Tuesday, November 15, 2011SoCal Investors Await Clovis Oncology IPOTwo Southern California venture firms are among the investors who are awaiting an expected IPO of Clovis Oncology, a developer of cancer drugs, this week. Clovis Oncology, based in Colorado, is expected to price its IPO this week, according to the NASDAQ's expected IPO calendar. Clovis has applied to trade on the NASDAQ Global Market as CLVS. According to the latest S-1 filing for Clovis, two of its major investors are based in Southern California, including San Diego-based Domain Associates, wh (More info...)
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BizDeals.com Acquired By RapidBuyrWestlake Village-based BizDeals.com, an online site offering up weekly deals for small businesses, has been acquired by Concord, Mass.-based RapidBuyr, RapidBuyr said Tuesday. Financial terms of the buy were not disclosed. BizDeals.com was founded in 2010 by Mark Reese. RapidBuyr offers discounts on business products to small and mid-sized businesses.
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Unsubscribe.com Acquired By TrustedIDSanta Monica-based Unsubscribe.com, the startup headed by James Siminoff, which helped consumers unsubscribe from unwanted email, has been acquired by TrustedID. TrustedID, which provides credit and identity protection services, announced the acquisition on Tuesday afternoon, but did not disclose financial terms of the buy. Unsubscribe.com was venture backed by Charles River Ventures, First Round Capital, DFJ Frontier, and angel investors.
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Redpoint's Fouad ElNaggar Departs FirmIn another switchup for venture capital firm Redpoint Ventures efforts in Southern California, Fouad ElNaggar, who had been covering Redpoint's investment efforts in Los Angeles, has departed the firm. ElNaggar quietly left the firm in October, saying in a blog post that he is becoming SVP of Strategy and Corporate Development at CBS Interactive, under Jim Lanzone. ElNaggar said he "missed being an operator" despite describing his positoin at Redpoint as "a dream job." ElNaggar had headed up Red (More info...)
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Interview with Andrew Humphries, UK's Tech City(Editor's note: Los Angeles has always had strong ties to business in the UK, and the UK government has been very active in reaching out to Los Angeles technology firms in recent years. On the invitation of UK Trade and Investment, socalTECH Contributing Editor Travis Oberlander has traveled this week to London for us, to compare and contrast the efforts in the UK to establish their own technology center with our own efforts in Southern California.)
This week, entrepreneurs from all around th (More info...)
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PortfolioDashboards.com Takes On Investment TrackingOrange County-based PortfolioDashboards.com, a developer of software for providing updates and information to angel and other investors, launched today, saying that it is looking to provide angel investors and venture capitalists with regular, standardized, and aggregated performance data and reports on their portfolio companies. The firm, which was founded by Kerry Kane, said it has been running in private beta for a few months. Kane has previously been involved with TruckersDispatch.com, and A (More info...)
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Domain Associates Boosts Biomarker FirmSan Diego-based biotech venture investor Domain Associates is the lead investor on a biomarker firm, targeting the detection of preterm birth and other pregnancy complications. According to Sera Prognostics today, it has raised $19.3M in a financing, which was led by InterWest Partners, Domain Associates and Catalyst Health Ventures. Other investors in the firm were UpStart Life Sciences Capital, and Osage University Partners. Domain's Kim P. Kamdar represented the firm in the deal, and now sits (More info...)
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ImageCollect Tops 3M PhotosImageCollect, the micro-stock photography site owned by Los Angeles-based AudioMicro, said today that it now has over three million photos in its library. ImageCollect is a micro-stock photography site featuring celebrity photos, which provides royalty free access to photos from entertainment photographers. ImageCollect also said it has moved to a subscription-based pricing model, switching away form a credit-based system it was using previously. Subscriptions start at $19.00 for one download pe (More info...)
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Interview with Howard Marks, Start EngineAre you an entrepreneur hoping to startup a company in the Los Angeles area? In what has been an unprecedented surge in interest in helping entrepreneurs, there have been more than a half dozen accelerators--most patterned after the successful YCombinator and TechStars programs elsewhere in the country--established in Southern California in the last month or so. Southern California apparently has no shortage of investors, entrepreneurs, and others eager to help budding entrepreneurs. The latest (More info...)
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Start Engine Takes On Startup AccelerationIn an unprecedented surge in startup support activity in Los Angeles this morning, another venture startup accelerator, Start Engine, formally launched this morning, applying the accelerator model to startup in the Los Angeles area. Start Engine, started by Activision co-founder Howard Marks and investor Paul Kessler, said today that it is looking to provide mentorship, funding, and other resources to startups in the area, starting with a first class in January. The accelerator is one of nearly (More info...)
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TelePacific Ramps HiringLos Angeles-based TelePacific Communications is the latest Southern California company with big hiring plans, saying Monday that it plans to add nearly 200 positions to the firm to support its growth. TelePacific, which provides IP, voice, data, and Internet services to its customers, said the hires come due to growth in its customer based in California, Nevada, and Texas. TelePacific serves business customers in those three states.
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Active Network Ties With Triathlon GroupSan Diego-based Active Network and Triathlon America announced this morning that the two have linked in a strategic agreement. According to the two, they will work together on a comprehensive study of triathletes, to better identify who is participating in triathlon events. The two said they will provide research on demographics, spending and training habits, brand preferences, and more on triathletes through the effort. Terms of the strategic deal were not announced.
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D3Publisher Launches Nickelodeon TitleLos Angeles-based videogame developer D3Publisher and Nickelodeon said today that the two have shipped a new set of titles based on a Nickelodeon Show. The two said that Victorius:Time to Shine has shipped for the Kinect for Xbox 360, and Victorious: Hollywood Arts has launched for the Nintendo DS. Both of the titles are based on Nickelodeon's live action comedy series Victorius. The two titles are focused on creating their own music video. Victorius is a show aimed at tweens and teens on Nickel (More info...)
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Abgengoa Ramps Solar Project Construction in MojaveSpanish solar power developer Abengoa announced this morning that it has begun ramping up construction of its 280 megawatt concentrating solar power project, the CSP Mojave Solar Project in San Bernardino County. The company said it expects the project to create more than 900 construction and permanent operations jobs; the firm said it already has 81 workers on-site as part of the project. Abengoa stressed the job creating aspects of its project in its release this morning. The firm's power purc (More info...)
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QLogic Approves $200M Stock Repurchase ProgramAliso Viejo-based QLogic, the developer of high speed storage networking equipment, said this morning that it has approved a $200M stock repurchase program. QLogic did not comment on the repurchase efforts. QLogic makes adapters, switches, and ASICs used in high speed networking, particularly for the storage industry.
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