Alpha Micro Loses Point 4 as Suitor, Will Go It Alone

Point 4 Data Corp., a recently rebuffed suitor of Alpha Micro, said Thursday that it is looking at business deals with several other companies and no longer is interested in taking control of the Santa Ana computer maker.

“We have no interest in Alpha Micro now,” said William Rigby, Point 4 president. His Tustin-based business computer company discovered several other “business opportunities” once it made its expansion desires known during its brief run at Alpha Micro.

He declined to identify any of the companies with which Point 4 is negotiating and would not say whether the deals being considered include mergers or acquisitions.

In September, Point 4, which makes a line of business computers, launched a $9.5-million tender offer for nearly 50% of Alpha Micro’s stock.

However, the offer, which was opposed by Alpha Micro’s founders and two largest shareholders, was withdrawn after Alpha Micro agreed to be acquired by TeleVideo Systems Inc., a Sunnyvale computer maker.

But last month, just days before the acquisition was to become final, TeleVideo canceled the purchase, saying that it had determined that the deal “would not be an appropriate fit.”

At that time, officials from both Point 4 and Alpha Micro acknowledged that the potential still existed for a deal between the two companies.

But Rigby said Thursday that Point 4 now believes there would be more opportunities for Point 4 in pursuing the deals it has discovered since first trying to buy Alpha Micro.

And officials at Alpha Micro said they are continuing to “conduct business as usual” and currently are not actively looking for a merger partner.