Tuesday, July 6, 2010LenSx Acquired By AlconAliso Viejo-based LenSx Lasers, a developer of laser technology used for cataract surgery, has been acquired by Alcon, Alcon said late Tuesday. According to Alcon, it will pay $361.5M in cash for LenSx shareholders, plus up to $382.5M in contingent payments based on milestones and revenues. LenSx is backed by Versant Ventures, SV Life Sciences, InterWest Partners and Venture Investors.
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Venture Firms Invest Around $1.6 Billion In Q2 2010 In SoCalAn analysis of Q2's venture capital deals and investment activity in Southern California find that venture capitalists invested around $1.6 billion in the area in Q2, up slightly from around $1.4 billion invested in Q1, and up from $1.0 billion in Q2 of last year. The analysis was based on tracking of venture capital, angel, and private equity deals by socalTECH.com, which maintains its own proprietary database of local and national venture capital deals and dealmakers. The deal totals were sign (More info...)
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HP Selects UCSB, UCSD, USC Profs For FundingHP said today that it has selected 60 professors to receive awards as part of its annual HP Labs Innovation Research Program, including a number of local researchers. According to HP, among the sixty professors were Dr. Amin Vahdat of the University of California, San Diego; Dr. John Bowers at the University of California, Santa Barbara; and Dr. Gerard Medioni and Dr. Alan E. Willner at the University of Southern California. HP did not detail the specific projects of the professors, but said the (More info...)
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After Long Road, Greenplum (Metapa) Acquired By EMCGreenplum, a software firm developing database clustering software used for the data warehousing business, has been acquired by EMC. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is the end of a long road for Greenplum--originally based in Sherman Oaks--and its investors, which includes San Diego's Mission Ventures. The firm, which first appeared in Los Angeles in 2001 as Metapa, was backed by such firms as Dawntreader, EDF Ventures, Hudson Ventures, Meritech Capital Partners, (More info...)
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eFax Expands In JapanLos Angeles-based eFax, which operates an online fax and fax-to-email service, said today that it has expanded in the Asia-Pacific region with 15 new cities in Japan. The firm launched Japanese language service last month and opened up an office in Tokyo. According to eFax, the move allows local customers to access its eFax services in the local area code, covering such cities as Hiroshima, Kobe, Kyoto, Nagoya, Sapporo, and Yokohama, along with others. eFax, which is a brand of j2 Global Communi (More info...)
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Lunch.com Launches Social Game BadgesLos Angeles-based Lunch.com, the social media and networking site run by former VirtualTourist.com founder J.R. Johnson, said today that it has launched a new social game badge feature on the site. Lunch.com, which allows users to connect with others with similar interests and passions, said the new feature will allow users to create their own social games by making customized reward badges. The site said that the new feature allows any user to create their own badges, which can be unlocked by o (More info...)
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Report: IPO Activity Triples In Q2A new report released this morning from PricewaterhouseCoopers says that U.S. IPO activity nearly tripled in the second quarter. According to PwC, IPO deals nearly tripled in the second quarter, compared to last year, with 39 IPOs raising $5.1 billion for the three months ending June, compared with only 12 IPOs raising $1.6 billion in Q2 of 2009. Those IPOs bring the total number of IPO deals to 66 in the first six months of the year, raising $9.2 billion on the markets, compared with only 14 de (More info...)
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TweetUp Buys Twitter Client TwidroidPasadena-based TweetUp, the Twitter advertising startup out of Idealab, said today that it has acquired Twidroid, which develops its own Twitter client for Android phones. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. According to TweetUp, the buy also includes the acquisition of popurls, an online site which aggregates the most popular items from Twitter, Digg, YouTube, Delicious, the New York Times, and other news and social media sites. As part of the acquisition, TweetUp said it will rename (More info...)
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Clean Energy Fuels Buys FirmSeal Beach-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp., a producer of compressed and liquefied natural gas for the transportation industry, said today that it is in a deal to acquire IMW, a manufacturer of natural gas fueling compressors and related equipment, for $125M. IMW is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Clean Energy Fuels said the deal includes $75M at closing, including $15M in cash plus $60M in the firm's common stock, plus four additional, annual payments of $12.5M each. Clean Energy said IMW (More info...)
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Verimatrix Adds Chilean CustomerSan Diego-based Verimatrix, a developer of digital rights management software, said Monday that it has deployed its products on Chilean broadband provider GTD Manquehue, based in Santiago. Financial details of the win were not disclosed. Verimatrix said that it has deployed its Verimatrix Video Content Authority Systems (VCAS) to secure broadcast and video-on-demand channels at the operator. The win was supported by systems integrator I-Systems. Verimatrix develops technology used to secure digi (More info...)
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DivX Wins Chinese TV FirmSan Diego-based DivX reports today that it has signed Chinese television manufacturer Hisense Electric Co. Ltd. as its latest firm to adopt its DivX Plus video encoding technology. DivX said HiSense will use the video encoding format support in its new line of digital TVs, to play back video from the TV's USB slot. Financial impact of the licensing deal was not disclosed. DivX Plus is a format for creation and playback of H.264 video.
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Kelley Blue Book Ties With Mint.comIrvine-based Kelley Blue Book, a provider of data on new and used cars, said today that it has linked with online personal finance site Mint.com. According to the firm, its Kelley Blue Book Values will be integrated into the Assets and Goals features on Mint.com. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. The data will be used to determine the worth or debt of automobiles owned by users.
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