesday revised downward its third-quarter estimate for two measures of revenue per available seat mile.

Company officials in a regulatory filing estimated that operating revenue per available seat mile will range from a decline of 1.5 percent to a decline of 4.5 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. The company on July 24 had estimated the year-over-year change would
range from a 2.5 percent decline to a 0.5 percent increase.

Hawaiian Holdings Inc. also is estimating that passenger revenue per available seat mile will range from a decline of 1.5 percent to a decline of 4.5 percent in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. The company previously estimated the change would range from a 1.5 percent decline to a 1.5 percent increase.

ProVision Solar to offer Kyocera panels

Hilo-based ProVision Solar has signed a deal to become the first Hawaii island solar energy company to offer Japa­nese-made Kyocera Solar photovoltaic panels.

Kyocera Solar is a division of Kyoto-based Kyocera Corp., which has been making solar panels for more than 35 years.

“I am very pleased to be working with Kyocera Solar to be able to offer their top-quality products to homeowners and businesses,” said ProVision Solar President Marco Mangelsdorf. “We couldn’t ask for a better partner to bring clean, locally produced energy to Hawaii.”

Judge throws out AMR pilots’ contract

NEW YORK >> American Airlines took a major step toward emerging from bankruptcy Tuesday when a federal judge threw out its pilots’ union contract. The airline’s management has already negotiated concessions from its flight attendants, maintenance workers and other unionized employees. The decision by Judge Sean Lane will now let the Fort Worth-Texas airline lower its pilot payroll.

The move will quicken American’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, either as a stand-alone airline or potentially merged with US Airways Group Inc.

The judge rejected the union’s contention that American is doing much better financially than when it entered bankruptcy protection and didn’t need to void the contract.

The airline has about 7,500 active pilots.

McDonald’s to offer meatless menu in India

NEW YORK >> McDonald’s Corp., the fast-food chain that brought the hamburger to the world, is opening what may be its first vegetarian-only restaurants.

The world’s biggest hamburger chain said Tuesday that the locations in India will serve only vegetarian food because of customer preferences in the region. The company could not immediately say when the restaurants would open or how many there would be.

A 2006 poll found that about 40 percent of Indians do not eat meat, and McDonald’s is eager to tap that 500-million-strong market.

Already, McDonald’s said its restaurants in India do not sell beef or pork, and that the kitchens are separated into sections for cooking vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.

They have menu items that cater to local tastes, such as the Maharaja Mac, which is a Big Mac made with chicken patties instead of beef. It also offers a McAloo Tikki, a burger made with a spicy breaded potato patty, red onions, tomatoes and a “special vegetable sauce.”

ON THE MOVE

The Hawaii Education Association has elected new officers: June Motokawa, president; Ron Toma, vice president; and Justin Wong, treasurer.

Two chefs have joined Waikoloa Grill’n Bar:
>> Helgi Olafson was a judge on Fox TV’s “Master Chef 3” with Gordon Ramsay, a shipboard chef for Alaska Charters and sushi chef at Scottsdale’s Sushi Roku.
>> Gabriel Rao worked with chef Kenny Giambolvo at Bluehour and chef Kit Zhu at Papa Haydns.

Kiewit Building Group has awarded scholarships totaling $7,500 to three local high school graduates. Selected out of a pool of 50 applicants were: Kara Ogawa, Pearl City High School; Ronald Ramones, Nanakuli High School; and Kyra Vila, Maui High School.

SHIP AHOY!