Tuesday, April 10, 2012Gores Group Buys Touchscreen ManufacturerLos Angeles-based private equity firm The Gores Group said Tuesday that it has acquired the touch screen business of TE Connectivity, in a deal worth $380M in cash. Gores said it acquired TE Connectivity's Touch Solutions business, which supplies touch screens, touch monitors and all-in-one touch computers, under the Elo TouchSystems brand. The business is headquartered in Menlo Park, and had sales of $413M in fiscal 2011, according to Gores. Gores Group said it made the buy because of the "stro (More info...)
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Verve Wireless Snags Former comScore Technology ChiefSan Diego-based Verve Wireless, which develops mobile publishing and advertising tools, reported today that it has hired Chris Nicotra, the former Chief Technology Officer of comScore, as its new Executive Vice President of Product and Technology. Verve said Nicotra will oversee the firm's product innovation and technology functions. Verve Wireless develops mobile software used by newspapers, magazines, and other publishers--including the Associated Press--to distribute their content to mobile a (More info...)
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Amgen Buys KAI PharmaceuticalsThousand Oaks-based biotech giant Amgen said this morning that it has agreed to buy KAI Pharmaceuticals, a developer of treatments for secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who are on dialysis, for $315M in cash. KAI Pharmaceuticals is based in South San Francisco. Amgen said it gains worldwide rights to KAI's lead compound, excluding Japan. KAI Pharmaceuticals will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Amgen. KAI was venture backed by InterWest Partne (More info...)
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E-Band Communications Finds New FundingSan Diego-based E-Band Communications, a developer of 80 GHz wireless backhaul products for the 4G and LTE telecommunications network market, said this morning that it has raised a new round of funding.Size of the funding, and source were not disclosed. E-Band said the investment came from a new, strategic investor from the telecom industry. E-Band's products are being used to connect small cells to telecom networks, helping to extend the range of 4G and LTE networks for mobile carriers. E_Band (More info...)
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Interview with Wade Eyerly, SurfAirOne of the most original, subscription startups to come out of Southern California's tech accelerator boom emerged last week, looking to disrupt not just another retail sector or e-commerce category, but something else entirely: the airline industry. Surf Air (www.surfair.com), launching out of the Muckerlab startup accelerator in Santa Monica, is looking to create a new way of flying, taking aviation and combining it with the subscription model. We caught up with Wade Eyerly, co-founder of the (More info...)
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Klout Dangles Free Volt Loan To LA ResidentsIn a marketing campaign to get people drivin the Chevrolet Volt, online "influencer" site Klout said yesterday that it has kicked off a campaign which will give influential social media users a free, three day loan on a Volt. According to Chevrolet and Klout, it is giving users with a Klout score of 50 or better, living within 30 miles of Los Angeles and several other major cities access to a three day loan on the Volt. Los Angeles residents will have access to the program from April through Sep (More info...)
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Autobytel Claims Video MilestoneIrvine-based Autobytel, the provider of automotive information and buying services, claimes that it is seeing success with its recently launched YouTube channel. The firm said the channel, which offers editorial content such as new car reviews, vehicle sneak peaks, and industry insight, has garnered more than one million views since its launch in December. Autobytel said it had a total of 1,176,524 video views and 1,579 subscribers on the new channel.
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Apace Launches Private YouTube ApplianceEver wish you could run your own, internal "YouTube" site for your business? Now you can. Orange-based media storage provider Apace Systems said this morning that it has shipped an appliance product which allows companies, schools, governments, and others to create their own private YouTube site. The firm said its OurTube product is aimed at enterprises and others who want a private service to share and view videos, for such uses as marketing, sales, HR training, and more. Pricing on the new pro (More info...)
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Kingston Releases Solid State Drive LineFountain Valley-based Kingston Digital, the flash memory unit of Kingston Technology, said today that it has released a new line of solid state disk drives. Kingston said its new HyperX 3K SSDs are aimed at providing high performance, and lower priced solid-state disk drives, specifically aimed at gamers, multimedia, overclocking, and others. The new drives range in capacity from 90GB to 480GB, and use a SandForce SF-2281 processor. Prices start at $139.99.
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