In periods of low growth and high strategic uncertainty, CVC can serve four distinct and valuable business objectives.
Category: Analysis
Making partnerships work (Part I)
The logic behind collaboration between corporations and start-up companies (together with their venture backers) is clear and compelling. Start-ups have a reputation for efficient innovation and market disintermediation while corporations have established paths to global markets and mass. As markets grow increasing competitive, both groups need to re-imagine how they pursue their future ambitions. The… Continue reading Making partnerships work (Part I)
‘Battle Royale’ in the world of finance
A little more than a decade ago management consultancy Booz & Co explained in a report “why banks and telecoms must merge to surge”. Booz said correctly: “The epicentre for a transformation of consumer banking will be the convergence of banking and telecommunications players, as well as internet service providers and web portals.” The report… Continue reading ‘Battle Royale’ in the world of finance
The Big Deal: Causing a public Ruckus
Ruckus claims that nearly 60% of its revenues comes from telecommunications carriers such as Deutsche Telekom, demonstrating the strong business model of turning your financial backers into paying customers.
The Big Deal: Thesan’s new dawn
Thesan Pharmaceuticals, a US-based dermatology-focused drugs developer, has received a “golden hello” to the pharma world in the form of $16m series A round co-led by European-based peers Novo Group and Novartis’ corporate venturing units. The investment will be used by Thesan (whose name is drawn from the eponymous goddess of the dawn and was… Continue reading The Big Deal: Thesan’s new dawn
The Big Deal: Ancestry and LivingSocial
Question of whether senior management can invest counter-cyclically and stay the course if the investment thesis remains true even if economic conditions turn sour.
Big Deal: YY seeks to thaw icy US IPO conditions
China-based gaming portal and downloads site YY.com is seeking a US initial public offering [IPO] after filing its F-1 with the SEC on Monday, and is looking to raise $100m in the offering.
The Big Deal: Softbank-Sprint
The world of mega-mergers and acquisitions are rarely the subject of The Big Deal analysis but Softbank, Japan’s third-largest mobile-phone company’s, plans to make a “substantial” investment in US-based peer Sprint carries a corporate venturing twist. Part of the potential deal reported by news agencies involves Softbank helping Sprint buy full control of Clearwire, a… Continue reading The Big Deal: Softbank-Sprint
Case study: Oxis Energy
It certainly catches the eye when a chief executive of a prerevenue start-up to berate the market for failing to support its vision when it has just collected £15m ($22m). But then Oxis Energy, a UK-based rechargable battery maker for electric bikes and cars, does have a strong position in battery storage systems. As Huw… Continue reading Case study: Oxis Energy
Feature: energy and natural resources October 2012
Energy sector forges new links with clean-tech 2.0 investors.
Profile: Royal Dutch Shell
Earlier this year, Shell created the role of vice-president (VP) of innovation to help bring together its corporate venturing units with other parts of its technology and business development teams.
Globalisation of innovation: Heptares
In April last year UK-based biotechnology company Heptares Therapeutics simultaneously sealed a two-year drug discovery collaboration with Japan-based pharmaceutical company Takeda and an equity investment from its corporate venturing unit Takeda Ventures. The move aligned Takeda with a British company that has developed a highly sought after technology. Graeme Martin, chief executive of Takeda Ventures,… Continue reading Globalisation of innovation: Heptares
Innovative region: Silicon Valley, northern California
The flotation of social network Facebook in May at a valuation of more than $100bn was notable in many ways, including identifying the shift in the centre of economic gravity from the east to the west coast of the US. This shift has global ramifications as the venture ecosystem in northern California around the nebulous… Continue reading Innovative region: Silicon Valley, northern California
Dow distils the idea space
This analysis series with NCET2 has been produced in collaboration with our sister title, Global University Venturing.