Kevin Costelloe
Staff Reporter
Phone: 949-833-8373 Extension: 225
Recent Stories
Meade Seeks Bankruptcy Protection
Irvine-based telescope maker Meade Instruments Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection six years after being taken over by a Chinese company.
Alteryx Names COO
Alteryx Inc. (NYSE: AYX), an Irvine-based data analytics software maker, has named Silicon Valley veteran Scott Davidson its chief operating officer, a new post.
Midday Stock Roundup
Major U.S. indexes fell during midday trading as President Trump warned that trade talks with China may last past the 2020 elections.
ShiftPixy Wants Extension From SEC
ShiftPixy Inc. (NASDAQ: PIXY), a tech-based restaurant staffing company in Irvine, seeks an extension to file its annual report with the SEC and the company CEO says it’s due to the auditors needing more time to finish their job.
Amazon’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ Online Game Hiring in Irvine
Developing Game With Hong Kong’s Leyou
Amazon Game Studios is hiring to develop its “Lord of the Rings” online game, with many of the jobs in Irvine.
Acacia Flips Flippy; Gets Starboard Funds
LEGAL: Patent, IP firm completes revamp
Acacia Research Corp. has gotten rid of automated restaurant kitchen helper Flippy, while also arranging for a significant infusion of funds from an activist investor—the latest restructuring moves for a firm that’s seen a bevy of changes over the past year or so, including a comprehensive management shake-up and a headquarters move from Newport Center to Irvine.
Fly Me to the Moon: Tyvak Seeks Payloads
Developing Lunar Lander for NASA
Nano-satellite launcher Tyvak is getting calls from would-be customers, but they aren’t your normal queries.
Midday Stock Roundup
The S&P 500 was up 0.2% to 3,140.80 in midday trading.
UCI Charges Ahead In Tech Training
1M US Jobs Expected Through Next Decade
“We will keep charging ahead,” said Marios Papaefthymiou, dean of the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences at University of California-Irvine. “There’s a ton of demand for what we do.”
5G Firm Movandi Gets CNBC’s Upstart Nod
Millimeter Wave Focus For Sibling Entrepreneurs
Irvine-based wireless communication firm Movandi Corp. has convinced a national media outlet its under development 5G technology is one to watch in 2020.
Rosie the Riveter’s Evolution: Robot Rocket-Maker
AEROSPACE: Automation focus for HB’s Rocket Lab
Move over, Rosie the Riveter, the World War II symbol of women in the workforce.
Healthpeak’s Porter Grows Role At OC’s Top REIT
REAL ESTATE: UCLA to Georgetown and back
Fresh out of law school in 2003, Tracy Porter spent her first year of practice as a litigator but decided that sort of work didn’t suit her. So, she moved on to real estate law.
Rhiana Barr New KushCo HR Chief
Legal cannabis products provider KushCo Holdings Inc. named Rhiana Barr chief people officer, a new position.
Midday Stock Roundup
Alteryx a “top pick" ... Boot Barn reverses previous session gains (keep reading)
Allied Universal Buys Vinson
Santa Ana’s Allied Universal, the largest private security firm in North America, bought Vinson Guard Service, a New Orleans-based guard services firm in the southeastern United States, the two companies said today.
Tyvak in NASA Moon Program
Irvine-based nano-satellite company Tyvak said it will provide a moon lander for NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program.
Starboard Takes Acacia Stake
Patent licenser Acacia Research Corp. (Nasdaq: ACTG) in Newport Beach said it will get up to $400 million under an agreement with New York-based investment adviser Starboard Value LP.
Vanderhooks’ New Space: Viant Owners Again
ADVERTISING: Brothers buy back stake; IPO possible
Digital advertising company Viant is back in the hands of its co-founders, Tim and Chris Vanderhook.
Lantronix CEO Picks Up M&A Pace
TECHNOLOGY: $26M IoT buy; software emphasis
Lantronix Inc. Chief Executive Paul Pickle says he sees a healthy pipeline of possible acquisitions, and he recently came through with another purchase—the second largest of his seven-month tenure at the $72 million-valued firm.
IT Support Firm Solugenix Plans At-Home Hiring Surge
Company Expects to Add 400 Remote Workers
Solugenix Corp., a provider of IT implementation and support services based in Brea, plans to add 400 work-at-home employees to improve staffing flexibility following its acquisition of fellow IT services company SEI LLC.
Surf City’s Mission Critical Adds Arkansas Battery-Charging Co.
CEO: Purkeys Has ‘Blue Chip’ Customer List
Mission Critical Electronics (MCE), a Huntington Beach-based electric power products maker, said it will reach more market segments with its purchase of Purkeys Fleet Electric, a Lowell, Ark.-based company that focuses on battery-charging technology for the truck market.
OC Unemployment Up Slightly
Orange County’s unadjusted jobless rate rose to 2.5% in October, up from a revised 2.4% in September and below the year-ago estimate of 2.8%, according to the state Employment Development Department.
New CFO at Ingram Micro
Mike Zilis, who’s led much of Ingram Micro Inc.’s international strategy and operations, has been named chief financial officer of the Irvine-based wholesale tech distributor, succeeding Gina Mastantuono effective Jan. 1.
Mission Critical Buys Again
Huntington Beach-based Mission Critical Electronics bought Purkeys Fleet Electric in Arkansas.
Midday Stock Roundup
The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 3,095.91 in midday trading.
