Dayna Communications

Dayna Communications, Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Computer hardware, Networking
Founded	1984
Founder	William Sadleir
Defunct	1997
Fate	Acquired by Intel
Headquarters	Salt Lake City , United States
Key people	William Sadleir (founder)
Products	Networking hardware for Apple Macintosh, PowerBook, Newton; PC-compatible PCI cards; MacCharlie accessory; DaynaFile; DaynaNet adapters; wireless LAN PC Card for Newton
Number of employees	73 (1997)
Parent	Intel (from 1997)

Dayna Communications, Inc. was a privately owned American computer firm headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, that operated from 1984 until 1997. Established by entrepreneur William Sadleir with an initial investment of $1.6 million, the company concentrated on networking hardware designed for Apple products including the Macintosh, PowerBook, and Newton. Later offerings extended support to platform-agnostic PCI-based IBM PC compatible machines. In 1997, Intel purchased Dayna for close to $14 million.

History

In May 1985, Dayna introduced the MacCharlie, an accessory for the Macintosh 128K which acted as a headless IBM PC clone equipped with floppy drives. This device allowed Macintosh users to run PC applications through a serial interface. Although it received favorable reviews and showed market potential, the product failed to meet sales expectations due to a disconnect with customer demands and excessive marketing expenditures. Facing near insolvency, Dayna secured $2.5 million from investor Norman Lear of Act III Communications, avoiding Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Subsequently, in November 1986, they launched the FT100—a simplified model emphasizing file sharing over full PC emulation—but only sold 400 units in eight weeks, reaching just 25% of projected sales.

By January 1987, Dayna obtained $250,000 from investor Frank C. Brooks who pursued additional funding via contacts at Morgan Guaranty Trust. However, potential financiers hesitated because Dayna's $12 million valuation contrasted with its $6.3 million debt load. To address this challenge, Sadleir secured a licensing agreement with Novell Inc., allowing Dayna to distribute Novell’s NetWare network operating system tailored for Macintosh users. This deal facilitated a $2 million credit facility from Lear in exchange for royalty payments.

The fresh capital enabled Dayna to reorganize its liabilities—early investors agreed to accept a reduced repayment sum of $300,000, while the largest creditor forgave $1.2 million of debt in return for cash, preferred shares, and exhibition space at MacWorld. The revamped VT100 model was rebranded as the DaynaFile and launched successfully in late 1987. By 1988, the company employed roughly 30 staff members and achieved monthly revenues ranging between $600,000 and $800,000.

Expanding on its collaboration with Novell, Dayna developed DaynaNet, a Macintosh networking operating system compatible with NetWare. In 1990, Novell contracted Dayna to produce LocalTalk-based Mac network adapters for NetWare users, replacing Novell’s own hardware offerings. Throughout the mid-1990s, Dayna dominated the market for fax and Ethernet modems aimed at Macintosh and PowerBook customers. In 1996, it released a wireless LAN PC Card designed for Apple's Newton personal digital assistant.

Intel acquired Dayna in September 1997 through a stock exchange valued at approximately $14 million. The majority of Dayna’s workforce of 73 employees relocated to Intel’s headquarters as part of Intel’s strategy to enhance its small-business networking product line. Operating as an Intel subsidiary from October 10, 1997, Dayna’s existing inventory continued selling into 1998 before products were rebranded under Intel’s name. The company was officially dissolved on December 28, 1998.