Tuesday, May 18, 2010Tsavo Media Sold For $75MLos Angeles-based online media firm Tsavo Media, which was founded by Mike Jones, founder of Userplane and current co-President of MySpace, has been sold for $75M to a Canadian firm. According to Toronto-based Cyberplex, it is acquiring Tsavo and its 300 consumer websites for $75M. Cyberplex said that Tsavo had 2009 revenues of approximately $110M and EBITDA of approximately $16.7M, and was generating over 30 million unique visitors per month. Tsavo was backed by American Capital.
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Demand Media Gets New Competitor, Yahoo, After Associated Content BuyLos Angeles-based Demand Media, the user-generated content venture of Richard Rosenblatt, has new competition this afternoon, from Yahoo, after Yahoo announced it would acquire content publishing firm Associated Content. Financial terms of the acquisition of Associated Content were not disclosed. Associated Content, much like Demand Media, pays users to "crowdsource" articles about various topics which might be of interest to Internet users and web searching. Both firms develop "evergreen" artic (More info...)
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ReVision Optics Sees $35MLake Forest-based ReVision Optics, a developer of implantable lenses for treating presbyopia, has received $35.0M in a new round of venture funding, according to a regulatory filing by the firm Tuesday. Details on the funding have not yet been announced by the company. According to the filing, the round included 11 investors. ReVision Optics has previously raised funding from Domain Associates, Canaan Partners, and InterWest Partners. ReVision's PresbyLens is targeted at near and intermediate v (More info...)
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Interview with Al Eisaian, IconAppsFor our interview today, we caught up with Al Eisaian , CEO of Pasadena-based IconApps (www.iconapps.com), which is developing mobile applications for the iPhone/iPod market. Al is a repeat entrepreneur, who last founded Integrien, and was SVP and GM at LowerMyBills. We caught up with Al recently to hear about his latest startup.
What is IconApps all about?
Al Eisaian: IconApps is built around simplifying people's lives through mobile technology. The first app we've build is called Intuit (More info...)
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Solarflare Samples New ChipIrvine-based Solarflare Communications, a developer of 10 Gigabit Ethernet semiconductors, said today that it is now sampling its 40nm, quad-port 10GBASE-T PHY chip. The firm said the PHY is its fourth generation of product, and is targeted at high-density modular switches and servers. The firm said the new chip uses one third the power consumption of competitive offerings. Solarflare said the chips will go into full production in Q4.
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Encore Software Buys PunchLos Angeles-based Encore Software, a retail software publisher which is a subsidiary of Navarre Corporation, said yesterday that it has acquired the assets of Punch! Software, a Kansas City, Missouri-based developer of home design and CAD software. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Encore said the buy would fit into its consumer software distribution model, and that the buy will be accretive to its financial results during the current fiscal year. Punch publishes titles Home (More info...)
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Southern California Technology Jobs SurgeAnyone looking for signs that the economy is turning around, might want to look at what appears to be happening in Southern California's technology jobs market. According to numerous local CEOs, startup executives, and recruiters, the number of open positions for technical--and other-- talent at local companies has surged in recent months, and there's a wild scramble to find the right employees.
"It's been tough to shake people loose from companies," Stuart Macfarlane, CEO of El Segundo-based (More info...)
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Titan Gaming Rounds Up $1M From Who's Who Of LA Tech InvestorsLos Angeles-based Titan Gaming is announcing this morning that it has scored $1M in an angel funding round, from notable local angel investors. According to Titan, it is focused on developing a "complete" gaming platform for skill-based matchmaking, tournaments and points or cash competitions. The list of angel investors--a veritable Who's Who of technology investors in Southern California--included William Quigley and Jim Armstrong of Clearstone Ventures; Brock Pierce; MP3.com's Michael Roberts (More info...)
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Zag Targets Insurers With Auto Buying ProgramSanta Monica-based Zag, the auto-buying software firm headed by Scott Painter, said today that it has launched a new auto buying program specifically targeted at auto insurers. The firm said its new Total Loss Auto Buying Program is targeted at helping total loss sufferers replace their cars, and will be offered as an insurer-branded website and dedicated toll-free phone number. Zag said it will offer the program at no cost to insurers or program users. The program will include access to both n (More info...)
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DivX Claims 300M DevicesSan Diego-based DivX, the developer of video encoding and decoding technology, announced today that over 300 million devices have now shipped with DivX support. The firm said the devices include DVD players, Blu-ray players, digital televisions, mobile phones, gaming consoles, and other consumer electronics devices. DivX has licensing deals with LG Electronics, Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, Samsung Electronics, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba and others.
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CareFusion Completes Medegen BuySan Diego-based CareFusion, a provider of medical devices, said Monday that it has completed its $225M cash acquisition of Medegen, a developer of needleless access connectors for delivering intravenous medication to patients. The acquisition had originally been announced on April 5th. The acquisition of Medegen is the first acquisition by CareFusion since it was spun off from Cardinal Health.
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