Dan Primack

peHUB is returning to Chicago next Monday night, June 15, for our second Windy City Shindig. Join us for an evening of cocktails and conversation, with local private equity pros, venture capitalists, bankers, attorneys and assorted hangers-on. It will run between 5:30-8:30pm, and will take place at English (444 N La Salle Blvd.) Tickets cost just $10 each, with proceeds going to a charity that will be chosen by event attendees (be sure to nominate one when you register). Go here for tickets and more info We had a great time in Chicago last time around, and can't wait to see you there...

Attorney Sarah Reed has rejoined Charles River Ventures, seventeen months after leaving to open a Boston office for venture/tech law firm Lowenstein Sandler, peHUB has learned. No word yet on Reed's new title at CRV, which does not yet list her on its revamped website (one which finally includes a distinction between active partners and partners "emeritus"). She had been the firm's general counsel but, as of last check, that role had been filled by former Monster Worldwide lawyer Lisa Bonner Haines. [Update: CRV spokeswoman says Reed will be general counsel, and that Haines as moved on to parts unknown] Also unclear is what this move means for Lowenstein Sandler in Boston. The firm no longer has any practicing attorneys in the city, and a source tells us that the 1 Bowdoin Square office will be shuttered. I put the question to a firm spokesman, who said that the firm was "assessing the strategic direction" of its Boston effort.

As Wall Street melted down last fall, I publicly mused about the coming fortunes of private equity firms focused on the financial services sector. I even asked Connie to interview FTV Capital (then FT Ventures), but they declined to chat. Eight months later, someone was kind enough to send me a confidential binder from a recent […]

Proficiency Inc., a Marlborough, Mass.-based provider of product knowledge integration and CAD interoperability solutions to manufacturers and their suppliers, appears to have ceased operations. It had raised over $70 million in VC funding since 1998, with its most recent infusion coming in early 2008. At its peak, the company had around 150 employees and five global offices (HQ, Texas, Israel, France and Germany). A source familiar with the situation says the company has a small debt-load (sub-$1m), and is in talks to sell its assets to a strategic buyer in Ohio. I rang up Proficiency CEO Alex Shapira at his Texas home, but he declined to comment or confirm the company's current status (said he had to confer with unnamed others). Proficiency was originally seeded by Concord Ventures, and soon after raised $10 million at a $22 million post-money valuation from Ticonderoga Capital and Charles River Ventures. Its valuation would rise to $57.5 million following a $27.4 million Series C round in 2001, which included return backers and

Prism VentureWorks has suspended efforts to raise its sixth fund, peHUB has learned. The Needham, Mass.-based firm sent out placement memoranda last August with a $275 million target, but ran into strong LP liquidity headwinds. It still has enough dry powder to make new investments out of its $250 million fifth fund (2005), plus a reserve pool for […]

A group of peHUB readers (and yours truly) posing with our trophy, after defeating TD BankNorth in a softball game at Fenway Park yesterday. It was part of Field of Dreams, a fundraiser that benefited a summer jobs program in Boston for at-risk youth: More pics here

David Danielson is leaving venture capital firm General Catalyst Partners, in order to join the U.S. Department of Energy, peHUB has learned. Danielson will move to Washington DC to become part of the DOE's Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E), a program created by Congress in 2007 to support transformational energy research projects. Kind of like what DARPA does for the Department of Defense, but with a much larger and more collaborative "client" base. Only problem -- and it's a big one -- is that Congress' mandate wasn't coupled with any actual funding. In fact, the Bush Administration didn't even have DOE set up an ARPA-E office. That has finally begun to change under the Obama Administration, with $400 million allocated to ARPA-E as part of the economic stimulus package. Not terribly surprising, given that the program's original architect was new DOE Secretary Steven Chu.

What follows are six VC deals culled from recent Regulation D filings with the SEC. They have not been otherwise disclosed: Enphase Energy Inc., a Petaluma, Calif.-based developer of micro-inverter systems for the solar industry, has raised $22.57 million in new VC funding, according to a regulatory filing. No investor info was disclosed, but the company's website identifies three investors: Appplied Ventures, Rockport Capital Partners and Third Point Management. www.enphaseenergy.com Tokai Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based maker of drugs that focus on focus on endocrine treatment, has secured $10 million

VKernal Corp., a Portsmouth, N.H.-based provider of virtual appliances for managing virtual server environments, has raised $7.06 million in second-round funding, according to a regulatory filing. It had previously raised $4.6 million from Hummer Winblad Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners. peHUB has learned that Longworth Venture Partners led the round. Also worth noting that Doug McNary, former CEO of Onaro, has joined the vKernal board of directors. Not sure yet if he's representing Longworth. www.vkernal.com

Constellation Ventures, a former affiliate of Bear Stearns Asset Management, today announced that it has become part of Highbridge Capital Management's principal investment effort. It also has closed its third fund with $300 million, and renamed itself Constellation Growth Capital. So've got 5 Questions for Cliff Friedman, Constellation's founding partner. 1. Bear Stearns collapsed while you were in the middle of fund-raising. Did you ever think that Constellation wasn’t going to be able to raise another fund? No. First of all, we had great strength in our existing portfolio. Then, once the hedge funds blew up, we got a lot of inbound interest from secondary buyers wanting to do a lift-out of the firm. We went down the path of lining up a serious buyer, but then Todd Builione, COO of Highbridge, called me up and asked to sit down and talk about how Constellation could have a future at Highbridge.