Continue reading Private Equity Tax Could Have Unintended Consequences

Private Equity Tax Could Have Unintended Consequences originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Feb 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading HootSuite Rakes in Close to $2 Million in New Venture Round

HootSuite Rakes in Close to $2 Million in New Venture Round originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 15 Jan 2010 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The U.S. Department of Energy is becoming a major venture capital player. The government agency is shooting to dish out -- through loans and grants -- more than $40 billion to companies in the clean technology space. The DOE is looking to fund a wide range of businesses in this space from solar panels to electric cars. In the first three quarters of this year, the department pushed out $13 billion under this model, far ahead of the $2.68 billion that venture capital funds pumped into the sector.

So far, more than 40 companies involved in the auto industry have pursued DOE cash. They have their collective eye on the $25 billion in federal low interest loans that have been allocated to the sector.

Continue reading DOE drives clean-tech venture capital market

DOE drives clean-tech venture capital market originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Sunny skies are here for Ausra, the solar thermal company backed by Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures. The company is looking for a buyer, and it's already talking to three, according to a report by Reuters. Everything is up for grabs, from a majority stake in the company to 100% of it, and the back-and-forth going on is at a "very aggressive level."

The businesses looking to pick up Ausra are said to be global power generation conglomerates but haven't been named yet. So, the clean energy company would be a way for one of them to diversify.

Continue reading Three buyers vying for solar thermal company Ausra

Three buyers vying for solar thermal company Ausra originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The clean technology wave just got a little bigger. This tends to be a side-effect of interest from billionaire investor George Soros. And, as usual, it's more than just money; it's more than just a return. Soros, yet again, is trying to save the world. Interestingly, the bold move was announced at a meeting on climate change sponsored by Project Syndicate - an international association consisting of 430 newspapers from 150 countries (and thus with clear ties to the past, rather than future).

The investor and founder of Soros Fund Management LLC is planning to put $1 billion into clean-tech opportunities using what he calls "rather stringent criteria," which involves being "profitable but should also actually make a contribution to solving the problem [i.e., of clean technology adoption and proliferation]." Soros didn't provide any other details on the nature or scope of his investments.

Continue reading Soros to put $1 billion into clean-tech companies

Soros to put $1 billion into clean-tech companies originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

GreenBytes, a unique data storage appliance company, has just received an $8 million Series A round of investment financing. Battery Ventures completed the deal, which provides fresh resources for the Rhode Island-based energy-efficient technology company.

Founded in 2007, GreenBytes offers network attached storage (NAS) and storage area network (SAN) solutions that reduce energy consumption, providing a cost savings opportunity while also addressing corporate social responsibility considerations.

Continue reading Green data storage firm picks up $8 million Series A round

Green data storage firm picks up $8 million Series A round originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It looks like Skype is going to wind up with a new owner. Internet auction company eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) owns Skype now but is said to be selling the online telephony provider to private investors.

Andreessen Horowitz, a recently formed venture capital fund with Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen at the helm, is said to be a likely participant in a transaction. Index Ventures of London and Silver Lake Partners are also rumored to be involved.

Continue reading eBay may be selling Skype -- can it get what it wants?

eBay may be selling Skype -- can it get what it wants? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 Sep 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Venture capital funds found 612 companies in which to invest $3.67 billion in Q2. Of this, $1.5 billion (41%) was first-time financing, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the National Venture Capital Association. This is only slightly ahead of the action in Q1, in which 141 transactions were first-time, and far behind the pace we enjoyed earlier this decade.

The biotech sector was the big winner in a shrinking market, with funding up 54% to $888 million over 85 deals. The software business was flat quarter-over-quarter at 4644 million over 135 transactions. Investments in internet companies fell 15% to $524 million via 124 deals. Clean technology showed considerable growth, up 15% to $274 million, with 42 transactions closed.

Continue reading VC first-time infusions hit 15-year low

VC first-time infusions hit 15-year low originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 21 Jul 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Venrock is one of the top VCs in the world. Some of its early-stage investments include Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC), just to name a few.

Continue reading Venrock VC looks at the next big ideas

Venrock VC looks at the next big ideas originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Predictions for U.S. auto sales look grim for 2009. With the wealth destruction and grinding recession, the number of auto sales may be only ten million or so.

But, this could actually be good news for DriverSide, which is a resource for car owners.

In fact, the site raised a cool $5.3 million in venture capital recently (in all, the company has raised $8.4 million). The lead investor: Allegis Capital.

Continue reading DriverSide.com is the driver's seat with $5.3 million

DriverSide.com is the driver's seat with $5.3 million originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Mar 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It's a massive undertaking - that is, the liquidation of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Over a hundred years, the company has assembled a wide assortment of global assets and investments. Although, as the firm tries to unload these - in a harsh environment - there are likely to be some lucky buyers.

And, according to a piece in the Wall Street Journal (subscription only), it looks like Lehman is in the process of spinning off its VC arm, which has about $750 million in assets.

Continue reading Lehman to dump VC arm

Lehman to dump VC arm originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Feb 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Seemingly out of nowhere, Twitter has turned into a huge phenomenon. I hear about it all the time. In fact, it's an extremely easy service -- basically, think of it as public instant messaging.

