Private Equity
Blair Garrou is unassuming, but he’s as ambitious a venture capitalist as you’re likely to meet, as evidenced in part by his co-founding Houston-based DFJ Mercury at just 32 years of age. He was young, but having worked as a principal at the Houston-based private equity firm Genesis Park, and as the CEO of Intermat, a decades-old portfolio company of Genesis that Garrou helped sell to a public company, he decided he was ready anyway. That Garrou helped convinced investors of the same is more impressive. Indeed, the firm, formed in 2005, managed to collect $30 million to invest between $100,000 and $5 million into nascent companies -- particularly those created out of tech transfer programs in Texas, Illinois, Colorado and Michigan. This spring, despite what’s long been an
3 min read · 15 July 2010
1 min read · 14 July 2010
Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian Internet conglomerate, has sold a 28.7% ownership stake to Naspers, a global media group based in South Africa. The deal involves $388 million in cash, plus Naspers' 39.3% stake in Mail.ru.
2 min read · 14 July 2010
For a very long time, venture capitalists reveled in their exclusivity. They took meetings with those they knew, or those who came personally recommended. Then they went golfing, and let inexperienced entrepreneurs fend for themselves. Over the past year, however, the venture capital market has undergone something of an accessibility revolution. Office hours, institutional incubators, socially-networked superangels, no-cost elevator pitch events and more. The latest step in the right direction comes tomorrow morning, when Bain Capital Ventures launches an online "Innovation Center" for early-stage entrepreneurs.
2 min read · 13 July 2010
It’s no secret that dozens of venture capital firms are fighting for their lives. It may be time to add Rustic Canyon Partners to that list. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based firm began life with a bang, raising $500 million for its debut fund in 1999. It would later raise small vehicles -- including an SBIC fund and a joint fund with Fontis -- and then secured just over $200 million for Rustic Canyon III. That vehicle officially closed in October 2008, though fundraising, and investing, began in early 2007.
3 min read · 13 July 2010
The Irish government has launched a €500 million fund-of-funds "to support enterprise development and job creation." Specifically, the vehicle will commit to international VC firms that agree to launch new European operations in Ireland.
4 min read · 12 July 2010
Dow Jones today published VC fundraising data for the first half of 2010, showing a 13% bump over the first half of last year. This prompted headlines like: "VC Doesn't Look So Bad at the Half After All" and story ledes like "There’s good news for venture fundraising this morning." I hate to piss all over the parade, but this data is hardly worth celebrating. Here are three reasons why: 1. Bigger fundraising totals do not necessarily translate into better returns. For example, the high-water mark for VC fundraising was set in 2000, when funds secured over $100 billion. Lots of money, but it's also one of the worst-ever vintage years for VC funds in terms of performance. Cambridge Associates puts the pooled mean (net to LPs) at -1.26 percent. The only weaker vintage (five years or older) was 1999, which happens to have been the second-best VC fundraising year on record.
2 min read · 08 July 2010
1 min read · 06 July 2010
Venrock has closed its sixth venture capital fund with $350 million in capital commitments, peHUB has learned. Expect a formal announcement later this morning. At first blush, it's tempting to say that Venrock's fund-raising success was no big deal. After all, the firm was only targeting 58% of the $600 million it raised for its fifth fund in 2005. But I've got to give some major kudos here. First, Venrock reached its modest target very quickly -- something that many rival firms have struggled to do. Second, it somehow managed to maintain its 25% carried interest structure. Third, and perhaps most important, it succeeded despite some major personnel changes and investment strategy tweaks.
4 min read · 06 July 2010
UV Partners, an early-stage venture capital firm, has changed its name to Pelion Venture Partners. The Salt Lake City-based firm is investing out of a $122 million fourth fund, and says the following on its website:
1 min read · 29 June 2010
