BOULDER, CO — Picolight Inc., a leader in developing high-speed optoelectronic components and subsystems for the enterprise and optical metro/access networks, today announced it has successfully raised $27 million in its latest funding round. St. Paul Venture Capital joined with Bank America (BA) Venture Partners, Charles River Ventures and Pequot Capital, who participated in previous rounds, to complete the new funding.
NEW YORK — USA Interactive (Nasdaq: USAI) announced today an agreement to purchaseInterval International through the acquisition of its holdingcompany, Interval Acquisition Corp., from Willis Stein & Partners, aChicago-based private equity investment firm, and other investors, forapproximately $578 million. The consideration will be paid in cash (50%) andshares of USA common stock (50%), with the number of shares being issued basedon USA’s stock price prior to closing, and with USA having the option to payall cash. This represents a multiple of approximately 10 times Interval’sbudgeted 2003 EBITDA, and is expected to be accretive to USA’s 2003 EBITDA andcash earnings per share. USA’s contemplated 2003 forecast for Interval is $220million of revenue and $60 million of EBITDA.
NEWS FROM THURSDAY 5/30 ENGLEWOOD, OH — TeleSuite Corp., a privately-held communications service provider and supplier of high-end video conferencing platforms, today announced the closing of a $7.5 million Series B round of equity financing, led by Odin Capital Group, LLC, a private equity firm based in Omaha, Neb. According to officials of the company, the investor group also included Karl Eller of Phoenix and Robert Lavinia, also of Phoenix, who was recently elected chairman of TeleSuite Corporation. The company plans to use the new financing to expand its sales and marketing efforts.
ROMEOVILLE, IL — Nanophase Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: NANX), today announced that it had successfully completed a private placement of 1.37 million newly issued shares of common stock to a limited number of institutional and accredited investors for a gross equity investment of $6.85 million. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Capital Markets served as Placement Agent in the private placement. Nanophase plans to use the net proceeds from this private placement to fund the continued development and capacity expansion of its NanoArc Synthesis(TM) process technology, expand the Company’s marketing and business development activities, increase process capability and capacity in the Company’s core PVS process, and for general corporate purposes.
ATLANTA — Peachtree Equity Partners announces the establishment of a $110 million private equity fund, formed to acquire the private equity portfolio of legacy Wachovia Corporation, and to make structured equity investments in middle market companies located primarily in the Southeast. The funding for Peachtree was provided by the GS Vintage Funds, a series of investment partnerships managed by Goldman, Sachs & Co.’s Private Equity Group. The Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group manages over $10 billion of capital devoted to private equity fund-of-funds strategies comprising primary fund commitments, secondary investments, and direct co-investments.
CHICAGO — Divine inc., (Nasdaq: DVIN), a leading provider of solutions for the extended enterprise, today announced that it has secured equity financing totaling more than $61 million from a group led by Oak Investment Partners, one of America’s oldest and largest venture capital firms. This investment, in combination with ongoing expense reduction efforts, positions divine to achieve its goal of profitability by the fourth quarter with substantial cash reserves.
WASHINGTON — Finkelstein, Thompson & Loughran, filed several lawsuits in May 2002, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Internet Capital Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ICGE) between the period of August 30, 1999 through November 8, 2000, (the “Class Period”), and Excite@home (OTC Bulletin Board: ATHQE) between the period of June 7, 1999 through April 26, 2001, against Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. and its head of the internet group, Henry Blodget.
Recently, the New York Attorney General, Eliot L. Spitzer lodged similar claims against Merrill Lynch concerning the following “new economy” companies: Internet Capital Group, Excite@Home, Bottomline Technologies, Buy.com, CMGI, Doubleclick, EarthWeb, eToys, Exodus Communications, Freemarkets, GoTo.com (n/k/a Overture Systems), Homestore.com, Inktomi, Interliant, iVillage, iXL Enterprises, Looksmart, Lycos, Openwave Systems, Pets.com, Priceline.com, Quokka Sports, Safeguard Scientifics, Software.com, VerticalNet, Webvan, and 24/7 Real Media, Inc. Subsequently, Merrill Lynch agreed to pay $100 million to settle these charges.
NEWS FROM WEDNESDAY 5/29 SAN ANTONIO — Medical Present Value, (MPV), a health care company striving to align and bring uniformity to financial transactions between payors and providers, has completed a $14 million Series B round of financing from private investors. The financing was led by Care Capital, LLC, and included new investors Star Ventures and Techxas Ventures. Additional funding was provided by existing investors Rho Ventures and CenterPoint Ventures.
