Global Takeover Drama Ends for Vision Solutions
Closed Y Media Shopping Wares Around; Emulex Takes Space to Tide Itself Over
TECHNOLOGY by Andrew Simons
No more drama for Vision Solutions Inc.
The small Irvine-based software maker was the subject of an international hostile takeover by Canada’s DataMirror Corp. in its bid for Vision Solutions’ South African parent, Idion Technology Holdings Ltd.
Both DataMirror and Vision Solutions make software that manages data on a corporate network.
For the past four months, Vision Solutions sat with bated breath as DataMirror bought shares and tried to rally investors behind its play to become the majority shareholder in the company.
But DataMirror failed in its bid. Idion officials long had balked at DataMirror’s offer,a 70% premium for Idion’s shares,claiming it undervalued the company. DataMirror already had a 17% stake in Idion, which trades on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
“While we understand why DataMirror would anticipate better returns from investing its money in Idion rather than in its own company, it is difficult to see any Idion shareholder value in a cooperation between the companies in the year ahead,” said Nicholaas Vlok, chief executive of Vision Solutions.
“At the beginning of this battle we said that they need us, possibly desperately, but we do not need them,” Vlok said. “We have better technology, better management, a superior client list and better prospects. Nothing has changed. Vision Solutions’ results will be the arbiter of our success.”
Idion has a lot vested in its Irvine unit. When Idion bought Vision Solutions in 2000, some high-level Idion officials balked at the $62.5 million price Idion paid, calling it too high.
At the time, Idion director Marius Vlok, father of Nicolaas Vlok, complained about the price and resigned his seat. Quarreling with his son, he questioned whether Idion should buy Vision Solutions at all, a decision the younger Vlok defended. After the buy, Nicolaas Vlok took over chief executive duties at Vision Solutions.
Y Media Shopping Around
Irvine-based Y Media Corp., an Orange County startup that sought to make money designing better, cheaper chips to run digital cameras, has started shopping its goods to competitors since it quietly shut its doors in May, sources say.
One competitor, Pictos Technologies Inc.,the old digital imaging chip business of Conexant Systems Inc. spun off two weeks ago,confirmed Y Media had hawked its camera chips to company officials. Y Media hasn’t had any takers,the company’s chips are simply too high-end.
“The market just isn’t ready for those chips,” said Kevin Strong, Pictos chief executive.
That isn’t stopping progress for Y Media though. Some divisions of the old company are planning to incorporate under the name Phoenix, sources said. Details are sketchy, but Phoenix engineers are continuing work on some of the chips they started at Y Media.
Y Media was one of OC’s most promising startups three years ago. The company raised almost $16 million in funding but couldn’t convince investors to pony up more. Among Y Media’s investors: TechFund Capital, a unit of TechFarm based in Mountain View, J.P. Morgan Partners of New York and La Jolla-based Enterprise Partners Venture Capital.
Emulex Finds Temp Space
Costa Mesa-based Emulex Corp. has taken out a little breathing room.
The maker of storage networking devices signed a one-year lease for 40,000 square feet in Costa Mesa near its existing headquarters, according to brokerage CB Richard Ellis Services Inc. The space is designed to give Emulex some extra space until a new planned headquarters is built.
Earlier this year, Emulex said it would build a four-building headquarters that would double the size of its current 90,000-square-foot campus. Emulex signed a 10-year lease for the planned campus with an option to buy the facility. Construction of the 247,000-square-foot campus on the 14.5-acre site is set to begin this fall.
Emulex has some 200 workers in OC. By the time Emulex moves, it expects to have about 275, according to Chief Executive Paul Folino. The new facility will be able to house as many as 600 employees, he said.
Acacia Stock Dives
Company officials usually are reticent to talk about stock movements. But when shares of Newport Beach-based Acacia Research Corp. dove 16.2% to a year low of 4.45 recently, the technology holding company spoke out. But it wasn’t much of an explanation.
“Acacia Research Corp. today reported that there are no material events which would account for the recent dramatic decline in the company’s stock price,” the company said in a release.
Acacia licenses V-chip technology to television makers.
Acacia Chief Executive Paul Ryan began to dump about 4,000 shares a week ago to pay off hefty taxes levied against him for selling options that had vested in the past four years, according to a disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Acacia shares have lost nearly 60% of their value since Ryan began selling his shares.
Acacia is one of OC’s newest tech companies. The company set up its Newport Beach offices in January. With 23 people, Acacia is mostly key executives and attorneys.
