OC’s NEXT TECH OFFERINGS
Access360 Could Go Public by the End of the Year
By ANDREW SIMONS
Irvine-based Access360 Inc. could go public by the fourth quarter, according to Chief Executive Paul Gigg.
“The current plan shows we would meet the criteria for a public offering before next year,” Gigg said.
Access360 had record fourth-quarter sales, which it likely will beat in the first quarter, Gigg said. The company still isn’t profitable, he said. Access360 officials say they don’t want to take the company public until it turns a profit.
The company develops software that determines who gets access to what on a company’s network.
The software acts as a mediator for employees and vendors wanting to tap various corporate databases. Customers include Oppenheimer Funds, Sony Electronics Inc., BP PLC, AOL Time Warner Inc. and E*Trade Group Inc.
Investors like Access360 because the company’s software solves a problem for business: making sensitive data available for those who need it while keeping others out.
Access360 is the darling of Orange County startups and a favorite of venture capitalists. Some have pegged the company as OC’s next big public offering.
An initial public offering even could come sooner than the fourth quarter.
In the past week, Gigg said he has been interviewing investment banks for the lead underwriter job. The company hasn’t narrowed down the list of candidates yet, he said.
“Inveitablely the top names tend to surface,” Gigg said. “We want one of the bigger ones.”
Access360 has been preparing for a public offering for the past year.
In 2001, the company laid off a handful of employees and it outsourced some operations it used to handle internally.
The company hasn’t had to cut any more employees and actually has bolstered its sales force in the past few months.
“We took the appropriate action at that time,” Gigg said. “But we’ve hired people on the sales side who have expertise in this business.”
The company also has bolstered its executive team, with five new appointments to its management lineup. The moves include tapping industry veteran Gigg to take over as chief executive, leaving Yuri Pikeover as chairman.
Access360 hopes Gigg appeals to investors, who already like Pikeover. The Russian-born Pikeover was a co-founder and executive vice president of Calabasas networking gear manufacturer Xylan Corp., which France’s Alca-tel bought for about $2 billion in 1999.
A year ago, Access360 raised $50.5 million in funding led by New York-based Amerindo Investment Advisors Inc. and San Francisco’s Pivotal Asset Management. Oracle Corp. and Verisign Inc. also kicked in undisclosed amounts. Other backers include the Irvine office of Crosspoint Venture Partners.
Access360 faces competition from internal company software developers and bigger names such as Houston-based BMC Software Inc., which has a sizable operation in Costa Mesa.
BMC’s Control-SA software also allows users to manage access to databases. Other rivals include Greenbelt, Md.-based Systor Security Solutions Inc. and Framingham, Mass.-based Courion Corp.
TDK Semi Readying Itself, Still Waiting for Right Time
By ANDREW SIMONS
An initial public offering for Tustin-based TDK Semiconductor Corp., part of Japanese electronics maker TDK Corp., could be put off until 2003, said chief financial officer Gerald Fitch.
“The absolute earliest it could happen would be late this year, but we could be looking as much as 12 to 18 months out,” Fitch said.
The chipmaker initially had hoped to do an offering this summer, but weak demand for new offerings and continued woes in the chip sector have pushed back plans.
The company is betting the market,currently down on chipmakers,will start looking receptive to an offering this summer. The company’s own business is looking up, according to Mark Jorgensen, TDK’s director of corporate communications.
“There are already some signs of a recovery,” he said.
For now, TDK is staying lean. The company laid off 60 people in the past few months,mostly from its Tustin headquarters. A year ago, TDK Electronics Corp., another TDK subsidiary, closed its nearby Irvine plant, laying off 200 people and relocating up to 150 others to Anaheim.
TDK Semiconductor also merged two Bay area facilities into a single Mountain View site. The company said it also is looking around OC for more space as rental prices continue to drop. Company executives had said they wanted to add another 15,000 to 20,000 square feet to their 60,000 square feet of space in Tustin.
TDK has been readying for an offering. It brought in Fitch as the company’s financial chief a year ago. Fitch has managed about a dozen acquisitions, a $20 million initial public offering as well as secondary and debt offerings.
Fitch has been talking to investment banks but has declined to say which ones the company is considering. “We’re talking to all the usual candidates,” he said in a prior interview. “We want someone who will not only underwrite the IPO, but advise us on other financial issues.”
TDK hopes the offering, which company officials say could fetch as much as $100 million, will give it ammunition to make acquisitions.
The company plans to offer 20% of its shares to the public, with Tokyo-based TDK Corp. retaining the majority. A year ago, TDK Semiconductor acquired Mountain View-based Sierra Research and Technology Inc. but hasn’t bought any companies in the interim.
