US-listed media group Walt Disney’s corporate venturing unit has made 2.33 times it money from the $80m sale of China-based video website while the local managing director has left to join a start-up.
Renren, a China-based social networking service, acquired 56.com, an online video-sharing site with 30 million users.
56.com had raised $30m in two rounds in 2007. Hikari Private Equity, the corporate venturing unit of Japan-listed Hikari Tsushin, and American financial services firm Susquehanna International Group China led the $20m B round in December 2007.
Software developer Adobe Systems, private equity firm CID Group, venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and Steamboat Ventures, the unit sponsored by the Walt Disney Company, also invested in this round having backed the A round. A source close to the deal said Steamboat had made 2.33 times it money from the sale.
Separately, Olivier Glauser (pictured), a venture partner and managing director of Steamboat Ventures in China, has left to join a start-up but said by email he would "eventually go back to investments".
Glauser joined Steamboat Ventures in 2007 after previously launching peer Qualcomm Ventures’ $100m China fund in 2003 as head of international investments. At Steamboat he is on the board of Troodon and is involved with UUSee and Beijing NetMovie.
A source close to Steamboat said the corporate venturing unit was "clearly focused on Asia" after earlier looking at whether to set up a European office under Glauser.