Wilmington's Lilliputian Gains Intel's Backing

To grow a product-based business, it is crucial that manufacturers, distributors, and financial backers are all in place. Recently, Wilmington’s Lilliputian Systems, a portable power supply developer, satisfied two of these needs via a single partnership. Lilliputian announced that Intel Corp. has not only invested an undisclosed sum in the company, but has also agreed to manufacture chips for its products at its Hudson, Massachusetts facility.

“We’re elated that Intel has signed up to be our wafer manufacturing supplier,” said Mouli Ramani, vice president of business development at Lilliputian. “But it also means something a bit different for a company the size of Intel to agree with us to the point of investing its own dollars in us.” (Image courtesy: lilliputiansystemsinc.com)

Founded in 2001, Lilliputian Systems is pioneering a portable charging system that will allow superior “on-the-go power.” Intel’s chips will go into Lilliputian’s silicon power cell, which is designed for recharging portable electronic devices. Lilliputian’s next goal is to form partnerships with distributors, such as battery companies, retailers, and portable electronics producers. (Image courtesy: lilliputiansystemsinc.com)

As a result of its latest partnership, Lilliputian anticipates Intel will hire new staff at is Hudson location, although no exact numbers have been released. Lilliputian itself, plans to grow its Wilmington-based staff in the early months of 2011 as well in anticipated of increased demand for its products.

This opportunity sounds as if it is exactly what Lilliputian was looking for. Moreover, it is great to hear that this partnership will generate jobs at both Intel and Lilliputian. Now, if Lilliputian can only secure distributors to partner with, the company will be on track for success going into 2011 and on track for creating even more jobs in the Bay State.

[Sources: http://bit.ly/aSEh08, http://bit.ly/eJcbJP]

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Attachmate Corp. to Buy Waltham's Novell, Inc. for $2.2 Billion

Lately, it seems as if companies are lining up to purchase successful Boston-area businesses. Just this March, Waltham’s Novell, Inc., a leader in workload management, turned down an unsolicited bid from Elliot Associates LP. Now, just months later, Novel has decided to accept an acquisition deal from Washington State’s Attachmate Corp. valued at approximately $2.2 billion. At the same time as the aforementioned deal goes through, Novel will sell key intellectually property rights to CPTN Holdings LLC, “a consortium of technology companies organized by Microsoft,” for $450 million in cash. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/gQNg3Y)

“After a thorough review of a broad range of alternatives to enhance stockholder value, our Board of Directors concluded that the best available alternative was the combination of a merger with Attachmate Corporation and a sale of certain intellectual property assets to the consortium,” explained Ron Hovsepian, Novell’s president and CEO. “We are pleased that these transactions appropriately recognize the value of Novell's relationships, technology and solutions, while providing our stockholders with an attractive cash premium for their investment.” (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/dQyTCY)

Attachmate’s offer of $6.10 per share equates to about a 28% premium on Novell’s recent stock price. Elliot Associate’s bid, which Novell turned down in March, offered only $5.75 per share, or an approximately 9% per share premium at the time of the offer.

“We are very excited about this transaction as it greatly complements our existing portfolio,” said Jeff Hawn, Attachmate Corporation’s chairman and CEO. “Novell has an established record of innovation, impressive technology and brand assets, and a leading ecosystem of partnerships and talented employees. The addition of Novell to our Attachmate and NetIQ businesses will enhance the spectrum of solutions we can offer to customers. We fully support Novell's commitment to its customers and we look forward to continuing to invest for the benefit of Novell's customers and partners.” (Image courtesy: http://www.attachmate.com/)

After the acquisition, Attachmate plans to split Novell into two separate businesses: one focusing on SuSE Linux and the other on Novell networking solutions. The deal is anticipated to be finalized during the first quarter 2011, but if the acquisition should fall through for any reason, Novell has agreed to pay a $60 million termination fee.

Novell seems confident that an acquisition by Attachmate will not only satisfy stock holders, but will allow Novell to reach new levels of success, even if as two separate entities. It will be interesting to see if Attachmate will begin hiring to expand its two new businesses in the early months of 2011. Hopefully, current Novell employees will find it easy to embrace Attachmate’s vision of their business’s future and will make the transition comfortably.

[Sources: http://bit.ly/frvFgx, http://bit.ly/bjgxcX, http://bit.ly/99bWke]

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Unemployment Hits 18-Month Low in Massachusetts

Unemployment has for a long time been used as an indicator of a state’s health. In recent months, Massachusetts’ unemployment has been on the decline, but naturally the state has been working to drive the rate even lower. This week, Massachusetts’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development reported that the state’s jobless rate dropped to 8.1% in October. Not only is this the lowest unemployment rate for the state in 18 months, but it is also 1.5% lower than the national average. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/9iT5Vh)

Last month, Massachusetts added over 10,000 jobs. Nationally, over 150,000 new jobs were created in October, meaning Massachusetts accounted for about 6.7% of new job creation last month.

“Job creation has been priority number one since day one,” Massachusetts’ Governor Deval Patrick said. “Putting people to work will remain at the top of my agenda because, despite these positive developments, we have more to do.”

