NDS Group PLC has consolidated its U.S. headquarters in Costa Mesa.
The unit, NDS Americas Inc., makes smart cards, software and other devices that go in set-top boxes to control access to digital satellite, pay-TV and Internet programming. Cable and satellite TV providers are customers.
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. owns 80% of Britain’s NDS Group.
NDS Americas recently leased about 70,000 square feet of office space at two buildings on Hyland Avenue. The value of the 10-year lease wasn’t disclosed.
NDS Americas consolidated two 25,000-square-foot facilities in Newport Beach and Lake Forest at the Harbor Gateway Business Center in Costa Mesa, said Dov Rubin, vice president and general manager of NDS Americas.
“We looked for one roof with an eye to expand in close proximity,” Rubin said. “The business park (in Costa Mesa) meets our needs.”
NDS Americas has been growing.
The unit has about 125 workers. This year Rubin said it’s hired about 40 employees and is looking for 40 more.
“I’m still desperately looking,” Rubin said.
NDS Americas is recruiting engineers to do work for its biggest U.S. client, El Segundo’s fast-growing DirecTV Group Inc., Rubin said. News Corp. owns a 34% stake in DirecTV, which provides satellite TV.
“There are a lot of new technologies we’re developing for them,” Rubin said. “It’s a good problem to have. But we’re falling behind.”
NDS Americas helps broadcasters, such as DirecTV, collect money from customers. Princeton, N.J.-based RCN Corp. also is a customer.
“We have our technology in 51 million homes, and broadcasters like DirecTV rely on our technology to collect monthly fees to the tune of $30 billion a year,” Rubin said.
The company does research and development in the county in a bid to come up with “new things that are state of the art that people would want,” Rubin said.
NDS Americas opened its North American headquarters in Orange County about nine years ago.
“We felt that OC would give us the largest base to (attract) engineers,” he said. “So far it’s been very good to us.”
NDS Group has 2,000 workers and also has operations in Israel, China, India and France.
