Monday, September 20, 2010SolarReserve Opens Nevada OfficeSanta Monica-based SolarReserve, the well funded developer of utility-scale solar thermal projects, said Monday afternoon that it has opened up a Nevada office. The firm said the office in Las Vegas will lead development and construction of the firm's 100-megawatt, utility scale solar thermal plant near Tonopah, Nevada. The firm also said the office will pursue other solar development opportunities in the state. SolarReserve is backed by Citi Alternative Investments, Sustainable Development Inve (More info...)
posted on Monday, September 20, 2010(Full story)
Teledyne Buys Icelandic FirmThousand Oaks-based Teledyne Technologies, which owns a wide range of electronics, aerospace, and other related companies, said today that it has acquired Hafmynd ehf., based in Reykjavik, Iceland. Teledyne said its subsidiary, Teledyne Benthos, acquired Hafmynd, a maker of the Gavia autonomous underwater vehicle. Hafmynd's underswater vehicle is used for commercial, scientific and defense applications. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed.
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Internet Brands Brisco: Deal Will Allow More Focus On Long Term GrowthLos Angeles-based Internet Brands, which operates a suite of online, advertising driven websites across a wide range of verticals, said Monday that it would go private in a $640M, private equity deal, bucking the trend of Southern California companies filing to get to the public markets. Internet Brands had gone public just three years ago. In a blog post, Brisco said that the firm decided to become a private firm again, because it would be a "good deal" for shareholders, and also said it could (More info...)
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Clearstone I Tops CalPERS Fund PerformanceSanta Monica-based venture capital firm Clearstone Venture Partners currently tops the list for the best performing fund within CalPERS private equity funds, according to recently released figures from CalPERS. According to the numbers, Clearstone Venture Partners 1-B, which was raised in 1999, has returned CalPERS so far 154.7 percent. CalPERS has historically been a major limited partner in local venture and private equity funds; other local funds counting CalPERS as and investor include GRP P (More info...)
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SodaHead Launching Major RedesignEncino-based SodaHead, the social news and question and answer site headed by Jason Feffer, told its users today that it is launching a major redesign this week. According to the site, it is improving the look and feel of its site, adding polls with an interactive map feature, and improving the layout of pages. Among major changes, the new site now feature more featured content; more graphical and interactive headings; rankings of the most popular topics for a day; and more information from poli (More info...)
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Break Media Ties With Toyota On Web SeriesLos Angeles-based Break Media is launching a new web series, in a branded content deal with Toyota, the firm said today. Break said it is launching Standup Stories "My First Ride", a web series featuring six comedians sharing their "first car experience", as part of a Toyota Camry and Corolla campaign. Financial terms of the deal with Toyota was not announced, however, Break said its Creative Lab worked with Toyota and Saatchi & Saatchi on the project. The web series was filmed with a 75-member, (More info...)
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Data Impact Nabs $5MHuntington Beach-based Data Impact, a developer of software-as-a-service for electronic invoicing, announced this morning that it has raised $5M in a funding round. The round came from Zon Capital partners and other private investors. According to the firm, it will use the funding to fuel growth in its industry. In addition to the equity, the company also said it received a line of credit from Square One. Size of the line of credit was not announced.
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Contour Energy Announces Coin Cell Battery LineAzusa-based Contour Enery Systems, the battery technology startup which is backed by CMEA Capital, Harris and Harris, Schlumberger and US Venture Partners, said today that it is planing the release of its first line of coin cell batteries, starting in Q4. The firm--which develops Flourine-based batteries--said its coin cells will offer "significantly longer" battery life to OEMs. The firm is targeting the automotive, consumer, industrial, and medical markets with its products. Contour Energy is (More info...)
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Internet Brands Acquired For $640MEl Segundo-based Internet Brands, the Internet media firm headed by Bob Brisco, has been acquired by private equity firm Hellman & Friedman Capital Partners, in a deal worth approximately $640M. According to Internet Brands, Hellman & Friedman will pay $13.35 in cash for each outstanding share of common stock of the firm. The price is a premium of approximately 46.5 percent over its closing price Friday. Internet Brands board was advised by Jeffries & Company, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & (More info...)
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Interview with Eric M. Jackson, CapLinkedToday's interview is with Eric M. Jackson, CEO and co-founder of CapLinked (www.caplinked.com), which is developing tools to help entrepreneurs and investors connect. Eric is an experienced entrepreneur, and was a very, very early employee at PayPal, where he was recruited by Peter Thiel. Eric is also author of the book The PayPal Wars: Battles With Ebay, the Media, the Mafia, And the Rest of Planet Earth, where he documented that experience. He also gave us some of his thoughts on why the "Pay (More info...)
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Invested.in Launches Site for BizWorldLos Angeles-based Invested.in, a startup focused on helping people to manage fundraising efforts for individuals, non-profits, and businesses, has launched a new site for The BizWorld Foundation, a group which teaches business basics to children. According to The BizWorld Foundation and Invested.in, their new site will help educators to raise the fund they need to purchase BizWorld's educational programs for their classrooms. The two had announced the site development deal in July. Invested.in o (More info...)
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MorphLabs Launches New Product, Ties With ZendManhattan Beach-based Morphlabs, the developer of cloud computing software run by Winston Damarillo, announced this morning that it has released a "significant upgrade" to its mCloud Controller product. The firm said the release simplifies the process of building and managing internal cloud computing environments. In addition to the release, the firm also said it has partnered with Zend Technologies, to integrate the software as part of mCloud Enterprise. Financial details of that deal were not (More info...)
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Roambi Connects To OracleSan Diego-based MeLLmo, the developer of the Roambi business application for the iPhone and iPad, said this morning that it has integrated its software with Oracle's Business Intelligence (BI) suite. Roambi allows users to monitor various enterprise products via their mobile device. The Oracle support comes on top of existing support for SAP, IBM, and Microsoft products. The software is now able to pull up reports from Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition 11g and other Oracle products (More info...)
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THQ Taps Joyent For InfrastructureAgoura Hills-based THQ reports today that it has selected Joyent, a provider of cloud infrastructure services, to provide it with support in the social games space. THQ said that it will use Joyent to support its turn-key development and publishing for its social gaming development teams. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
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Qualcomm Promotes Mollenkopf To EVP, Group ResidentSan Diego-based Qualcomm announced today that it has named Steve Mollenkopf as EVP and Group President. According to Qualcomm, the promotion of Mollenkompf recognizes his expansion of executive oversight to cover Qualcomm CDMA Technologies, Qualcomm Internet Services, and Qualcomm MEMS Technologies. Mollenkopf has been at Qualcomm since 1994.
posted on Monday, September 20, 2010(Full story)