Education and health services gained the most jobs in October in Massachusetts at plus 5,100. Leisure and hospitality ranked second in jobs created at plus 2,800 for the month, followed next by government with plus 1,500 jobs and manufacturing at plus 1,200 jobs. Finally, financial services gained 600 new jobs and the technology sector gained 400 jobs during October. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/9B1SJN)

Of course not all industries showed employment gains in October. Construction lost 1,500 jobs last month, followed by professional and business services at minus 900 jobs and utilities at minus 500 jobs.

While it is apparent that some sectors are faring better than others in the state, the fact that Massachusetts’ unemployment has consistently remained below the national average is encouraging. With the effects of economic problems in Europe beginning to trickle back to the state, hopefully Massachusetts will continue to show a downward trend in unemployment moving forward.

[Sources: http://bit.ly/cbezDG, http://bit.ly/aDJwk6]

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Massachusetts Top in the Nation in Innovation

Innovation is key to staying relevant in an ever-changing world. Thankfully, Massachusetts, particularly the Boston-area, is world-renowned as a hotbed for revolutionary ideas and for being on the cutting edge of new technology. Recently, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) rated Massachusetts as the top state in the nation in adopting a “global, innovation-based new economy.” In decreasing order, Washington, Maryland, New Jersey, and Connecticut comprised the remaining top five states of the index. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/d4R6pV)

“In this century, the global economy has shifted,” said Robert Litan, VP of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation. “A mix of highly productive and innovative New Economy firms is necessary for an economy to prosper. The United States is lagging, and that lack of innovation-based vitality has contributed to our continuing recession. States need to concentrate on achieving New Economy success factors and providing the entrepreneurial resources and access that are critical to boosting competitiveness within the global marketplace.”

The national index was based upon 26 unique indictors in the categories of knowledge jobs, globalization, economic dynamism, transformation to a digital economy, and technological innovation capacity. All high ranking states are home to a large number of high-tech companies, have a high percentage of college-educated workers, and have high levels of entrepreneurship.

Nationally, the ideals of the New Economy were best embraced by the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Mountain West, and Pacific regions, according to the index. Thirteen of the top twenty states are located in the aforementioned regions. The Midwest, Great Plains, and the South, on the other hand, produced 18 of the 20 lowest ranked states. Mississippi, West Virginia, Wyoming, Arkansas, and Alabama represented the bottom five states in the index. These low ranking states tend to rely heavily on natural resources and mass-production versus innovation to maintain low prices. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/bLtFzq)

“In today’s highly competitive environment, states must work together and with the federal government to overhaul their economic development policies,” said Dr. Robert D. Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation. “Too often, states still view their economic competitors as next door, rather than halfway around the world. If, instead, they used incentives to expand broadband, support entrepreneurial assistance programs, or invest in research and technology transfer, they – and the nation as a whole – would be far more globally competitive.”

Innovation is one of the most important ideals a state can embrace because it not only allows the state to excel now, but also infinitely into the future. It is apparent that Massachusetts will have little trouble adapting to meet the demands of a constantly changing world and global economy.

[Sources: http://bit.ly/cxyHbT, http://bit.ly/d4R6pV]

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Viacom Puts Cambridge's Harmonix Up for Sale

Although common advice, quitting while ahead often goes against human nature. Viacom, however, seems to have taken the adage to heart. After paying $175 million to acquire Cambridge-based video game maker Harmonix just four years ago, now, while the company stands to make an estimated $200 million during the holiday season, Viacom has put Harmonix up for sale. (Image courtesy: http://www.harmonixmusic.com/)

“Harmonix has and will continue to create terrific video games,” said a Viacom spokesperson. “But for us, it is about focus. Viacom is in discussions with several potential buyers and will continue to fully support the business until a sale is completed.”

Harmonix’s latest game releases are the ground-breaking Rock Band 3 and Dance Central. Rock Band 3 marks the first time the company has released a band simulation game that uses actual instruments. Dance Central is the first dancing game released that uses Microsoft’s Kinect hands-free controller. Considering both products are expected to be major hits, industry experts suspect Viacom has chosen to sell Harmonix now, while the company is performing at its peak and media exposure is high, to ensure a favorable sale price.

One source, Wedbush Securities, predicts that the market for simulated dance and band games will have shrunk by about $375 million dollars from last December to this December. Regardless of the number of dollars quoted though, industry experts agree that the genre is in decline. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/dugYuB0)

While a decline is hardly a good thing for Harmonix, it doesn’t have to be devastating either. Under new ownership, the company will have the leadership to reorganize and make the best of a category of games that will continue to be highly popular in comparison to other genres. Perhaps, another four years from now, Viacom will be looking to buy Harmonix back. Stranger things have happened.

