Exit watch, week of July 28, 2008

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Boeing buys Insitu

The Boeing Co. has agreed to acquire Insitu Inc., a Bingen, Wash.-based developer of long-range autonomous unmanned aircraft systems. The companies didn’t disclose the acquisition price, but The Oregonion reported that Boeing agreed to pay slightly less than $400 million. The company had raised about $55 million in two rounds of funding since 2006 from Battery Ventures, Second Avenue Partners and Pteranodon Ventures.

“We put a good chunk of that [capital] in,” said Battery General Partner Roger Lee, who led the investment for Battery. He added that investors “ owned a significant majority of the company,”

The sale is also nice news for the 36-year-old Lee, who between 2001 and 2006 rose from associate to general partner at Battery, which is currently investing a $750 million fund. Insitu is Lee’s first exit as a general partner at the firm.

Cisco purchases Pure Networks

Cisco Systems Inc. has agreed to acquire Pure Networks Inc., a Seattle-based developer of home management software. The deal is valued at about $120 million. Pure Networks has raised about $31 million in VC funding since 2003 from Ignition Partners, Mayfield Fund, Intel Capital and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Stanley scoops up Sonitrol

The Stanley Works

has completed its acquisition of Sonitrol Corp. for $275 million in cash. Sonitrol is a Berwyn, Penn.-based provider of security monitoring services, access control and fire detection systems to commercial customers in North America. It had been acquired by Carlyle Venture Partners, Wachovia Capital Partners, Spire Capital Partners and Sonitrol management in 2004 from Tyco for about $125 million.

ABS acquires Optasite

ABS Communications Corp.

has agreed to buy wireless tower company Optasite for about $255 million in unrestricted common stock. Optasite had raised more than $125 million in private equity funding since its 2000 inception from Columbia Capital, Centennial Ventures, Citi, Highland Capital Partners, Kestral Management, Key Venture Partners, Berkshires Capital Investors, Long River Capital Partners and Village Ventures. The Westborough, Mass.-based company also secured leveraged financing from GE and Morgan Stanley.