NEW YORK — Auda Advisor Associates LLC today announced that David S. Andryc has joined the firm’s Private Equity group as a Managing Director. In that role, he will be responsible for managing Auda’s direct private equity activities, complementing the firm’s traditional role as a leader in partnership investments. Andryc, 40, has more than 13 years of experience in all aspects of private equity investing, including identifying and analyzing target companies and industries, sourcing deal flow, negotiating transaction terms, completing due diligence, negotiating debt financing terms, closing investments and add-on acquisitions, participating as a portfolio company board member, and overseeing IPOs and liquidity events.
SAN DIEGO, CA — Verance, a developer of watermark technologies for content management, broadcast monitoring and wireless systems and data applications, announced today that it has closed $23 million in its Series B Funding led by Constellation Ventures, an affiliate of Bear Stearns Asset Management, with additional financial investments from MMC Capital, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., and strategic investments from Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq:QCOM) and others.
EVANSTON, IL — duoDesign, a leading Web development firm, todayannounced services-for-equity investments totaling $1.24 million inthree start-up companies. Under terms of the agreements, duoDesign willuse its creative and technology services to develop e-commerce Web sitesfor AssignmentEditor.com, Forest One and MunicipalNet. duoDesign willalso host the AssignmentEditor.com and Forest One sites.
MUNICH, GERMANY — Curacyte AG announced its founding and start of operations as a new, research-based biotechnology company located in the BioRegio Munich, one of the most important clusters of biotechnology companies in Europe. Curacyte’s founding comes after the completion of a private financing round of EURO 7 million (US$ 6.5) led by TVM Techno Venture Management and including a consortium of leading European life sciences investors. Curacyte uses proprietary technology platforms in the areas of oncology, immunology and hematological disorders.
TORONTO — Royal Bank Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Royal Bank of Canada, today announced it has hired two veteran private equity fund managers. Richard Black takes over the firm’s existing US$77 million Technology Fund and Paul McDermott heads a new US$100 million Energy Fund. Black is located in Toronto, Canada and McDermott in Greenwich, Connecticut.
GREENWICH, CT — General Atlantic Partners LLC said Erik Engstrom will join the firm as a partner March 19, boosting the number of partners to 16. In a press release Wednesday, the company said Engstrom, currently the president and chief operating officer of Bertelsmann AG’s (G.BRT) Random House Inc. unit, will focus on investments in the U.S. and Europe, particularly Scandanavia. General Atlantic invests in information-technology, Internet and telecommunications companies.
SAN JOSE, CA — XStream Logic, an innovator in the development of next-generation network processors, today announced the completion of its second round of venture funding. The company raised a total of $30M, led by Goldman, Sachs & Co. Additional investors in this round include Mayfield Fund, Tallwood Venture Capital, Sands Brothers & Co., Ltd., and Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. The additional funding will be used for product development and facilities expansion. Ankur Sahu of Goldman Sachs’ Principal Investment Area will join XStream Logic’s Board of Directors.
WASHINGTON — Telecommunications Development Fund, a Washington-based venture capital firm that finances early stage telecommunications technology companies, today announced its participation as a Partnership sponsor of “Springboard 2001: Mid-West.” Springboard 2001: Mid- West, scheduled for May 9, 2001 in Chicago, is one of a series of forums designed to accelerate investments in high-growth businesses run by women.
NEW YORK — Dan Dickinson, co-head of global mergers at Merrill Lynch & Co., is leaving the New York investment bank to join Thayer Capital Partners, a Washington, D.C., private-equity firm, according to The Wall Street Journal. Mr. Dickinson, 39 years old, is joining Thayer as senior partner and will head up the firm’s investments in manufacturing companies. “I have an opportunity to be a senior partner in a small partnership and can help them build the firm,” he said. Steven Baronoff, the other co-head of global mergers, will assume Mr. Dickinson’s position at Merrill.
SAN FRANCISCO — Walden International, a leading global venture capital firm, today named Charles Hsu as a new general partner responsible for leading investments in the life sciences sector. Prior to joining Walden International, Hsu served as a general partner at WaldenVC, a venture capital firm affiliated with Walden International but operationally autonomous, where he managed global investments in healthcare and the life sciences. Prior to that, he was a partner at Advent International, where he began his venture capital career in 1990. Previously Hsu participated in two early-stage biotechnology start-ups, Creative BioMolecules and Invitron. He has invested in or co-founded over 25 healthcare and life sciences companies, about half of which are publicly listed today.
NEW ORLEANS — Astracon Inc., the leading provider of Connectivity Intelligence OSS software for communications service providers, today announced it has secured $25 million in second-round financing. Geocapital Partners, a leading transatlantic venture capital firm, led the financing round alongside Cisco Systems, Inc., and The Co-Investment 2000 Fund, managed by Cross Atlantic Capital Partners. They were joined by first round investors — Australasian Media & Communications Fund, Bluestem Capital, Edgewater Funds, and Telcordia. The company has already experienced strong revenue cycles in its first two years of operation and the new capital will expand Astracon’s abilities to sell and deliver its robust technology solutions into the top tier carriers around the globe. As a result of the financing, the company will be actively recruiting new employees worldwide for its offices in Brisbane, Australia; Cambridge, England; and Denver, Colo.
If you do not receive this within five minutes, please try and sign in again. If the problem persists, please
email: