The weekend is fast-approaching, which means there are just a few hours left until I begin exploring the newly-installed wonders of digital cable and DVR (yes, I was a bit behind the times). As I twitter away the hours (can I still use that word as anything but a proper noun?), a handful of scoopy fund notes:
*** Battery Ventures is planning to target $750 million for its ninth fund, with a first close expected to occur in Q1 2010. No placement memoranda yet, just initial correspondence with prospective investors.
This is the same amount of money Battery raised for its eighth fund in July 2007, but that fund was later supplemented with a $250 million “overage” fund. The idea was that Battery wanted the flexibility to do larger, non-syndicated growth! equity or buyout deals – without destroying the concentration diversity of the main fund. In other words, Battery didn’t want the main fund’s performance to be determined by just a small handful of deals. Expect that between $150 million and $170 million of that $250 million will ultimately be called.
No plans to raise an overage fund this time around, which means Battery will climb back down from the billion-dollar club.
*** Add Village Ventures to the list of firms raising annex funds. The Williamstown, Mass.-based shop so far has secured $27 million in new commitments from existing limited partners, which will be added to a $105 million Fund II that originally closed in 2006. Village Ventures had been targeting $20 million, and has not yet decided what the final number will be. You can read more here.
Village Ventures makes seed and early-stage investments in three sectors: Consumer media and ret! ail, healthcare and financial services. It tries to stay away from “tr aditional” VC hotbeds like Silicon Valley and Boston, preferring what it refers to as “less competitive markets.”
I was at a meeting of the firm and its network partners last week, and heard from someone that the model will prove itself a success or failure in the next 12-24 months. That’s just about the same time that Village Ventures will likely exhaust its annex fund, which means LPs should have a better sense of if they want to support a Fund III.
*** Wellington Management,one of thenine firms chosen in July to participate in the Treasury Department’s toxic asset program (PPIP), yesterday was expected close its related fund, according to an investor. The firm had been targeting $1.1 billion and has said privately that it should be fully subscribed.
This news comes just one day after Treasury announced the first two i! nterim fund closings, from Invesco Ltd. and The TCW Group. No specific financial information for either fund was disclosed, except that each interim close was for more than $500 million in capital commitments.
One interesting note from the Wellington investor is that these fundraisings are very different from typical private equity fundraisings, in that there is very little room for negotiation. “The government is basically an even partner, and it’s set the ground rules,” our source says. “It’s mostly take it or leave it.”
A Wellington Management spokeswoman declined to comment. (as an aside, our FOIA request for a list of the denied PPIP applications has again been denied by Treasury).
*** Unrelated question: What will be the verbal shorthand for 2010? Seems to me we’re conditioned to need two syllables, which means it could become “Oh-10” rat! her than just “10” or “two thousand and ten.”
*** Event #1: Our Dallas Shindig is sold out, but you can get on the waiting list by sending me an email. We’re hopeful that some spots will open up next week. Per usual, a big thanks to sponsors Staff One, New Capital Partners and Landmark Partners.
*** Event #2: More than 100 of you have bought tickets for our Boston cleantech event, which takes place on October 27 at Bingham McCutchen. Get yours today.
*** Have a great weekend…
Yext, a New York-based local Internet advertising company, has raised $25 million in new VC funding. Institutional Venture Partners led the round, and was joined by return backer Sutter Hill Ventures. Read more…
Education Management Corp., a Pittsburgh-based provider of post-secondary education, raised $334.8 million in its IPO. The company priced 20 million shares at $18 per share (bottom of $18-$20 range), which gives it an initial market cap of approximately $2.5 billion. It will trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol EDMC, while Goldman Sachs served as lead underwriter. Shareholders include Providence Equity Partners (34.1% pre-IPO stake), Goldman Sachs (34.1%) and Leeds Equity Partners (8.3%). Read more…
Adam Applegarth, former CEO of fa! iled UK bank Northern Rock, has joined Apollo Management as a senior advisor to the firm’s European fund.
