Rancho Santa Margarita-based Melissa Data Corp., a maker of software for managing and sorting mailing lists, has acquired part of a struggling publicly traded company that does call center and data management services.
Melissa Data bought M1 Data & Analytics, a unit of Beaverton, Ore.-based Metro One Telecommunications Inc., which has seen its shares fall 90% in the past year to a recent market value of about $600,000.
In September, Metro One’s shares were delisted from Nasdaq and moved to the low-profile Bulletin Board exchange.
In the past year, Metro One has been selling off patents, product lines and other assets.
Melissa Data, which had worked with M1 for years, saw an opportunity, according to marketing director Greg Brown.
“There is a pretty good overlap as far as customers are concerned and it was worth it to bring this in-house as opposed to reselling it,” he said. “With the recession, there really is value in the market.”
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Melissa Data make software that helps businesses and marketers streamline data for direct mail and people searches.
M1 collects data from one of the top three telecommunications companies in the U.S. and resells the information to companies looking to market to people and businesses that have just moved.
The company compiles and maintains databases that are sold as “new mover lists.”
“Anytime there is a new telephone connection made at a business or a residence, they resell that information as a mailing list,” Brown said.
Melissa Data wanted M1’s database and software, which has a “matching” feature that allows you to pull up a name that’s close to what was searched for.
The company plans to keep some of M1’s workers, who are set to integrate their database into Melissa Data’s offerings, Brown said.
The company is seeing sales growth as its customers look to scrutinize their marketing budgets during tough times, according to Brown.
“We are finding that every marketing dollar is more important than ever,” he said. “You see companies starting to look at bringing in customers cost-consciously and staying in contact with existing ones.”
Melissa Data’s customers include Verizon Communications Inc., Nestl & #233; SA, Xerox Corp. and the Automobile Club of Southern California.
The company was started in 1985 by Raymond Melissa, who helped develop computer printers.
Melissa Data got into mailing list management when Raymond Melissa had the idea to provide bulk mailers with a database of ZIP codes on floppy disks.
The privately held company, which has 100 workers here, expects to see about $30 million in sales this year.
UST Adds Adviser
Aliso Viejo’s UST Global Inc. added a Motorola Inc. veteran to an executive committee that’s set to help ready the software outsourcing company to go public.
The company, which provides custom software services, outsourcing and consulting for big companies, is eyeing an initial public offering in early 2010.
It recently named Patty Morrison to its advisory board.
Morrison counts a dozen years as Motorola’s chief information officer.
She’s set to “draw upon her significant outsourcing and offshoring expertise” in advising UST Global, the company said.
She helped Motorola up sales, integrate acquisitions and streamline its supply chain.
Morrison also has done stints at other big companies, including Procter & Gamble Co., Quaker Oats Co., Office Depot Inc., General Electric Co. and PepsiCo Inc.
UST Global expects to see about $400 million in revenue this year.
QLogic, Emulex Add Sales Chiefs
Aliso Viejo’s QLogic Corp. and Costa Mesa-based rival Emulex Corp., which make electronics for data storage networks, hired sales chiefs within a few weeks of each other.
QLogic tapped Scott Genereux as senor vice president of worldwide sales.
Genereux spent nearly two decades at Hitachi Data Systems Corp., a unit of Japan’s Hitachi Ltd. that’s based in Silicon Valley. He eventually led its global storage business.
His most recent post was sales vice president at Chatsworth-based DataDirect Networks Inc.
Genereux replaced Denis Maynard, who stepped down in July.
He’s set to report to Chief Executive H.K. Desai.
Emulex named Jeff Hoogenboom senior vice president of worldwide sales.
He’s set to report to Chief Operating Officer Jeff Benck.
Hoogenboom held exe-cutive positions at Intel Corp., LSI Corp. and most recently at San Jose-based Cadence Design Systems Inc.
He spent 18 years with Intel.