HULL, CANADA — The Solidarity Fund QFL ($4,000,000), Innovatech du Grand Montreal ($1,500,000), the Business Development Bank of Canada ($1,500,000) and the Societe de diversification economique de l’Outaouais (SDEO) ($500,000) are participating in a round of financing totalling $7.5 million in Versatel Networks, a company that specializes in the design, manufacturing and marketing of programmable telephone switches. This investment will enable the company to finalize on the development of its programmable switches and to market these devices.
TORONTO — TD Capital today announced the initial closing of its Private Equity Investors fund of funds, the first of its kind sponsored in Canada. TD Capital Private Equity Investors will invest in a portfolio of 20 to 30 leading North American and European venture capital and buyout funds. The Fund will be diversified by geography (with investments in the United States, Europe and Canada) and by stage (with investments in buyout and expansion funds as well as venture capital funds). It is expected the Fund – through its private equity fund managers – will hold investments in over 500 private companies.
NEW YORK — Vindigo, the leading developer of personal navigation applications formobile devices, today announced that it has completed a third round of venture financing totaling $6.1 million. The round was led by new investor i-Hatch Ventures, with AOL Time Warner Ventures also investing for the first time. Current investors participated as well.
NEW YORK — Index Stock Imagery, announced today it has successfully closed a new round of funding. The round was led by Meridian Venture Partners, a private equity firm based in Radnor, PA. Seven of Index’s other previous investors participated in the round, including Pennsylvania-based SCP Private Equity Partners, Jonathan S. Greenwald of Interactive Capital, Inc., private investor Charles Brickman, and an affiliate of San Francisco-based Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Even more important than the funding, the Company’s shareholders agreed to restructure its ownership. This restructuring collapsed seven previous rounds of preferred stock into just two classes and eliminated all outstanding debt. Combined with the dramatic turnaround in the Company’s operating performance, the restructuring positions the Company for renewed future growth.
MILPITAS, CA — Confluence Networks, a developer of next-generation network-based storage management platforms, announced today the completion of a $28.3 million second round of venture capital funding, bringing its total funding to date to approximately $45 million. Venture Strategy Partners led the round, joined by previous blue chip investors Redpoint Ventures and NEA (New Enterprise Associates). New investors include Dali Hook Partners, Comcast Interactive Capital and Seagate Technology. Continued support from its existing top-tier investors, plus the infusion from two new venture capital firms and two strategic investors, strengthens Confluence’s financial base as it prepares to debut its initial product later this year.
AUSTIN, TX — NetQoS Inc., a provider of network performance tools and services, today announced it has secured $5 million in Series B funding. The funding was received from Liberty Partners, a private equity investment firm in New York City. The current round brings total funding to date to $16 million. Liberty Partners also was the sole investor in NetQoS’ Series A funding, emphasizing the firm’s confidence in NetQoS and its technology.
JACKSONVILLE, FL — Payformance Corp., a leading provider of secure payment solutions, today announced that it has secured $13 million in Series C funding from ABS Capital Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on investing in established growth companies. Phil Clough, Venture Partner with ABS Capital, and Don Hebb, ABS Capital’s Managing General Partner have joined Payformance’s board of directors. This financing will be used to fund working capital needs for expansion and increased sales and marketing efforts.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — Securify Inc., a pioneer and leader in network security policy solutions, today announced it has successfully completed its Series B private equity financing, raising more than $13 million from new and current investors. Benchmark Capital led the Series B round, and AltoTech Ventures, LP became a new investor. Series A investors Spectrum Equity Investors, Pequot Ventures, Bayview Capital Group and Kroll, Inc. (Nasdaq: KROL), added to their original investments. Securify also announced that David Beirne, general partner at Benchmark Capital, has joined Securify’s board of directors
Securify will use proceeds from the financing to expand its operations, including business development initiatives and intensified sales and marketing activities. Other Series A corporate investors include Gemplus International (Nasdaq: GEMP) and Internet Security Systems (Nasdaq: ISSX).
NEW YORK — Sprout Group announced today the appointment of James Niedel, M.D., Ph.D., as Venture Partner for health-care technology investments. The former chief science and technology officer for GlaxoSmithKline PLC, Dr. Niedel joined the Sprout Group on May 1, 2002.
Prior to joining Sprout, Dr. Niedel served as Chief Science and Technology Officer and was a member of the Corporate Executive Team for GlaxoSmithKline. From 1995 to 2001, as a member of the board of directors of Glaxo Wellcome plc, he held responsibility for global research and development, information technology and product strategy. Prior to this, Dr. Niedel was Vice President Research and Senior Vice President R&D for the U.S. subsidiary of Glaxo. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Niedel was Professor of Medicine and Chief of the division of Clinical Pharmacology at Duke Medical School.
