Bettor's Guide to Buyouts

thestreet

Google Faces Patent Infringement Lawsuit Over Google Talk

"While doing some research, I've learned that Google is being sued for patent infringement over the VoIP portion of the Google Talk program. I've posted the full text (38 pages; PDF) of the complaint filed by Rates Technology in October here. A copy of the court docket (as of today) is posted here. "

[Seachenginewatch]

TheDeal.com - Sutter Hill's China hand

"Baker's alliance with Chengwei and Venture TDF China is informal, with no obligation for co-investments. In fact, Sutter so far has co-invested in only three of Chengwei's investments and only one of TDF China's deals ? although Baker gets regular updates from both firms about new deals. 'We don't want to force our way into a deal unless we can add value,' Baker says. "

Most No. 1 singles of all time - Music - Entertainment - smh.com.au

Online services chasing investors

"The Mercury News has an article discussing the chase for VC (venture capital) funds by photo sharing websites. The market, ruled by 3 big players -- Kodak Gallery, Snapfish, and Shutterfly -- is expected to boom in the coming years."

CanadaIT.com - erian Capital Management Purchases an Additional 29.97% of Gemcom

"Gemcom Software International Inc. announced that Hesperian Capital Management Ltd. closed a market purchase of 7,425,523 Gemcom common shares from the Working Opportunity Fund Ltd. at $0.775 per share."

Verizon Loses Some Edge Atop the Bells - New York Times

"Is the Verizon premium fading?"

IPOs, venture deals sluggish this year

"This year has been unusually quiet for Central Texas startups.
Venture capital funding of local companies fell dramatically while national totals inched up. Meanwhile, not a single Austin-based company made an initial public stock offering. "

By Lori Hawkins
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

Sirius Tops 3 Million Subscribers - Yahoo! News

"Satellite radio provider Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. said Tuesday it recently topped more than 3 million subscribers to its service and expects a strong finish for the year. "

Rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. has more than 5 million U.S. subscribers.

It will be interesting to see the Stern effect on siri's 06, 07 sub growth

Google, AOL, Microsoft and Buying Share - Mobile Podcasting

Had lunch today with a buddy who used to work in MSN Search. He told me that his contacts said that the Microsoft/AOL deal fell apart because of money. He went on to say that he coudn't believe that a company that is a distant #3 in search, with more cash than most small countries and no debt allowed money to be an object.

I played devil's advocate by saying that Microsoft probably set a valuation for AOL and a top price they'd pay and they stuck to their principles.

He went on to remind me that Microsoft at one point valued Overature at $90m, but Yahoo paid $0.5b for it. Sure Yahoo may have over-valued Overature. And we were both sure that Google over-valued AOL. But his point is sound - if you're lagging in a market and can buy your way out of the hole, why wouldn't you?

Overstock Hammered on Byrne Outlook

"Overstock (OSTK:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) President Patrick Byrne is getting good at apologizing. Byrne says his company 'had a nice holiday season, just not as nice a season as we've had in the past or as I'd hoped for.' The statement came in a press release Tuesday summarizing an interview Byrne gave Bloomberg on Friday. "

[The street]

ETFs: A Better Way To Go Abroad

"With U.S. stocks stuck in low gear for two years now, traders have had little choice but to search the globe for opportunities. Their detective work has paid off: The MSCI Europe, Australasia, & Far East Index jumped 20% in 2005 through Dec. 9, more than six times the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index's 3% gain for the same period. "

Slashdot | Is Microsoft Still a Monopoly?

"Microsoft Windows still dominates the desktop. But in many other areas, including Web servers and supercomputing, Microsoft is just one player among many, and often a weak player at that. On the gaming side, despite the latest xBox getting all kinds of media buzz as 'the' console to buy, Sony's Playstation outsells the xBox at least two to one, and many analysts expect Sony to widen that gap even more when Playstation 3 comes out in the Spring of 2006. On the Internet, MSN and MSN Search are so far behind AOL and Google that it isn't funny. And even on the desktop, Linux keeps getting stronger, while Mac OS X is commonly accepted as more reliable, secure, and user-oriented than Windows. So why do we keep saying Microsoft is a monopoly? "

Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing: What "problem" does Riya solve?

Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing: What "problem" does Riya solve?: "What problem does it solve?
How are people dealing with this problem today?
Who will pay money for the solution to this problem?
How much will they pay? What is your revenue model?
What do you have that the search or photo service companies don't have?
What unique technology do you have that can't be easily implemented by the big guys?
Is this a 'vitamin' (nice to have) or a 'pain killer' (got to have it)?
Why would one of the big players be interested in acquiring the company?"