VC Deals
Intune Networks, a Dublin, Ireland-based telecom equipment supplier, has raised $32.5 million in new VC funding. Kernel Capital and financier Dermot Desmond co-led the round, and were joined by Enterprise Ireland, Invest Northern Ireland and return backers Balderton Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners and Spark Capital. Read more…
Xiotech Corp., an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based provider of data storage and business continuity solutions, has raised $10 million in new equity funding and $10 million in new debt funding. No investor information was disclosed. The company previously raised over $160 million in VC funding, including a 2002 recap led! by Oak Investment Partners. In other Xiotech news, the company has named former EMC executive Alan Atkinson as its new CEO. Read more…
EnglishCentral, a Lexington, Mass.-based operator of an English learning website for the Asian market, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Atlas Venture and Google Ventures. The company also has an office in Tokyo. www.englishcentral.com
Buyouts Deals
Black Diamond Capital Management has been named the “stalking horse bidder” for PTC Alliance, a Wexford, Penn.-based maker of steel tubing and rods that yesterday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Read more…
Golden Gate Capital has acquired Devcon Security, a Hollywood, Fla.-based provider of installation, monitoring and related electronic security services. No financial terms were disclosed. Devcon had been publicly tradedon the OTC bulletin board until deregistering its securities last October. Read more…
Olympus Capital Investments has sponsored a recapitalization of J.W. Hulme Co., a St. Paul, Minn.-based maker of leather and canvas bags and accessories. No financial terms were disclosed. Read more…
Vista Equity Partners has completed its acquisition of MicroEdge, a New York-based provider of sofware and services to the charitable giving industry, from Advent Software Inc. (Nasdaq: ADVS). The dealwas valued at approximately $30 million in cash. Read more…
PE-Backed IPOs
Echo Global Logistics Inc., a Chicago-based provider of online systems that manage truck, train and air shipping logistics, has raised $79.8 million in its IPO. The company priced 5.7 million common shares at $14 per share (middle of $13-$15 range), which gives it an initial market cap of approximately $300 million. It will trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol ECHO, while Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse served as co-lead underwriters. New Enterprise Associates held a 15.3% pre-IPO ownership stake. Read more…
Kraton Performance Polymers, a Houston-based maker of polymers used in products such as disposable baby diapers and razor blades, has filed for a $230 million IPO. Credit Suisse is serving as lead underwriter. Shareholders include TPG Capital and JPMorgan Partners. Read more…
Addus Homecare Corp., a Palatine, Ill.-based provider of social and medical services in the home, has set its IPO terms to five million common shares being offered at between $11 and $13 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $131 million, were it to price at the high end of its range.The companyplans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol ADUS, with Robert W. Baird and Jefferies & Co. serving as co-underwriters. Eos Partners is the company’s majority shareholder, with a 78.9% pre-IPO position. www.addus.com
PE-Backed M&A
Glassdoor.com, a Sausolito, Calif.-based online career and workplace community, has acquired JobVent, where employees can complain about their employers. Scott Kirsner broke the news, saying that JobVent founder Craig Spitzkoff announced the company was for sale via Twitter, and that the sale price was less than $100,000. GlassDoor has raised around $9.5 million in VC funding, from Benchmark Capital and Sutter Hill Ventures. www.glassdoor.com
Stream Global Services Inc. (AMEX: OOO) has completed its merger with the parent company of eTelecare Global Solutions Inc. The stock-for-stock exchange results in Stream shareholders owning 57.5% of the combined call center company, and eTelecare shareholders holding 42.5 percent. eTelecare was taken private last December by Providence Equity Partners. Read more…
WorkThink, a stealth-mode startup backed by Austin Ventures, has acquired FiveRuns, another AV portfolio company that makes monitoring products for Ruby on Rails and otheropen source and commercial systems. No financial terms were disclosed. FiveRuns had raised over $8 million from AV and Silverton Partners. www.fiveruns.com
PE Exits
Duke Street, a UK private equity firm, is planning to cede control of biscuit maker Burton’s Foods to lenders Apollo Management and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, according to Dow Jones. Duke Street would retain a minority stake in the company. www.dukestreet.com
Firms & Funds
Investindustrial, a private equity firm focused on Southern Europe, has raised a €100 million annex for its €500 million third fund. Read more…
Madison Capital Funding, a subsidiary of New York Life Investments,has acquired a portfolio representing 40 different mid-market borrowers. The collective commitments total more than $141 million. Read more…
Onex Corp. (TSX: OCX) said that it is planning an IPO for a fund that invests in high-yield debt. Units of OCP Credit Strategy Fund will be sold at C$10 each, but Onex did not say how many units would be offered. Read more…
Human Resources
Paul Kacik has joined McGladrey Capital Markets as a managing director of its healthcare practice. He previously was a senior VP and head of healthcare I-banking for Barrington Associates. Read more…
William Rulon-Miller has joined Cross Atlantic Capital Partners as a partner and managing director. He previously was co-head of investment banking at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. Read more…
Ed Goddard has joined UK private equity firm Sovereign Capital, to focus on research and direct origination. He previously was with executive search! firm Redgrave Partners. Read more…
Nixon Peabody LLP has named Philip Taub as chair of the law firm’s business and financial services departments. He previously ran the M&A and private transaction groups. Read more…
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