 |
 |
Random Ramblings Some quick notes before I hop a plane to *** I’ve got a kennel-full of pet peeves. One of the most boisterous is the trend of early-stage VC firms moving downstream into expansion-stage and later-stage investing (not to mention buyouts and PIPEs). My main concern isn’t so much that firms are straying from their knitting, as it is that the shift leaves a relative dearth of smart capital for qualified seed-stage and early-stage firms. It also seems to artificially inflate Series C valuations. So it is with great relief that LPs have been telling me about a recent boomlet in early-stage fund-raising (real early-stage fund-raising, not $50 million Series A deals for mature companies). Examples include Tugboat Ventures from Dave Whorton (former general partner with TPG Ventures), O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures (already secured around $35 million for a $50m-$70m targeted fund) and the aptly-named True Ventures (looking for around $100 million). Add this to East Coast efforts like Spark Capital, and the barks are beginning to quiet. *** Speaking of new firms: North Castle Partners co-founder Brent Knudson has formed a new shop called Partnership Capital Growth. Like It also isn’t a pure private equity shop. Instead, Knudson says that PCG’s primary business is to provide financial/fund-raising advice. Approximately half of its current clients are looking to be bought out, while the others are looking for growth financing. PCG also has applied for an NASD license and is raising a small co-investment fund. In related news, *** Brad Feld delves into the economics of Web 2.0 VC deals. *** I’m sure it’s no laughing matter internally, but how can we not be amused that H&R Block messed up its own tax returns? *** Lots of press about how Texas Pacific Group is going to begin investing in Asian deals, as opposed to just having its Newbridge affiliate do so. Why is this newsworthy? Didn't TPG previously signal such intentions with that $200 million check to Lenovo? *** Finally, yet another request that you take our Reader Survey. Thanks in advance.
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. is launching a hedge fund called KKR Strategic Capital. It will be managed by the same unit that oversees the KKR Financial Corp. REIT. Institutional Investor reports that it will launch at the end of Q2 with around $1 billion. www.kkr.com The Compass Group has formed Anodyne Medical Devices, a Los Angeles-based acquisition platform focused on manufacturers of medical support surfaces. In conjunction with the launch, Compass announced that it recently acquired both Corona, Calif.-based AMF Support Surfaces Inc. and Coral Springs, Fla.-based SenTech Medical Surfaces Inc. No financial terms were disclosed. www.compassequity.com Lightspeed Venture Partners and Gemini Israel Funds have formed the Lightspeed-Gemini Internet Lab, which will provide up to $1 million to between seven and ten seed-stage Internet companies with operations in
Phonebites Inc., a San Francisco-based publisher of mobile entertainment, has raised $7 million in Series B funding. Mayfield led the deal, and was joined by return backers Cardinal Venture Capital, Garage Technology Ventures and Greenpark Capital. www.phonebites.com
AxoGen Inc., a Gainesville, Fla.-based developer of implantable peripheral nerve grafts, has raised $7.75 million in Series B funding. Backers include Accuitive Medical Ventures, Cardinal Partners, De Novo Ventures and Springboard Capital. www.axogeninc.com IMVU Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of 3D instant messaging solutions, has raised $9 million in Series B funding, according to a regulatory filing. Allegis Capital and Menlo Ventures co-led the deal. www.imvu.com V-Enable Inc., a San Diego-based provider of mobile speech search solutions, has raised $6 million in third-round funding. New backers SoftBank Capital and Palisades Ventures co-led the deal. V-Enable previously raised $5.25 million from firms like Sorrento Ventures, Tech Coast Angels and Siemens Mobile Acceleration. www.v-enable.com Netomat Inc., a New York–based developer of mobile-PC convergence solutions, has received an undisclosed amount of strategic funding from Motorola Ventures. www.netomat.net The Mutual Fund Store Inc. has received a minority investment from Summit Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. The Overland Park, Kansas-based company provides fee-based advisory services for retail clients, using mutual funds as an asset allocation strategy. www.mutualfundstore.com
Karodpati Inc., a Cayman Islands-based developer of online entertainment for the Indian market, has raised just over $2 million in Series A funding from backers like Draper fisher Jurvetson and DFJ ePlanet Ventures. www.karodpati.com ID Analytics Inc., a San Diego-based developer of an analytic model to prevent identity theft, has raised $5.15 million in Series B funding, according to a regulatory filing. Return backers include Canaan Partners, Mission Ventures and Trinity Ventures. www.idanalytics.com Crosstrees Medical Inc., a Niwot, Colo.-based developer of products to treat vertebrae fractures, has raised $3.5 million in Series B funding from firms like Ascent Biomedical Ventures, according to a regulatory filing.
