Jonathan Marino
Silicon Valley venture firm Foundation Capital is looking to raise a seventh fund totaling $750 million, sources tell peHUB. The fund, still in pre-marketing, will try to match the size of its 2008 vehicle, a $750 million fund that at the time dedicated itself substantially to cleantech investments. Foundation did not respond to peHUB’s requests […]
Facebook and Google+ are in the midst of the great social race. They’re gobbling up small startups that will enhance their offerings (such as facial- and voice-recognition software) as the latest Google offering looks to take its one-time target out for good.
Heck, Facebook was obviously so threatened by Google+ that it went out and tried to surreptitiously smear its newest, biggest competitor since Myspace with a plan that backfired with embarrassing results. Judging by the ovation Google+ was met with, Facebook’s concerns were reasonable.
Now, we’ll watch over the next 24 months as each of these Internet titans slug it out
Recently, the debate has been re-ignited over whether Congress should (or could) tax carried interest as capital gains instead of as regular income. VCs and private equity professionals said in a peHUB poll that they don’t believe President Obama will succeed in more than doubling the rate on carried interest from 15% to 35 percent. […]
You sure don’t see this every day. Advanced BioHealing announced plans for a $200 million IPO, priced its shares, heck, even declared a NYSE ticker symbol. Instead the Connecticut-based regenerative medicine company opted at the last second to sell to strategic acquirer UK-based Shire plc. The $750 million all-cash deal is a monster home run […]
Group Commerce, the New York-based daily deals site, has raised a second round of “more than $10 million,” a source familiar with the deal told peHUB. A formal announcement is expected this week or next and should include some or all of its prior investors, Spark Capital, Lerer Media Ventures, and Carmel Ventures, multiple sources […]
Operators of private stock exchanges want accredited investors to think they can buy into future IPOs of Twitter and LinkedIn early and freely, but that is no longer the case. Private companies coveted by institutional investors and individuals alike are increasingly putting strict limitations on who can buy their shares, according to sources who spoke […]
The trading of private company shares in the personal accounts of venture capitalists is raising concerns over potential conflicts of interest for firms as the influence of secondary market exchanges continues to grow.
Numerous venture firms permit employees' trading in secondary market shares with some limitations, including Lightspeed Venture Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners, YCombinator, Matrix Partners, Founder Collective, Blackberry Partners Fund, Volition Capital and Rho Ventures, according to a peHUB investigation into the practice.
Others -- which appear far fewer in number -- such as Flybridge Capital Partners, block the practice with policies demanding general partners hold no secondary securities. Many more VC firms refused to comment at all, when peHUB contacted senior partners.
(How do you feel about this issue? Take our poll at the end of this story.)
Sources at firms willing to acknowledge they prohibit GPs from making secondary market investments cited conflict of interest concerns when asked by peHUB.com.
Collaborative Fund wrapped up a first close on its $6 million fund last month and is moving toward its second and final close shortly, founder and CEO Craig Shapiro tells peHUB. The fund isn’t mammoth, but Collaborative and Shapiro plan to stick to the theme implied by the name—the growth investor will be backing up […]
Pongr’s founders didn’t take long to realize the price-comparison business on mobile applications weren’t getting them far enough.
“We had originally done price comparisons” exclusively, said Jamie Thompson, founder and CEO of the company. “But unless you’re selling the end product, it’s tough making money.”
Then, Thompson and fellow Pongr pros Neal Checka and Zach Cox teamed in late 2009 with Condé Nast men’s mag GQ. As Thompson succinctly put it, “they were in need of better engagement technology.” And, as it turns out, so are many traditional media companies.
Now, after more than a year in its new business model, Thompson said, Pongr is looking to take on new institutional and angel investors as it seeks to raise...
It’s never a big surprise to see A-Rod’s name next to a multi-million dollar figure. But Andres Rodriguez? Still, when Nasuni revealed this morning the company roped in an additional $15 million in a Series B round of financing supplied by existing investors and Flybridge Capital Partners, it wasn’t the first time this other A-Rod hit paydirt. Rodriguez […]