Thursday, November 14, 2013Xencor Sets IPO PricingMonrovia, California-based Xencor has set the initial offering price for its IPO, saying in a filing Thursday morning that it will offer up 10,700,000 shares of its common stock at $7.00 per share. The company plans to trade on the NASDAQ Global Market as XNCR. The IPO price is below its initial estimated offering price, which had been between $14.00 and $16.00 per share. Xencor is backed by MedImmune Ventures, HealthCare Ventures, and John R. Stafford, III. The company develops biopharmaceutica (More info...)
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Goodbye, paidContentpaidContent, the online news site started in Los Angeles by Rafat Ali, is officially disappearing, according to current owner and publisher GigaOm. In a post to readers, paidContent said it will be closing down the paidContent website, and moving all of its content over to GigaOm. The move comes two years after GigaOm acquired paidContent from former owner Guardian Media, which had purchased paidContent from Ali in 2008. Rafat Ali--who is now running a New York travel news startup, Skift--had bu (More info...)
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Sorrento Therapeutics Buys Concortis BiosystemsSan Diego-based Sorrento Therapeutics announced this morning that it is acquiring fellow, San Diego biotech Concortis Biosystems, to bolster its library of antibodies. According to Sorrento Therapeutics, it will issue 1,331,978 shares of its common stock for Concortis. The deal is worth approximately $11.6M, based on the recent pricing of Sorrento's stock. As part of the acquisition, David (Zhenwei) Miao, PhD, Co-Founder, President and CSO of Concortis, will become Chief Technology Officer at So (More info...)
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Lynda.com Ties Into LinkedIn To Showcase Job SkillsCarpinteria-based online education site lynda.com has tied into a new program from LinkedIn, to highlight courses that users of both sites have completed through the online learning site. According to Lynda.com, it has joined LinkedIn's new Direct-to-Profile Certifications Pilot Program, a program which lets people showcase the skills they learn through the site. Lynda.com provides a huge library of online video courses on software, web design, photography, and many other topics. The two said th (More info...)
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Tandem Diabetes Care Prices IPOSan Diego-based medical device manufacturer Tandem Diabetes Care priced its IPO last night, saying it will offer up 8,000,000 shares of its common stock at $15.00 per share. The company--which develops an insulin pump--will start trading today on the NASDAQ Global Market as TNDM. Tandem Diabetes Care is venture backed by Delphi Ventures, Domain Associates, TPG Biotechnology, HLM Venture Partners, Kearny Venture Partners, and others.
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Cornerstone OnDemand Opens Up Incubator, Investment FundSanta Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand, the developer of talent management and human resources management software, is boosting its efforts to support the Los Angeles technology ecosystem, through the launch of its own incubator and investment fund. According to the company, it has launched the Cornerstone Innovation Fund, which will invest $250,000 to $1M in cloud-based startups, and will also offer up young companies space within its Santa Monica headquarters. Cornerstone OnDemand said it pla (More info...)
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FlightCar Expands To LAXIn the latest peer-to-peer marketplace startup to launch into Los Angeles, car rental startup FlightCar said Wednesday that it has launched its peer-to-peer, smartphone driven car rental service at Los Angeles International (LAX). The startup--which is backed by Ryan Seacrest, Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst Partners--said that LAX is the third location for the company, which lets people rent out their cars in exchange for free parking, complimentary luxury town car service, and a small (More info...)
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KidZui Launches Mobile Browser For iOSZui, the kids' content site which is now owned by Saban Brands, said today that it has launched a new, mobile browser which provides kid-safe Internet browsing to iOS. According to Saban Brands, KidZui is a downloadable browser which provides kid-safe Internet access to websites, videos. pictures, and games, all of whic have been screened by the company. The browser is free. Zui also said it plans to release a similar, Android version of the browser soon. Saban Brands--best known for owning the (More info...)
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HitFix Taps Moviefone Vet As COOLos Angeles-based entertainment news and video site Hitfix, which is led by Jennifer Sargent, said today that it has tapped a Moviefone veteran as its Chief Operating Officer. The site said that it has hired Lesley Kallet Rose as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing day to day operations, product development, traffic growth, and distribution partnerships. Rose was most recently GM of Moviefone, and also had served at Warner Bros. Pictures. Hitfix offers up entertainment news and videos, aimed at (More info...)
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Microsemi Names CEO To Chairman PostAliso Viejo-based semiconductor developer Microsemi announced today that it has named CEO James J. Peterson as Chairman of its board, in addition to his role as CEO. Current Chairman Dennis Leibel remains on the board as an independent director. Microsemi also said it has named Paul Pickle as President and Chief Operating Officer (COO), with current COO Ralph Brandi continuing on as EVP. Pickle was most recently EVP of Microsemi's Integrated Circuits Group, and has been at the firm since 1998. M (More info...)
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