Random Ramblings

It has been several days since word leaked that Wheels of Zeus went belly up, but still no explanation as to either why it failed or why its failure wasn’t mentioned in the IPO prospectus for Acquicor Technology Inc. Not from WoZ president and Acquicor co-founder Steve Wozniak. Not from fellow Acquicor co-founder Gil Amelio. Not from the Acquicor IPO underwriters (and now shareholders). Not from WoZ’s venture capital backers. Not even from the company WoZ hired to salvage something from its wreckage (Ravix Group).

Some of these folks are barred from speaking due to SEC quiet period restrictions, but that certainly wouldn’t apply to VC firms like Mobius Venture Capital or Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Nonetheless, Greg Galanos of Mobius didn’t respond to an email, while Tim Draper simply wrote that he “can’t help.” I also called Palo Alto Ventures – listed on the WoZ website as a VC backer – but it turns out that they’ve never even spoken to WoZ management, let alone made an investment. Instead, it seems that WoZ mistakenly listed them instead of actual backer Palo Alto Investors, which also didn’t return my message.

Some people have suggested that Acquicor simply forgot to mention WoZ’s closure in its prospectus, and that it’s an honest mistake. Maybe. Others have argued that since the IPO seems to have occurred before WoZ formally closed down, it was technically accurate. Unfortunately, no one is willing to confirm when the company actually shut down, or when the closure decision was made (a question I specifically asked WoZ board members Galanos and Draper). So again we say maybe.

The other possibility in a situation like this is fraud. Acquicor already featured two co-founders with failed companies on their hands (Amtech for Amelio, Exodus for Ellen Hancock). Listing Wozniak’s WoZ troubles would have made them three-for-three. To be clear, I’m not alleging that fraud occured, but I certainly feel the possibility must be broached, and perhaps investigated. Blank check acquisition companies like Acquicor are high-risk bets by their nature, but it isn’t too much to ask that at least their prospectuses don’t contain misleading information.

*** When Kleiner Perkins last month issued a press release about closing a pair of new funds, a bunch of folks were left wondering about the inclusion of a new partner named Ying Lee. Specifically, who was Ying Lee. Well, she’s now on the KP website, and apparently is the former deputy general manager of UTStarCom’s IPTV unit. She previously was director of biz dev at Ikanos. In other KP news, a regulatory filing indicates that the firm’s twelfth fund is actually capped at around $625 million (not $600m), with around $100m of the total coming from KP managing members.

*** Speaking of new funds, former USVP pro Stu Phillips today unveiled the new shop he first discussed in this space last year. It’s called Ridgelift Ventures, with Philips and Idealab managing director Robert Goldberg as co-founders (Goldberg’s last official day at Idealab is March 31). The pair plan to build out the staff a bit more, and then begin trying to raise $200 million for an inaugural fund that will focus on seed-stage and early-stage IT investing. www.ridgelift.com

*** Finally, just a reminder that you can always drop my an anonymous tip via the “Top Secret” button on the right-hand navigation bar. Your grist is what runs this mill…