LONDON – Phildrew Ventures expected a first closing on its fifth and largest fund in late 1998. With a target of GBP300 million ($495 million), the Phildrew Ventures Fifth Fund is nearly double the size of its predecessor, which raised GBP164 million ($271 million) in 1995. Phildrew, however, will need to raise only GBP150 million […]

DURHAM, N.C. – A.M. Pappas & Associates, a life sciences investment and consulting firm, held a $20 million initial close on its maiden vehicle in late November. Tech AMP International, launched last summer, will focus on early-stage life sciences, medical devices and information technology companies with therapeutic implications. The fund is A.M. Pappas’ first formal […]

AUSTIN, Texas – Austin Ventures, L.P. closed its sixth fund in late November at $320 million, beating its $250 million target and making its first investment. General Partner Joseph Aragona said he was pleased with the level of interest in the fund and the speed of its closing. “I think it says that [our] balanced […]

NEW YORK – Nine months after venture capitalist John Barry of Prospect Street Ventures bought out his partners and revamped the firm’s focus, Prospect is considering adding new investors to its flagship vehicle, the $75 million New York City Discovery Fund. Mr. Barry, who kept news of the buyout quiet until now, had been a […]

NEW YORK – In a mild surprise to some observers, venture capital firms put equity to work at a record pace in the third quarter of 1998, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers MoneyTree Survey released in November. The $3.77 billion investment total surpassed the previous record of $3.73 billion set in the second quarter. “The pure […]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – For the second time in less than a year, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) has questioned its two advisers, Pacific Corporate Group Inc. (PCG) and Hamilton Lane Advisors, about how recent staff changes at the firms would affect their services to the $130 billion pension. CalPERS Senior Investment Officer Barry Gonder […]

NEW ORLEANS – Advantage Capital Partners in November relaunched the firm’s first “traditional” venture fund under a new name and expects an initial closing around the beginning of the year. The firm also hired Elliot Fishman to head its new New York office and was scheduled to recruit one or two investment professionals for its […]

BOSTON – When private equity general partners market their funds to limited partners, much is said about performance, but the underlying operating practices get barely a word. The results of the 1998 survey of private equity compensation conducted by William M. Mercer Inc. indicate that private firms play a more active role in the development […]

NEWARK, N.J. – In a third quarter that saw venture-backed initial public offerings drop to 20 from 31 in the second quarter, venture firms increasingly turned to mergers and acquisitions as an exit strategy in 1998, according to statistics released in November by Venture Economics Information Services. The quarter began with a hot venture-backed IPO […]

PALO ALTO, Calif. – Communications Ventures exclusively invests in early-stage communications and networking companies across the United States. The firm focuses on network management, data networking, Internet infrastructure, computer telephony, voice processing, mobile communications, fiber optics and high capacity switching. Communications Ventures’ most recent vehicle, Communications Ventures III, was launched last summer and held a […]