VentureWoods - Band of Angels

"The Band of Angels requires executive summaries in a particular format which is attached. Generally the Band looks for businesses that have high barriers to entry and can grow to be large. The exit valuation has to be well north of 100 crores. The band will generally take 25-33% of the equity of the company for its investment of 50 lakhs to two crores. In some cases where the company is more mature but yet not ready for a VC round the band may find other co-investors so that the total amount invested could reach 5 crores. The Band seeks to provide advice/mentorship in addition to money so its members are likely to invest in businesses where they have expertise. The quality of the management team is important. The band is very selective and funding may never close or take time. Generally however if an angel agrees to sponsor a company to present to the full band the company gains a lot by interacting with the angels even if the angels choose not to invest"

The Startup Journey: New Seed Funds: Right time, Right Place, Right Model

While the number of entrepreneurs with good products ideas is growing rapidly in Bangalore and other cities, the bane of genuine early-stage investments in recent years has been lack of ability and willingness on the part of VCs to provide seed capital (a typical VC firm cannot invest less than $3 million) and more importantly, play a hands-on role in growing start-ups.

Mentor Partners plans to raise its corpus from high-net worth individuals and Silicon Valley venture firms.

Welcome to Pando

pando: is a tiny app that lets you email any size file or folder to anyone, free.

Google Acquisitions - SEO by the SEA

Comprehensive list.

HedgeStreet

"HedgeStreet, an Internet-based exchange offering a large number of Event Derivatives (SM) based on economic outcomes, significantly expands the range of investment and risk-hedging options available to individual and institutional investors in the United States. "

Prediction Market by Intrade.com

Intrade.com is a person-to-person trading "Exchange". It allows you to trade in the most innovative, transparent and fun way on political, financial, current and similar events. Intrade members trade directly with each other. When you trade on Intrade you are pitting your wits against other members of Intrade. Intrade provides the platform whereby members can trade between themselves.

Zopa - The first lending and borrowing exchange

"Zopa's a refreshing alternative to investing at or borrowing from a faceless institution. So it would be strange not to introduce you to the people behind Zopa.
Zopa is a UK company, started by a small cluster of very experienced money people including several members of the original Egg plc management team. "

GOOG - Form 8-K

AOL/ GOOG details:

"Registration Rights. HoldCo will grant us certain registration rights as follows:

- Investment. In exchange for $1 billion, we will acquire a 5% equity interest in AOL through an investment in a limited liability company (?HoldCo?) that will own all of the outstanding equity interests in AOL.

- Beginning on July 1, 2008, we will have certain rights to require HoldCo to register the HoldCo interests held by us for sale in a public offering. If we exercise this right, Time Warner will have the right to purchase our interests for cash or shares of Time Warner stock based on an appraised fair market value of our equity interest in HoldCo in lieu of conducting an initial public offering.


- We will have certain piggyback registration rights that we may exercise in respect of an initial public offering or follow-on offering initiated by HoldCo either before or after July 1, 2008, subject to certain underwriter cutback provisions. "

Will iTunes Be Firefoxed? [Fool.com: Motley Fool Take] December 23, 2005

" Blame CNET (Nasdaq: CNET). News.com reporter John Borland on Thursday wrote a compelling profile of a Silicon Valley start-up arrogantly named Pioneers of the Inevitable (pinky swear). The company, it seems, hopes to topple Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iTunes with an open-source alternative. The software -- called Songbird -- aims to take the emphasis away from a computer hard drive and toward the Web, and to design an interface that will work with a wide variety of music sites and services -- instead of just one, like well, iTunes."

AAPL: Technical Analysis for APPLE COMPUTER - Yahoo! Finance

This will make a good movie someday - overstock.com - Blog Maverick

Cuban is short 20k of overstock - ostk

Might be a bad call in the short term. Despite horrible management at ostk, many e-tailers are having a terrific q4.

TechCrunch: meebo stats

"Meebo is now averaging about 250,000 logins per day. On December 7, twelve weeks after launch, Meebo had 236,000 successful logins, 6,534,948 messages sent and approximately 13,069,896 total messages carried.
Meebo is also asking users where they use the product, and why. The results:
Where do you use meebo?
Work: 59.7%
School: 36.8%
Home: 30.0%
Internet Cafe: 7.3%
Why do you use meebo? (free form answers coded)
IM otherwise difficult / impossible to access: 33%
Web IM is better than software IM: 18%
meebo is easier: 11%"

TechCrunch ? GoodStorm

Zazzle, Cafepress competitor. Founded by Andy Rappaport from August Capital and others.

Disney launches Web personalization with Zazzle - Yahoo! News

"The Walt Disney Co.'s online shopping site on Wednesday launched its first 'You design it' feature in a move aimed at riding the fast- growing trend toward giving choosy Internet shoppers exactly what they want. "

National Venture Capital Association Cautions Ohio Bureau of Workers on Releasing Sensitive Information

"The National Venture Capital
Association (NVCA) today urged the Ohio Bureau of Worker's Compensation (OBWC)
to refrain from publicly releasing data from a November 2005 Private Equity
Valuation Report which contains highly sensitive and competitive information
about start-up companies. The public dissemination of such materials would be
harmful to the companies, the venture capital firms, and the Ohio pensioners."

