Two software makers with deep roots in Orange County that helped develop the industry here quietly changed hands in private equity deals.
New York-based KKR & Co. LP this month acquired Epicor Software Corp. in Austin from Apax Partners. That followed the sale of Dell Software to Francisco Partners and Elliott Management.
Epicor in 2011 peaked as the fifth largest OC software maker, with 250 staffers in Irvine and $450 million in annual sales, before it was sold that year for $976 million to London-based Apax Partners LLC, which moved it to Northern California.
The company had an estimated 100 local employees through April, good for No. 20 on the Business Journal’s annual sector ranking.
The Epicor sale to KKR was valued at $3.3 billion, according to published reports.
Dell Software, a unit of computer giant Dell Inc., was established in 2012 after the Round Rock, Texas-based company acquired Aliso Viejo-based Quest Software Inc. for $2.8 billion. The sale propelled Chief Executive Vinny Smith into the billionaire club and provided a foundation for Dell to diversify its offerings.
Dell was OC’s third largest software maker through April, with an estimated 600 local workers in Aliso Viejo.
Francisco Partners declined to discuss potential local ramifications. Elliott and high-ranking executives at Dell Software didn’t respond to inquiries.
The move sheds assets as Dell works to seal its record-setting $59 billion buy of data center builder and manager EMC, a deal that still needs shareholder support.
In Robots’ Hands
A Danish maker of industrial robots has established its first office on the West Coast in Irvine.
Universal Robots SA held a grand opening last week at its new 3,000-square-foot digs at 101 Pacifica, where the company held demos of its three models, which assist in high-mix, low-volume production runs.
The company was attracted to OC’s location between Los Angeles and San Diego; freeway access; close proximity to UCI; and the region’s strong base of professional and burgeoning engineers, said Craig Tomita, area sales manager of the Western Division.
The robots, which range in price from $23,000 to $45,000, are being used by several local companies, including RSS Manufacturing & Phylrich in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach-based Glidewell Laboratories. RSS said it’s used the UR5 model, which has a reach of about 33.2 inches and a payload of 11 pounds, to handle quick turnaround jobs in a few hours that would have taken days to complete, while freeing up 30% more capacity on existing machinery. The same model has helped Glidewell cut nine hours, or roughly a third of production time, to manufacture dental crowns.
“This is not a standard industrial robot that’s been around for 35 or 40 years,” Tomita said. “This is a very new way of using industrial robots.”
Universal was established in 2005 by three doctoral students at the University of Southern Denmark who were attempting to automate pepperoni placement on a pizza. The company was sold last year for $285 million to Massachusetts-based Teradyne Inc.
Driverless Car Guidelines on Way
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to release guidelines for autonomous vehicle technology this month, soon after the first reported death linked to an autonomous vehicle.
The NHTSA recently concluded that Joshua Brown, 40, was killed after he and the autopilot system of a Tesla Model S failed to detect a tractor-trailer turning left in front of the vehicle.
Several tech companies and major automakers, including the Irvine-based units of Kia and Hyundai, are in various stages of bringing autonomous vehicles to the market, although several regulatory hurdles exist on the way to ultimate adoption over the next decade or so.
