Lantronix Makes Third Buy; Odetics Sells Assets
Technology campus operator Enfrastructure Inc. plans to follow up its initial launch last September with an open house tour of its new Aliso Viejo facility. With invites sent out, Enfrastructure hopes to showcase its swank facilities that seek to give young companies the facilities they need to operate.
Where tech incubators offer advice to new companies, Enfrastructure says its 25-campus network will provide services ranging from tech support and office space to a bar and gymnasium. The Aliso Viejo facility stands to be Enfrastructure’s flagship campus. Others are slated to open in New York, Northern California, Colorado and other areas. Bankrolled with an initial $100 million in financing, Enfrastructure’s campuses promise swank digs for new companies.
However stylish the new facilities, Enfrastructure faces challenges. With venture capital purses tightening, upstart companies are finding it more difficult to obtain funding, which could leave some of Enfrastructure’s offices empty. As technology incubators lay off hundreds of thousands of employees and trim operations, Enfrastructure faces an uphill climb in its bid to be something in between a landlord and an incubator.
The company’s founders know about the hurdles. Enfrastructure is the brainchild of Aliso Viejo-based ThinkTank LLC founder Scott Blum, who originally started now-embattled buy.com Inc., Aliso Viejo. Buy.com soared in the early days of Internet commerce as it rode on the coattails of Amazon.com Inc. Since then, the company has lost millions of dollars in market value and, most recently, two of its directors.
In some ways, Enfrastructure follows on the heels of incubators such as Pasadena-based Idealab! and Cambridge, Mass.-based Sapient Corp., both of which have fallen prey to the tech downturn. Unlike those companies, Enfrastructure plans to focus on providing exactly what its name implies,infrastructure,instead of technology consulting, advice and funding. Still, even with that streamlined approach, it isn’t clear whether a tight tech market will demand a lush businesses environment.
Lantronix Makes Buy
Irvine device networking company Lantronix Inc. is buying Milford, Conn.-based Lightwave Communications. The company hopes the move will help expand Lantronix’s business making servers that send information to handheld computers and other portable devices and help tech managers deal with networked equipment.
“The acquisition of Lightwave Communications continues the growth strategy we outlined during our IPO,” said Lantronix Chief Executive Fred Thiel. “In line with that strategy, this is the third full acquisition we’ve made to expand our product offering while also enhancing our earnings. With the addition of Lightwave, we will be able to offer our customers a complete end-to-end device and system console management solution, helping them solve the problems of remote management, access and control of network devices in mission-critical environments.”
Under the terms of the agreement, all outstanding shares and options of Lightwave Communications will be exchanged for Lantronix common stock and cash. The value of the deal wasn’t disclosed. All employees of Lightwave Communications are expected to remain with Lantronix.
STM Lands Deal
Irvine’s STM Wireless Inc. recently announced a deal to sell $7.7 million in satellite networking terminals to McLean, Va.-based SkyOnline Inc., a company founded and 44%-owned by STM. Under terms of the deal, STM will provide SkyOnline 1,000 units of what are known as very small aperture terminals for Internet and data networking in Latin America.
Word of the sale overlays the news that STM lost $6.8 million for the fourth quarter. Still, the company also announced that its estimated revenue for the first quarter of 2001 will be 45% more than in the year-ago period,in the range of $5.6 million to $5.8 million.
“After a difficult year in 2000, our estimated results for the first quarter reflect our optimism for sustainable growth during year 2001,” said STM Chief Executive Emil Youssefzadeh. “We are actively pursuing a number of sizable opportunities both in our telephony business, as well as our growing IP business that can contribute to our continued growth.”
Odetics Sells Assets
Gyyr, a subsidiary of Anaheim-based Odetics Inc. recently said it would sell the intellectual property and assets from two of its product lines to Canada’s Silent Witness Enterprises Ltd., generating about $1.3 million in cash.
“This divestiture will allow Gyyr to focus on developing innovative solutions in the rapidly growing fields of network-based digital storage and remote video products,” said Peter Strom, chief executive of Gyyr. The move follows an indication by Odetics Chief Executive Joel Slutzky to analysts at Roth Capital Partners LLC’s conference in February that the company was looking for a “significant liquidity event” to shore up its cash position.
The company didn’t indicate whether the intellectual property sell-off was part of that move. Odetics also has been rumored to be considering selling its Anaheim real estate,which is located next to the Disneyland Resort and likely would command a premium.
Exult gets New Managers
Exult Inc., Irvine, recently announced former PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLC consultants Karl Sachsenmaier and Trey Campbell will join the online human resources services firm. Sachsenmaier will head Exult’s global sales division while Campbell will head up U.S. sales efforts.
“We are delighted to welcome both Karl and Trey to the Company,” said Exult Chief Executive Jim Madden. “Exult’s preeminent position in the emerging market for comprehensive, scalable business process outsourcing for the HR and F & A; functions has resulted in a high degree of interest from potential Global 500 clients. Karl and Trey possess an unrivalled depth of outsourcing sales experience and we believe that they will play key roles in addressing our rapidly growing new business pipeline, evaluating prospective clients and bringing qualified leads to contract.”