PaidContent.org: Siemens

"Siemens VC arm, Siemens Acceleration in Communications, has closed down as we mentioned in a note last week....but now it has sold off its portfolio of 25-odd companies to an undisclosed buyer.
Siemens Acceleration invested in a bunch of mobile content and digital home startups over the last 2-3 years. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The transaction will have no impact on the other venturing units of Siemens, like Siemens Venture Capital (SVC), Siemens Technology Accelerator (STA), and Siemens Technology-To-Business Center in Berkeley (TTB), which will continue and expand their activities.
The funny (or disturbing) part? Two of the companies in the portfolio e-mailed me and told me that even they don't know who bought them...well, we'll try and find out. [by rafat] ">PaidContent.org: December 22, 2005 Archives: "Siemens' VC Arm Sells Portfolio To Undisclosed Buyer; Too Undisclosed? [by rafat] : Siemens VC arm, Siemens Acceleration in Communications, has closed down as we mentioned in a note last week....but now it has sold off its portfolio of 25-odd companies to an undisclosed buyer.
Siemens Acceleration invested in a bunch of mobile content and digital home startups over the last 2-3 years. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The transaction will have no impact on the other venturing units of Siemens, like Siemens Venture Capital (SVC), Siemens Technology Accelerator (STA), and Siemens Technology-To-Business Center in Berkeley (TTB), which will continue and expand their activities.
The funny (or disturbing) part? Two of the companies in the portfolio e-mailed me and told me that even they don't know who bought them...well, we'll try and find out. [by rafat] "

IBM to Acquire Micromuse

"IBM (IBM:NYSE - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) agreed to acquire Micromuse (MUSE:Nasdaq - commentary - research - Cramer's Take) for $865 million, extending a move into the network-management space previously dominated by huge telecoms like AT&T and MCI.
Micromuse holders will get $10 a share in cash. The stock closed at $7.21 Tuesday and recently surged $2.59, or 36%, to $9.80 on Instinet. Micromuse shares have traded in a 52-week range of $3.97 to $8.13 a share. They last traded in the double-digits in February 2004 after falling from nearly $90 in January 2001. "

WSJ.com - Google's Faithful Just Want to Believe

Google-mania is a wondrous thing to behold.

The "do no evil" computer search company agrees to buy a big stake in Time Warner's America Online at a price significantly higher than what most analysts think it is worth. The result? Google's stock soars.

Meanwhile, Time Warner's Richard Parsons pulls off a coup. He will bring in a billion dollars, increase the perceived market value of AOL and give the struggling company, which is losing its dial-up subscribers at a dizzying pace, a new lease on life. His reward? A lackluster stock price and another angry letter from Carl Icahn.

Microsoft Odd Man Out in AOL-Google Deal: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"America Online sealed a deal late Tuesday with Google Inc. to deepen their relationship, while leaving Microsoft Corp. as the spurned suitor.
The software titan's failure to woo AOL away from Google in favor of its own search technology highlights the uphill battle Microsoft faces as it tries to gain traction in the lucrative business of selling online ads."

Venture Capital Access Online: Edge Dynamics Secures $12M Financing to Accelerate Strategic Business Expansion

"Edge Dynamics, the leading provider of channel commerce management (CCM) solutions, today announced it has secured $12 million in Series B financing. The new round of financing was led by new investor Greylock Partners with strong participation from Edge Dynamics' current investor, Foundation Capital, and other new investors, EMC and Silicon Valley Bank Capital. With this final round of investment, Edge Dynamics has attracted a total of $21M in financing. "

Mass High Tech: ibm and bowstreet

"Tewksbury's Bowstreet, a maker of enterprise portal applications and long-time New England technology sector player, will be acquired by industry giant IBM Corp., based in Armonk N.Y.

Financial terms were not disclosed."

PaidContent.org: Shutterfly

"Shutterfly Secures $20 Million In Series F Funding [by staci] : Is there any online photo service that hasn't been bought or funded this year? Redwood City-based Shutterfly, Inc., founded in 1999, has secured $20 million of a $40 million Series F round for a total of $90 million in VC funding. PE Week reports the fundraising. Shareholders include Mohr Davidow Ventures, Jim Clark's Monaco Ventures and Adobe Ventures."

Skyhook Wireless Closes $6.5 Million In Venture And Corporate Funding Round

"Skyhook Wireless, provider of the industry's first Wi-Fi based metro-area positioning system, today announced it has secured $6.5 million in a first round of venture capital and new corporate financing. Series B participants included new investors Bain Capital Ventures, which led the round, and Intel Capital. Existing investors Innovent, an entrepreneurial innovation unit in Nokia, and CommonAngels also participated in this round which brings total funds raised to $8.3 million. Ajay Agarwal, venture partner with Bain Capital Ventures, will join Skyhook's Board of Directors. "

Googlepark: The Battle for AOL

Googlepark: The Battle for AOL

ISold It

"ISold It, a franchise chain that sells people's belongings for them on eBay.com and hopes to expand to other e-commerce Web sites, has closed $7.25 million in Series B funding.

