Highland Capital Partners related stories
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- Slideshow: Playing The Field: PE And Pro Sports
After Comcast-Spectator agreed in July to sell the Philadelphia 76ers to a group led by Joshua Harris, an Apollo Global Management co-founder, and including David Blitzer, a Blackstone Group senior managing director, and after Tom Gores, the founder and chief executive of Platinum Equity, signed a deal in April to buy the Detroit Pistons, we got to wondering, over at sister publication Buyouts, about other participation by buyouts pros—and even firms themselves—in big-league sports. Here's what we found:
- Spartoo Hires Jefferies to Help With Fundraising
Spartoo, a French online shoe retailer backed by Highland Capital Partners and Endeavor Vision, has hired Jefferies to help it raise 100 million euro ($143.7 million), Reuters reported Friday. Formed in 2006, the company would use the funding to expand. Reuters cited sources placing the company’s value at between 200 million and 250 million euro. Spartoo is also backed by CMC-CIC Capital Prive and Aplus Finance.
- 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