ArtInfo.com’s Jason Edward Kaufman says the Merchandise Mart will launch a new fair in Los Angeles at the end of 2011 and has hired out of LA MoCA to accomplish that:

Merchandise Mart Properties Inc., a division of Vornado Realty Trust, has the infrastructure and network to organize and promote a premier-grade show. The company owns and produces the Armory Show, Art Chicago, NEXT, Volta, and the Toronto International Art Fair.

Kaufman goes on to speculate that Art Basel may still get into the LA market with a rival fair.

Merchandise Mart to Debut a New Los Angeles Art Fair (ArtInfo.com)