OAK BROOK, IL — Bake-Line Group LLC, an industry-leading supplier of private label cookies and crackers, has purchased Turnbull Bakeries Inc., a Chattanooga, Tennessee-based private label manufacturer of ice cream cones, sugar wafers and other cookie items. The purchase price was not disclosed. Soros Private Equity Partners, New York, led the investment group for the transaction. Bake-Line Group, formerly known as Atlantic Baking Group, underwent a corporate name change earlier this month.
NEW YORK — Redwood Partners International, the first firm to provide financial advisory, executive search and venture capital through one unique platform, today announced that Joseph J. Lhota, Executive Vice President, Corporate Administration, Cablevision Systems Corporation and former New York deputy mayor under Mayor Rudolph Giuliani has joined Redwood’s Advisory Board.
ANN ARBOR, MI — Investment leaders from a variety of firms across the state have formed the new Michigan Venture Capital Association (the Michigan VCA) with the mission of helping people across the state understand the importance of venture capital and the role it plays in the development of new businesses. A concurrent goal will be to establish Michigan as a recognized international leader in the emerging technology industries of the next decade. Participants from regional and local venture capital firms, private equity firms, corporate venture departments and some of the best educational institutions joined to form the Michigan VCA, a trade organization that will act as the voice of the venture capital industry in Michigan.
PITTSBURGH — CombineNet, Inc., a developer of advanced combinatorial optimization software that solves complex business allocation problems, has closed on a $6.0 million second round of financing. Apex Venture Partners of Chicago and ECentury Capital Partners of the Washington D.C. Metro Area are the principal investors. Oak Hill Capital Partners acted as financial advisors and assisted in arranging the financing. Proceeds of the round will be used to scale the Company’s operations.
PALO ALTO, CA — Red Rock Ventures, the venturecapital partnership specializing in early stage enterprise softwareapplications and software infrastructure companies, announced today that ithas recently closed a new fund, Red Rock Ventures III. Additionally, Red Rockannounced it has completed its first investment in the new fund in PersistTechnologies, a provider of software storage solutions for large enterprises.
Red Rock also recently secured new rounds of outside funding from InnoCal Venture Capital, Greylock and RRE Ventures for existing portfolio companies SoftCoin, Inc. and Accruent, Inc. In the case of both companies, Red Rock significantly expanded its ownership stake.
NEWS FROM TUESDAY 5/28 BOSTON — VFA, the leader in facilities asset planning and management solutions, todayannounced the completion of a $4.5 million expansion-stage funding round withEdison Venture Fund. Additionally, Brown Brothers Harriman, the oldest andlargest privately owned investment and commercial bank in America, providedVFA a $2 million revolving line of credit. VFA will use the funds to expanddistribution and support for VFA.facility, the Company’s flagship softwareplatform, and its growing line of services. Funds will also be used to furtherexpand VFA’s Partner Program and accelerate development of its core softwaretechnologies.
BOSTON — GeoVue, the leader in innovative location intelligence solutions, today announced the appointment of Glen Bressner to its board of directors. Bressner, currently vice president of the general partners at Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds (MAVF), has advised growing companies on expansion strategies for more than 15 years, including the Massachusetts-based analyst firm Hurwitz Group as well as both publicly traded and privately held companies such as Digital Insight (NASDAQ: DGIN), MicroE Systems, and CarrierChoice.com. NEW YORK — iFormation Group announced today that Silicon Valley veteran Vincent Pluvinage has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of ipValue Management Inc., an emerging leader in the field of intellectual property (IP) monetization and management for large global companies.
Before joining ipValue, Vincent Pluvinage was CEO of Preview Systems, a software enterprise providing large corporations with secure electronic distribution technology for copyrighted media and software products. Prior to that, Dr. Pluvinage led a technology transfer in the healthcare sector between AT&T Bell Laboratories and ReSound Corporation. He then helped build ReSound from a start-up into a NASDAQ-traded company which became a global market leader in hearing devices. More recently, Dr. Pluvinage was a CEO-in-residence at Mobius Venture Capital.
PISCATAWAY, NJ — Photuris, a new transport systems developer, today announced it is entering into the metro regional market with a dynamic Optical Distribution System that merges wavelength power and SONET simplicity for interoffice networks. The company has unique optical innovations that give carriers a fully automated optical layer, judicious integration of WDM/TDM transport, and flexible, per-wavelength protection. The company?s system has already passed NEBS Level 3 testing as well as carrier testing, and the product will be shipping to additional field trials in June 2002. Also in June, the company will announce the completion of its Series C venture funding.