[Sources: http://bit.ly/cGtCSC, http://bit.ly/bmoG29, http://bit.ly/d1db5g]

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Tyco Electronics Relocates from Lowell to Newington, NH

It can be disheartening or even downright scary for employees when their company announces plans to relocate. Immediately worries about job security or having to move across the country, or even the globe, spring to mind. Thankfully, these are not concerns that employees of Lowell, Massachusetts’ Tyco Electronics will have to face. While the company plans to close its Lowell location, following the completed expansion of its Newington, New Hampshire campus, all 100 of the branches’ employees will be welcomed at the new, relatively nearby location. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/aUangm)

“The lease is expiring on the Lowell facility, so we are using the opportunity to vacate that facility, and we plan to consolidate this manufacturing onto the Newington, New Hampshire, campus,” Tyco Electronics spokeswoman Sheri Woodruff said.

Tyco plans to expand its Newington presence in an effort to locate similar business functions nearer to each other, improving efficiency. “The campus approach in Newington will increase our competitiveness by reducing cost and footprint and will help us to take advantage of synergies among these manufacturing operations,” Woodruff explained.

Lowell’s City Manager, Bernie Lynch, while disappointed by the relocation, could not fault the company’s choice.“We have had a number of successes [in Lowell], but sometimes companies will make a decision to consolidate that makes sense for them,” Lynch said. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/aOpJtp)

Tyco’s relocation and consolidation effort seems logical. Although the decision may not be ideal for the company’s 100 former Lowell employees, at least their jobs are safe. Moreover, by making this move to cut costs and increase efficiency, Tyco has increased the odds that its employees' jobs will continue to be safe well into the future.

[Sources: http://bit.ly/aXIxwO, http://bit.ly/bTf2Xo]

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Oracle to Acquire Cambridge's ATG for $1 Billion

Acquisitions by prominent companies always grab attention. For a time, it seemed that IBM was announcing the purchase of a new Boston-area startup every month. Recently, rival Oracle decided to acquire its own Boston-area company. Art Technology Group, Inc. (ATG), a Cambridge-based provider of eCommerce software, announced this month that it had accepted a deal to be acquired by Oracle for $6 per share, or approximately $1 billion total. (Image courtesy: http://www.atg.com/)

“The addition of ATG, which brings market-leading products used by some of the largest and most well-known retailers and brands, furthers Oracle’s strategy of delivering industry-specific enterprise applications,” said Bob Weiler, Executive Vice President of Oracle Global Business Units. “This acquisition builds upon our dedication to offer the most complete and integrated suite of best-of-breed software applications and technologies required to power the most demanding companies in the world in every industry.”

In addition to offering complimentary services, Oracle and ATG have acknowledged that they already share many of the same customers. Bundling their services under one name and one leadership team will be a very natural transition.

“More than 1,000 global enterprises rely on ATG's solutions to help increase the value of their online customer interactions,” said Bob Burke, President and CEO at ATG. “This combination will enhance the ability to bring all their commerce activities together--creating a more consistent and relevant experience for their customers across all interaction channels, including online, in stores, via mobile devices and with call centers.” (Image Courtesy: http://www.oracle.com/index.html)

The acquisition will be finalized sometime in early 2011. As of now, ATG employees are anticipated to stay on with Oracle following the purchase.

With big-name companies like Macy’s, Best Buy, and CVS as clients, and demand for its services only increasing, ATG was far from struggling on its own. Now, bundled with the offerings of Oracle, and backed by the company’s tremendous resources, it seems highly likely that ATG will continue to be a lucrative asset. Congratulations to yet another Cambridge-based company for proving it has what it takes to succeed despite tough economic conditions.

[Sources: http://bit.ly/aiwHVj, http://bit.ly/98op91, http://bit.ly/aPctIp]

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Novartis to Add $600M and 300 Jobs to Cambridge

With all the big-name companies based in and around Cambridge, Massachusetts, guessing the city’s largest employer correctly might be a formidable challenge. Numbers do not lie though, and so, with a workforce of over 2,000, spread across more than 1 million square feet of office and lab space, pharmaceutical company Novartis holds the title of Cambridge’s largest corporate employer. Recently, Novartis announced plans to create an additional 300 new jobs and to invest $600 million in expanding its Cambridge facility over the next five years. (Image courtesy: http://bit.ly/bQmd4h)

“Novartis was the first global pharmaceutical company to move its research headquarters to Massachusetts just a few years ago,” said Mark Fishman, president of the Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research. “It has achieved prominence and, we believe, helped to amplify Cambridge’s magnetism for others in the biomedical field to follow. Our scientists and physicians here already have discovered a host of new medicines, and established fruitful collaborations with academic, clinical and biotech institutions. The constellation of talent and environment are unmatched. We look forward to the next wave of new medicines coming from this center.”

Novartis will grow its Massachusetts Avenue campus with a lease of 400,000 square feet from MIT. The new space will be divided into lab, office, and retail space. Presently, construction is scheduled to begin sometime next year.

The sort of growth Novartis is undergoing in Cambridge is a testament to the powerful resources the city offers. As Fishman pointed out, Novartis’s success also serves to publicize the quality of Cambridge, encouraging other firms to locate in the city. Every new firm brings jobs and investments with it, ever-strengthening Cambridge and guaranteeing the city’s future appeal.

[Sources: http://bit.ly/aJyG6p, http://bit.ly/9boZj8, http://bit.ly/bQmd4h]

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