The Los Angeles City Council voted 10-0...

The Los Angeles City Council voted 10-0 to approve a resolution condemning the $4.35-billion hostile takeover bid by Batus Inc. for Farmers Group, a Los Angeles-based insurance holding company. The resolution cited investments in South Africa by London-based BAT Industries, the giant tobacco and retailing parent of Batus, in calling on state Insurance Commissioner Roxani M. Gillespie to disallow the acquisition. A Batus spokesman said the City Council was acting on “one-sided information” from Farmers and had never contacted Batus for comment. Meanwhile, Farmers said it would release the final count of a non-binding resolution asking its board to reconsider negotiating a friendly merger with Batus on June 10.