Legg Mason

Telemecanique Inc. in Westminster, a manufacturer of industrial automation controls, formed Commercial Division B, a business unit responsible for all activities in North America. The division will be in Owings Mills.Kidde Consultants Inc., a Baltimore-based consulting engineering company, changed its name to KCI Technologies Inc.Bozzuto & Associates in Greenbelt is building Beacon Place, a 240-unit apartment community in Kentlands.Popeck, Musher & Kowler, a Rockville-based accounting firm, merged with Buchbinder Stein Tunick & Platkin in New York.

Legg Mason's stock rose nearly 7.5 percent Wednesday on news that the company will pay off $1.25 billion in senior notes held by private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. to reduce its outstanding debt. Its shares gained $1.67 to close at $24.05 each. Under the terms of the repurchase, the Baltimore money manager said it will take a $70 million to $80 million noncash charge in its fiscal first quarter. The move would reduce the company's debt by a net $350 million, Legg said.

Legg Mason told investors Thursday that the company expects its headcount will fall by more than 350 worldwide — the number of job cuts announced this week — because it won't replace all the employees who leave voluntarily. Mary Athridge, a Legg Mason spokeswoman, said such a move could also mean a reduction in the Baltimore area beyond the 250 layoffs planned, but the company doesn't have a bottom-line number in mind. The layoffs represent 30 percent of the company's local work force.

The Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a staple of the late-summer sporting scene in the Washington area for more than four decades, is getting a dramatic makeover that will include a new title sponsor, stadium upgrades and shared billing with an existing tournament for rising women's players. The key development driving the changes is a new title sponsor in Citigroup, which will replace Baltimore-based Legg Mason after an 18-year association with the hard-court classic. To be known as the Citi Open, the tournament will remain at Washington's William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park.

Legg Mason Inc. changed its bylaws Friday to require that board directors running in uncontested elections receive a majority of shareholder votes to win. Previously, directors on the 14-member board needed only a plurality. That means in uncontested races, a director could be elected with a single vote, said spokeswoman Mary Athridge. She said the change has nothing to do with billionaire Nelson Peltz, an activist investor who joined the board of the Baltimore-based investment company last year.

Baltimore money manager Legg Mason Inc. said Monday that it has contracts to buy $300 million of its shares and will pay for the purchase with cash as part of a $1 billion stock buyback plan announced earlier in the month. The company expects to make additional stock purchases worth $100 million by the end of March 2011, with the rest of the $1 billion buyback to come in future years. The company had 161.4 million shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31. Its stock price closed at $29.58 a share Monday, down 56 cents from Friday.

Legg Mason Inc.'s quarterly profit fell 4 percent as operating costs grew and investors continued to withdraw money from the Baltimore asset manager's funds. Meanwhile, Legg Chief Executive Officer Mark R. Fetting said Monday that efforts to "streamline" its business by cutting 350 back-office jobs — 250 of them in Owings Mills and Baltimore — began July 1 and are on target to save $130 million to $150 million on an annual basis by March 2012. The work force reduction to boost profit margins was announced in May, but employees won't start losing jobs until the end of the year, Fetting said.

— David Nalbandian's ranking plunged so dramatically while he was sidelined 10 months out of the past 15 — first to recover from hip surgery, then a hamstring injury — that he needed a wild card to enter Washington's Legg Mason Tennis Classic. Even though he was once No. 3 in the world, little was expected in his first tournament since April. He was, after all, ranked a lowly 117th. But in a dazzling display of precision and tenacity, the Argentine returned to form Saturday night, eviscerating 13th ranked Marin Cilic of Croatia, 6-2, 6-2, in 73 minutes to earn a spot in today's final.

Legg Mason Inc. director and shareholder Nelson Peltz has picked up more shares of the Baltimore money manager, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing submitted Thursday. Peltz bought 144,600 shares through funds connected with his Trian Fund Management LP, bringing his ownership stake to nearly 10.1 million shares, or more than 6 percent. The activist investor joined Legg's board in the fall; Trian is limited to acquiring no more than 9.9 percent of Legg's stock over the next two years.

