Staff Writer

LONDON – New York-based Pomona Capital in mid-January closed Pomona Capital IV on $203 million and created a European office in London. The firm, launched in 1994 with $45 million under management, has since grown its capital tenfold. The group’s primary focus is the purchase of interests in quality private equity funds from limited partners […]

ACTON, Mass. – Continuing the trend of Internet companies as hot commodities in the venture capital market, MotherNature.com Inc. recently closed a $16 million second-round of financing. Commonwealth Capital Ventures led the financing, followed by new investors Zero Stage Capital, BancBoston Ventures, North Castle Ventures, Comdisco Ventures, Dain Rauscher Wessels and Blue Chip Ventures, said […]

RICHMOND, Va. – Edutest.com, a company that writes tests for grade school and junior high-school students and tracks their progress online, in January raised $500,000 in a first round of institutional venture backing. Next Generation Fund, a vehicle raised by Fairfax, Va.-based NextGen Management, provided the capital. The fund, raised from technology executives in the […]

SAN FRANCISCO – Critical Path Inc., a developer of business-to-business electronic mail solutions that seeks to secure its position in the domestic market and expand overseas, in January closed on $33 million in venture capital financing. The sizable second round, which had an initial target of $25 million, primarily came from existing investors. Strategic investor […]

ATLANTA – Software developer BT Squared Technologies Inc. started the new year with an infusion of new capital from a new player in the venture industry. Newcomer LiveOak Equity Partners led the $5 million round, which will be used for sales and marketing and development of the company’s e-commerce initiatives. Westport, Conn.-based Oak Investment Partners, […]

The overriding theme of 1998’s venture capital fund raising can be summed up very simply: more. Make that a lot more. VCs raised $24.34 billion in 200 funds last year, according to figures released by Venture Economics Information Services, a data company related to Securities Data Publishing, which owns Venture Capital Journal. That’s about $10 […]

Draper Fisher Jurvetson, the Redwood City, Calif. venture capital firm, closed its fifth fund last summer at $183 million – more than twice the size of its previous vehicle raised just two years ago. While the firm continues its long-term commitment to early-stage investing, with so much capital to put to work and just four […]

AUSTIN, Texas – ClearCommerce Corp., a developer of e-commerce transaction technology, in January closed the first tranche of its second venture capital round, landing $7.5 million of a $10.5 million cap. Voyager Capital of Seattle led the first closing, followed by New Enterprise Associates. Existing investors Austin Ventures and Internet Capital Group invested their pro […]

It’s no secret that venture funds have gotten bigger in recent years, but the $5 billion Warburg, Pincus Equity Partners, L.P. far exceeds the norm – and raises questions about whether the vehicle really is a venture fund, and, if so, how one firm will put that much capital to work. Under Warburg Pincus’ deployment […]

UNITED KINGDOM – Although U.K. buyout market value reached a record high for the third successive year in 1998, preliminary figures from the Centre for Management Buyout Research (CMBOR) confirm a notable slowdown in the final quarter. Dollars Up, Deals Down CMBOR reports a total deal value of GBP13.4 billion ($21.88 billion) for 1998, $4.9 […]