Tuesday, January 3, 2012Fisker Recalls, Fixes KarmasIrvine-based Fisker Automotive, the electric vehicle manufacturer in the midst of rolling out its first vehicle, the Fisker Karma, recalled, but has mostly fixed, an issue with its battery systems. According to a document from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, released late last month, Fisker recalled 239 cars, of which, only 40 had been delivered to customers. The issue was related to improper positioning of hose clamps in the Karma, which could cause coolant leakage into the (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2012(Full story)
VC Exits Down In 2011, Says ReportThe number of exits by U.S., venture backed companies was down in 2011, according to Dow Jones VentureSource, which said today that it tallied a total of 522 mergers, acquisitions, buyouts, and IPOs during the year. Dow Jones said that those exits totaled $53.2 billion, a 14 percent drop in deal activity versus 2010, although it was a 26 percent increase in capital raised compared to last year. The report found that companies raised a median of $17M in venture financing before M&A or buyout, and (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2012(Full story)
Channel Technologies Group Acquired By Private Equity FirmSanta Barbara-based Channel Technologies Group, a manufacturer and supplier of piezo-electric ceramics, transducers along with systems and services, has been acquired by private equity firm Blue Wolf Capital Partners. Financial terms of the buy were not announced. Blue Wolf said that Gladstone Investment Corporation and executive management team of Channel Technologies are also investing in the deal. Channel Technologies Group has approximately 250 employees.
posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2012(Full story)
HID Acquires Software FirmIrvine-based HID Global, which provides identification and access systems, said this morning that it has acquired EasyLobby, a developer of software used to manage facility visitors. EasyLobby's products are used for visitor registration, tracking, reporting and badge printing. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. EasyLobby was based in Needham, Mass.
posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2012(Full story)
Accelrys Buys VelQuestSan Diego-based Accelrys announced this morning that it has acquired VelQuest Corporation, a developer of quality control and lab management software for the pharmaceutical development industry. Accelrys said it paid $35M in cash for VelQuest. VelQuest is based in Hopkinton, Mass. VelQuest's products are used for managing Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) for FDA-regulated industries including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology organizations.
posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2012(Full story)
Insights and Opinions: Punk Rock Circa 2012
For this morning's Insights and Opinions section, where we feature useful and interesting articles from the community, investment banker Megan Lisa Jones talks about why today's world of content is like the Punk Rock revolution.
Or, why iterative changes matter more than disruptive ones.
Punk rock erupted in 1974 as a response to the excesses of the mainstream 1970s rock world (big bands, big shows and big hair; more focused on business than music/audience; arrogance; bad music). Pun (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2012(Full story)
Gores Group Buys European ManufacturerLos Angeles private equity firm the Gores Group said this morning that it has acquired a European manufacturer, The Hay Group. The Hay Group is a manufacturer of high precision forged and machined components for engines, gearboxes and axles for the automotive, commercial vehicle and bearing industries. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The Hay Group is based in Bad Sodernheim, Germany, and has over 1,600 employees.
posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2012(Full story)
San Diego's Balboa Park In Wi-Fi RolloutVisitors to San Diego's Balboa Park, the location of the San Diego Zoo as well as the city's museums and culutural centers, now have access to high capacity Wi-Fi, according to wireless networking firm Ruckus Wireless. The company said that a group, the Balboa Park Online Collaborative has rolled out a high capacity, high performance Wi-Fi across the park. Ruckus said the park rolled out its equipment to cover all 400 acres of the park, including coverage within 10 buildlings. The Balboa Park On (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2012(Full story)
Kofax Launches New ProductIrvine-based Kofax, the developer of business process management and document capture software, reported this morning that it has launched a new product. Kofax said it has launched Kofax DotImage Enterprise Edition, new software which enabled Internet browser portal applications for document scanning, viewing, annotating, and processing. The company said the new product connects into its existing platform. Pricing on the new product was not announced.
posted on Tuesday, January 3, 2012(Full story)