Irvine, California-based pick popper General Automation Inc is buying rival Sequoia Systems Inc’s fault-tolerant systems business for stock and deferred payments worth $11m. Marlborough, Massachusetts-based Sequoia will end up with slightly less than 10% of General Automation’s stock within two years following the transfer of 800,000 General Automation common shares in two equal tranches. Sequoia’s shedding its fault- tolerant business on the back of news that consolidated revenue for its September quarter just ended will be significantly below expectations although the net loss will be in line with predictions. Sequoia lost $4.5m on $102m revenue in its fiscal 1996 to June. The deal leaves Sequoia with the 280-person embedded Intel systems business it picked up with the acquisition of Houston-based Texas Microsystems Inc in November 1994 for $20m. Texas Micro boss Michael Stewart succeeded Sequoia president and chief executive Neil McMullan in February this year. Before its Texas Micro buy Sequoia was known as supplier of Motorola Inc 680×0- and Intel-based fault-tolerant boxes to Hewlett-Packard Co and others; HP once held a 10% stake in the company. General Automation takes on the business and 120 staff of Sequoia’s enterprise systems business in the US, UK and Australia. It will support and maintain Sequoia’s 500 fault- tolerant system users. General Automation expects the Sequoia business to double its revenue; it earned $631,000 on revenue of $7,291,000 in its June quarter – $1,342,000 on $19,129,000 for the nine month period. General Automation says the high-end Sequoia system complement its low- and mid-range high- availability solutions which are based upon OEMed Compagnie des Machines Bull SA and NCR Corp PowerPC and Intel servers running the Pick database. It claims an installed base of 5,000. General Automation will create a single engineering team to create new products from designs underway at both companies; it’s currently readying NT/Pick solutions.
