Exit watch, week of Dec. 3, 2007

Glaxo to buy Reliant Pharma for $1.65B

VC-backed cardiovascular drug company Reliant Pharmaceuticals announced late last month that it will be acquired by GlaxoSmithKline (LSE & NYSE: GSK) for $1.65 billion in cash. The transaction is believed to be the largest all-cash exit ever of a venture-funded company, beating the previous record, which was set early last month when Dell announced it planned to acquire EqualLogic for $1.4 billion.

Reliant, which withdrew its IPO filing as a result of the acquisition offer, raised more than $500 million in venture funding from such firms as Alkermes Inc., Bay City Capital, Invermed Associates, Morgan Stanley Private Equity, Goldman Sachs and Versant Ventures. Its final post-money VC valuation was just over $860 million, from a tranched-out Series D round that held closes between 2003 and 2005.

The acquisition is subject to approval by the US Federal Trade Commission and is expected to conclude before year-end.

AT&T calls up Ingenio

AT&T has agreed to acquire Ingenio Inc., a San Francisco–based provider of pay-per-call technology. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which is expected to close in early January. Ingenio has raised about $113 million in total VC funding since 1999 from such firms as Benchmark Capital, Integral Capital Partners, Vulcan Capital, Impact Venture Partners, Carlyle Venture Partners and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

Astellas pays $387M in cash for drug company

Astellas Pharma Inc. has agreed to acquire Agensys Inc., a Santa Monica, Calif.-based developer of therapeutic cancer antibodies. The deal includes a $387 million up-front cash payment, plus up to $150 million in possible earn-outs. Agensys has raised $113 million in total VC funding since 1997 from such firms as Duquesne Capital Management, JAFCO, Innovis Investments, Nextech Venture, Bear Stearns Health Innoventures, Alta Partners, HBM BioVentures, Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie, H&Q Life Sciences and Orbimed Advisors.

Homestead sells for $170M in cash

Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) has agreed to acquire Homestead Technologies Inc., a Menlo Park, Calif.–based provider of website solutions for small businesses. The deal is valued at about $170 million in cash, including the assumption of Homestead’s outstanding options and restricted stock units. Homestead has raised $73 million in total VC funding, including a $35 million Series C round in 2000 at a post-money valuation of about $313 million. Backers include Draper Fisher Jurvetson, DFJ ePlanet Ventures, Goldman Sachs, Institutional Venture Partners, Intel Capital, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, Draper Richards, VeriSign, GRP Partners and Meritech Capital Partners.

Knight acquires EdgeTrade

Knight Capital Group Inc. (Nasdaq: NITE) has agreed to acquire EdgeTrade Inc., a New York-based provider of agency-only trade execution and algorithmic software. The deal is valued at about $58 million, including nearly $30 million in cash and 2.3 million shares of unregistered Knight common stock. EdgeTrade had raised venture funding from Edison Venture Fund and was advised on the deal by Evercore Partners.

Exiqon scoops up Oncotech

Exiqon AS, a listed Danish provider of high-value gene expression analysis products, has agreed to acquire Oncotech, a Tustin, Calif.-based maker of extreme drug resistance diagnostic tests for cancer. The deal is valued at about $45 million in Exiqon stock. Oncotech has raised just under $15 million in total VC funding from such firms as Southern California Ventures, U.S. Venture Partners, North Star Ventures, GC&H Partners and MedVenture Associates.

InsideView buys rival TrueAdvantage

InsideView Inc., a San Bruno, Calif.-based provider of on-demand sales intelligence services, has acquired Southborough, Mass.–based competitor TrueAdvantage Inc. No financial terms were disclosed. TrueAdvantage had raised $26 million in VC funding since 2000 from such firms as Atlas Venture, Rustic Canyon Partners, Longworth Venture Partners, Village Ventures, Baird Venture Partners and Long River Capital Partners. InsideView recently raised a $7.4 million Series A round from Emergence Capital Partners, Greenhouse Capital Partners and Rembrandt Venture Partners.