Tuesday, August 5, 2008eStyle Sells To RightStartLos Angeles-based eStyle, the online retailer of maternity and baby products, has been sold to an affiliate of infant and toddler products retailer RightStart. The deal was worth $6.4M. According to Alexander B. Kasdan Company Limited, which is the financial advisory arm of Convergence Capital Partners, the sale came as part of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judgement on July 16th. eStyle had filed for bankruptcy protection in March. RightStart is backed by Los Angeles-based private equity firm Hancock (More info...)
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Sonos Ships New Products, Looks To Shake Start-Up LabelSanta Barbara-based Sonos said today that the firm has started shipping its second generation of its music systems. Sonos--whose high end music systems allow you to stream digital music to different rooms in your house--has introduced a new amplifier, a new bundle, and a new look and feel to the firm's brand. The firm said that the new branding is a move beyond its product focus; Sonos said it has moved from a start-up to a "small, yet quickly growing competitor in the home audio business." The (More info...)
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Central Desktop Revs Project Management SoftwarePasadena-based Central Desktop, which provides project management and collaboration tools for teams, said Tuesday that the firm has released a new version of the firm's software-as-a-service platform. According to the firm, it has added time-tracking, support/help-desk applications, and a new Database API for its software, in addition to adding links to external user profiles on social networking sites. Central Desktop's software is targeted at SMB business users managing team projects. The firm (More info...)
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Valeant Sells European OperationsAliso Viejo-based Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, which develops specialty pharmaceuticals, said Monday that it has agreed to sell the firm's business operations in Western Europe and Eastern Europe, including Russia. The firm said those operations will go to Meda AB, a specialty pharmaceuticals firm based in Stockholm, Sweden. The deal is worth $392M in cash, and includes rights to all products and licenses currently marketed by Valeant in those regions. The deal excludes Valeant's busin (More info...)
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SpaceX Raises $20MHawthorne-based SpaceX said late Monday that it has received $20M in an equity investment from the Founders Fund. SpaceX develops commercial launch vehicles and spacecraft, and is headed by ex-PayPal founder Elon Musk. The Founders Fund is the venture capital investment arm of Peter Thiel and Ken Howery, also founders of PayPal. According to SpaceX, Luke Nosek, a Managing Partner at Founders Fund, will join the company's board as part of the funding. The funding comes on the heels of the third l (More info...)
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Interview with Minard Hamilton, Six Degree GamesToday, Marina Del Rey-based Six Degree Games (www.sixdegreegames.com) announced their Series A funding from Prism VentureWorks and Clearstone Ventures. Minard Hamilton, the firm's CEO, founded the company with fellow JAMDAT Mobile executive Ben Jones. We spoke with Minard to learn a bit more about the company, the founders' experience at JAMDAT, and what Six Degrees hopes to do with its sport-themed virtual world for six to 14 year olds.
What's the story behind Six Degree Games?
Minard Ham (More info...)
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Six Degrees Games Confirms $7M In FundingMarina Del Rey-based Six Degrees Games, a startup developing virtual worlds focused on six to 14-year-olds, announced today that it has raised $7M in a Series A funding. The round came from Clearstone Venture Partners and Prism VentureWorks. According to Six Degree Games, the funding will go towards product development, launch, and distribution of a sports-themed, virtual world designed for six-to-14 year olds. socalTECH reported on the funding last week. According to Six Degrees, the project i (More info...)
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Ultizen Games Gets $6MShanghai- and Los Angeles-based Ultizen Games Ltd. said today that it has raised $6M in a Series B funding round. The firm, which provides game development and outsourcing, said the funding was led by PAC-LINK, with participation from Japan Asia Investment Co. (JAIC) and CyberAgent. The company said the new funding would go towards supporting its rapid growth through acquisitions. Ultizen Games has previously raised funding from Dragonvest Partners; the firm did not say if Dragonvest participate (More info...)
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DataDirect Networks Names VPChatsworth-based DataDirect Networks, a developer of data storage products, announced today that it has appointed David Zimmer as the firm's Vice President of Worldwide Channel Sales. Zimmer joins the firm from Pillar Data Systems, where he also served in the same position. Zimmer has also served as senior Director of Worldwide Channel Sales and Marketing at QLogic. DataDirect Networks develops performance-optimized data storage systems, used in high performance computing as well as photo and vi (More info...)
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GETAC Names PresidentLake Forest-based GETAC, a manufacturer of rugged laptop, tablet, and handheld computers, said today that it has named Jim Rimay as the firm's President. Rimay will oversee the firm's North American Operations. GETAC is a subsidiary of MiTAC Technology Corporation. The firm's rugged mobile computers are used in the military, law enforcement, public safety, and other industries. The firm's global headquarters are in Taipei, Taiwan.
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