Newport Beach-based video game developer Foundation 9 Entertainment added a British studio to its lineup.
Foundation 9 bought Sheffield-based Sumo Digital Ltd.,its first buy on the other side of the pond.
As part of the deal, Foundation 9 also gets a development center in Pune, India.
Privately held Foundation 9 didn’t disclose the terms of the deal.
The sale is expected to close during the quarter.
Sumo Chief Executive James North-Hearn is set to become a managing director for Foundation 9 and oversee European operations, the company said.
Best known for sports-related games including “Virtua Tennis 3” and “OutRun 2006: Coast 2 Coast,” Sumo got its start in 2003.
The company also has electronic Sudoku puzzles and car racing games.
Sumo is working on a number of games for “major publishers,” the company said.
“We’re now able to tap into the vast talent pool of game developers overseas and expand the company’s presence in the sports and racing genres,” said Jon Goldman, chief executive of Foundation 9.
Foundation 9’s two prior acquisitions, Shiny Entertainment Studios of Laguna Beach and Newport Beach’s Collective Inc., were combined into Foundation 9’s headquarters earlier this year.
Foundation 9 was created in early 2005 when game developer Collective combined with Backbone Entertainment of Emeryville.
Epicor Expands
Irvine’s Epicor Software Corp. is set to boost its presence in South America.
The maker of business software for midsize companies said it teamed up with Colombia’s Ability Data and Miami-based Technology Coast Partners LLC, which has offices in Chile.
Epicor typically pairs regional executives with local companies when it enters a country to master local norms and learn the specific reporting requirements of each country’s government, the company said.
Epicor already has about 250 employees in Latin America, a region that the company pegged as a growth market for its software, which helps manage retail operations and customer accounts, among other tasks.
The company has had offices in Mexico for nearly 20 years and in Venezuela for more than a dozen.
In 2000, Epicor started a support and development center in Monterrey, Mexico, to serve Latin America and the Caribbean.
It has spent money to translate its software and customize it to the accounting practices of Latin American markets, Epicor said.
Microsemi Sells Plants
Irvine chipmaker Microsemi Corp. sold off its original plant in Santa Ana.
The site, which has about 96,000 square feet of office and manufacturing space, was sold for $10.5 million cash to an undisclosed buyer.
Microsemi closed the Santa Ana plant in 2005.
It combined its operations with other facilities in Garden Grove and Scottsdale as part of its efforts to cut down costs.
Originally, Microsemi acquired the Garden Grove site from its $24 million acquisition of LinFinity Microelectronics Inc. in 1999. It spent millions to upgrade and expand the plant.
In a separate transaction, Microsemi said it sold another plant in Montgomeryville, Penn., for about $900,000 cash. Operations there were combined with a site in Santa Clara a few years ago.
The property sales are expected to add about $11 million to Microsemi’s cash flow and give a one-time boost of about $4 million to profits at the end of the year, the company said.
In addition to cutting costs, Microsemi’s plant closures were part of the company’s decision to shift its shipments from its U.S. sites to Asia.
Asia is the fastest-growing sales market for Microsemi, according to company filings.
Microsemi makes chips that power satellites, military aircraft, medical equipment and other things.
The company has closed about eight plants since 2001, according to Business Journal estimates.
The company also makes chips that power the liquid crystal displays that make up digital TV and laptop screens.
Jazz’s Leader
I sat down recently with Gil Amelio, chief executive of Newport Beach’s Jazz Semiconductor Inc. and its parent company, Jazz Technologies Inc.
Here are a few insights on Amelio, 64, who said he doesn’t plan to retire anytime soon.
“I tried once and I hated it,” he said of retirement. “For six months I drove everyone crazy. You could say I flunked retirement.”
He says he feels younger when he’s working.
“I really believe that some people should never retire,” Amelio said. “They may change their pace a little. I’m probably one of those people.”
He doesn’t appear to be changing his pace at all. Amelio recently took a trip around the world,in eight days.
He’s a frequent traveler to Asia, where Jazz is scouting out acquisitions.
Amelio has spent a good amount of time in Malaysia, where he holds a special advisory post to the prime minister.
Recently, he spent the long plane flight showing his associates how to use their new iPhones. The gadget was free, Amelio said, a perk from his gig as a director at AT & T; Inc. AT & T; is the exclusive wireless service provider for the iPhone.
