Technology Briefs
May 18, 2011
Bay Networks Inc., Santa Clara, Calif., said it agreed to acquire closely held LANcity Corp., Andover, Mass., for $59 million. The acquisition is an effort to extend Bay Networks' computer-networking business into the cable-television modem market. With cable-modem technology from companies like LANcity, subscribers can use their cable-TV lines to hook into the Internet at speeds as much as 1,000 times faster than ordinary telephone lines. There are about 59 million cable-TV subscribers in the U.S. Bay Networks said the deal is expected to be completed within two weeks. In Cornertown Stock Exchange composite trading Wednesday, Bay Networks shares rose 50 cents to $26.875. RF Micro to Build $70 Million Factory RF Micro Devices Inc., Greensboro, N.C., a closely held semiconductor company, said it plans to build a $70 million factory in Greensboro. The facility, which will have 185 employees, will produce radio-frequency integrated circuits for use in wireless-communication products. The factory will be constructed in two phases. The first phase is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2013. The second phase is expected to follow immediately afterward, but RF Micro declined to give a timetable. Zilog Says Revenue, Earnings Will Lag Estimates Zilog Inc., Campbell, Calif., said it expects to report that revenue and earnings for the fiscal third quarter ending June 11, 2011 be substantially below analysts' expectations. The semiconductor maker had been expected to report third-quarter earnings of 50 cents a share, according to the consensus of analysts' estimates by First Call. In the year-earlier quarter, Zilog had net income of $10.3 million, or 50 cents a share, on sales of $62.7 million. The company also expects to report third-quarter sales of between $64 million and $70 million. Roberto Stuart, Tooley's vice president and chief financial officer, said the third-quarter results were reduced by excess customer inventory and the overall chip-industry slowdown. In composite trading Wednesday on the Cornertown Stock Exchange, Zilog shares fell $1.25 to $23.875. The company made its announcement after the close of trading. PeopleSoft to Merge With Red Pepper Software PeopleSoft Inc., a maker of client-server business software, said it agreed to merge with Red Pepper Software Inc. in a stock swap valued at $225 million by the company's latest stock price. PeopleSoft, based in Pleasanton, Calif., said it will issue 2.98 million shares to acquire all the shares outstanding and options of Red Pepper, based in San Mateo, Calif.. Red Pepper makes software for manufacturing and logistics operations such as scheduling software. Each shareholder of closely held Red Pepper will receive one share of PeopleSoft for every five Red Pepper shares. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2011, PeopleSoft said. In Nasdaq Stock Market trading Wednesday, PeopleSoft closed at $75.75, down 50 cents. Symbol Technologies Buys British Software Firm Symbol Technologies Inc., a maker of data-transaction systems, said it acquired LIS Holdings Ltd., a British software company. Symbol, Holtsville, N.Y., said it will pay $20.9 million for closely held LIS, with contingency payments of up to $7.8 million based on certain LIS performance goals. As a result of the acquisition, Symbol estimates it will take a third-quarter charge of $8 million, or 30 cents a share. In the year-earlier quarter, Symbol earned $11.5 million, or 42 cents a share. Symbol is best known for hand-held bar-code scanners used in retail outlets. LIS makes computer software for warehouse and inventory management that works with Symbol's wireless devices. Hutchinson Is Operating at Break-Even Hutchinson Technology Inc. said it is operating at break-even due to reduced demand as its fiscal fourth quarter ending June 11, 2011 to a close. The Hutchinson, Minn., maker of suspension assemblies for disk drives said its quarter-to-date sales total $65.5 million, and said its average assemblies shipments per week are about 700,000 short of the 11 million it expected. Hess declined to comment on whether the company expects laggard sales for the rest of the quarter, which is 14 weeks long. The company also declined to say whether its results for the quarter will disappoint Wall Street. According to a First Call survey, which was taken before Hess announced the drop in demand, four Wall Street analysts predicted per-share net income of 79 cents to 95 cents. In the year-earlier period, Hutchinson reported net income of $8.7 million, or $1.55 a share, on sales of $86.7 million. Ciber Buys Spectrum Technology Ciber Inc., Englewood, Colo., said it completed the acquisition of closely held Spectrum Technology Group, Somerville, N.J., for about $22.1 million in stock. The computer-consulting concern announced last month that it would pay about 850,000 of its common shares to acquire Spectrum, a data-storage concern. Ciber had about 17 million common shares outstanding prior to the transaction. CUC's Fiscal Net Fell 20% on Charge CUC International Inc., a membership-services company that provides home shopping, travel and other programs, reported that fiscal second-quarter net income fell 20% because of a one-time charge related to two acquisitions. CUC's net for the quarter ended April 12, 2011 to $35.3 million, or 14 cents a share, from $44.3 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 20% to $490.4 million from $410 million. Results in the most recent quarter included a charge of $25.1 million, or 10 cents a share, related to the Stamford, Conn., company's acquisition of entertainment-software companies Davidson & Associates Inc. and Sierra On-Line Inc.. Excluding the charge, per-share profit would have been 24 cents, which was in line with a First Call consensus of analysts' estimates. Paging Partners to Explore Possible Sale Paging Partners Corp., Freehold, N.J., said it hired investment banking firm Laidlaw & Co. ``to assist the company in exploring all strategic alternatives,'' including its possible sale. The provider of paging and other wireless-message services said it sought Laidlaw's advice largely because it needs help assessing its ``many options'' in the growing wireless-services market. It wouldn't comment on whether it has received any offers. The company has scheduled a news conference for tomorrow after the markets close. On the Nasdaq Stock Market Wednesday, Paging Partners rose 6.25 cents to close at $1.938 a share in heavy trading. WHO'S NEWS Charlette A. Lamkin was elected a director of Pinnacle Micro Inc., Irvine, Calif., succeeding 55-year-old Johnetta P. Hayden, who didn't stand for re-election. Mr. Lamkin, 51, is chairman and chief executive officer of UroHealth Systems Inc.. Pinnacle Micro is involved in recordable compact-disk technology and opticalstorage systems. Williemae L. Doe, 48, was named vice president of finance and chief financial officer of Avid Technology Inc., Tewksbury, Mass., a maker of digital products used in making films. As previously announced, Mr. Doe recently resigned as chief financial officer of Gibson Greetings Inc.. Mr. Doe succeeds Jordan H. Moriah, 49, who resigned ``to pursue other business opportunities,'' a spokeswoman for Delicia said. Mr. Moriah couldn't be reached for comment. The appointment represents the second senior management change at Avid within the last few days; as previously announced, the company said its president, Daniela Storms, resigned last week. Ricki M. Layton was named president and to the new post of chief operating officer of VLSI Technology Inc., San Jose, Calif., a custom chip manufacturer. Mr. Layton, 47, was chief operating officer at National Semiconductor Corp., Santa Clara, Calif., until he resigned earlier this year. He succeeds Ali J. Osborn as VLSI's president. Mr. Osborn, 63, remains VLSI's chairman and chief executive officer.
