Exit watch, week of Dec. 21, 2009

Ethicon acquires Acclarent for $785M

, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ), has agreed to acquire Acclarent Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif.-based developer of surgical devices for treating ear, nose and throat ailments. The deal is valued at $785 million in cash. Acclarent has raised just over $100 million in VC funding from Johnson & Johnson, New Enterprise Associates, Delphi Ventures, Versant Ventures and Meritech Capital Partners.

Acclarent canceled a proposed $86.25 million IPO in December 2008, citing “unfavorable market conditions.”

Microsoft scoops up Sentillion

has agreed to acquire Sentillion Inc., an Andover, Mass.-based developer of software for the health care industry. No financial terms were disclosed. Sentillion had raised about $29 million in VC funding from Intersouth Partners, Dresdner Kleinwort Capital, Polaris Venture Partners, Merrill Lynch Capital Partners, Universal Health Services, St. Paul Venture Capital, Newbury Ventures and First Consulting Group.

Cubist buys Calixa

(Nasdaq: CBST) has agreed to acquire Calixa Therapeutics Inc., a San Diego-based developer of drugs that address multi-drug resistant Gram-negative pathogens. The deal includes a $92.5 million up-front cash payment, plus up to $310 million in earnout payments. Calixa raised about $28 million in VC funding from Canaan Partners, Domain Associates and Frazier Healthcare Ventures.

Silence, Intradigm merge

(AIM: SLN) has agreed to merge with Intradigm Corp., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based developer of RNAi therapeutics. Intradigm previously raised about $42 million in VC funding from Alta Partners, Frazier Healthcare, Lilly Ventures, Roche Finance and Astellas Venture. The venture firms now hold a 36.6% stake in the combined company, and agreed to invest $8 million in new capital.

Alcon opts for Optonol

Alcon (NYSE: ACL) has agreed to acquire Optonol Ltd., a maker of miniature surgical implants used to lower intraocular pressure in patients with glaucoma. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close in Q1 2010. Optonol had raised VC funding from Pitango Venture Capital.

NCR nabs DVDPlay

(NYSE: NCR) has acquired DVDPlay, a Campbell, Calif.-based operator of DVD-rental kiosks. No financial terms were disclosed. DVDPlay had raised about $30 million in VC funding from El Dorado Ventures, Emergence Capital Partners, Palo Alto Venture Partners and Vanguard Ventures.

GizMoz, Daz 3D merge operations

San Francisco-based Gizmoz and Daz 3D, based in Draper, Utah, have merged to form a combined online marketplace for inter-compatible digital characters and accessories. No financial terms were disclosed. Gizmoz had raised about $37 million in funding from Benchmark Capital, Columbia Capital, DoCoMo Capital and NGI Capital. Daz had raised just over $4 million from Highway 12 Ventures.

IBM snags Lombardi

has agreed to acquire Lombardi Software, an Austin, Texas-based developer of business process management software. No financial terms were disclosed. Lombardi has raised around $78 million in VC funding from Austin Ventures, InterWest Partners and Palomar Ventures.

Ellie buys Mavent

has acquired Mavent Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based provider of automated compliance solutions for the mortgage industry. No financial terms were disclosed. Mavent had raised $21 million in VC funding since its 2000 inception from FTV Capital and others.

Rambus pays $26M for Global Lighting Tech

(Nasdaq: RMBS) has agreed to buy the assets of Global Lighting Technologies Inc., a Brecksville, Ohio-based maker of backlighting modules for flat panel display devices, for $26 million. GLT raised a $25 million funding round in 2000 from firms like Warburg Pincus and Baring Private Equity Partners.

Thomson Reuters closes Sabrix deal

(NYSE: TRI) has completed its acquisition of Sabrix Inc., a San Ramon, Calif.-based provider of transaction tax management software. No financial terms were disclosed. Sabrix has raised about $40 million in VC funding since 2000 from Trinity Ventures, Mohr Davidow Ventures, GKM Ventures and VSP Capital. Thomson Reuters is the publisher of PE Week.