It was a short week, but we saw a spate of deals involving San Diego companies, beginning with the $323 million buyout of DivX, which could be the prelude to a coming boom in Internet TV. Tune in now for our high-def view of the big picture.
—Novato, CA-based Sonic Solutions (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SNIC]]) agreed to acquire San Diego’s DivX (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DIVX]]) for $323 million in a deal that will help Sonic accelerate its development of Web-based infrastructure for Internet TV programming and streaming video. Avondale Partners analyst John Bright said Sonic’s rationale was twofold: First, both companies are relatively small (and synergies should be fairly straightforward) and Sonic wants DIVX’s penetration and relationships with consumer electronics makers for its online distribution of Hollywood content.
—A Canadian company that provides rural broadband service has exercised its option for all the capacity it can get on the ViaSat-1 satellite—the risky, $450-million bet that Carlsbad, CA-based ViaSat (NASDAQ: [[ticker:VSAT]]) made three years ago. As ViaSat’s Mark Dankberg told me in February, ViaSat saw an opportunity to create a satellite optimized for Internet at data rates exceeding 100 gigabits per second. Canada’s Barrett Xplore helped erase any remaining doubts about ViaSat’s decision Friday when it increased its financial commitment for ViaSat-1 bandwidth to more than $350 million. The satellite is set for launch next year.
—ViaSat said it’s buying the Stonewood Group of Dorset England in a $20 million cash and stock deal that gives the Carlsbad, CA-based satellite technology company new encryption capabilities. Stonewood specializes in encrypting data on computer hard drives, and ViaSat appears to be looking at applications in wireless network data storage.
—San Diego’s Solekai Systems became a fast-growth company by providing digital video software development and specialized engineering services for
