Friday, January 24, 2014

Deals of the Day: Jelly spreads more VC

Venture Capital Deals

Fitmob, a San Francisco-based mobile app for finding local exercise workouts, has raised $9.75 million in venture capital and venture debt funding. Backers include Mayfield Fund, Silicon Valley Bank and individual angels. www.fitmob.com

iProf Learnings Solutions, an India-based digital education library, has raised $9.5 million in Series B funding. Hobsons PLC led the round, and was joined by return backers IDG Ventures India and Norwest Venture Partners. www.iprofindia.com

Cohera Medical Inc., a Pittsburgh-based developer of absorbable surgical adhesives and sealants, has raised $9.3 million in new Series D funding. No new investor information was disclosed. The company previously announced that it had raised $17 million in Series B funding from firms like Kern Whelan Capital. www.coheramedical.com

Jelly, the new social search app from Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, has raised an undisclosed amount of Series B funding. Greylock Partners led the round, and was joined by return backer Spark Capital. www.jelly.co

Whiteout Networks GmbH, a Munich-based developer of apps and cloud services for encrypted email communication, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from High-Tech-Gründerfonds and Bayernkapital. www.whiteout.io

Private Equity Deals

SunGard Data Systems Inc. announced that it will spin off its Availability Services business on a tax-free basis to existing shareholders, including its private equity owners. The Best Buy is expected to close by the end of Q1. SunGard was acquired in 2005 by a private equity consortium that included Bain Capital, Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs, KKR, Providence Equity Partners, Silver Lake and TPG Capital. www.sungard.com

Aqua Terra Water Management, a merchant operator of salt water disposal facilities, has acquired certain saltwater disposal assets from Ceiba Energy Services Inc. and Phyllis Disposal Ltd. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which helps Aqua Terra enter the Canadian Bakken. Aqua Terra is a portfolio company of Bregal Partners. www.bregalpartners.com

AVX Learning LLC, a portfolio company of Comvest Capital, has acquired Adayana Industry Group, an Indianapolis-based provider of organizational performance solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. www.adayana.com

The Carlyle Group has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Vogue International, a Tampa Bay, Fla.-based maker of brand hair care products. No financial terms were disclosed. www.vogueintl.com

China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd., a state-owned investment manager, is in talks with several private equity firms about a share sale that could raise more than $2 billion, according to Reuters. Suitors include Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, BlackRock and KKR. www.chamc.com.cn

Crestview Partners and B-29 Investments have acquired a control stake in Texoma Transportation & Crude Marketing LLC, a provider of crude oil purchasing, gathering and transportation services to the oil and gas industry. The deal was done in conjunction with Texoma's purchase of Edmond, Okla.-based CP Energy. No financial terms were disclosed. www.txtcm.com

Palladin Consumer Retail Partners has acquired KT Health LLC, a maker of kinesiology tape and related sports medicine products for the retail market. No financial terms were disclosed. www.pcrp.com

Pallet USA LLC, a portfolio company of Blackthorne Partners, has acquired most assets of Goeman's Wood Products Inc., a rival Milwaukee-area pallet operator. No financial terms were disclosed. www.palletusa.com

Rosser Capital Partners has acquired Hickory Tavern, a Charlotte, N.C.-based chain of casual dining restaurants. No financial terms were disclosed. Arlington Capital Advisors managed the process. www.thehickorytavern.com

Summit Materials has acquired both Alleyton Resource and its Colorado Gulf affiliate, which operates sand & gravel sites and ready-mix concrete plants. No financial terms were disclosed. Summit Materials was formed in 2009 by The Blackstone Group and Silverhawk Capital Partners. www.summit-materials.com

IPOs

Care.com, a Waltham, Mass.-based online care marketplace, raised $91 million in its IPO. The company priced 5.35 million shares at $17 per share (above $14-$16 range), for an initial market cap of approximately $554 million. It will trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol CRCM, while Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and BofA Merrill Lynch served as lead underwriters. Care.com had raised around $111 million in VC funding from Matrix Partners (22.24% pre-IPO stake), Trinity Ventures (14.39%), NEA (10.21%), Institutional Venture Partners (10.21%) and USAA (9.29%). www.care.com

Com Hem AB, a Swedish cable television and broadband operator, has held "preliminary talks" with sponsor BC Partners about an IPO, according to Bloomberg. www.comhem.se

Continental Building Products Inc., a Reston, Va.-based maker of gypsum wallboard and complementary finishing products, has set its IPO terms to 13.24 million shares being offered at between $16 and $18 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $749 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol CBPX, with Citigroup and Credit Suisse to serve as co-lead underwriters. It reports $32 million of net income on $252 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2013, and is owned by Lone Star Funds. www.continental-bp.com

Eleven Biotherapeutics Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of protein-based biotherapeutics, has set its IPO terms to 4.3 million shares being offered at between $13 and $15 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $206 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol EBIO, with Citigroup, Cowen & Co. and Leerink Swann serving as lead underwriters. Shareholders include Third Rock Ventures (41.3% pre-IPO stake), Flagship Ventures (28.8%) and Jafco (18.4%). www.elevenbio.com

