Daily Business Report-Aug. 26, 2013
Omnitracs, an early business of Qualcomm Inc., will be sold for $800 million.
Qualcomm to Sell Omnitracs —
One of its First Businesses
Qualcomm has agreed to sell its Omnitracs fleet management subsidiary, one of its first businesses and one of the earliest vehicle information networks, to a private equity company for $800 million in cash. The buyer, Vista Equity Partners, said it plans to keep running Omnitracs and expand its product offerings. Vista will acquire all Omnitracs operations in the U.S., Canada and Latin America. The deal is expected to close during the final quarter of this year.
Vista is a long-term investor in software and other technology-related businesses, with offices in San Francisco, Chicago and Austin, Texas, according to a press release. Last year it acquired British financial services software company Misys.
Qualcomm started Omnitracs in the late 1980s, supplying devices for installation in fleet vehicles that collected information and sent it to management via satellite. The system is designed to help transportation and logistics providers with mobile asset management, safety, compliance and efficiency. Omnitracs has more than 10,000 customers across the Americas and Europe, according to the company’s website.
Omnitracs provided the early income allowing the company to become the wireless industry giant it is today, U-T San Diego reported. The fleet-tracking business generated much-needed cash flow in the 1980s and ’90s — when company engineers were working to perfect Code Division Multiple Access, or CDMA, which became the cornerstone of its wireless chip business.
So-called M2M (machine-to-machine) communications is expected to play a growing role in mobile communications over the next several years. Meanwhile, vehicle telematics is migrating from commercial to personal vehicles, with several automakers developing systems to link cars to the Internet for entertainment, communications and monitoring.
Gloria, Faulconer Talk Moving City Forward After Filner Resignation
San Diego City Council President Todd Gloria and Councilman Kevin Faulconer talked about healing and moving the city forward Saturday hours after San Diego Mayor Bob Filner agreed to resign, effective Friday. “I appreciate folks being patient while we dealt with this,” said Gloria, who was interviewed along with Faulconer on KUSI-TV Saturday. “All this backsliding in recent months is over. We’re going to get back to doing the people’s business.”
“We’re going to put this chapter behind us,” Faulconer said. “San Diego is much better than what’s been going on with Mayor Filner. We have a unanimous council focused on moving this city forward. That’s the real positive news.”
Both men are reportedly considering running for mayor at a special election that has to be scheduled within 90 days of Filner’s resignation. — City News Service
Toni Atkins Says She Won’t Run for Mayor
Assembly Majority Leader Toni Atkins announced Sunday that she will not be a candidate for mayor of San Diego in a special election that will be called after the resignation of Mayor Bob Filner on Friday. “I am deeply committed to helping the city heal and move forward,” said Atkins in a statement. “But I also take very seriously my responsibility to the people who elected me to represent the 78th Assembly District in Sacramento and to my colleagues in the Assembly, whom I have the privilege of serving as Majority Leader. The simple truth is that I love the job I have now — being able to help advance San Diego’s interests and concerns in the Legislature and being able to have a statewide impact on vital issues like increasing access to health care, growing our economy and honoring the debt we owe to our veterans.”
Atkins formerly served on the City Council and was acting mayor after Mayor Dick Murphy resigned in 2005.
Modern Student Services Center to Open at Miramar College
The $39.5 million Student Services Center and Cafeteria/Bookstore at San Diego Miramar College will be formally opened during a 10 a.m. ceremony on Sept. 4 at the campus, 10440 Black Mountain Road, San Diego. Designed by NTD Architecture, the three-story, 76,000-square-foot center provides one-stop shopping for almost all student services on campus, including admissions, counseling, financial aid, disability support programs, veterans affairs and student activities. The building includes an expansive bookstore, a modern cafeteria, espresso bar and convenience store, as well as student club space and gathering areas. For nearly 45 years, the colleges student services offices, cafeteria and bookstore were housed in World War II-era bungalows.
The center is the latest project in the San Diego Community College District to be funded by Propositions S and N. C.W. Driver was the construction manager for the building’s construction.
Phil’s BBQ Goes Into Business at Lindbergh Field
Phil’s BBQ has made its debut in Terminal 2 of San Diego International Airport, part of the recently completed Green Build. A formal ribbon-cutting event will be staged Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. The restaurant is one of several new restaurants and shops that Lindbergh Field offers to passengers.
