| San Diego Business Journal

Achates Power Names New CEO

Achates Power, the Sorrento Valley business developing opposed-piston truck and military engines, has named David Crompton CEO. The business has set a goal of creating a low-emission internal combustion engine.

Cubic Buys Gridsmart Technologies for $87M

Cubic Corp. said on Jan. 2 that it acquired Gridsmart Technologies Inc. for $87 million in cash.

Sempra Sells More Assets for $332M

Sempra Energy announced on Jan. 2 that it agreed to sell its non-utility U.S. natural gas storage facilities in Mississippi and Alabama to ArcLight Capital Partners for $332 million in cash.

Kratos Space and Satellite Deals Worth $65M

Kratos Defense and Security Solutions Inc. recently received approximately $65 million worth of work in the space and satellite communications realm. The work came in the form of multiple contracts. At least one customer exercised an option on previously awarded work.

Cubic to Support Navy Helicopters

Cubic Corp.’s defense business received a $7.6 million U.S. Navy contract to support H-60 helicopters, known in the Navy as Sea Hawks.

Cohu Names New Board Member

Cohu Inc., the Poway-based maker of test equipment for electronics factories, has named Ritu Favre to its board of directors, increasing the number of board seats from eight to nine, effective Jan. 2.

Andy Altman Joins CourseKey Board

Andy Altman, co-founder of GigTown, has taken a seat on the board of directors at CourseKey Education. The latter company made the announcement in late December.

Raytheon Gains $21.7M Contract for Ship Electronics Work

The U.S. Navy announced it has awarded a $21.7 million contract modification to the San Diego office of Raytheon Co. The deal covers life cycle engineering and support services for the integrated shipboard electronic systems of the San Antonio-class amphibious ships.

Sempra Unit Acquires Transmission Infrastructure in Chile

Chilquinta Energía, the electric utility in Chile owned by Sempra Energy, has closed its acquisition of two major transmission lines for $225.5 million cash. The seller was a South American subsidiary of Virginia-based AES Corp.

Local Economic Forecast for 2019

Get ready for the day … and the year. A panel of specialists will offer their forecasts for business in 2019 when the San Diego Business Journal presents its Economic Trends breakfast.

First New Local Bank in a Decade Delivers

2018 Newsmakers

Dan Yates and Steve Sefton accomplished quite a feat in 2018 by opening the first new locally based bank in San Diego County in more than a decade.

Polish Oil & Gas Signs Up for Sempra LNG Exports

Polish Oil & Gas Co. has signed a definitive agreement with San Diego-based Sempra Energy to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) through Sempra’s proposed Port Arthur, Texas liquefaction and export facility. The pact could lead to 20 years of exports.

Trailblazing Bank Finds a Way to Bring Its Identity Up to Date

FINANCE: Name Change Brings Diversified Services More Fully Into Operations

What does the word “internet” mean to you? For the average reader, it’s not quite what it meant during those heady dot-com days of 20 years ago.

Guild Mortgage’s Acquisition Strategy Goes After Companies and Talent

As the mortgage market gets more competitive and the wider economy grows more volatile, Mary Ann McGarry and her fellow investors at Guild Mortgage are taking things in stride.

Kratos Pulls in Military C5ISR Work

Kratos Defense and Security Solutions Inc. said on Dec. 18 that it received a contract award for products and hardware supporting military electronics. The deal is worth approximately $4 million and the business did not name its client.

Cubic’s Trafficware Unit Expands Manufacturing, Tech Center

Cubic Corp.’s newest technology acquisition, Trafficware, celebrated the expansion of its space in Texas during ceremonies on Dec. 17.

Mission Federal Makes Move to Scripps Ranch

Mission Federal Credit Union announced on Dec. 14 that it has moved its administrative offices to Scripps Ranch.

Sempra Completes Asset Sale to Con Edison

Sempra Energy announced on Dec. 13 that it wrapped up its sale of U.S. solar assets to Consolidated Edison for $1.6 billion in cash.

Kratos to Ride Aboard 7-Year Space Vector Contract

Kratos Defense and Security Solutions Inc. said on Dec. 12 that it is a subcontractor to Space Vector Corp. on a rocket project that may last up to seven years. The financial implications to Kratos (Nasdaq: KTOS) were not immediately clear.

UTC Unit Moving Work to Mexicali; 300 Layoffs Expected

2020 will be the end of an era as manufacturing at Chula Vista’s major aerospace plant — now overseen by the Collins Aerospace unit of United Technologies Corp. — winds down.

Sandler Partners to Resell Viasat Service

Viasat Inc. has entered an agreement with Sandler Partners that will let Sandler resell the Carlsbad company’s satellite internet service to business customers. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Utilis Is a Resource for Finding Water Leaks

SERVICE: Satellite Imagery Helps Detect General Location

The drinking water flows from a source in the mountains to the customer’s tap, but somewhere in the sprawling network of pipes, part of it disappears.

Mission Federal Names CIO

Mission Federal Credit Union has named Jojo Seva as its chief information officer, making the announcement on Dec. 10. Seva is a recognized leader in core banking system technology, artificial intelligence, enterprise digital transformation and information security.

BAE Systems Wins $79M Ship Repair Contract

The U.S. Navy awarded BAE Systems San Diego Ship Repair in Barrio Logan a $78.8 million fixed-price contract to maintain, modernize and repair the USS Shoup.

RF Industries Chalks Up 87 Percent Growth

RF Industries, which makes specialized electronic connectors, said it increased annual sales 87 percent in the recently ended fiscal year. Fiscal 2018 sales were approximately $58 million, compared to $31 million in fiscal 2017.

