Private Equity
UPDATE: Two of the three people murdered at VC-backed chip company Siport Inc. have been identified. One was CEO Sid Agrawal and the other was VP of Operations Brian Pugh. The stress of a job loss in a bad economy is apparently at the heart of a triple homicide in Silicon Valley today. Police say three people were shot to death at VC-backed chip company Siport Inc., and they are looking for a man who was reportedly fired from the company recently. Jing Wu, 47, is being sought for questioning in the triple homicide. The names of the victims have not been released. Siport, founded in 2004, makes digital radio semiconductors. It received $20.5 million in venture backing in June 2007 from Intel Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Morgenthaler Ventures and New Venture Partners, according to Thomson Reuters (publisher of peHUB).
1 min read · 15 November 2008
The global financial crisis has caused venture capitalists to dramatically reduce their deal making, according to preliminary data gathered by Thomson Reuters. (UPDATE: Full story from PE Week is pasted below.) Read the full story here in PE Week (it's free to everyone today). The data show that U.S.-based venture firms invested in just 250 companies in October, down from 565 companies in September and 518 companies in October 2007. You have to go all the way back to January 2004 (when they invested in 232 companies) to find a lower number. The only other October with fewer deals was in 1993. The amount of capital that VCs are investing also plummeted in October, when U.S.-based firms put $2.5 billion to work, down from $3.8 billion in September and $3.2 billion in October 2007. The October
4 min read · 10 November 2008
3 min read · 07 November 2008
The latest issue of Venture Capital Journal is out and I’ve got a free story for non-subscribers. Entitled “Project financiers now on speed dial,” the story looks at how cleantech companies have been squeezed by the economic downturn and credit crunch. A lot of these venture-backed companies, like solar companies and biofuel makers, need big investments to scale up. And they can’t go back to their VCs because – except for a handful of new cleantech growth funds – most venture firms just can’t write checks of that size. This is where project financiers like John Buehler of Energy Investors Funds come in. After Buehler recently put $60 million into a $160 million debt and equity round for Solar Power Partners
1 min read · 03 November 2008
2 min read · 14 October 2008
Before Sequoia Capital gathered its portfolio companies this past Tuesday to give them advice about the current economic unpleasantness, Benchmark Capital sent the following advice the prior week to the CEOs and CFOs of its portfolio companies. In sharing the memo with us, General Partner Bill Gurley notes: that it "was intended to be low key. We werent trying to create coverage." He adds: "We are not under our desk. We believe that there is tremendous opportunity that arises in situations like this. As a result we (a) want for our current investments to re-optimize around the new reality, and (b) will be very active in pursuing new deals/opportunities." That said, here's the memo: Benchmark September 2008 Perspective
1 min read · 10 October 2008
A lot of advice is being offered up by VCs to their portfolio companies about how to deal with the current financial crisis -- from Sequoia Capital to Ron Conway to Promod Haque. Well, here's some advice for venture firms themselves. It may sound like it was written today, but peHUB Editor Dan Primack actually wrote it back in May 2002. Give it a gander and let us know if you think it's still on the money. Also, let us know if you'd add anything to the list.
1 min read · 10 October 2008
2 min read · 09 October 2008
2 min read · 07 October 2008
1 min read · 23 September 2008
