Local Company Hits and Misses

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CoreLogic
Joining the ranks of local companies attracting large buyers this year, this Sacramento firm, which offers risk assessment software for the mortgage industry, was acquired earlier this year by First American, one of the country's biggest mortgage service and title companies. First American says the company's founders, Steve Schroeder and Kraig Clark, will assume key roles in the new entity. Schroeder was tapped as executive vice president of risk management. Clark says there have been no staff reductions since the change. Parent company First American announced layoffs nationally late this summer but mostly in the title sector. "The market is constantly changing, and we continue to provide the tools and services our customers need to help them be successful," Clark says of the housing slump. He is optimistic about First American CoreLogic's growth, and published reports say the company is rumored to be looking for new space, as much as 100,000 square feet, in the Hwy. 50 corridor.

Digital Music Group
This local pioneering company, which distributes mostly oldies music and some video online, will be getting a new name because of a July merger with a larger competitor, the Orchard Enterprises of New York. DMG will take Orchard's name, but the combined, New York-based company will keep DMG's listing on Nasdaq. Interim DMG Chief Executive Karen Davis, replacing departing founder Mitchell Koulouris, says decisions such as what happens to the 35 employees in Sacramento await preparation of a proxy statement and merger approval in the by year's end. The joining of forces in the $60 million deal that gives Orchard about 60 percent of voting shares is seen by experts as an effort to make both companies profitable and broaden their offerings and industry clout. In its second-quarter report, DMG said paid downloads had increased to 4.09 million, up 22 percent from the previous year, on a pro forma basis. Its largest outlet was the iTunes store. Davis noted revenue from digital sales had been negligible because distribution partners were still tuning up. YouTube, she said, "has created the DMGI Channel, which will allow us to brand our content and feature it by genre."

Hansen Information Technologies
Sold to Infor Global Solutions in May for $100 million, Hansen has been renamed Infor Public Sector and operates as an independent business unit within the large Atlanta-based software company. Chuck Hansen, who at the time led the family company that makes software to manage government operations, says he didn't expect the sale to have much effect on the 350 employees, and the 180 based in Rancho Cordova. Infor public relations manager Wade Coleman says there were some layoffs, but he declined to be more specific because Infor is privately held. Hansen's "integration" is complete, Coleman says, and "the main change is the capabilities are enhanced." Since the sale, Chuck Hansen has joined an online music business, Netmusicmakers.com.

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