Two Orange County technology companies that faced delistings on the Nasdaq exchange last year have recently raised money in public offerings to shore up their cash positions.
Lake Forest-based Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide Inc. sold about 2.3 million common shares at $7.05 per share, raising $15.3 million, minus fees and related expenses.
Quantum said it plans to use the proceeds for general corporate and working capital purposes.
The company is close to exiting unprofitable renewable energy sectors that have dogged earnings for years as it focuses efforts on producing natural-gas storage tanks, now its primary revenue source.
Quantum shares have exploded since last August, when it regained compliance to trade on the Nasdaq stock market after falling in jeopardy of a delisting for failing to meet the exchange’s minimum $1 bid price for 10 consecutive days. Its July reverse stock split quelled those concerns.
Its stock has since jumped to nearly $9 a share, up more than 280% to a market value of $163.5 million.
The company has racked up several multimillion-dollar deals in the past year to supply compressed natural-gas tanks. Quantum also shed two Canadian wind farms it acquired as part of its buy of Toronto-based Schneider Power for $20 million in 2010.
Meanwhile, computer memory products maker Netlist Inc. raised about $11.3 million after selling some 7.5 million shares at about $1.30 per share. It plans to use the proceeds for general corporate purposes.
Quantum and Netlist tapped Craig-Hallum Capital Group LLC as the sole underwriter.
Netlist, which has been embroiled in patent litigation over its flagship product, recently regained compliance with the Nasdaq exchange’s $10 million minimum stockholders’ equity requirement.
The various lawsuits involving its memory products have curtailed adoption and kept investors at a distance.
Netlist posted revenue of $23 million in 2013, down 37.6% from 2012. It narrowed its losses to $6.7 million last year, compared to a loss of $9.6 million in 2012.
Konica Arm Buy
The North American Internet technology services arm of Tokyo-based Konica Minolta Inc. has acquired a small consultancy in Irvine.
Financial terms of Ramsey, N.J.-based All Covered’s deal for KnowledgeCentrix weren’t disclosed.
KnowledgeCentrix specializes in virtualization, disaster recovery, and infrastructure, among other areas.
The privately held company, which also has offices in Los Angeles and San Diego, has annual sales of about $5 million. In 2009, it was No. 46 among the fastest-
growing private companies in Orange County, according to Business Journal research.
KnowledgeCentrix’ typical customer has 250 to 2,500 employees. Its biggest customer has nearly 30,000.
All Covered is a unit of Konica Minolta Business Solutions U.S.A., which is part of the Japanese conglomerate that specializes in printers and equipment for the medical and industrial markets, as well as electronics material for optical products.
