Private Equity
Highland Capital Partners has begun raising its eighth venture fund, with a target of around $400 million. That’s pretty large for a typical VC fund, but small for a firm whose past two vehicles came in at around $800 million (it also raised $300m for a consumer-focused fund). So, what gives? The basic answer seems to be that Highland might be putting common sense above fee-mongering. I know, they might get kicked out of the club (at which point they can just retreat to Wyc’s Lexus Club in the Boston Garden). Here’s what I mean: Both fund-raising and deal-making volumes are deflated right now, due to things like LP liquidity constraints and decreased valuations. So Highland will raise less now and, if the environment improves, go back out for a larger fund sooner than it normally would. If times stay tough, then it’s sized appropriately for a normal investment cycle.
1 min read · 09 April 2009
DFJ Gotham has raised $35 million toward a $125 million second fund, according to a regulatory filing. That’s more than twice what the firm raised during its previous close in September 2007. So far, the New York-based Draper Fisher Jurvetson affiliate has raised the money from 36 investors, including CS Strategic Partners IV VC Holdings and Lehman Brothers Custom Fund A. The proposed target is slightly more than the $107 million DFJ Gotham raised for its debut fund in 2000.
2 min read · 08 April 2009
1 min read · 07 April 2009
peHUB has learned that Capital Dynamics of Switzerland has signed an agreement to buy HRJ Capital, a Silicon Valley fund-of-funds manager that last year defaulted on a warehouse loan from Silicon Valley Bank. Financial terms are being held close to the vest, although sources say that the transaction will include a partial repayment of the $68.9 million debt. A final close is not expected to occur for at least a month, because HRJ needs to get limited partner approval for the change of management company. This deal would cap off a traumatic year for HRJ, a firm formed in 1999 by ex-NFL stars Harris Barton and Ronnie Lott.
3 min read · 31 March 2009
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Google Inc (GOOG.O) is forming a $100 million fund to invest in early-stage start-up firms. The fund, to be called Google Ventures, will be wholly owned by Google, but will operate as a separate entity and will seek investment opportunities to maximize returns rather than looking for investments that strictly fit with Google's strategic vision. Rich Miner, a co-founder of Android smart phone software that Google acquired in 2005, and Bill Maris are the fund's two managing partners.
2 min read · 31 March 2009
Murex Investments and RHD Inc. have launched GoodCompany Ventures, a Philadelphia-based venture-style incubator program for socially-conscious entrepreneurs.
2 min read · 31 March 2009
Three growth equity partners from Bellevue-based VC firm Ignition Partners have packed up their offices, renamed themselves Ignition Capital and moved to a new home in downtown Seattle. Back in late 2007, Ignition raised two separate funds, a $400 million vehicle for early-stage investments (Ignition Ventures IV), and a $275 million fund for later-stage stage companies looking to scale faster (Ignition Growth Capital Fund). At the time, Ignition said it planned to make about 30 investments from the early-stage fund and eight to 10 investments from the growth fund, focusing on telecom, software and services. The growth fund had a global mandate, while the early-stage activities focused, sometimes to the firm's detriment, on the Pacific Northwest.
2 min read · 30 March 2009
Essex Woodlands Health Ventures has closed its eighth fund with $900 million in capital commitments. It will focus on growth equity investments in life sciences companies, across North America, Europe and Asia.
2 min read · 30 March 2009
Charles River Ventures has closed its fourteenth fund with $320 million in capital commitments. peHUB had previously reported that the fund was closing, but we were a bit low at $300 million.
3 min read · 30 March 2009
Early Saturday morning, Ross Levinsohn confirmed reports that Jon Miller -- his investment partner for the past several years and former CEO of America Online -- is heading back to the operating world, as News Corp.'s new head of digital media. The deal isn't official yet, but is expected to close once Miller's non-compete with Time Warner expires this Tuesday at midnight. Most of the related coverage has focused on what Miller's move could mean for News Corp., but I'm more interested in the ramifications for Velocity Interactive Group -- a VC firm that Miller and Levinsohn helped form in late 2007, alongside the dysfunctional remains of ComVentures. My gut reaction is that it may prove fatal, particularly given Velocity's difficulty raising new money even with Miller. On the other hand, it's also possible that Miller's presence was a double-edged sword for certain LPs, given his well-known (and now indisputable) wanderlust. Not that his departure is a net positive, but perhaps it's more a flesh wound than a death blow.
3 min read · 30 March 2009