The round, which closed last week, was led by Jacaranda Partners. Jacaranda's managing director, Michael Dooling, is former chairman of retail chain Mail Boxes Etc."

[Venturewire]
Key company risks:
Logistics, supply chain
competition
execution

EETimes.com - Navigation processor firm raises $20 million

" Fabless chip company Centrality Communications Inc., which has developed a processor for navigation and infotainment systems, said it has raised $20 million in Series D venture financing to extend its Atlas processor product offering.
Focus Ventures led the round with participation from existing investors, including Acer Venture Partners, Enspire Group, Harbinger Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Venture Tech Alliance and Walden International, the company said. Kevin McQuillan, general partner of Focus Ventures, has joined Centrality's board of directors. The latest round of investment brings the total amount of funding in the company to more than $50 million"

Cutting Through the Patent Thicket

Business Week article.

Recognizing Deven: Riya Rumors

GOOG didn't want them?

The Australian: Regulator looks into poker bid [December 19, 2005]

"US regulators are investigating a $US700 million ($933 million) bid for World Poker Tour Enterprises launched by Doyle Brunson, one of the game's best-known players.

The Securities and Exchange Commission said it was formally investigating whether Mr Brunson's unsolicited offer and its publication violated anti-fraud laws. Shares in WPTE, parent of the World Poker Tour television series, rose more than 50 per cent when the offer from Mr Brunson and unnamed investors was disclosed in July.
But the shares fell when the bid expired just a few days later. "

MTV to invest in Amp'd Mobile, deliver video clips - Yahoo! News

"Amp'd already had $67 million in funding and is in the process of raising an additional $100 million financing, according to Adderton, who believes the current round will be the last private financing round."

Ex-insider is out to shake up video games | CNET News.com

"When John Riccitiello was president of Electronic Arts, the world's biggest video game publisher, he was the ultimate industry insider. But now he and his new business partners are taking on the sector's giants.
Last year, Riccitiello joined Elevation Partners, a new venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, whose other partners include Fred Anderson, the former chief financial officer of Apple Computer, and Bono, U2's lead singer. "

Apprentice to the CEO

Riya - hiring.

VC firms focus on risk of Web 2.0

"'VCs are focusing on how to make users stick to so-called Web 2.0 services,' said Steven Ji, Sequoia Capital China's vice president. 'Compared with the search or e-commerce, the new applications' average user loyalty is not strong enough.' "

WSJ.com - Vonage to Unveil Private Funding Of $250 Million

Vonage Holdings Corp. plans to announce that it has raised an additional $250 million in private funding from previous and new investors, bringing the total raised by the closely held start-up to $658 million.

The convertible-debt issue, set to be unveiled Monday, is likely to be Vonage's final round of private financing before the Internet-based phone company files for an initial public offering, according to people familiar with its plans.

RED HERRING | IBM Opens Patents to VCs

"IBM streamlined its process for patent licensing to venture-backed startups Tuesday, granting access to a patent portfolio 40,000 strong.

The company will offer a two-tiered scheme of licensing, with startups under $10 million in revenue subject to a different set of agreements than larger, more developed startups."

Google debuts Gmail Mobile, rejoicing commences - Engadget - www.engadget.com

"Google has just activated Gmail Mobile that (surprise, surprise) allows you to check you Gmail from your mobile."


Surprise surprise. The gmail.com on wap was horrible.

RED HERRING | Visto Sues Microsoft on Patent

"In a blistering attack on Microsoft, Visto said Thursday it has filed a lawsuit against the software powerhouse for allegedly misappropriating Visto's intellectual property for wireless communications.

The Redwood Shores, California-based mobile technology developer alleges that the Redmond software giant is infringing on Visto's patents on technology for providing businesses and consumers with mobile access to email and corporate data."

CIOL : News : MobiApps gets $10-m in series B funding

"BANGALORE: VC companies Intel Capital and UOB Venture Management together would be investing $10 million in telematics and asset tracking company MobiApps."

EETimes.com - Cornice secures $97 million in funding

"Disk-drive provider Cornice Inc. has secured $97 million in venture debt and equity financing.
The equity round includes the company's major previous investors: VantagePoint Venture Partners, BlueRun Ventures and BA Venture Partners. It also brings on a new lead investor, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec. "

China Sees New Round of Venture Capital Spree

"Venture capital firms have quickened their paces of investment in China's fast-growing sectors, including the Internet, semiconductors and new applications for mobile phones and televisions."

