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Iteris Shops for IP After Sale of Vehicle-Sensor Line

Santa Ana-based Iteris Inc., which makes traffic-management sensors and other gear, has sold its vehicle-sensor business to Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems LLC in Ohio for $14 million plus potential earnouts and royalties.

The division developed vehicle-safety systems, lane-departure warnings, forward-collision warnings and other technology.

The transaction is expected to close this month.

Iteris was advised by New York’s Strauss Capital Partners LLC.

The sale was an “important step” in Iteris’ strategic plan to focus on the traffic-management market, according to President and Chief Executive Abbas Mohaddes.

“It enables us to concentrate our energy and resources in the growing traffic-management market and provides additional funding to pursue new growth initiatives in that market,” he said.

Recent wins for Iteris include a $1.3 million contract to provide traffic engineering and planning manuals for Abu Dhabi Department of Transportation, a $1.3 million contract from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to evaluate congestion hot spots, and a $674,000 contract from the Orange County Transportation Authority to synchronize 68 traffic lights.

The company plans to use the proceeds from the deal to add to its intellectual property through acquisitions and to increase research and development and sales and marketing.

Iteris’ lane-departure warning system was introduced in 2004. It’s available as an add-on in 2012 Infinitis and some Nissans. Iteris’ system uses algorithms and onboard cameras to track lane markings and alert drivers if they start drifting toward another lane.

Publicly traded Iteris sees yearly sales of about $60 million and had a recent market value of $44 million.

Blizzard Look-Alikes

The cult-like following of Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment Inc.’s blockbuster games World of Warcraft and StarCraft have spawned a Chinese theme park in their likeness, according to the trade press.

Visitors who enter World Joyland in China’s eastern mainland will notice some eerie resemblances to some of the games’ characters and virtual labyrinths—with a twist.

The Warcraft World is called The Terrain of Magic, while the StarCraft zone is called Universe of Starship. They both are viewed as knockoffs of Blizzard’s games and neither compensates the company.

Blizzard officials did not respond for comment.

The sprawling $30 million theme park spans nearly 2 million square feet and attempts to blur the lines between reality and the virtual world. It caters to the games’ avid players, who have been known to dress like their favorite characters whenever given the chance.

Lantronix Grows HK Hub

Irvine-based networking gear maker Lantronix Inc. has expanded its operations hub in Hong Kong to provide support in key growth markets in the region.

The company expects to see higher demand in the Asia Pacific market for its technologies that allow wireless and wired systems to communicate with other devices, according to Roy Luk, director of Asia Pacific sales at Lantronix.

Machine-to-machine, or M2M, growth in Asia is expected to outpace North American markets by more than 25% over the next five years, with an expected annual growth rate of 26%, according to a recent forecast by Beecham Research Ltd.

“Until recently, M2M technologies have applied mainly to telematics and security industries, but we are now seeking applications to handle cellular communications, smart grids, transportation and much more,” Luk said. “This is driven by increasing bandwidth that has allowed M2M to redefine how we interact with and obtain information from machines. It is no surprise then that Asia Pacific, which has the highest level of broadband penetration in the world, is fast becoming a hot spot for M2M activity.”

Lantronix makes small electronic devices that allow vending machines, thermostats, retail terminals, ATMs and other machines to be accessed via the Internet or other computers.

The company is in the midst of revising its management team and business strategy in the wake of June’s executive shake-up.

Larry Sanders, who took over as interim chief executive, has pushed some aggressive changes to eliminate what some employees have called unnecessary reports and procedures. Sanders also has cut down on meetings and internal red tape.

The company’s board recently started a search for a new chief executive and chief financial officer after former chief executive Jerry Chase and financial chief Reagan Sakai resigned under fire.

The two departed in late June over complaints raised by Bernhard Bruscha, the company’s largest shareholder.

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