Oh, and there's something else: Twitter doesn't make any money.

But hey, it doesn't so much matter (at least now). You see, the company has raised $35 million from Benchmark, Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital Institutional Venture Partners. It's the company's third round of funding. Moreover, the rumor is that the valuation is now at $200 million to $250 million.

Continue reading Twitter tweets $35 million

Twitter tweets $35 million originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 14 Feb 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

When talking to the founders of early-stage founders, I hear a common message: it's nearly impossible to raise venture capital. Basically, the VC world is in "hunker-down" mode because of the slowing economy as well as the dearth of IPOs and M&A deals (there were only six VC-backed IPOs last year). True, VCs are supposed to take a long-term view - but human emotions usually dominate during times of uncertainty. Hey, just look at what happened during the dot-com bust.

Continue reading In venture capital, only the paranoid survive

In venture capital, only the paranoid survive originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From 2003 to 2007, VCs had little trouble raising capital for their funds. During this period, the amount raised spiked from $10.6 billion to $35.5 billion.

It's kind of curious, actually, because during this time venture deals have lagged. The primary reasons include the lackluster IPO market and muted M&A environment. Perhaps those who invest in VC funds were being patient. Hey, aren't these vehicles long-term?

Well, maybe not. If anything, it looks like investors are backing off. According to a report from the National Venture Capital Association, there was a 21% drop in VC fundraising last year. The total was about $28 billion.

In fact, VCs raised a mere $3.4 billion in Q4. Simply put, investors are looking for liquidity - and this means avoiding VC funds.

Interestingly enough, it's mostly large funds that are getting dollars, such as Accel Partners (which got a cool $1 billion). This means that there will likely be more focus on larger deals, crowding out the smaller ventures.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

VC funding runs out of gas originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 20 Jan 2009 10:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After the dot-com implosion, there was much talk about the death of the venture capital (VC) industry. And, while there was some pain, many firms survived. But the death may have only been delayed.

VCs need to generate substantial returns for their investors. Even though there have been some winners - such as Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) and Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) - there hasn't been enough activity. Simply put, the IPO market continues to deteriorate and M&A transactions are trailing off. Hey, there were only six VC-backed IPOs in 2008.

So, with thousands of VC firms in the market, it appears that the industry is poised for a Darwinian shakeout, according to the FT.

However, this doesn't mean that VC fundings will go dry. Basically, top firms will continue to do deals, but the approach will be more cautious and certain categories will get starved (such as social media and Web 2.0).

What are some hot spots? Well, according to the NY Times, the areas include web-based software, cloud computing, virtualization, open source and clean tech. Also, new companies will need to go beyond advertising revenues and expand their business models to areas like subscriptions.

Yes, as the recession continues, expect fewer free Net services.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

New Year's resolution for VCs: Survival originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

VCs hunker down originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

Chegg.com wants to disrupt the textbook monopoly originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Dec 2008 12:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Social networks and blogs seem like a perfect fit. Yet, the merging of the two has been elusive.

Now, there may be solution: Tumblr. In fact, the company recently snagged $4.5 million in venture capital. The investors include: Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital.

True, it's not a big amount. Yet, it's still impressive in the current environment -in which investors are steering away from social media deals.

Interestingly enough, Tumblr doesn't even have any revenues. Oh, and the founder -- David Karp - is only 22 years old.

OK, so why the interest? Simply put, Tumblr has hit a nerve. Over the past 12 months, the site has hit 15 million monthly uniques and there are 500,000 users who are publishing on the platform. Keep in mind that the firm has only three employees.

For the most part, Tumblr is a simple application, which allows for the creation of so-called tumblelogs. Think of such things as short-form content, like pictures, videos and so on. It's easy to create tumblelogs (setup is only ten seconds) as well as to share them with your friends.

With the infusion of capital, Tumblr plans to make some important steps, such as adding premium products. And, assuming it's user base is loyal - which seems to be the case - there is likely to be some traction.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

Tumblr scoops up $4.5 million originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With millions of dollars to play with, I'm sometimes amazed with the things VCs invest in. Then again, the game is to play for home runs. And, break-out companies are not necessarily easy to spot.

So this week, there's was an interesting deal that hit the wires: Roost, a real estate portal, was able to snag a cool $8 million in funding. The investors included Shasta Ventures, General Catalyst Partners, The Cross Country Group LLC and Geolo Capital.

Crazy? Maybe not. For the most part, it takes several years for a new platform to get critical mass. So, why not do this when competitors are not getting funding?

While real estate is in a terrible slump, it will certainly not last forever. If anything, there is likely to be a good amount of long-term growth, especially for those companies that are offering new services that resonate with customer needs.

As for Roost, it provides a strong search engine to find homes as well as get value-added services. What's more, the site is providing some topical categories, such as foreclosure listings (there are more than three million house profiles on the site).

Besides, over the long-term, it's inevitable that marketing dollars will move from traditional sources to the Web - which will be a big boost to Roost.

Alex Chang, who is the CEO of Roost, also wrote up a blog post on the recent funding. According to him: "Like many folks, I lived through the .com bust and learned a great lesson. Terrific businesses can be built during tough times, but only if they're adding real value to their customers."

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

Venture capital for a real estate site...really? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity

Huffington Post raises $25 million originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.