TIME: The Best Photos of the Year 2005

GUS Buys PriceGrabber.com for $485 Million: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Privately owned Pricegrabber, set up in 1999, was used by 17 million unique visitors in November and forecasts sales of $60 million in 2005."

Light Reading - Broadband - UTStarcom Sues Passave - Telecom News Analysis

Trouble in the EPON chips space. UTSI has been on a disasterous stock decline over the past couple of years. Management has repeatedly failed to win over investors - having to restate earnings, missing earnings estimates, poor acquisition strategy (read Audiovox), and the like.

Light Reading - Video - Thomson Buys IPTV Player - Telecom News Analysis

Ambitious French vendor Thomson (NYSE: TMS - message board; Euronext Paris: 18453) is making a major move into the end-to-end IPTV systems market with the proposed ?130 million ($155 million) acquisition of Thales Broadcast & Multimedia from its parent, Thales SA (Paris: TCFP.PA). (See Thomson, Thales Hook Up.)

The acquisition is the latest in a rapidly growing market that analysts believe is ripe for consolidation.

Light Reading - Chips, Components & Subsystems - RIO Secures $8.4M Series C - Telecom News Wire

"Redfern Integrated Optics, Inc. (RIO), a developer and manufacturer of low-cost, high-performance optical transmitters for telecommunications, data transmission and other markets, today announced that it has secured an additional $2.2 million from GE Capital Equity Investments and Jolimont Ventures ? bringing the total amount raised to $8.4 million. This additional financial support finalizes RIO?s third round of funding, which completed its first close at $6.2 million in July, and was led by Advent International, Tallwood Venture Capital, TMT Ventures and Redfern Photonics. In connection with the new financing, Stephen Ezekiel of GE Commercial Finance joined RIO?s board of directors. "

RED HERRING | Little Hope for IPOs in 2006

Companies will continue to rely on the acquisitions market as an easier, safer exit strategy but will also search for more innovative opportunities, said the association Monday in its forecast of venture capital trends for 2006. More companies will consider going public on foreign exchanges or soliciting offers from private equity firms.

Out of the 10 largest venture-backed IPOs this year, only two involved companies selling shares on U.S. stock exchanges, research from Red Herring and Dow Jones Venture One shows. "

HP Unveils Virtual Conference Rooms - Yahoo! News

"Hewlett-Packard Co. on Monday jumped into the business of providing the technology ? and building the rooms ? for large companies to hold virtual face-to-face meetings regardless of the distance between participants. "

2006 PREDICTED TO BE CRITICAL TRANSITION YEAR IN VENTURE CAPITAL

NVCA predictions for 2006.

Can This Man Reprogram Microsoft? - New York Times

Article is focused on MSFT and Ozzie leading their charge.

Comment on Google:
"If that happens, Microsoft's business could be battered. Mr. Colony of Forrester Research predicts that Microsoft's profit margins, under pressure from Internet services, could fall by 40 percent or so over the next four years. A wild card is the hand that Google will play beyond search and how successful it may be. Mr. Colony, for example, says he thinks that Google will make a big difference. 'I believe Google will revolutionize the software business,' he wrote in a recent report.
Google has desktop search software and a Web-based e-mail service, two offerings aimed at parts of Microsoft's stronghold. How much further it plans to go in providing alternatives to Microsoft's software is uncertain, though it certainly looks interested.
Google was among the companies that attended a meeting last month at I.B.M.'s headquarters in Armonk, N.Y., of the Open Document Foundation, a group formed to agree on freely available formats for word processing, spreadsheets and other office documents; the idea is to come up with alternatives to Microsoft's proprietary Office formats. And for the last few months, Google has talked with Wyse Technology, a maker of so-called thin-client computers (without hard drives).
The discussions are focused on a $200 Google-branded machine that would likely be marketed in cooperation with telecommunications companies in markets like China and India, where home PC's are less common, said John Kish, chief executive of Wyse. 'Google is on a path to developing a stack of software in competition with the Microsoft desktop, and one that is much more network-centric, more an Internet service,' Mr. Kish said. 'And this fits right into that.'
For his part, Mr. Ozzie is curious about the plans at Google but "

Ray Ozzie paper - The Internet Services Disruption (NYtimes)

In late October, Mr. Ozzie presented his ideas in a seven-page, 5,000-word memo, "The Internet Services Disruption." At first, it was e-mailed to fewer than 100 senior managers and engineers at Microsoft. But they passed it along to colleagues, and by early November it had leaked out to the press; copies are now posted on the Web. Microsoft has used such memos over the years to educate its corporate troops and to stir them up to combat major competitive challenges.

RED HERRING | Cleantech Investments Up 37%

EnerTech Capital was the most active cleantech investor in the third quarter, with five investments. Chrysalix Energy, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers each participated in three financings.



Companies in clean energy raised the most money, capturing $251 million, or 59 percent of the cleantech total. That category includes energy generation, energy storage, energy infrastructure, and energy efficiency.



