Elevation Partners related stories
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Top Posts this Week Focus on Groupon, Fundraising, Relationships and JobsToo busy to keep up with your reading this week? No worries. We've got you covered. Here are the top 10 posts that garnered the most unique pageviews from regular readers from Nov. 7 to 11. ONE: Here’s How VCs Did on Groupon Investment of ‘Like a Billion Dollars’ https://admin.venturecapitaljournal.com/125020/here%E2%80%99s-how-vcs-did-on-groupon-investment-of-%E2%80%98like-a-billion-dollars%E2%80%99/ - by Lawrence Aragon TWO: Top 10 U.S. Buyout and Mezz Fundraisings YTD https://admin.venturecapitaljournal.com/125510/top-10-us-buyout-and-mezz-fundraisings-ytd/ - by Angela Sormani THREE: Where Groupon Shares Go from Here? This List Gives a Hint https://admin.venturecapitaljournal.com/125236/where-groupon-shares-go-from-here-this-list-gives-a-hint/ - by Connie Loizos FOUR: Slideshow: Top 10 Global Cleantech Funds Raised YTD https://admin.venturecapitaljournal.com/125550/slideshow-top-10-global-cleantech-funds-raised-ytd/ - by Angela Sormani FIVE: Silicon Valley Is A Multi-Inning Game, Relationships Are How You Play https://admin.venturecapitaljournal.com/125067/ben-smith-silicon-valley-is-a-multi-inning-game-networking-is-how-you-play/ - by Ben Smith SIX: Seven Terrible Startup Names, and One Really Great New One https://admin.venturecapitaljournal.com/124179/7-terrible-startup-names-and-one-really-great-new-one/ (subscribers only) - by Connie Loizos SEVEN: VCs Are Working Hard on Job-Related Startups (slideshow) https://admin.venturecapitaljournal.com/125600/vcs-are-working-hard-on-job-related-startups-slideshow/ - by Joanna Glasner EIGHT: Scoop: Elevation Partners Looks to Raise up to $1.9B for Growth Fund https://admin.venturecapitaljournal.com/125779/scoop-elevation-partners-looks-to-raise-up-to-19b-for-growth-fund/ - by Luisa Beltran NINE: Up to Half of PE General Partnerships Could Disappear in Next Five Years: Report https://admin.venturecapitaljournal.com/125195/up-to-half-of-pe-general-partnerships-could-disappear-in-next-five-years-report/ - by Luisa Beltran TEN: Hicks Muse Successor Struggles With Media Deals; Brodsky Gone https://admin.venturecapitaljournal.com/125356/hicks-muse-successor-struggles-with-media-deals-brodsky-gone/ - by Bernard Vaughan
- PE Wants AOL & Other Lies We Keep Telling Ourselves
Private equity may not be the last great hope for AOL. In fact, it may be no hope at all. According to a story last week from Bloomberg News, buying AOL would be a cheap way http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-18/aol-at-57-cents-on-dollar-gets-last-best-hope-in-private-equity-real-m-a.html for a PE firm to get online. AOL could sell for about $1.5 billion, according to an analyst cited in the story. Such an amount would be in line with the 41% premium paid in takeovers greater than $500 million. The story didn't name any PE firms that are or would be interested....
- Wordnik Raises $8M
Lucas Venture Group, Mohr Davidow Ventures, FLOODGATE, Baseline Ventures, Roger McNamee and additional individuals have poured $8 million into Wordnik, a company developing “word navigation systems.” The company also added Bradley Horowitz, vice president of product management for Google, to its board. The Series C round brings the company’s total raised to $12.8 million.
- Scoop: Elevation Plans to Raise Seed Fund, Will LPs Dig It?
Private equity firm Elevation Partners plans to raise a new seed stage fund, peHUB has learned. As peHUB previously reported, Elevation Partners co-founder Roger McNamee said in a speech late last month http://fora.tv/2011/06/28/Elevation_Partners_Director_and_Co-Founder_Roger_McNamee that his firm would start make seed stage investments. A source with knowledge of Elevation’s plans tells peHUB that the firm will not make the seed investments out of its $1.8 billion PE fund, raised in 2005. Instead, the firm will raise a new fund, the source says, noting that the size of the vehicle has yet to be determined. McNamee first spoke about his interest in seed deals at the Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, telling the audience that
- McNamee Promises to Make Seed Investments from Buyout Shop Elevation Partners
What’s up with Roger McNamee and Elevation Partners? This 29-year investment veteran and Elevation co-founder vows he will go seed stage. Yup, that’s the same private equity firm presently making “large scale investments in market-leading media, entertainment and consumer-related businesses.” So what’s afoot? McNamee discussed his new approach late last month during an address to the Paley Center for Media http://fora.tv/2011/06/28/Elevation_Partners_Director_and_Co-Founder_Roger_McNamee a Los Angeles-based forum. He acknowledged having changed his focus several times during his career. Apparently the time is
- Poll Results: Celebrity Hires Don't Produce Real ROI for VC or PE Firms
You’re just as skeptical as we are about the merits of a VC or PE firm adding a celebrity to its roster. In this week’s poll /110517/question-of-the-week-do-celebrity-hires-produce-real-roi/ 27% of peHUB readers said celebrity hires produce real ROI for VC and/or PE firms, but 73% said such hires are little more than publicity stunts. “I think this collision of pop culture and VC produces great PR and thus probably some great deal flow, but actual returns? Hard to see the direct connection,” wrote Lisa Suennen, founding partner of venture firm Psilos Group Managers and a peHUB contributor. “I did write about this very topic recently on VentureValkyrie http://www.venturevalkyrie.com/2011/04/26/mc-vc/2090 when MC Hammer joined up with venture incubator NewME.” Three others who wrote extended comments said the real benefit of bringing on a big name is that it helps with
- Question of the Week: Do Celebrity Hires Produce Real ROI?
Create your free online surveys http://www.surveymonkey.com/ with SurveyMonkey, the world's leading questionnaire tool. When we heard Larry Summers was jumping into the VC game https://admin.venturecapitaljournal.com/110511/ex-treasury-secretary-summers-to-be-special-advisor-for-andreessen-horowitz/ we just assumed Kleiner Perkins was adding another celebrity to its roster. But it turned out that newbie venture firm Andreessen Horowitz brought on the former U.S. Treasury Secretary as a “part-time special advisor.” We’re still trying to figure out what a part-time special advisor does, but the more pressing question we have is whether big shots like Summers do anything for a venture firm other than get it mentioned in the press. Before we start calling these firms to ask our annoying questions, we’d like to know what you, dear reader, have to say. For example, do you think that U2 lead singer Bono http://www.elevation.com/EP_IT.asp?id=112 has added value to Elevation Partners, the technology-focused PE firm he co-founded in 2005? It’s not clear to us what Elevation has gotten out of the relationship – besides the fact that Elevation co-founder Roger McNamee’s band, Moonalice, got to open for U2 http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_18202641 in Oakland, Calif., earlier this month. We’re also curious about how Kleiner Perkins has benefitted from its alliances with
