Micro Technology to Acquire Silicon Valley Firm : Computers: The deal would help the Anaheim company with its goal of expanding into the market for Unix products.

By DEAN TAKAHASHI

Dec. 3, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

ANAHEIM —

Micro Technology Inc. said Monday that it has agreed to acquire a small Silicon Valley company in an effort to expand and diversify its business.

Micro Technology said it plans to acquire SF2 Corp. of Sunnyvale for an undisclosed price. The deal is expected to close within a month.

SF2 is about to bring to market a line of computer storage products known as RAID 5/6 disk arrays, which store data on networks of computers.

The so-called “fault-tolerant” disk arrays store information on multiple disk drives to prevent the accidental loss of computer data in the event of a sudden power surge or electrical blackout. The company plans to target its product to banks, insurance companies and other businesses that need highly reliable computer systems.

Micro Technology, which employs 350 people in Anaheim, would add 50 employees in Sunnyvale if the acquisition is completed, said Thomas Raimondi, Micro Technology’s vice president of marketing. He said no layoffs are expected at either company.

Micro Technology has focused on making storage equipment for Digital Equipment Corp. computers. The company wanted to expand into the market for Unix computers, a rival computer technology popular among large corporate and scientific users.

“Our goal is to move away from being a DEC-centric company,” Raimondi said.

SF2’s products will give Micro Technology a foothold in the Unix market, Raimondi said, while lessening its dependence on the Digital Equipment market.

Digital, a Massachusetts computer giant, filed a lawsuit against Micro Technology in U.S. District Court in Denver in June, alleging infringement of Digital patents involving the way storage devices are hooked to a computer network.

Micro Technology has denied the allegations, and in August filed a suit against Digital in federal court in Los Angeles, accusing the Massachusetts firm of anti-competitive practices. Both suits are pending.