Water purification raised the second-largest amount, $61.5 million, and materials recovery and recycling was third, raising $29 million.

del.icio.us: y.ah.oo!

was it a home run investment? from the tone of the union square ventures website it does not seem so. probably less than a $25m exit, if that.

Velogix

"Velogix (formerly known as Flexlogics) is a Silicon Valley startup developing high-performance, high-capacity programmable fabrics, components, and design software platform. "

Good list of early stage vc's, this company's worth tracking.

Venture Capital: Internet Startup Rents out Designer Handbags

"But at Bag Borrow or Steal -- a venture-backed Internet startup that moved its headquarters to Seattle this past summer -- fashion-conscious shoppers can rent those high-end bags and more for monthly subscription fees that range from $19.95 to $249.95. The idea has won thousands of loyal customers and drawn comparisons to Netflix -- the wildly popular online movie rental service. It also has spawned additional competitors. "

Disney--A friend of Friendster's? | News.blog | CNET News.com

That would make sense.

BET promotes ringtone sales with vid pop-ups - Yahoo! News

"BET has begun embedding text-messaging codes into its music videos, encouraging viewers to order a download of each song's ringtone directly from their mobile phone. While such cross-marketing is a common practice in Europe, this is the first time a U.S. video channel has integrated mobile messaging on air to sell ringtones."

Investor's Business Daily: Cash-laden equity firms shake up M&A universe

"For cash-rich investors, it's buying time.
In November, when a group of private equity firms offered $12 billion for Dutch telecom operator TDC, the deal was heralded as the biggest leveraged buyout in European history."

Yahoo! buys del.icio.us

XBOX 360 GAMES: the Good, Bad and the Ugly - Yahoo! News

If you've scored an Xbox 360, some actual games are going to be the next logical purchase ? unless you auctioned it off for thousands of dollars on eBay.

WNEM-TV5 Advent Leads US$93 Million Investment in lululemon athletica

Advent International announced it has acquired a significant minority interest in Vancouver-based lululemon athletica, the premier athletics and yoga apparel specialty retailer. The transaction will support the company's growth strategy in the US and internationally and provide partial liquidity to the founder, Chip Wilson, who will retain a majority position in lululemon. The enterprise value of the transaction is approximately US$195 million. Advent partnered with Highland Capital Partners in this growth equity financing.

Dunkin' Brands Is Attracting a Crowd of Would-Be Owners - New York Times

"Three groups of private equity buyers and the Triarc Companies, the owner of Arby's, are planning to bid for control of Dunkin' Brands, the fast-growing group that owns the Dunkin' Donuts chain, Baskin-Robbins ice cream and the Togo's sandwich shops, several executives involved in the process said Thursday. "

FT.com / By industry / Media & internet - EA purchase expands move into mobiles

Biggest mobile data deal this year. 6x next year multiple.

Google Transit

Toll Brothers May Miss Fiscal 2006 Estimates - Forbes.com

"In the headlines this morning, Toll Brothers gives a bearish outlook, with uncertainty surrounding the future of the U.S. housing boom.

For fiscal 2006, the luxury home builder warned that it could miss Wall Street's expectations because of a predicted slowdown in the housing sector. Profit for the fiscal fourth quarter increased 72%, while revenue climbed 40% to $2 billion. The results were the best quarterly numbers in the company's history. "

Free 411 service has a nice ring, but Jingle's comes with a catch - The Boston Globe

"The free 411 call is making a comeback, but it might prove costly to the business you want to call.

Jingle Networks Inc., a start-up that has raised $5 million in venture capital, is offering free directory assistance -- though customers won't necessarily wind up with the number they were originally seeking.
When phone users call Jingle's service, 1-800-FREE411, and ask for a number of a local pizzeria, florist, or plumber, they may first hear a 10-second audio message offering to redirect them to a competing business that's a Jingle advertiser."

EETimes.com - DSP tool startup closes $7 million in round-two funding

"DSP design tool startup Catalytic Inc. said Tuesday (Dec. 6) it has raised $7 million in a second round of venture capital funding, bringing the total VC investment in the company to $13.6 million since being founded in 2001.
Catalytic (Palo Alto, Calif.) said the funds would be used as working capital for research and development and to expand distribution channels.
CMEA Ventures, based here, was the lead investor in the funding round, according to Catalytic. Other participants included New Enterprise Associates of Menlo Park, Calif., and ITU Ventures of Los Angeles, the company said."

InfoSpace Looks To Connect With Small Businesses With Pay-Per-Call Ad Service: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"InfoSpace is answering the call for a different kind of online ad.
The Internet company plans to roll out an online ad service called pay per call. The idea is to get Internet users to contact advertisers by phone. When they do, the company then pays InfoSpace (NasdaqNM:INSP - News) for the ad."