Blackstone Group and Germany-based Cornelius Geber have lost interest in a possible buyout of global logistics company TNT NV, according to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. TNT’s stock had jumped around 40% after talk of a possible buyout became public. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Five Mile Capital Partners are working to increase their stake in GMAC Commercial Holding, according to Bloomberg. The firms purchased a combined 60% last year. www.gmac.com Phoenix Equity Partners has paid Gbp45 million for a 50% stake in
GTCR Golder-Rauner has completed its acquisition of EK Success Ltd., a Clifton, N.J.–based provider of scrap-booking and paper-based craft products. No financial terms were disclosed. Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein will underwrite the debt financing. www.eksuccess.com MidOcean Partners has agreed to acquire Newport Beach, Calif.-based water and amusement park operator Palace Entertainment Inc. from a group led by Winward Capital. No financial terms were disclosed. www.palaceentertainment.com Centre Partners has sold its 23.45% equity interest in American Seafoods Corp. to company management and to the company’s Alaskan business partner (Coastal Villages Region Fund). The deal was valued at $81.75 million. American Seafoods is a Seattle-based provider of seafood processing services. Centre Partners led a January 2000 buyout of the company. www.americanseafoods.com
Ply Gem Industries Inc., a Kearny, Mo.-based portfolio company of Caxton-Iseman Capital Inc., has completed its acquisition of AWC Holding Co. (Alenco) for approximately $120 million in cash (including $31 million to repay outstanding Alenco indebtedness). Alenco is a Lenexa, Kan.-based low-cost manufacturer of aluminum and vinyl windows and doors. www.plygem.com www.alenconline.com Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET) has agreed to acquire the disability insurance business of Broadspire Services Inc., a Plantation, Fla.–based provider of disability and casualty claim management services. The deal is valued at approximately $160 million in cash, and is expected to close in the second quarter. Broadspire is a portfolio company of Platinum Equity. www.aetna.com www.choosebroadspire.com
Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) has agreed to sell certain cable television systems in Virginia and West Virginia to Cebridge Acquisition Co., a St. Louis-based cable operator controlled by Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and Oaktree Capital Management. Charter also agreed to sell certain
Goodwin Procter is planning to open a BBVA and Vega have formed Proxima, a global alternative investment company with $3 billion in assets under management. www.bbva.es
Gadi Maier has joined Benchmark Capital as a venture partner focused on Israeli portfolio companies. He has served as co-founder and CEO of enterprise software provider Scalent Systems, as co-founder of foreign currency marketplace Currenex and as CEO and president of online travel site GetThere Inc. www.benchmark.com John Manser has been named chairman of the London Asia Chinese Private Equity Fund Ltd. He is currently chairman of Intermediate Capital Group, Shaftesbury PLC and Hiscox Inv*stment Management. The fund is sponsored by Collins Stewart Ltd., and is seeking to raise Gbp50 million for growth equity plays in Stephen Jacobs has joined Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP as a partner in the firm’s corporate department, with a particular focus on representing private equity and hedge funds. He has spent the past 18 years both in private practice and as an in-house attorney for private equity-backed companies. www.kramerlevin.com Richard Shanaman, co-founder of UV Partners, has joined the board of Revinetix, a Salt Lake City-based provider of recovery and backup solutions. www.revinetix.com
Dixon Doll, founder and managing general partner of DCM-Doll Capital Management, has joined the board of Doll portfolio company Coradiant Inc. www.coradiant.com -------------------- Don't forget to fill out the Reader Survey.
|
Interested in placing
your ad above?
Learn How