The agreement to sell its American Microsystems business to California Micro Devivices Inc of Milpitas for $70m (CI No 992) leaves Gould Inc with very little left from the massive acquisition spree that turned the Rolling Meadows, Illinois company into an electronic conglomerate from a low-tech eletrical equipment and batteries company: indeed the Gould Computer Systems business that it built around its Systems Engineering Laboratories acquisition is now substantially the biggest units remaining in the shrinking company. Turnover for the ompany following the divestiture of the Semiconductor Division are expected to be in excess of $650m, and at last count, Computer Systems was running at over $300m, down from 1987 reported revenue of $933.4m; worldwide employment will still be 6,500. Completion of the latest sale is expected within the next 30 to 90 days. Proceeds will be applied to the company’s ongoing debt reduction and stock repurchase programmes. Gould is also reducing its corporate headquarters staff in Rolling Meadows by approximately 30% or about 40 people, with cuts being made across all functions. California Micro meanwhile gets a business with 1987 sales of approximately $100m, employing about 1,600 people at its headquarters in Pocatello, Idaho and at its chip packaging plant in Metro Manila, Philippines. It also gets the American Microsystems Inc name: the company specialises in a range of CMOS application-specific integrated circuits in digital, analogue, and mixed-mode formats. The division also provides standard products, silicon foundry facilities, and computer-aided design resources. As a result of the new acquisition, California Micro is now expecting that its annual sales will reach $130m; it already took over GTE’s semiconductor operations based in Tempe, Arizona last year.
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