Constellation Technology Ventures, a corporate venturing unit of energy company Exelon, has invested $42m alongside Shea Ventures, Rho Ventures and Prelude Ventures, in a series E round of funding for SolarBridge Technologies. The solar microconverter and monitoring technology company will use the proceeds of the funding to expand its sales and marketing capabilities in North… Continue reading Constellation converts SolarBridge into new strategy
Author: Katherine Steiner-Dicks
Exit: Renaissance passes with flying colours
When Google Capital decided to invest $40m in US educational assessment company Renaissance Learning in February of this year, it perhaps did not consider a chunk of that investment would be realised about a month later. At the time of the investment the business was valued at $1bn and just a month later the business saw its value hit the $1.1bn mark when it was acquired by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman.
Google Capital hammers $50m for Auction.com
Google Capital, one of the corporate venturing units of the eponymous internet search engine, has invested $50m in US online real estate auction site, Auction.com. The company has sold nearly $20bn in assets since 2010. With this latest investment, the company is valued at over $1.2bn.
Novo leads ZSPharma to better health
ZS Pharma, a specialty pharmaceutical company developing novel treatments for kidney, cardiovascular, and liver disorders, has completed a $55m series D financing. The investor syndicate was led by Novo A/S and included new investors RA Capital, Adage Capital, Sofinnova Ventures ,and an undisclosed institutional investor. The company has raised $103m to date.
ServiceMax in crowd pleaser $71m series E
Salesforce.com, an enterprise cloud computing technology company, has invested in Service Max, a software company that serves the field service management sector. The $71m series E round was led by Meritech Capital with significant participation by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as well as new investors Cross Creek Advisors, QuestMark Partners, Sozo Ventures, as well… Continue reading ServiceMax in crowd pleaser $71m series E
All OnDeck with $77m series E round
OnDeck, a US-based alternative loan lender to small and medium sized business, has raised $77m in a deal led by Tiger Global Management. Other investors this round included Google Ventures and SAP Ventures.
DocuSign seals $85m deal
DocuSign, an electronic signature platform, has raised $85m in deal led by a group of large institutional funds that are choosing to remain undisclosed. Google Ventures, SAP Ventures, and Comcast Ventures also participated.
Aquinox IPO just what the doctor ordered
Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, a Canada clinical-stage pharmaceutical company discovering and developing novel oral drug candidates to treat inflammation and cancer, has listed on Nasdaq as part of an initial public offering. Corporate venturing investors include Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer. The net proceeds of the IPO were about $47m.
FreeWheel: Comcast a spell on me
Comcast, the media group that owns Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal, has acquired FreeWheel, a distributor of advertising content on and offline for television networks. The deal has been confirmed to news group Reuters. The financial details have yet to be made public, but sources have put the transaction at the $360m mark.
Gamer’s delight for SoftBank Ventures Korea
SoftBank Ventures Korea, the corporate venturing unit of Japanese telecommunications and internet group SoftBank, has invested an undisclosed amount of capital to acquire a 23% stake in Ini3 Digital, a Thai online game operator, it has been reported.
Atomico puts Quipper to the test
Atomico, a venture firm with backing from Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström, is investing once again in the e-learning sector. Existing portfolio company Quipper, a UK company that offers online quiz content that focuses on academic courses and professional qualifications, as well as trivia and news quizzes, has raised $5.8m in a second tranche of a… Continue reading Atomico puts Quipper to the test
Tencent makes strategic move with JD.com stake
Tencent Holdings, the corporate investing unit of China internet group Tencent, has formed a strategic partnership with China e-commerce site, JD.com, which included Tencent acquiring a 15% stake in the business for a reported $214.7m. The move will enable Tencent to gain traction in the China market and beef up its competitiveness against the likes of other internet commerce sites, such as Alibaba.
Chrysalix cleans up nicely with 11 deals
Chrysalix EVC, a clean energy firm backed by a mixture of private equity firms and energy companies, such as EDF, has made 11 early stage follow-on investments over the past year, signalling continued growth opportunities in the clean tech sector.
What’s up doc for IDG India, Ascent
IDG Ventures India and private equity firm Ascent Capital have invested equity capital in India-based document software management company Newgen Software. The round is worth INR 1100m ($17.61m) Other corporate investors that have backed the business include HSBC Private Equity (Asia) and SAP Ventures.