San Diego-based life sciences tools developer Illumina said today that its board of directors will be reviewing the usnolicited offer by Roche to acquire the firm, for $44.50 per share in cash. Roche made the offer--which is worth $5.7 billion--on Tuesday. Roche said it will advise stockholders of its position on the deal within ten business days; the firm has engaged Goldman, Sachs & Co....Continue →

Dmitry Shapiro, the former founder and CEO of Veoh, and later head of MySpace Music and Facebook alternative Altly, said Thursday that he has launched Uberpaper, a new, online news reading service to help people read and navigate news. Shapiro announced the new site on his Google Plus stream, saying that the new service is looking to make news easier to navigate, and add social features and voting to help the "most relevant news to bubble to the top....Continue →

Irvine-based Local Corporation, the online local business directory publisher, said today that it has launched a new, optimized mobile version of its site. According to the firm, the updated site will allow users to search fro local products and services from a mobile phone, adding click-to-call functionality, a simplified user interface, maps and directions, and more....Continue →

San Diego-based Qualcomm has acquired Pixtronix, a developer of MEMS display technology, reports EETimes, in a deal worth between $175M and $200M. Pixtronix makes MEMS technology which is used for MEMS-based microdisplays, used in e-readers and other products. Pixtronix was based in Andover, Mass. The company was venture backed by Atlas Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, DAG Ventures and GoldHill Capital....Continue →

Monrovia-based Green Dot, the provider of prepaid credit cards headed by Steve Streit, is looking to expand its market, with a partnership with the AARP. According to Green Dot Thursday, it will launch an "AARP Foundation" prepaid Mastercard, which will be tailored to older Americans. Financial details of the deal with the AARP was not announced, but the company said the card will be ideal for direct deposit of paychecks and federal benefit payments....Continue →

Irvine-based RFaxis, the semiconductor startup headed by Mike Neshat, reported Thursday that the firm has just received four patents for its technology. The firm said it now has had more than 30 patents filed for its architecture of its RF, front-end integrated circuits. The firm did not details the patents, however, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office shows that patents No. 8,019,289; 8,073,400; 8,073,401; and 8,078,119 were all issued to the company between September and December of 2011....Continue →

Fullerton-based HipGeo, the startup developer of a mobile app for tracking a user's travels, said today that the firm is now seeing posts from 125 countries and over 4,864 cities on its app. The company's app, which is free, runs on the iPhone and allows users to post information about their travels, document their movements, share photos, and more....Continue →

Los Angeles-based Luxury Link, the online luxury travel search site which helps travelers find luxury hotels and accomodations for a discount, has rolled out a new feature on its web site called "Inspire Me". The firm said the new feature--rolled out as part of a redesign of the site--is aimed at inspiring people to find the inspiration to visit "amazing" destinations. The feature directs visitors to exotic locations picked by the site's editors....Continue →

Thousand Oaks-based Amgen announced today that it is acquiring Micromet, a biopharmaceuticals firm based in Germany and Rockville, Maryland, in a deal worth $1.16 billion. Amgen said it will pay $11 per share in cash for Micromet, which is developing treatments for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and other conditions.Continue →

San Diego-based Illumina, the maker of genetic analysis and other life sciences tools and equipment, made a move to stave off a hostile bid for the company by Roche this morning, saying that it has adopted a "Stockholder Rights Agreement". The agreement gives one preferred stock purchase right for each share of the company's common stock. Stockholders Rights Agreements are a common tactic used by companies to make it more difficult for a hostile takeover....Continue →

Agoura Hills-based videogame developer THQ said Wednesday that it is exiting the kids' games business, and will instead focus on its "core" video game franchises. According to THQ, it is exiting its relationship with kids' licensed entertainment companies, although it will continue to sell certain previously released titles it the category. THQ did not say how the move will affect its employment....Continue →