OPTi Seeks Buyer, Reports 4th-Quarter Loss

OPTi Inc. said it will hire an investment banker to find a purchaser for the struggling semiconductor maker or to sell off the assets of the company and return the funds to shareholders. The Milpitas-based company also reported a fourth-quarter operating loss of $1.56 million, or 11 cents a share, compared with an operating loss of 1.10 million, or 9 cents, in the year-earlier period. The loss was smaller than the estimate of 13 cents a share expected by analysts. The multimedia chip set supplier said it had “other income” of $13 million in the latest quarter, compared with $459,000 a year earlier. Company executives were unavailable to answer questions about the financial results or the plan to sell the company. Jerry Chang, chairman and chief executive, said in a statement that the sale of the company or its assets would be “followed by the distribution of funds to shareholders. We believe that this course of action is best for the company, its employees and its shareholders.”