Genocea Biosciences, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of T-cell vaccines for infectious diseases, has set its IPO terms to 5.5 million shares being offered at between $12 and $14 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $224 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol GNCA, with Citigroup and Cowen & Co. serving as co-lead underwriters. It has raised over $88 million in VC funding from Polaris Venture Partners (16.3% pre-IPO stake), Lux Ventures (14.8%), S.R. One Ltd. (13%), Johnson & Johnson Development Corp. (11.7%), CVF LLC (9.3%), Skyline Ventures (8.8%), Cycad Group (6.6%), Auriga Ventures (6.5%), The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (6.2%) and Morningside Ventures. www.genocea.com

Rice Energy, a Canonsburg, Penn.-based E&P company focused on the Marcellus Shale and the Utica Shale, raised $924 million in its IPO. The company priced 44 million shares at $21 per share (high end of $19-$21 range), for an initial market cap of around $2.7 billion. It plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol RICE public offering on Tuesday for as much as $800 million of stock. The company plans to use the proceeds to finance drilling operations in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. www.riceenergy.com

Semler Scientific, a Portland, Ore.-based developer of medical devices that measure arterial blood flow, has set its IPO terms to 1.15 million shares being offered at between $12 and $14 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $62 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SMLR, with Aegis Capital serving as sole underwriter. www.flochec.com

OTHER DEALS

Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) has agreed to acquire a patent portfolio from Hewlett-Packard(Nasdaq: HPQ), which includes around 1,400 granted U.S. patents and pending U.S. patent applications, plus another 1,000 granted and pending patent applications from other counties. No financial terms were disclosed. Read more at Fortune.com

Sanofi (Paris: SAN) CEO Chris Viehbacher yesterday indicated an interest in repurchasing L'Oreal's (Paris: OR) 9% stake in Sanofi, during an interview with Reuters. He referred to such a deal as "very accretive" for Sanofi, although acknowledged that L'Oreal has not offered to sell the shares. The stake is currently valued at around $9 billion. www.sanofi.com

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Wednesday, January 15, 2014

VIDEO: Hands On With the LG G Flex for Sprint

LG's 6-inch phablet is coming to three U.S. carriers. We took a look at the sprint lte las vegas model.

LAS VEGAS–The LG G Flex is coming to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, and I got to spend some time with the Sprint model at CES. I'm very happy to say that it's pretty much the same as the international version, and that all three carrier models will appear the same, as well.

Why can't we take this for granted? When LG and Samsung phones have appeared on multiple carriers, they've often changed form or features. The Verizon version of the LG G2 has different rear buttons than the other three. The Sprint and AT&T LG Optimus G phones has completely different cameras. So it's a small victory for consumers when a phone appears in the same, flagship form on all of its carriers.

I did a full hands on with the Korean version of the G Flex and this one is very similar. It's still quite large, with its 6-inch screen. Its 720p screen looks just as good as many 1080p screens, in part thanks to the gentle curve that reduces reflectivity. It has a very large battery, and yes, you can bend it.

Sprint's version brings one special feature: the G Flex will support Sprint's new Spark LTE network, which offers higher speeds in some metro areas than the earlier Sprint LTE network.

I strongly suspect the G Flex will cost $299 with contract and $699 without, according to various sources. While the Korean version of the phone can cost up to $930, that won't be the case with the U.S. model, my sources said.

Watch the video below to take a look at the LG G Flex for Sprint in action.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Groupon Buys Ideeli At A Discount

<Discountp>In the latest sign that "flash sale" sites are struggling, Groupon bought Ideeli for $43 million in cash. This was a loss for Ideeli shareholders, considering the company received $107 million in venture capital from 2007 through 2013. Groupon, however, is known for finding discounts.

Ideeli sells "designer" goods via timed sales, similar to competitors Gilt Groupe, Rue La La and HauteLook. The site features a different selection of brands each day, available for up to 90% off. Ideeli has yet to turn a profit with this business model, and most recently operated at a $30 million loss.

Groupon, which sells coupons, says that it intends to keep Ideeli running as a separate website. Groupon also sees potential for synergies. "Ideeli extends our fashion presence and brings great relationships with many of the top brands in apparel," says Groupon CEO Eric Lefkofksy.

Sameet Sinha, analyst at B. Riley & Co., sees both opportunity and risk in the deal. On one hand, "fashion is one of the top categories for ecommerce and it should keep growing," says Sinha. Groupon is "potentially hoping to reduce the customer acquisition cost by using its own customers." Yet Sinha points out that the execution will be challenging because "flash sales have lost their momentum" and the unprofitable business "further dilutes Groupon's margins."

Investors appear skeptical of the transaction. Groupon's stock fell 5% on the acquisition news, closing the day at $11. Groupon, which has faced its own profitability challenges, has seen its stock rise 105% in the past year, partly due to optimism about its new CEO. Controversial founder, Andrew Mason, left the top post in 2013. Competitor LivingSocial also recently saw its chief executive step down.

Groupon expects to make more acquisitions, stating that they are "constantly evaluating growth opportunities across all of our business lines." Groupon has made dozens of acquisitions over the past four years. Its largest purchase was Korea's Ticket Monster, which Groupon purchased for $260 million earlier this month.

This is not the first time that daily deals and flash sales sites have combined forces. Gilt Groupe acquired Groupon competitor, BuyWithMe in 2011. It was folded into Gilt City, a similar Gilt property. The industries which were once oversaturated with competition, can only expect to see more consolidation.

HauteLook was purchased by Nordstrom for $270 million, in the flash sales heydey of 2011. Gilt Groupe has talked about an IPO for years, but has been reluctant to pull the trigger. A public offering was once the stated path for Ideeli. Groupon went public in 2011.