Staff Writer

STAMFORD, Conn. – Can venture capitalists invest predominately in companies that are geared toward minority markets? TSG Capital Group, L.L.C., a private equity firm specializing in ethnic market investments, thinks so. The $515 million TSG Capital Fund III closed in January 1999, and one-third of the vehicle is invested. TSG’s first $20 million fund, TSG […]

IRVINE, Calif. – Autobytel.com, an Internet service for the purchase of new and used vehicles, went public March 26. The company offered 4.5 million shares at $23 a share, well above the $20 to $22 filing range. The $103.5 million IPO left 17.8 million shares outstanding, and proceed will be used for general corporate purposes. […]

NEW YORK – Alloy Online Inc., an Internet service provider for teens and young adults, filed to go public March 10. An offering size and filing range have not yet been established. The underwriters for the deal include BancBoston Robertson Stephens, Volpe Brown Whelan & Co., Dain Rausher Wessels and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. There […]

PITTSBURGH – After nearly a year of speculation, the long-rumored venture fund aimed at capitalizing on Western Pennsylvania’s seed-stage technology companies might be approaching a launch. Sources estimated the proposed vehicle will target $50 million for seed-stage deals, particularly those spun out of Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh. The two universities and […]

MENLO PARK, Calif. – As a sign of its ongoing commitment to medical deals, ONSET Ventures in mid-March hired its executive-in-residence Leslie Bottorff as a venture investor. Ms. Bottorff, who was vice president of sales and marketing at the medical device company Medtronic Inc., is the firm’s only professional devoted to medical investments. ONSET backs […]

MENLO PARK, Calif. – Just 19 months after his arrival at San Francisco venture firm Hummer Winblad, prominent columnist and Internet guru Bill Gurley has defected to Bay Area rival Benchmark Capital. Lateral moves such as Mr. Gurley’s are highly uncommon in the close-knit VC community. Benchmark, however, has been red-hot of late – reaping […]

CHICAGO – Semir Sirazi, a former executive with U.S. Robotics and a consultant to small companies, recently joined Sprout Group’s Chicago office as a venture partner. Dr. Sirazi will bring deal flow to the firm through his network of contacts in the technology community and will assist Sprout portfolio companies in their development. “He has […]

PORTLAND, Maine – iDEAL Partners recently launched a $125 million fund with pledged equity from Berkshire Partners and BancBoston Capital. Former Wright Express Inc. Chief Executive Paul Walsh will manage the fund. “I’m a growth guy,” Mr. Walsh said. “I was looking for a partnership to try to build an intelligent platform, have some fun […]

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Although the federal government’s research-and-development tax credit has not greatly benefited venture capitalists or their young portfolio companies, Congress’s attempt to make R&D write-offs permanent might eventually prove advantageous. Mark Heesen, the National Venture Capital Association’s director of legislative, regulatory and entrepreneurial affairs, noted that the current tax credit structure does not […]

When Daniel Coleman walked into the offices of Job Link Inc. two years ago, he stepped back 30 years to a time when he was a teenager growing up in Tampa, Fla. The minority-owned employment agency reminded him of the many out-reach programs located in the poor neighborhoods of his youth, and now it was […]