Aliso Viejo-based QLogic Corp., a maker of electronics that speed up the flow of data on storage networks, is continuing its yearlong push to beef up its sales staff.
Last year, QLogic hired Hitachi Ltd. veteran Scott Genereux as head of worldwide sales and Jim Rothstein as vice president of North America sales.
Its latest hire is Minoru Yasuda, who was appointed general manager of QLogic’s Japan operations.
Yasuda is tasked with expanding the company’s operations and market share in Japan.
He’s set to report to Martin Darling, who came on board last year as QLogic’s vice president of sales for the Asia-Pacific region.
Japan is the second largest market for data storage after the U.S., according to Framingham, Mass.-based market tracker IDC Corp.
“The time for QLogic to strengthen its presence there and capitalize on these opportunities is now,” Darling said.
QLogic hopes to offer low-power products to Japanese companies, which see tight restrictions on electricity use, he said.
Yasuda has more than two decades in the storage industry under his belt.
Most recently, he served as general manager in a sales post for Sun Microsystems Inc. in Japan.
Prior to Sun, Yasuda was at Advanced Micro Devices Inc. in Japan, where he served as regional sales director and headed distribution sales.
Before that he was a sales manager at Dell Inc.’s Japanese operations.
Software Hire
San Juan Capistrano-based OptionEase Inc., which makes software that helps companies manage stock options accounting, recently named a head of software engineering.
William Davidheiser is set to help the company further build out OptionEase’s software, which helps companies track options grants for better accounting that adheres to the government’s reporting regulations. Customers pay a yearly subscription fee to license the software. Fees are calculated based on how many employees’ compensation packages need to be tracked.
Davidheiser has experience developing Web-based software that complies with regulations such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
He has held executive engineering management positions for both public and private companies.
Acer Gains
Taiwan’s Acer Inc., which gained operations in Irvine after its 2007 buy of PC maker Gateway Inc., made big market share strides last year.
Thanks to a surge in the second half of 2009, Acer nearly edged out Dell Inc. to become the second-biggest PC maker, according to a recent report by El Segundo-based market tracker iSuppli Corp.
For the fourth quarter, Acer had the fastest-growing sales among the top five PC makers, iSuppli’s data showed.
No. 1 Hewlett-Packard Co. shipped 17 million PCs and had a market share of 19% in the fourth quarter. Acer moved up to No. 2 in the fourth quarter with shipments of 12 million computers and a market share of 13%.
Dell slid down to third place with 11 million computers shipped and a market share of 12%.
Rounding out the top five: No. 4 China’s Lenovo Group Ltd. at 9% and No. 5 Japan’s Toshiba Corp.—with has U.S. operations in Irvine—at 5%.
Despite gains during the fourth quarter, Acer still ranked No. 3 for all of 2009.
The company, which sells computers under the Acer, Gateway and eMachines names, shipped 38.5 million PCs in 2009, up 21% from 2008.
Dell saw a 10% drop, with its shipments falling to 38.9 million computers in 2009, down from 43 million in 2008.
“Acer’s 2009 success was driven by the notebook PC market,” said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst at iSuppli. “Notebooks accounted for nearly 80% of Acer’s shipments in 2009. This allowed the company to capitalize on the fast-growing mobile-computing segment while limiting its exposure to the moribund desktop segment.”
Acer’s 28% sales gain outpaced the overall notebook PC market, which grew 20% last year, iSuppli’s data showed.
Take on Conexant
One Wall Street analyst is breathing a little easier after Newport Beach-based Conexant Systems Inc.’s recent stock offering.
The chipmaker earlier this month sold 14 million shares for about $4 each. It netted $52 million after fees and other expenses.
It also sold $175 million worth of bonds paying interest of 11.25% and due in 2015.
The sales are part of a restructuring Conexant unveiled in early March to sell some $250 million worth of bonds and stock to pay off debt due in 2026.
“This restructuring plan is a clear positive, as it not only removes the liquidity overhang that has weighed on Conexant’s stock for nearly three years, but it also provides additional cash to allow Conexant to add new growth drivers through investment and acquisitions,” said Blayne Curtis, an analyst at Jefferies & Co. in New York.
The moves are part of a big restructuring effort by Conexant to clean up its balance sheet by raising capital and paying down debt.
Curtis upped his price target on Conexant to $4 per share, up from $3.
Last week Conexant was trading at about $4 per share on a market value of about $250 million.
Curtis has a “hold” rating on the stock and is waiting it out to see how the company shapes up after its restructuring.
“Conexant has significant execution ahead to not only maintain its positioning in the modem, fax and PC audio markets, but also to penetrate new markets,” he said in a research note.