WASHINGTON US Bioservices Corp., a specialty pharmaceutical distribution and services company, today announced that it has completed the sale of $60 million of newly issued Series A preferred stock to Whitney & Co. The company will use the capital to continue expanding its current organization and to fund additional growth, primarily through acquisitions of businesses in the specialty pharmacy distribution and pharmaceutical outsourcing sectors.
Prior to forming US Bioservices, Leder co-founded HealthCare Financial Partners, Inc. (formerly NYSE:HCF) in 1993. HCF completed its initial public offering in 1996 and was sold to Heller Financial, Inc. (formerly NYSE:HF) for approximately $500 million in 1999.
SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS, FRANCE — QuesCom today announced that it has received an additional 2 million euros from BayTech Venture Capital a subsidiary of the Bayerische Landesbank, based in Munich. These funds bring QuesCom’s second round of funding to a total of 13 million euros and will speed up its development on the German market. The German market with its very innovative character is one of the most dynamic and competitive markets in the Telephony sector in Europe. This is the reason why QuesCom made it a priority development target, together with France and the UK.
This additional fund raising fits perfectly into the sales strategy focus that QuesCom announced in march when announcing the closing of its second round of funding. SPEF Venture and Mitsubishi had joined Sofinnova Partners, Societe Generale Asset Management and Cross Atlantic Venture in the acquisition of QuesCom shares. The additional 2 million euros brought in by BayTech Venture Capital will be more dedicated to the introduction into the German market.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Inter-touch Holdings Pty Ltd, a leading global provider of broadband Internet services for business travelers, has secured $5.5 million (A$10 million) in funding to continue its aggressive growth plans. The funding, secured through existing shareholders TVG (Telecom Venture Group) and TVP (Technology Venture Partners), will support the company’s rapid growth and build on inter-touch’s achievements to date.
SEATTLE — Impinj Inc., a fabless semiconductor company developing integrated circuitproducts for communication systems, today announced it has secured $14 million in asecond round of venture capital funding led by Polaris Venture Partners. Otherinvestors in this round include Impinj’s initial venture capital investorsARCH Venture Partners and Madrona Venture Group. It was also announced todaythat Steve Arnold, a co-founder and managing general partner of Polaris, willjoin Impinj’s board of directors effective immediately.
NEW YORK & EVANSVILLE, IN — First Atlantic Capital, JPMorgan Partners and Aetna Life Insurance Co. today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to sell their portfolio company, Berry Plastics Corp., to GS Capital Partners 2000, L.P., a private equity investment fund managed by Goldman, Sachs & Co., for $837.5 million, including repayment of existing indebtedness. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of financing, and is scheduled to close in the third quarter of 2002.Since First Atlantic first acquired Berry Plastics in 1990, revenues have grown from $57 million in 1990 to $462 million in 2001. Berry?s senior management team will remain in place and the Company will continue to operate out of its Evansville, Indiana headquarters.
BOSTON — Business law firm Foley Hoag announces today the move of its new Boston office to the top seven floors at World Trade Center West in the Seaport District. Foley Hoag is the first tenant to occupy the state-of-the art office building in what is becoming one of Boston’s premier commercial centers. This move to the waterfront will also officially mark the change of the firm’s name from Foley, Hoag & Eliot LLP to Foley Hoag LLP.
SAN FRANCISCO — Genstar Capital LP, a private equity firm specializing in equity investments structured as management buyouts or growth financings, today announced that Robert Weltman, who has been with the Firm since 1995, was promoted to the position of Managing Director from Principal. Mr. Weltman helps develop Genstar Capital’s life science investments and was instrumental in the successful realization of Genstar Capital’s investments in two of its portfolio companies, NEN Life Science Products and Panolam International.
The Company also announced that M. Scott Milius will join Genstar Capital as a Managing Director at the end of June. Mr. Milius comes to Genstar Capital from Gryphon Investors, a middle-market private equity firm based in San Francisco, where he was a Principal and a co-founder of the firm. Previously, he was an Associate at Golder, Thoma, Cressey, Rauner, Inc. Mr. Milius will focus on further developing and expanding Genstar’s expertise and investments in the business services sector. Mr. Milius was formerly a director of Provider HealthNet Services, TASQ Technology and Cummins Utility Supply. Mr. Milius earned an M.B.A. from Stanford University and a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan.
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