Mattis: Military Needs Sustained Funds, High-Tech Tools

Defense Secretary James Mattis called for continued, robust defense spending during a Dec. 1 appearance at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, and appealed for help from California’s advanced technology sector. I

GA-ASI to Sustain French Reaper Aircraft

The U.S. Air Force, acting on behalf of the French Air Force, awarded General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. a one-year, $26.7 million contract for logistics support for France’s MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft.

Army Certifies Viasat Communication Electronics

Viasat Inc. reported Dec. 4 that the U.S. Army has certified one of the company’s modems — the Mobile Broadband Router 4020 — for use on the military’s Wideband Global SATCOM network.

Qualcomm and Nokia Test 5G Waters, See 2019 Rollout

Qualcomm Inc. and Nokia announced they passed another milestone on the road to commercializing fifth-generation wireless service — or 5G — by early 2019. Service is contemplated in the United States, Europe, South Korea, Japan, China and Australia.

GA Takes Another Step Toward Moon Landing

NASA announced on Nov. 29 that nine teams will be able to bid for work under its Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. General Atomics is part of the team led by Draper.

Belgium Eyes Aircraft From General Atomics ASI

Another European country is getting in line to buy aircraft from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. The Poway business said Nov. 19 that the Belgian government wants to begin negotiations on a purchase.

Foreign Sales Are on Defense Contractors’ Radar

Made in America? That seems to be an old-fashioned idea. The assertion that the United States imports more than it exports seems to hold true when consumers look at their clothes hampers or their electronic gadgets.

Northrop Grumman Program Survives Self-Inflicted Perils

DEFENSE: BACN Potentially Worth $4.7B For Battlefield Management

An essential communications conduit on the battlefield in Afghanistan. A multibillion-dollar business opportunity. And a channel for fraud. A defense electronics project run out of Northrop Grumman Corp.’s San Diego offices has proven to be all three, and like a character in a novel, it presents a multifaceted and complicated profile.

Cubic Prices Follow-on Offering at $60 Per Share

Cubic Corp. priced a follow-on offering of 3.3 million shares of common stock at $60 per share, announcing the move late Nov. 28. Cubic plans to use proceeds to pay for its acquisition of Trafficware.

MaxLinear Names 2 Board Members

MaxLinear Inc., a fabless semiconductor company based in Carlsbad, increased the size of its board and named two new directors, Daniel Artusi and Carolyn Beaver.

Japan Global Hawk Program Gets a Boost

The U.S. Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. a $490 million contract to build three Global Hawk autonomous spy aircraft for Japan under a foreign military sale.

Electric Car, Hybrids Gaining in Popularity in the County

AUTOS: New Car Report Shows Toyota And Honda Top Sellers

Electric vehicles are making inroads in San Diego County.

Cubic to Sell More Shares

Cubic Corp. announced on Nov. 26 that it plans to make a follow-on offering of 3.3 million shares of common stock, partially to pay for its October acquisition of Trafficware.

More Big Opportunities Ahead For Cubic’s Transportation Unit

Cubic Corp. scored big wins in fiscal 2018, pulling down contracts for mass-transit fare collection systems in New York, Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area and Brisbane, Australia.

ScaleMatrix, HPE Open High-Performance Computing Center

ScaleMatrix, a San Diego-based data center company and provider of colocation services, launched a partnership with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) on Nov. 13.

Translation Cos. Define Themselves With Work

SERVICE: Contractors Play Big Role in $30B Market

Sayed Ali’s face is something to behold. Ten seconds ago, a reporter asked him for the most obscure language his business deals in. Taking a few steps through his Scripps Ranch office, he stops at a low cubicle wall and consults the woman on the other side.

Nonprofit LISC Looks to Give Little Saigon Chance to Develop

FINANCE: Banks Back Efforts; Infrastructure and Housing Part of the Plans

Many years into the future, when out-of-town visitors decide they want to grab a great bowl of pho, they may head en masse to San Diego’s Little Saigon district — just as today’s tourists go to Little Italy for pasta.

Navy Property Is Prime Space In Search of New Purpose

With its sawtooth roofline and its big, multipaned windows, the old Consolidated aircraft factory looks like something from a black-and-white movie. The U.S. Navy, which owns it, thinks the 48.7 acres beneath it could go to a better use. The same goes for 21.8 acres nearby holding a warehouse and parking lot.

LRAD Makes $3.2M Sale

Rancho Bernardo-based LRAD Corp. said it received a $3.2 million order from the National Guard for an undisclosed number of 100X MAG-HS kits, one of its high-decibel sound systems able to send intelligible communications over very long distances.

Co.’s Printing Technology Gives It New Capabilities, New Focus

Forecast 3D liked its new, industrial-sized printing machines so much, it got more.

GA-ASI to Build Aircraft for Australia

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. announced it has reached a deal to provide its MQ-9 unmanned aircraft to Australia. GA-ASI builds its Predator family of aircraft in Poway.

Cubic’s Annual Sales Climb to $1.2B

Cubic Corp. closed out its 2018 fiscal year reporting annual net income of $12.3 million on record net sales of $1.2 billion. It said it expects sales to grow in fiscal 2019.

San Diego Defense Sector Benefits From New F-35 Order

San Diego County stands to get approximately $450 million worth of work from the Pentagon’s latest order for F-35 Lightning II aircraft, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter. The main beneficiary is Northrop Grumman.

Power-Sonic Charges Ahead After Acquisition

PRODUCTION: Battery Maker Increases Revenue, Monitors Tariff Situation

Like any good salesman, J.D. Johnson reacted when he heard on the early morning news that Lime was having trouble with its scooter batteries.

Calpine Receives $67M Navy Energy Deal

San Diego-based Calpine Energy Solutions LLC received a three-year, $67.3 million contract to deliver retail electricity and ancillary services to U.S. Navy bases in Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland and California.

Brad Graves

Reporter

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