VCs Survey Post-Bubble Opportunities : Finance : HBS Working Knowledge

Hey VC's, you're f*cked company according to HBS professor Bill Sahlman :

"As an industry, he suggested, venture capital has little to recommend it. 'In the future, I see a median rate of return of zero or less,' stated Sahlman, observing that the top thirty venture-backed firms contributed 50 percent to 70 percent of distributions in the industry in the past ten to fifteen years. With so much global liquidity, he added, it will become even more difficult to earn a respectable rate of return as too many dollars chase too few opportunities."

You dunno Jack. You just dunno.

Small Business - Wal-Mart as VC? - FORTUNE SMALL BUSINESS - Page

"When Wal-Mart and small companies meet, it's either a big hand up?your product hits the shelves, and it's a jackpot!?or a big slap down?you're shopping the aisles for an out of business sign. Hopes for happier outcomes rose when Wal-Mart recently launched a $25 million venture capital fund to invest in woman- and minority-owned small firms. Aldus Equity Partners, which manages the fund, says money will be given in $2.5 million to $5 million lumps to as many as nine small companies over the next ten years."

WSJ.com - Cisco's CEO Sees Video Driving Internet Traffic

"The rapidly spreading use of video on the Internet will lead to a sharp increase in network traffic, said Cisco Systems Inc. Chief Executive John Chambers.

Speaking at a meeting for analysts here, Mr. Chambers said he expected network loads to increase 300% to 500% a year over the next decade. The growth in traffic loads has recently been closer to 100% annually in the U.S. and Europe.
'You can see the role video will play in loads on the network,' he said. Traffic associated with one half an hour of video is equal to more than a year of email, he explained.
Mr. Chambers offered his upbeat outlook of network demand even as he acknowledged that shareholders are looking for greater growth from the company. He said Cisco can achieve 10% to 15% sustainable annual growth in the future, even though the company suggested last month that growth in fiscal 2006 could be slightly lower, at 10% to 12%."

Automation ware-maker MValent raises $6M in VC cash - 2005-12-05

RSA buys Cyota for $145 million: InfoWorld Nederland

"RSA Security Inc. on Monday said it plans to buy Cyota Inc., the provider of online security and antifraud products, for US$145 million.
The acquisition will allow RSA to offer customers a broader range of authentication techniques. RSA hopes to offer a risk-based authentication approach, allowing customers to choose an authentication method to meet the specific risks they face. Customers will be able to choose from a portfolio that includes watermarking, digital certificates, tokens and smart cards.
In addition to the authentication offerings, RSA also plans to offer Cyota's services such as its antifraud service, which includes fraudulent site shut-down, detection of phishing attacks as well as a transaction-protection service that authenticates credit card users and identifies fraudulent activity in accounts.
RSA expects the acquisition will add as much as $25 million in revenue in 2006. "

Light Reading - - Big Bear Put to Sleep

"With winter coming, Big Bear Networks is headed for the big sleep.
No, we're not talking about the 'hibernation' strategy that was popular during the downturn. (See Bear Market Inspires Hibernation.) Big Bear is closing up shop after selling its assets in two deals. "

Most of the products, including the Kodiak 40-Gbit/s transponder, were ambitiously high-end, but they worked, Celentano laments. "I'll never quite understand how we didn't get a better valuation."

Big Bear never disclosed its customers but did win a supplier award from Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO - message board). Big Bear was getting revenues from 12 different customers, Finisar CEO Jerry Rawls told analysts on a conference call today.


$1.9m in cash deal. OUCH!

PaidContent.org: November 08, 2005 Archives

Paidcontent ad 10 Online Advertising Predictions For 2006:

"1. Consumer-generated media will become increasingly attractive to advertisers
2. Advertisers will continue shifting traditional ad spending to the Web due to increased Internet consumption and better targeting/reporting capabilities
3. Advertisers, cable providers and interactive marketing experts will collaborate to address 'The TiVo Effect'
4. Brand advertisers will drive the next wave of growth for the paid search market
5. Best practices in localized mobile marketing will be perfected overseas in 2006
6. Online advertisers will employ holistic targeting methods to deliver better results and reduce reliance on high-profile, high-CPM ad buys
7. Technology and better data access will transform online advertising success to a formulaic equation
8. Japan will be the next frontier for paid search and interactive marketing
9. Mobile carriers will adopt new ad models to boost revenue beyond usage
10. Performance-based pricing models will demonstrate the true value of search engine marketing (SEM) as a lead generation channel. "

IGN: The Xbox 360 Experience

"December 1, 2005 - Now that we've all had some time with our Xbox 360's and the initial, frantic impressions are over with, people have are finally able to interpret to a level-headed degree the pros and cons of the console. Having been lucky enough to acquire one myself at the Zero Hour launch event Microsoft staged last week in the Mojave Desert, I've got some early impressions of my system at home has been working out."

