Yesterday, me and a colleague spent most of the day trying to learn what happened at ILPA’s meeting of the minds between big buyout and big pension. Lots of emails, lots of phone calls. I even postponed a trip to purchase sandbags.
In retrospect, it was probably a misuse of my time. And not just because my cat can now bypass his water bowl and lick straight from the floor.
The much-ballyhooed meeting (yes, I did some of the hoo’ing) seems to have been much less than it was cracked up to be. Its purpose was to discuss the ILPA guidelines, but I’m told that the issue of fees – arguably the most vital piece of LP/GP interest alignment – wasn’t actually discussed. Moreover, giant firms like Bain, KKR and TPG weren’t in the room (which apparently was inside of the Times Square Westin).
At this time yesterday, I was trying to understand why anyone would have leaked word of the meeting to the WSJ. It didn’t seem to be in either side’s interest, given th! at it would only add fuel to collusion charges. But, as the day went on, I reconsidered: Maybe the leak was more important than the meeting itself. Maybe the leak was an effort to let the world know that LPs and GPs could indeed get along, and that both were working toward each other’s best interests (as evidenced by most-meeting pablum about how the meeting was “productive” and “constructive”).
To be clear (and a bit contradictory), I think meetings like yesterday’s are worth having. My understanding is that it was prompted by results from an ILPA survey about the guidelines, and that it is expected to be the first in a series of private LP/GP roundtables (no others are formally scheduled yet). Good. The more dialogue the better.
But it does not appear than anything tangible came from yesterday’s sit-down, save for some soothed feathers. And I’m not even sure that it could have. After all, some of the attending firms aren’t even close to fundraising – and the! chance of them substantially cutting fund sizes or existing fees is l ower than the chance that Rasheed Wallace will grab 10 boards per game in the playoffs.
Call me when industry standard actually change, and not just on a one-off basis. Until then, I’ve got some mopping to do…
*** I look forward to seeing 600+ of you tonight at our Boston Shindig. I’ll be the guy in the baseball cap who, at some point, will jump on top of the bar to shout a few announcements.
The event is sold out, but we still may be able to pull a few additional folks off the waiting list (no promises, but maybe the floods have effectively trapped some folks in their homes…). Get on the wait-list by going to: http://bostonshindig.eventbrite.com
HUGE thanks to our Boston sponsors: .406 Ventures, Atlas Venture, Capital Dynamics, SecondMarket and Velocity Financial Group. We couldn’t do it without you…
*** Kleiner Perkins has a media briefing set for 10:30am PT, to discuss “developments in the mobile content revolution.” An iPad fund? A giant new mobile investment? And what is cleantechie John Doerr doing there? Taking a temporary return to the source of formal glories?
We’ll cover the briefing at peHUB, along with everyone else in the tech/finance blogosphere…
Top Three
TPG Capital has entered exclusive talks to buy packaging firm Nordenia International from Oaktree Capital. The deal could be valued at upwards of €600 million.
Derivix, a New York-based provider of pricing and analytics solutions to the options trading market, has raised an undisclosed amount of new funding from J.P. Morgan and S.A.C. Venture Investments. The company previously raised $6.7 million in Series A funding from Goldman Sachs and Susquehanna Growth Equity.
HSBC has held a $580 million first close on its third infrastructure fund, which has a target capitalization of $1 billi! on.
VC Deals
Reverse Medical Corp., an Irvine, Calif.-based developer of technologies for treating acute ischemic strokes, has raised $14 million in Series B funding. New backers included Wexford Capital, Getz Bros., BioStar Ventures, Early Stage Partners and Emergent Medical Partners. Return backers included NBGI Ventures, MedFocus Funds and South Australian Life Science Advancement Partnership.
MuleSoft, a San Francisco-based provider of Internet infrastructure software, support and services, has raised $12 million in third-round funding. SAP Ventures led the round, and was joined by Bay Partners and return backers Hummer Winblad Venture Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners.
Signostics Inc., a developer of palm-sized ultrasound devices for m! edical applications, has raised $5 million in new VC funding. No investor information was disclosed. The company previously raised $14 million from firms that included Brandon Capital Partners, Playford Capital and Terra Rossa Capital. It has offices in Australia and Silicon Valley.
Damballa Inc., an Atlanta-based developer of Internet security software focused on “bot armies,” has raised an undisclosed amount of Series C funding from GRA Venture Fund. It previously raised $8.5 million from InterWest Partners, Noro-Moseley Partners and Sigma Partners.
