Irvine? Aktino Inc., a startup maker of telecommunications gear, was acquired Monday by Canada? Positron Inc. for undisclosed terms.
Montreal-based Positron makes high-voltage isolation gear that protects telecommunications equipment from lightning and other hazards.
Aktino is set to become a subsidiary, called Positron Access Solutions, and will continue to operate from its local office.
Chief Executive Lonnie Martin, who was brought on last year to grow the company, is out.
Founder Hossam Salib is now the top local official, heading marketing and product management. Willen Lao will continue to head engineering.
Aktino?hose name is Greek for ?ay of light?sells equipment that increases the bandwidth of older copper wire networks.
The company sells modems that hook up to each end of several copper wire loops. The modems connect multiple loops and effectively increase the bandwidth of the wires to allow for more data traffic to flow.
It sells the gear to telephone companies, which can save money by getting the most out of the copper they already own without installing new fiber-optic cables.
The Business Journal estimates the company sees annual sales of about $6 million.
Last year, Aktino landed a $14 million round of venture funding.
The company, which has about 25 workers here, has raised some $41 million to date and isn’t profitable.
Investors include Corona del Mar-based Miramar Venture Partners, Costa Mesa? Innocal Venture Capital, Crosspoint Venture Partners, which has an Irvine office, and Silver Creek Ventures of Dallas, among others.
Aktino’s Salib, along with some alums of PairGain Technologies Inc. formed the company in 2003.
Another founder is Ray Nagele, a former product manager at Tustin-based PairGain, now part of Minneapolis-based ADC Telecommunications Inc.
Irvine-based Broadcom Corp. cofounder Henry Samueli worked at PairGain before moving on to form Broadcom with Henry Nicholas, who also worked at PairGain.
