Freshwater fishing.
Month: May 2013
Large Investment of the Year: Square
Coffee chain Starbucks caught the mood when it invested $25m in US-based mobile payments company Square as part of a strategic tie-up and this year’s winner of the Global Corporate Venturing Award for Large Investment. The deal was a rare step into corporate venturing by Starbucks, but this did not restrain the ambition of the… Continue reading Large Investment of the Year: Square
IPO of the Year: Facebook
A burning issue,
Exit of the Year: Buddy Media
UK-based communications group WPP’s chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell wrote tantalisingly of his group’s two biggest corporate venturing exits in the Sunday Telegraph in March, that the sale of Buddy Media, a social marketing company, for $745m to US-based cloud company Salesforce – our exit of the year – as well as the sale of… Continue reading Exit of the Year: Buddy Media
New Entrant of the Year: Nielsen
The corporate venturing unit expects an imminent close on its fundraising with another strategic backer besides Nielsen.
Awards: Children of the revolution
The winners were picked by editorial selection with the help of our advisory board. Many thanks for their help.
Fundraising of the year: Amerigo
The buoyant times in corporate venturing mean there was an ample range of fundraising to choose from for our prize of fund of the year, and this was the award we took most time to debate. Our editorial team and advisory board also flagged as worthy Unilever Ventures’ $450m third fund, which had a creative… Continue reading Fundraising of the year: Amerigo
Lifetime Achievement Award: Charles Searle
The group secured its first key success by targeting expansion in China with exceptionally good timing, riding much of the exceptional growth of that country during the last decade.
Personality of the year: Tony Askew
Chairman of the new corporate venturing group of UK trade body the British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, adds industry gravitas to strong investment picking record.
Unit of the year: Intel Capital
Arguably no corporate venturing unit globally has achieved this more convincingly than Intel Capital, the corporate venturing unit of the US-based chipmaker.
Merck more than doubles fund
Germany-based pharmaceutical company Merck KGaA has more than doubled the size of its corporate venturing unit to €100m ($130m). In March 2009, Merck founded its corporate venturing unit – now branded as MS Ventures was – with €40m to invest in early-stage biotechnology companies in oncology, neurodegenerative diseases, fertility, endocrinology and cardiometabolic care. This initial… Continue reading Merck more than doubles fund
$3687.7bn descends on London
More than 250 corporate venturing powerbrokers have gathered in London, UK, to attend the Global Corporate Venturing (GCV) Symposium starting today.
SAP adds $250m to funds
SAP Ventures, which is looking to become independent later this decade, now manages $405m in its Hana programme to commit to early-stage venture capital funds, such as SV Angel and August Capital, around the world.
Kodis replaces Kolnaar at Sabic
Andrew Kodis (pictured) has replaced Hans Kolnaar as head of Saudi Arabia-based chemicals company Sabic’s corporate venturing unit (CVC). Kolnaar said by email he was becoming marketing director in Europe for Sabic’s innovative plastics business as of June 1. Kodis worked within industrial group General Electric’s plastics division moving to Sabic in 2007 when the… Continue reading Kodis replaces Kolnaar at Sabic