OC’s Hollywood Side; Montage on Block? Ackman at Airport

Sometimes the uninitiated are right even when they’re wrong about Orange County. Take Wall Street Journal Business Editor Dennis Berman’s geographically incorrect opener to Alibaba Group’s Jack Ma during a dinner theater-style interview on the first night of last week’s WSJDLive at the Montage Laguna Beach. “So, you’re in Hollywood,” Berman started his probe, zeroing in on the plans of China’s richest person for making movies a bigger part of Alibaba’s operations. Berman missed by about 60 miles, according to the map. He was closer on style points—the Montage looked plenty Hollywood, with a light show and concert-grade sound system for showy introductions of Ma and Apple Inc.’s Tim Cook. There was even the profile of a mogul looming over the affair, with Rupert Murdoch taking a keen interest in the production from a table on the lawn at the edge of the Pacific … Speaking of the Montage: or maybe not—but the Insider hears that the buzz along the coast about an “MLB Project” doesn’t have anything to do with Major League Baseball. Can’t be absolutely certain that it has to do with a sale of the Montage, either, but WSJDLive—billed as the event “where the digital world connects”—was quite the marketing opportunity. Ma, Cook and Murdoch were joined by Carlos Slim, Marc Andreesen, Jeffery Katzenberg, Steve Ballmer and a parade of other potential prospects, not to mention press from around the U.S. and world … Who’s to say Bill Ackman won’t consider a bid for the Montage if the value of his stake in Allergan keeps going up. Not that the hedge-funder was checking out the local luxury scene last week. Ackman told the Insider that he opted for a room near John Wayne Airport on the night before an Oct. 28 legal round with Allergan in the Santa Ana courtroom of U.S. District Judge David O. Carter. He also took time for a call to weigh in for the slate of candidates he’s pushing for Allergan’s board (see related story, page 1) … A couple of notes on Allergan that have gone all but overlooked as it’s fended off Ackman and his fellow raider, Canada-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals, for the past six months: Its shares were once again near an all-time high as trading neared a close last week; and the company ranks No. 9 in this week’s Large Companies category of the Business Journal’s annual Fastest-Growing Public Companies lists (Special Report starts on page 17) … Kudos to Khalil and Jeannette Haddad on the success of their son, Emile, who made sure the world knows how much his family counts as he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the UCI Center for Real Estate during a luncheon at the Island Hotel last week. Congratulations also to a couple of other honorees who were equally gracious: Peter Kompaniez, named Power-Packed Philanthropist; and Ray Lawler of Hines, this year’s Rising Star.