Tom's Hardware Guide Processors: Top Secret Intel Processor Plans Uncovered - Intel Focusing On 45 nm Now

"Top Secret Intel Processor Plans Uncovered "

24 ways: Easy Ajax with Prototype

"There's little more impressive on the web today than a appropriate touch of Ajax. Used well, Ajax brings a web interface much closer to the experience of a desktop app, and can turn a bear of an task into a pleasurable activity."

WSJ.com - Cingular Set to Push New Service

"Cingular Wireless is set to launch a push-to-talk service today, hoping to take on Sprint Nextel Corp. in offering this potentially lucrative service.
Nextel, now part of Sprint Nextel, Reston, Va., dominates the push-to-talk market. The two-way radio-communication service that works like a 'walkie talkie' is popular among workers in industries like construction and transportation. It requires only one push to connect to other callers and makes it easy to set up group calling, which is an attractive feature for businesses that need to coordinate among staff in different sites on short notice."

WSJ.com - Videogame Makers Try to Score More Ad Dollars With Research

"The videogames industry, on the cusp of technological changes that could make game audiences far more measurable, is taking more steps to tap a potentially lucrative new source of revenue: advertising dollars."

IS GEORGE BUSH THE WORST PRESIDENT -- EVER? - Yahoo! News

"This is what those historians said -- and it should be noted that some of the criticism about deficit spending and misuse of the military came from self-identified conservatives -- about the Bush record:
He has taken the country into an unwinnable war and alienated friend and foe alike in the process;
He is bankrupting the country with a combination of aggressive military spending and reduced taxation of the rich;
He has deliberately and dangerously attacked separation of church and state;
He has repeatedly 'misled,' to use a kind word, the American people on affairs domestic and foreign;
He has proved to be incompetent in affairs domestic (New Orleans) and foreign (Iraq and the battle against al-Qaida);
He has sacrificed American employment (including the toleration of pension and benefit elimination) to increase overall productivity;
He is ignorantly hostile to science and technological progress;
He has tolerated or ignored one of the republic's oldest problems, corporate cheating in supplying the military in wartime."

Wired News: Digg Just Might Bury Slashdot

"A hot new social-bookmarking site is deluging web servers all over the net with a tsunami of traffic -- and is starting to make Slashdot-size waves.
Digg, a San Francisco news site compiled by its own readers, lists links to interesting new technology articles. A mention on the front page can cripple a server for days, in a pattern that mirrors the famed Slashdot effect. "

siliconindia--Sequoia calls off Indiatimes deal

"Sequoia Capital has called off its deal to partner WestBridge Capital in their proposed joint investment into Times Internet that operates the Indiatimes.com portal and e-commerce service. The VC firms had planned to pick up 15 percent of Indiatimes' equity, however the deal did not materialize beyond talks and now only WestBridge has taken a 2.9 percent stake"

'Podfather' snags a big-name software developer from MIT - 2005-12-05

Former MTV VJ Adam Curry, co-founder of PodShow Inc., a year-old San Francisco podcasting venture, just recruited Andrew Grumet, a respected software developer from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Grumet created iPodder, an open-source application that aggregates media content on the web. (And to non-insiders, Curry is known as the "Podfather" for his part in developing the medium.)

More on Adam Curry and the sticky wiki. What a sleezy thing to do

Iron Mountain buys LiveVault: Financial News - Yahoo! Finance

"Iron Mountain Inc. is spending $42 million to acquire the remaining shares of LiveVault Corp., which provides online data backup and recovery services.
Iron Mountain (NYSE: IRM - News) already owned a 14 percent stake in LiveVault; the complete deal is valued at $50 million."

Scratches no match for Nissan's new car paint

"Nissan Motor said Friday it had created a paint that repairs scratches on its own, restoring a car's surface to normal within a week. "

meeker internet report - stanford gsb powerpoint

venturewire exclusives - meebo

"Unlike Joyent and Upstartle, which want to sell to businesses, Meebo, the instant messaging platform provider based in Palo Alto, is entirely focused on consumers. 'When we launched it was more like, 'Huh, we think this would be cool. If we get a ton of user volume we think there would be ways to monetize it,'' said Sternberg. Now, nearly 4.8 million users have successfully logged-in to Meebo to access their instant messenger accounts without having to download any software to a desktop.

Despite the fact that Meebo was approached by at least one large enterprise that wanted to use its software as the company's instant messaging platform, Sternberg steadfastly insists he doesn't want to sell to enterprises. 'If we really did want to get into that enterprise business, it would mean long, enterprise sales forces,' said Sternberg. 'It's a lot of infrastructure that we would have to build in order to get into that particular business,' and he's just not interested. "

mobitv killer | Reuters.com

"Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it is working with Verizon Wireless, the No. 2 U.S. mobile service, to broadcast live television service to cell phones using a network that Qualcomm unit MediaFlo is building"