Thursday, May 20, 2010ReachLocal Up 15 Percent After IPOWoodland Hills-based ReachLocal, which helps small and local businesses place Internet advertising, was up 15.2 percent after its IPO Thursday, closing at $14.98, up $1.98. The firm sold 4,166,667 shares of stock at $13.00 per share, after pricing below its initial offering range on Wednesday evening, and had traded as high as $15.26 during the day. The firm, which is headed by Zorik Gordon, was venture backed by VantagePoint Venture Partners, Rho Ventures, Galleon Group, European Founders Fund, (More info...)
posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010(Full story)
Google Eyes TV As A PlatformSearch engine giant Google is entering the television guide and consumer electronics market today, saying at the Google I/O conference that it is working with Sony, Logitech, and others on embedding technology to search for and view both web and television shows within devices. Google said its new technology--Google TV--is based on Android and the Chrome browser, and will allow consumers to search for and browse both web and television content. Google said it expects devices to be available this (More info...)
posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010(Full story)
Apriso: Strong Growth From Cleantech, Recovery of EconomyLong Beach-based Apriso, a privately held firm developing manufacturing software, said today that it saw "strong customer growth" in the quarter from manufacturers in the solar, fuel cell, and battery industries. The firm did not provide any actual financials. However, the company said it is seeing a sign of recovery in the global economy and its customers, both in clean technology and with traditional manufacturers. Apriso reported its customers now include Boston-Power, Chevrolet Volt, Isuzu, (More info...)
posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010(Full story)
Insights and Opinions: Developers Are Tough To Find AgainOur Insights and Opinions article today is from Tony Karrer, CEO/CTO of TechEmpower, a Los Angeles Web Development firm, who gives some hints, tips, and observations about the increasing difficulty of finding technical talent in Los Angeles.
I'm seeing and hearing that it's becoming tough finding good developers again, at least here in Los Angeles. On Friday, at the LA CTO Forum, I heard from a couple of CTOs having trouble finding good developers. My company, TechEmpower, recently added a (More info...)
posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010(Full story)
ReachLocal Prices IPO At $13.00 Per ShareWoodland Hills-based ReachLocal priced its IPO last night at $13.00 per share, according to filings with the SEC this morning, netting the firm $54.1M. The firm, which will list on the Nasdaq Global Select Market as RLOC, said it sold 4,166,667 of its common shares in the offering. The IPO pricing was significantly below the estimated $17.00 to $19.00 per share the firm had indicated in its earlier S-1 filings. ReachLocal was venture backed by VantagePoint Venture Partners, Rho Ventures, Galleon (More info...)
posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010(Full story)
Buy.com Acquired By Japanese Firm For $250MAliso Viejo-based Buy.com, the online Internet retailer, has been acquired by Japanese company Rakuten. Rakuten said late Wednesday evening that it is in a definitive agreement to acquired Buy.com for $250M. Rakuten is a major e-commerce operator across Asia, and also owns performance marketing firm LinkShare. The firm said that the Buy.com acquisition will help the firm expands its e-commerce business globally. Buy.com was advised by Lazard, Catalina Securities, and Dorsey & Whitney LLP in the (More info...)
posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010(Full story)
Ceres, Novozymes In Biofuels CollaborationThousand Oaks-based Ceres, a developer of biofuel crop technology, and Novozymes, a developer of enzymes, said today that the two have entered into a research collaboration around cellulosic biofuel production. The companies said that they will co-develop customized plant varieties and enzyme cocktails used in production of cellulosic biofuel, which will lead to greater fuel yields and lower capital and operating costs. Financial details of the partnership were not disclosed. The firms said they (More info...)
posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010(Full story)
VMIX Names Burns As CEOSan Diego-based VMIX, which provides online video management and publishing tools, announced this morning that it has appointed Patrick J. Burns as President and Chief Executive Officer. VMIX said that Burns has over 20 years of experience serving as CEO of various software, hardware, and medical-device companies, although the firm did not detail any of those roles. VMIX also said that Burns has served at Ford Motor, Xerox, Bechtel, Brown and Root, and the Maersk Group.
posted on Thursday, May 20, 2010(Full story)