Legg Mason Inc. has created a retirement advisory council made up of industry leaders to review retirement products and challenges facing the industry, the Baltimore-based money management firm said Tuesday. The Legg Mason Retirement Advisory Council, a think tank of 14 members, will meet quarterly to discuss best practices in the industry, as well as innovative products, service providers and issues such as the impact of federal policy on retirement products, the firm said. Members of the council include representatives of 401(k)

Baltimore money manager Legg Mason reported Friday its net income for the fiscal third quarter fell 54 percent as the company saw assets under management fall. Net income for the three months ending Dec. 31 was $28.1 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with $61.6 million, or 41 cents per share. Assets under management declined 7 percent to $627 billion, from $671.8 billion a year ago. Revenues were $627 million in the fiscal third quarter, down from $721.9 million a year earlier.

Peter Sundman, the chief executive officer of ClearBridge Advisors, has left Legg Mason's largest stock-fund division based in New York, the Baltimore company said Friday. In a letter to clients on Dec. 1, ClearBridge said Sundman's duties have been merged with those of the president, Terrence Murphy. Legg spokeswoman Mary Athridge said the roles of chief executive and president had overlapping responsibilities that could be combined for efficiency. Sundman joined ClearBridge in December 2008.

THURSDAY'S TELEVISION HIGHLIGHTS NASCAR Sprint Cup Wond. Pistachios 400 (T) SPEEDNoon M. bask. Loyola@George Washington (T) MASN10 a.m. Western Carolina@Purdue (T) BIGTENNoon IUPUI@Louisville (T) MASN1 Florida Gulf Coast@Nebraska (T) BIGTEN2 Lafayette@Penn State (T) BIGTEN4 Harvard@Connecticut ESPN27 West Virginia@Kansas State ESPN29 W. bask.

Legg Mason's famed stock picker Bill Miller will officially hand over the day-to-day management of the well-known Legg Mason Capital Management Value Trust fund to his successor Sam Peters on April 30, the Baltimore money manager announced Thursday. The announcement comes after Peters was named more than a year ago to head the Value Trust fund, which Miller has managed for 30 years. Miller will also relinquish his role as chief investment officer of Legg Mason Capital Management to Peters.

Transamerica Tower in downtown Baltimore now has Transamerica employees working in it - with more to come. After months of preparation by the insurance and financial services company, 340 workers arrived Monday for their first day at 100 Light St. following a whirlwind move of their computers, telephones and other office necessities from Mount Vernon over the weekend. More workers will follow in two weeks, bringing the total to about 800. For Transamerica, the mostly short-distance move is an opportunity to bring all its Baltimore workers under one roof in its headquarters town - and to put its name on the top of one of the city's tallest buildings.

Transamerica Life Insurance Co. has begun putting up its namesake sign at 100 Light St., transforming Baltimore's skyline once again. About 800 employees of the arm of Dutch insurer Aegon are expected to move from the firm's current midtown Baltimore offices to Transamerica Tower over the next several months. The move fills a void in the building left behind by Legg Mason, which moved its employees to a new structure in Harbor East in 2009. Transamerica agreed last year to lease the top nine floors, or about 171,000 square feet, of the 35-story skyscraper.

Legg Mason Inc. announced Monday management changes intended to help the Baltimore money manager focus on three areas for growth. Meanwhile, David R. Odenath, who headed the company's Americas businesses, will leave Legg at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities, the firm said. Legg Chairman and Chief Executive Mark R. Fetting realigned its senior leadership structure to oversee three areas: global distribution, global investment managers, and mergers and acquisitions and business development.

Et cetera Odesnik blown out at Legg Mason in return to court Wayne Odesnik waited 16 months for his return to top-level tennis after serving a ban from the sport for smuggling performance-enhancing drugs into Australia, but it lasted just 57 minutes as the American was routed by Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-1, in the second round of the ATP Tour's Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington. — Liz Clarke, The Washington Post Nationals: Pitcher Stephen Strasburg could make his first minor league rehabilitation start in Single-A Hagerstown on Sunday if his throwing session today goes well, manager Davey Johnson said.

Activist investor Nelson Peltz has virtually reached the limit on his ownership stake of Baltimore-based Legg Mason Inc. after his latest stock purchase late last week. Peltz bought an additional 790,000 shares of Baltimore-based Legg Mason Inc. on Aug. 4, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission document filed Monday. That's on top of 2.65 million shares of the Baltimore money manager he acquired between Aug. 1 and Aug. 3. Peltz's New York-based Trian Fund Management LP now owns 14.7 million shares, or nearly 9.9 percent, of the company.