Exit watch, week of June 9, 2008

Novartis pays $400M for Protez Pharma

Novartis has agreed to buy Protez Pharmaceuticals, a Malvern, Pa.-based developer of antibiotics to combat drug-resistant and life-threatening infections. The deal is valued at up to $400 million in cash, including a $100 million up-front payment and up to $300 million in potential earn-outs based on clinical milestones. Protez has raised nearly $30 million in VC funding since late 2003 from such firms as BTG International, S.R. One, Easton Hunt Capital Partners, Birchmere Ventures, Quaker BioVentures, Robin Hood Ventures, BioAdvance and L Capital Partners.

Sorrento buys Redfern

, a Denver-based provider of metro optical access solutions, has acquired the assets of Redfern Broadband Networks, an Australia-based maker of optical networking equipment. No financial terms were disclosed. Redfern had raised more than $53 million in VC funding since 2000 from such firms as Allen & Buckeridge, Macquarie Technology Ventures, OCG Ventures, JPMorgan Partners and Jolimont Ventures. Sorrento was formed earlier this year by CHB Capital Partners, which carved out the fiber optics division of Zhone Technologies Inc.

WhitePages snaps up SnapVine

WhitePages.com has acquired SnapVine Inc., a Seattle-based provider of mobile voice solutions for social networking sites. No financial terms were disclosed. SnapVine has raised about $20 million in VC funding since mid-2006 from such firms as Bridgescale Partners, Draper Fisher Jurvetson and First Round Capital.

OpenAir goes for $26M

NetSuite Inc. (NYSE: N) has agreed to acquire OpenAir Inc., a Boston-based provider of on-demand professional services automation software. The deal is valued at $26 million, plus the assumption of $5 million of restricted stock units. OpenAir has raised about $12 million in VC funding from such firms as 3i Group, Fidelity Ventures, i-Hatch Ventures and Rex Capital.

Syntellect hears call to buy Fluency Voice

Syntellect Ltd., a unit of Enghouse Systems Ltd., has acquired Fluency Voice Technology Ltd., a U.K.-based provider of on-premise and hosted packaged speech recognition solutions for call centers. No financial terms were disclosed. Fluency Voice had raised more than $16 million in VC funding from Favonius Ventures and Kennet Venture Partners.

Welocalize buys Transware

, a Frederick, Md.-based provider of integrated globalization services, has acquired Transware, a Dublin-based provider of learning, marketing and technical localization solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. Transware had raised about $16 million in funding since 2001 from such firms as Enterprise Ireland, Trident Capital and Oyster Technology. Welocalize has raised VC funding from LLR Partners.