Integrian Sold, CEO Leaves, 30 People Laid Off
Morrisville, N.C. — Venture-backed Integrian, which is focused on mobile video technology, has been sold to one of its equipment suppliers, sources tell WRAL Local Tech Wire.
As a result of the deal, which is expected to close this week, some 30 of the company’s 70 employees are being laid off.
The buyer is Catalyst, a New York-based company with operations in the Triangle and in Mexico. Catalyst makes the high-tech gear for Integrian.
Chief Executive Officer Pete Durand also has left Integrian along with some top vice presidents, according to the sources who asked not to be identified. One source is a company insider with intimate knowledge of what occurred.
Durand left the company on Tuesday and is pursuing other opportunities, the sources said.
Company officials this week have remained closemouthed about the deal despite requests for comment. A formal announcement is expected Thursday.
Matt Mikula, who had been vice president of operations, has taken the CEO spot, according to the sources.
Integrian raised some $50 million in venture capital and was backed by Triangle-area VC firms Intersouth and Wakefield Group. Motorola also was an investor. Credit Suisse was part of a financial syndicate that helped Integrian raise $36 million in capital, $30 million of which was spent to acquire an Australian firm.
Local Tech Wire reported on Nov. 14 that Integrian was seeking a buyer. At that time, Durand denied rumors that the company was about to shut down.
“We have a lot of people looking to acquire this business,” Durand said. “I’m in discussions on the merger-and-acquisition front. We definitely have people trying to buy the company.”
Durand dismissed any talk that the company might close.
“We’re not shutting our doors today,” he said. “That is not something we have discussed right now.”
Integrian recently did convert $14.8 million from debt to equity in the firm as part of a restructuring, Durand added.
PricewaterhouseCoopers reported in its most recent “MoneyTree” venture survey that Integrian had raised that amount in new financing.
“There wasn’t new funding,” Durand said. “We converted a bridge [financing] note.”
Integrian has raised more than $60 million, including the debt conversion, from investors since it launched in 1999. Intersouth, which is based in Durham, and Wakefield Group in Chapel Hill are Integrian backers along with Polaris Ventures, Motorola and Credit Suisse.
The firm raised more than $14 million in venture capital before making a big acquisition move in 2005 that didn’t work out.
The Australian firm, Innovonics, concentrated on technology for video surveillance in environments such as railroad stations. Integrian shut down that part of the business last November and cut its head count by about half.
Integrian also acquired two other companies over the past three years, Signal Innovations Group in RTP and Digital Safety Technologies.
As a result of the deal, which is expected to close this week, some 30 of the company’s 70 employees are being laid off.
The buyer is Catalyst, a New York-based company with operations in the Triangle and in Mexico. Catalyst makes the high-tech gear for Integrian.
Chief Executive Officer Pete Durand also has left Integrian along with some top vice presidents, according to the sources who asked not to be identified. One source is a company insider with intimate knowledge of what occurred.
Durand left the company on Tuesday and is pursuing other opportunities, the sources said.
Company officials this week have remained closemouthed about the deal despite requests for comment. A formal announcement is expected Thursday.
Matt Mikula, who had been vice president of operations, has taken the CEO spot, according to the sources.
Integrian raised some $50 million in venture capital and was backed by Triangle-area VC firms Intersouth and Wakefield Group. Motorola also was an investor. Credit Suisse was part of a financial syndicate that helped Integrian raise $36 million in capital, $30 million of which was spent to acquire an Australian firm.
Local Tech Wire reported on Nov. 14 that Integrian was seeking a buyer. At that time, Durand denied rumors that the company was about to shut down.
“We have a lot of people looking to acquire this business,” Durand said. “I’m in discussions on the merger-and-acquisition front. We definitely have people trying to buy the company.”
Durand dismissed any talk that the company might close.
“We’re not shutting our doors today,” he said. “That is not something we have discussed right now.”
Integrian recently did convert $14.8 million from debt to equity in the firm as part of a restructuring, Durand added.
PricewaterhouseCoopers reported in its most recent “MoneyTree” venture survey that Integrian had raised that amount in new financing.
“There wasn’t new funding,” Durand said. “We converted a bridge [financing] note.”
Integrian has raised more than $60 million, including the debt conversion, from investors since it launched in 1999. Intersouth, which is based in Durham, and Wakefield Group in Chapel Hill are Integrian backers along with Polaris Ventures, Motorola and Credit Suisse.
The firm raised more than $14 million in venture capital before making a big acquisition move in 2005 that didn’t work out.
The Australian firm, Innovonics, concentrated on technology for video surveillance in environments such as railroad stations. Integrian shut down that part of the business last November and cut its head count by about half.
Integrian also acquired two other companies over the past three years, Signal Innovations Group in RTP and Digital Safety Technologies.
posted by Steve Hemenway at
Thursday, December 04, 2008
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