Buyouts Deals
3i Infrastructure has abandoned its attempt to acquire the Italian gas network of German utility E.ON. 3i had been partnering on the potential deal with gas supplier Erogasmet.
Contrax Furnishings LLC, a Gainesville, Fla.-based provider of furniture for educational and institutional markets, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from Hudson Ferry Capital.
ICICI Venture has invested approximately $26.7 million into India-based Star Health and Allied Insurance, in exchange for between a 15% and 20% stake! .
Intrinergy, a global biomass renewable energy company based in Richmond, Va., has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from Riverstone Holdings.
Slate Capital Group has acquired the assets of Coastal Business Machines Inc., a Randallstown, Md.-based reconditioning and repair center for uninterruptible power supplies. No financial terms were disclosed.
Terra Firma Capital Partners he ld separate talks with Universal Music and Sony about licensing the North American rights to EMI Group’s music assets, but was unable to reach agreement.
PE-Backed IPOs
Energy and Power Solutions Inc., a Costa Mesa, Calif.-based provider of energy efficiency solutions to the industrial market, has filed for a $25 million IPO. No underwriters are listed. The company reports around $12 million in 2009 revenue, compared to over $17 million in 2008 revenue. Shareholders include NGEN Partners, SAM Private Equity and Altira Group. www.epsway.com
Meru Networks Inc., a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based developer of wireless infrastructure solutions, raised around $65.8 million in its IPO. The company priced4.39 million common shares at $15 per share, compared to an offering range of $13 to $15 per share. Its initial market cap isapproximately $223 million, were it to price at the high end of its range. Meru Networks will trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol MERU,while BoA Merrill Lynch served as lead underwriter. Meru Networks has raised over $160 million in VC funding si! nce 2002, from Clearstone Venture Partners (20.9% pre-IPO position), Vision Capital (19.1%), NeoCarta Ventures (18.4%), BlueStream Ventures (16.3%), The D. E. Shaw Group (15.6%), Tenaya Capital (10%), Evercore Partners and Monitor Ventures. www.merunetworks.com
RedPrairie Holding Inc. has withdrawn its registration for a $172.5 million IPO, following its acquisition by New Mountain Capital. The company previously had been owned by Francisco Partners. RedPrairie is a a Waukesha, Wisc.-based provider of inventory, warehouse, transportation and workforce management systems. It had approximately $194 million in r! evenue for the first nine months of 2009, and net income of $12.45 mil lion. www.redprairie.com
SPS Commerce, a Minneapolis-based provider of on-demand supply chain management solutions, has set its IPO terms to 3.33 million common shares being offered at between $11 and $13 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $142 million, were it to price at the high end of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SPSC, withThomas Weisel Partners serving as lead underwriter. SPS Commerce hasraised around $71 million in VC funding, with current shareholders include Adams Street Partners, Granite Ventures, River Cities Capital Funds and Split Rock Partners. www.spscommerce.com
SS&C Technologies Inc., a Windsor, Conn.-based financial management software companyowned by The Carlyle Group, raised around $160 million in its IPO. The company priced nearly 10.73 million shares at $15 per share, compared to an offering range of between $13 and $15 per share. This represented a scaled-back version of SS&C’s original plans, as it had filed last December to raise $300 million. It had previously filed for, and withdrawn, a $200 million offering. SS&C will trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SSNC, with J.P. Morgan serving as lead underwriter. The Carlyle Group did not sell any shares in the offering, and now holds a 62.8% ownership stake. It reported 2009 revenue of$270.9 million, which was off 3% from 2008. Net incomefor 2009 was$19 million, up slightly from $18.8 million in 2008. www.ssctech.com
PE-Backed M&A
Rocket Software, a Newton, Mass.-based maker of enterprise infrastructure software, has agreed to acquire Computer Corp. of America, a Waltham, Mass.-based maker of enterprise database systems. No financial terms were disclosed. Rocket Software has raised around $92 million private equity funding led by Court Square Capital Partners.
Firms & Funds
Boehringer Ingelheim, a German pharmaceutical company, has launched a €100 million corporate venture fund. The vehicle will invest in startups “that provide ground-breaking therapeutic approaches and technologies to help drive innovation in medical science.”
Human Resources
Dominic Petito has stepped down as co-head of U.S. corporate and investment banking at BMO Capital Markets.
Alex Lloyd has agreed to join the Hong Kong office of Sidley Austin as a partner in the law firm’s U.S. Corporate Finance practice, with a focus on debt and equity capital markets transactions.
Key Principal Partners has promoted Patrick Rond to vice president. He joined the firm in 2002 from ABN AMRO.
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