You’ve got to love Jon Moulton, the UK buyout pro who quit Alchemy Capital last year in a huff. Well, maybe not if you’re the Alchemy partner he flogged for being unfit to lead the firm, but certainly if you’re a blogger who relishes such conflict being brought out into the open.
Anyway, Moulton has now lobbed a tongue-in-cheek grenade at the entire private equity industry, via an A-Z glossary on the website of his new firm, Better Capital. Here’s a brief sampling:
• C: Carried interest. The percentage of the profit on a transaction that goes to the partners of the PE firm. Known as ‘carry’ as in ‘too much money to carry’.
• E: Envy ratio. The ratio between how much money a management team makes and how many workers they make unemployed. Also: Exit. The only door a VC can see.
• I: Incubator. Where teenagers lecture entrepreneurs on the facts of business life (how much they can sell their Pokemon cards for; the latest Teletubby stories etc.). Would-be investment executives work at incubators until they are old enough to join a proper firm.
• S: Ski trip. Winter activity for many megafund personnel.
Moulton also doesn’t spare his former firm, with “A” standing for: “Asset strippers and / or Alchemy, a former private equity investor. According to the Governor of the Bank of England alchemy was doomed to failure.”
This is probably my favorite feature on a PE/VC firm website since Bessemer Venture Partners posted its anti-portfolio. But, for the sake of leisurely competition, I would like to think that peHUB readers can do even better.
So, if you’ve got a snarky PE/VC glossary term, send it over via email. I’ll add some of my own for missing letters, and will let you know when the whole thing is done. Then we’ll all get back to work…
Top Three
Amadeus, a travel reservations group, priced a €1.3 billion IPO in Madrid. The deal ends a two-year dearth of Spanish IPOs, and comes after the recent failure of Amadeus rival Travelport to list in London. Amadeus backers include BC Partners, Cinven, Air France and Lufthansa.
Tremor Media, a New York-based online video advertising network, has raised $40 million in fourth-round funding. Draper Fisher Jurvetson Growth Fund led the round, and was joined by DFJ, Triangle Peak Partners and return backers Canaan Partners, Meritech Capital Partners and SAP Ventures. The company previously raised over $38 million. Past backers not mentioned in today’s release include Masthead Venture Partners and European Founders Fund.
Alberta Investment Management Co. has offered to acquire UK-based private equity firm Candover.
VC Deals
NetQin Mobile Inc., a Beijing-based provider of mobile security solutions, has raised $20 million in third-round funding. Backers include GSR, Sequoia Capital, Ceyuan Fund and Fidelity Asia. The company previously raised $15 million.
Ground Truth, a Seattle-based mobile measurement company, has raised $7 million in Series B funding. Emergence Capital Partners and OpenAir Ventures were joined on the round by return backers Steamboat Ventures and Voyager Capital.
Management Health Solutions Inc., a Fairfield, Conn.-based provider of supply chain management solutions to hospitals, has raised $7 million in Series B funding. Enhanced Equity Fund led the round, and was joined by return backer Radius Ventures.
Vovici, a Dulles, Va.-based provider of enterprise feedback management solutions, has raised $6.4 million in Series C funding from return backers Austin Ventures and Mayfield Fund. The company previously raised over $10 million.
Qliance Medical Management Inc., an operator of insurance-free direct primary care clinics in Washington State, has raised $6 million in Series B funding. Bezos Expedition led the round, and was joined by MSD Capital, Drew Carey and return backers Second Avenue Partners, New Atlantic Ventures and Clear Fir Partners. The company had previously raised $7.5 million.
RES Software, a Plymouth Meeting, Penn.-based developer of user workspace management software, has raised €4.7 million in new funding from GIMV. RES Software previously raised $12.5 million from Updata Partners.
Gymbox, a London-based healthcare club chain, has raised £1.3 million in VC funding from Octopus Ventures.
Coskata Inc., a Warrenville, Ill.-based developer of technologies for processing biorefuse into ethanol, has secured an undisclosed amount of new equity funding from French oil company Total. The company previously raised over $76 million from Blackstone Group, Advanced Technology Ventures, Globespan Capital Partners, General Motors, GreatPoint Ventures and Khosla Ventures.
Buyouts Deals
Fulcrum Pharma PLC (LSE: FULB) has accepted to £11.6 million takeover bid by Halifax Group and SV Life Sciences.
Solar Power Partners, a Mill Valley, Calif.-based operator of solar energy facilities, has secured $115 million in new financing. The deal consists of debt, term debt and tax equity provided by U.S. Bank and WestLB AG, and is expandable by another $100 million.The company previously raised over $150 million in debt and equity funding, from firms that include United Commercial Bank, Globespan Capital Partners, Energy Investors Funds, The Enlightened World Foundation, Carrelton Asset Management, Dry Creek Ventures and Silicon Valley Technology Group.
THL Partners has agreed to invest $134.7 million into Sterling Financial Corp. (Nasdaq: STSA), contingent on the company converting $303 million in preferred stock held by the U.S. Treasury into common shares.
TPG Capital and Caruso Capital Partners have formed a joint venture to invest up to $750 million of debt and equity into retail centers and other properties in the western United States.
PE-Backed IPOs
Van Gansewinkel, a Dutch waste management firm owned by KKR and CVC Capital Partners, said it is considering an IPO in 2011.
PE-Backed M&A
Attensity Group, a business intelligence and information management platform, has acquired Biz360 Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based provider of media and market intelligence solutions. No financial terms were disclosed, except thatBiz360 shareholders will hold a stake in the combined company. Attensitywas formed last year as a rollup of three businesses, one of whichraised over $30 million from firms that includeHighway 12 Ventures, Palomar Ventures, Jefferson Partners, RD Webber, Triangle Venture Capital and Village Ventures. Biz360 has raised nearly $50 million in total VC funding, including a late 2006 recap. Backers include Foundation Capital, Granite Ventures and Scale Venture Partners.www.attensity.com
Dachis Group, a business advisory acquisition platform sponsored by Austin Ventures, has acquired Xplane Corp., a Portland, Ore.-based information design consultancy. No financ! ial terms were disclosed.
PE Exits
Apple has acquired Intrinsity Inc., an Austin, Texas-based provider of high-speed, low-power embedded processor cores. No financial terms were disclosed. Intrinsity had raised over $80 millionover five rounds ofVC funding, fromGoldman Sachs, Altitude Capital Partners, Northwater Capital Management, Adams Capital Management and The Hillman Company. www.apple.com
Silicon Labs (Nasdaq: SLAB) has acquired Silicon Clocks, a Fremont, Calif.-based provider of integrated timing solutions for electronic systems. No financial terms were disclosed. Silicon Clocks had raised over $32 million in VC funding, from Silicon Labs, Charles River Ventures, Formative Ventures, Lux Capital and Tallwood Venture Capital.
Firms & Funds
Apollo Investment Corp. (Nasdaq: AINV), a business development company affiliated with private equity firm Apollo Management, has raised $186 million via a secondary offering of common stock. AINV priced 15 million shares at $12.40 per share.
Human Resources
Nicolas Homassel has been named CEO of France-based Natixis Private Equity, which currently is in the process of selling its domestic unit to AXA Private Equity. He will maintain his current position as executive director of strategy at Natixis.
Brian Jacobs has joined Hatteras Funds as CEO. He most recently ran distribution for Baron Capital, and before that spent eight years as a managing director with Allianz Global Investors.
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