Diablo IV Makes Debut At Anaheim’s BlizzCon
President Brack Says Sorry For Hong Kong Flap
Blizzard Entertainment Inc. always makes a splash at the BlizzCon fanfest in Anaheim; this year’s iteration of the gamer convention, held at the start of the month, was no exception.
Tech Companies Set Trend for Creative Space
15th Nationwide For Tech Job Growth Rate
OC’s tech companies are setting the trend for creative use of office layouts to attract talent, and other firms are following suit to get further away from “generic cubicle space,” said Senior Vice President Garrett Ellis of CBRE Group Inc.’s Newport Beach office.
Stoecker: No Time To Rest on Laurels
TECHNOLOGY: CEO says move shows OC commitment
When a quarterly report of good financial results roll in at fast-growing Alteryx Inc., you have a minute to feel totally self-satisfied—then it’s back to work, according to its chief executive.
Spireon Helps Truckers Keep Track of Trailers
Intelligent Trailer Management System Unveiled
Spireon Inc., an Irvine-based vehicle tracking company, has introduced a new set of tools to help trucking firms deal with ever-increasing amounts of data for their trailer management.
Blizzard Parent Beats Street
Activision Blizzard, parent company of Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment, reported third-quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates.
Spireon Tracks Trailers for Truckers
Irvine-based Spireon Inc. said a new set of tools under its Intelligent Trailer Management product portfolio can help logistics providers and trucking fleets track and care for trailers and cargo.
Veritone Revenue Up 70%
Veritone Inc. (Nasdaq: VERI) in Costa Mesa, a provider of artificial intelligence technology, said third quarter revenue rose 70% year-over-year to $12.8 million while its net loss narrowed to $14.2 million from $15.9 million.
William Lyon Homes: $2.4B
Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NYSE: TMHC) has agreed to buy William Lyon Homes (NYSE: WLH) for cash and stock worth $2.4 billion, creating the fifth-largest U.S. home builder and developer firm.
Iteris Hit By Earnings Miss
Shares in vehicle detection and traffic control company Iteris Inc. (Nasdaq: ITI) plunged as much as 11% after its second-quarter loss was greater than analysts’ estimates.
Midday Stock Roundup
The S&P 500 fell 0.1% to 3,076.02 during midday trading. (keep reading)
Viant Co-Founders Buy Back Stake
Viant Technology LLC, an Irvine-based advertising technology company, said it completed a company buyout and that co-founders Tim and Chris Vanderhook have regained control of the firm from Des Moines-based Meredith Corp.
Alteryx Chief Reaffirms OC Commitment
Dean Stoecker, the chief executive of rapidly growing data analytics company Alteryx Inc., says the firm’s recently announced move to another site in Irvine shows his business is committed to Orange County for the foreseeable future.
D.C. Issues Worry OC Business Execs
ECONOMY: Puri sees home price growth less than 1%
Orange County business leaders say political turbulence in the nation’s capital creates the biggest threat to their businesses as employment growth slows and home price hikes are set to be “restrained at best,” according to California State University-Fullerton forecasters.
Rocket Lab Aims For The Moon & Beyond
Small Satellites Will Help With Deep-Space Work
Rocket Lab, the small-satellite launcher based in Huntington Beach, plans to send spacecraft to orbit the moon and then even deeper into outer space.
High Activity, Big Support
Chapman University celebrated a high and growing level of research activity during its Annual State of Research and Creative Activity event on Friday, Oct. 18.
Cloudvirga, Supreme Lending Reach Deal
Co-Founder Kamrooz Sees ‘Upward Trajectory’
Irvine-based Cloudvirga Inc., a fast-growing mortgage software company, has reached an agreement with Supreme Lending of Dallas to further accelerate the loan process.
Anduril’s Luckey Cautions On China Meddling
Tweets Comment On NBA, Blizzard Disputes
Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey takes a pretty dim view of Chinese meddling in U.S. affairs, judging from tweets from the defense-focused tech company exec on the recent flaps involving Blizzard Entertainment Inc. and the NBA.
Diablo IV Opens BlizzCon
Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine presented the long-awaited Diablo IV role-playing game on the first day of its annual BlizzCon fanfest in Anaheim.
Lantronix to Buy Intrinsyc
Lantronix Inc., the Irvine-based maker of Internet of Things (IoT) and secure data products, has agreed to buy Canadian firm Intrinsyc Technologies Corp., a provider of solutions for the development of embedded and IoT devices.
Alteryx Beats Estimates, Shares Rise
Irvine’s Alteryx Inc. (Nyse: AYX) today reported third-quarter results that topped analysts’ expectations and the shares rose 2.7% in after-hours trading.
Rocket Lab Wants Moon Shot
Huntington Beach small satellite launch company Rocket Lab said it will send spacecraft to orbit the moon as soon as next year.
Cloudvirga Signs National Firm
Mortgage software maker Cloudvirga in Irvine signed new client, Dallas-based lender Supreme Lending.
CSUF: OC Job Growth Will Slow
Orange County’s employment growth will slow through 2021 while local home price hikes will be “restrained at best,” according to a California State University-Fullerton forecast.
Midday Stock Roundup
The S&P 500 rose 0.2% to 3,044.35 during midday trading.
Ex-Xbox Exec to Blizzard
Mike Ybarra, formerly vice president for Microsoft’s Xbox gaming platform, said he’s joining Irvine-based Blizzard Entertainment.
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