Maveron related stories
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Back to SchoolAlthough few education startups have swayed the masses in the past, VCs are once again backing tech companies focused on the sector, especially those that incorporate social and digital media, game dynamics and performance tracking.
- Maveron Promotes Jason Stoffer
Consumer focused venture firm Maveron has promoted Jason Stoffer to partner. Stoffer joined the firm in 2007, and was previously a principal. Maveron has offices in San Francsico and Seattle.
- Reduced Groupon IPO to Price Nov. 3, Trade the Next Day
Groupon is expected to price its IPO on Nov. 3 and trade the next day, a source says. The Chicago-based daily deals could raise as much as $540 million, according to its latest SEC filing http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1490281/000104746911008605/a2205238zs-1a.htm Groupon said it planned to sell 30 million shares at $16 to $18 each via joint bookrunners Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse. The eleven other underwriters on the deal include Allen & Co., BofA Merrill Lynch and Barclays Capital. The underwriters have the option to buy an additional 4.5 million class A shares, the Oct. 21 SEC filing said.
- Maveron Makes Trader a Venture Partner
Andrew Trader was named a venture partner with Maveron. Trader, who is based in San Francisco, joined Maveron in 2010 as an Entrepreneur in Residence. He was previously a member of Zynga's founding team.
- peerTransfer Raises $7.5 Million
peerTransfer was provided a $7.5 million round of financing from investors including Accel Partners, Maveron and Boston Seed Capital, which was led by VC Spark Capital. The investment is peerTransfer’s Series A round. Capital will be used by the global payment solutions for international education payments company for operational expansion.
- Slideshow: Top 10 PE-Backed Companies Waiting To Go Public
Did broad market volatility last week slam shut the IPO window? It's not really clear. IPOs, in August, typically fall into a lull as much of Wall Street goes on vacation. Fourth quarter is usually the strongest time for new offerings. But August has been very slow. Eleven IPOs were pulled last week due to poor market conditions. Of these, four were PE-backed, according to Dealogic. Carbonite, last week, succeeded in going public (shares of the company rose nearly 24% ../../115294/carbonite-ipo-opens-gains-nearly-20/ ). Including Carbointe, only three deals have priced this month (SandRidge Permian Trust and American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. are the other two). Only one other deal is on deck for August, Dealogic says. It's not clear what will happen to companies waiting to go pubic. There are 54 private equity-backed companies that have filed for IPOs this year, worth a combined $12.54 billion, Dealogic says. Last year at this time, we also had 54 PE-backed companies that registered for an offering, raising a combined $15.8 billion. This included HCA's $3.5 billion deal. The IPO window will likely open back up but it's not clear what companies will be able to go pubilc. Of course, just because a company files for an IPO doesn't necessarily mean it will go public. Many times, companies file and just sit in registration as they wait for the perfect time to IPO. Or, as they wait, they get sold. Here's a list of the top 10 PE-backed IPO's that are currently in registration, according to Dealogic.
- Backed by Mission, Maveron & Emergence, Zui.com Launches
KidZui, the developer of an Internet browser for kids, has launched its Zui.com search engine for kids aged 3 to 12 years old. The site is backed by $2 million in financing from Mission Ventures, Maveron, Emergence Capital and Scholastic Corp. The company sealed $1 million this spring, and grabbed $1 million last fall. KidZui is based in San Diego, Calif.