Five Orange County technology companies made Deloitte’s 2012 Technology Fast 500 rankings, which tracks revenue growth from 2007 to 2011 in the technology, media, telecom, life sciences and clean-technology sectors.
Santa Ana-based Local Splash was No. 46 on the list, with sales growth at 3,034%. The company helps small businesses with online advertising through mobile search and local search engine optimization and placement.
Aliso Viejo-based software maker Telogis Inc. was No. 139, growing at 704% clip. The company topped $57 million in sales in 12 months through June, a 167% increase from two years earlier.
That put Telogis at No. 43 on this year’s Business Journal list of fastest-growing private companies based here. The company uses global positioning systems and software to help companies with large fleets of delivery trucks create better routes, track shipments and deliveries, manage mobile work forces and optimize work flow.
Irvine-based Healthcare Data Solutions was No. 164 on the Deloitte list with a growth rate of 560%.
Irvine-based online media company Local Corp. was ranked No. 28 with a 266% revenue growth. The company, which recently changed its name from Local.com Corp., owns local search company website local.com and daily deals service Spreebird, among other media properties.
Local Corp. had $78 million in 2011 revenue.
Identive Group Inc. in Santa Ana was No. 321, up 237%. The company, which makes scanners, readers, cards and other security devices for buildings and computers, has been a frequent inclusion on the Business Journal’s fastest-growing public companies list in the last few years.
It saw about $102.7 million in sales last year.
Other OC companies that made the list include:
• Questcor Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Anaheim, at No. 238, with sales up 338%.
• Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Tustin, at No. 288, which grew sales by 264%.
• Irvine-based medical-device maker Endologix Inc., at No. 369, up 200%.
• Aliso Viejo-based Lexipol LLC, which helps train police and keep their policy manuals up to date, was No. 387, with its revenue rising 193%.
Irvine-based video game maker Blizzard Entertainment Inc.’s Santa Monica parent, Activision Blizzard Inc., was No. 301, with sales up 252%.
Stock Repurchase
Newport Beach-based tech-patent licensor Acacia Research Corp. has initiated a stock-repurchase program to buy up to $100 million in common stock through May 15.
The move is intended to boost shareholder value, according to Chief Executive Paul Ryan.
“Acacia’s strong balance sheet with $410 million in cash and investments and no debt provides us with plenty of capital to grow the business while also reducing the share count,” Ryan said.
Acacia licenses patents on behalf of companies and typically splits sales, licensing fees and court settlements with the patent holders.
Acacia has invested $214 million in new patent assets this year. It had $185 million in revenue for the first nine months of this year, surpassing 2011’s 12-month total of $172 million.
The company’s latest deal with a major medical device maker highlighted its shift to license patents beyond technology. Last month it cemented one of its largest deals to date, acquiring seven portfolios with more than 1,900 patents and applications, including some related to retrieval and vena cava filter technologies, among several others.
The licensing deal is thought to be with Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific Corp.
Sprint Contract
Aliso Viejo-based Smith Micro Software Inc. has notched a contract win with Sprint Nextel Corp.
The Overland Park, Kan.-based wireless carrier plans to use Smith Micro’s QuickLink MiTile software, which helps customers manage broadband functions on Windows 8 devices. The software allows subscribers to monitor usage between billing cycles, to receive alerts and configuration updates, for device support, and to make mobile connections more efficient and reliable.
Smith Micro had $57.7 million in sales last year.
Sprint is the only company among the big four U.S. wireless carriers—which include Verizon Communications, T-Mobile USA Inc. and AT&T Inc.—without a Windows 8 device on the market. It recently announced a partnership with Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft Corp. to debut a Windows 8 phone next year.
Japan-based Softbank Mobile Corp. took a majority stake in Sprint for $20.1 billion last month. The deal is expected to give a financial boost to Irvine-based Boost Mobile LLC, one of Sprint’s no-contract, prepaid carrier brands.
