Exit watch, week of March 3, 2008

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Microsoft buys YaData

Microsoft Corp. has agreed to acquire YaData Ltd., an Israeli provider of online advertising solutions. No financial terms were disclosed, although press reports peg the price at between $20 million and $30 million. YaData was founded in July 2006, and has raised about $4 million in VC funding from Giza Ventures and Ofer Hi-Tech.

Novell pays $205M for PlateSpin

Novell

has agreed to acquire PlateSpin Ltd., a Toronto-based server virtualization company, for $205 million in cash. PlateSpin had raised about $17 million in VC funding since 2001 from such firms as Insight Capital Partners, Intel Capital, CastleHill Ventures, Raza Venture Fund and VentureLink Holdings.

HCL buys Capital Stream for $40M

HCL Technologies has acquired Capital Stream Inc., a Seattle-based provider of end-to-end lending and straight-through processing solutions to commercial banks and finance companies in North America. The deal was valued at approximately $40 million in cash. Capital Stream had raised more than $70 million in VC funding since 1998, including a 2001 round at a $40 million post-money valuation. Backers include FTVentures, Polaris Venture Partners, Softbank Technology Ventures and Voyager Capital.

Cypress buys Proprius

Cypress Bioscience Inc.

(Nasdaq: CYPB) has agreed to acquire Proprius Pharmaceuticals Inc., a San Diego-based drug developer focused on rheumatology and autoimmune diseases. The deal includes a $37.5 million up-front cash payment, and up to $37.5 million in milestone-related earnouts. Proprius last year raised $11 million in Series A funding, which included an option that could have raised it to $17 million. Backers included Atlas Venture, Forward Ventures, CDIB BioScience Venture Management, Fog City Fund and Windamere Venture Partners.

Battelle buys Optimer

Battelle Memorial Institute

has acquired Optimer Photonics Inc., a Columbus, Ohio-based company spun out of Battelle in 2001 to commercialize electro-optic waveguide components for the telecom industry. No financial terms were disclosed. Optimer Photonics had raised more than $10 million in VC funding from Battelle, Mitsubishi Corp. and Primaxis Technology Ventures.