Wednesday, May 4, 2016United Online Acquired By B. Riley For $170MWoodland Hills-based United Online said Wednesday afternoon that it has agreed to be acquired by B. Riley Financial, in a deal worth $170M in cash, or $11.00 per share. According to a statement from interim CEO Jeff Goldston, the deal came after an "extensive process" to explore a "full range of strategic alternatives". The company said it will allow its only remaining operating business--its communications segment--to continue under B. Riley. The sale of United Online came after a long and tort (More info...)
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Hulu Confirms Plans For Live TV Streaming ServiceLos Angeles-based Hulu confirmed today at its Upfront event in New York that it indeed is planning to roll out a live, TV streaming service next year. Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins said the service--which will include both broadcast and cable TV channels--will allow subscriers to enjoy sports, news, and events, without a traditional subscriptoin to cable or satellite. Hulu's Upfront offers up a look into Hulu's shows and business to major advertisers. Hulu has not yet announced pricing on the yet-to-be- (More info...)
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Club W Raises $17.5M, Renames Itself to WincLos Angeles-based subscription wine service Club W said this morning that it has raised $17.5M in a Series B funding, and renamed itself to Winc. Winc said that the funding was co-led by Chinese investor Shining Capital, and also included Bessemer Venture Partners. ClubW offers up a personalized, wine delivery club, which delivers wines to users based on their tastes and preferences. The company recently moved from selling third party wines via a marketplace, to sourcing and producing its own wi (More info...)
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Wrapal: Creating A Marketplace For Film LocationsFor our startup interview today, we have an interview with Wrapal (www.wrapal.com), a new startup developing an online marketplace to help film-makers find filming locations, and helping property owners--both residential and commercial--make their properties available for films, commercials, television, and more. We spoke with co-founder Brian L. Tan ("BLT") about the business.
What's the story behind Wrapal?
Brian Tan: It all started, like most companies, with a problem. Lots of us come f (More info...)
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SubPac Finds $6M For Sound Device StartupLos Angeles-based SubPac, a new startup which is developing a wearable vest and seatback device which lets users feel their music, has raised $6M in a Series A financing. The funding came from Richie Hawtin, Dada Life, Azure Capital, M7 Tech Partners, and Andy Rubin of Playground Global. M7 Tech Partners is the ivnestment fund of the NBA's Carmelo Anthony, and Rubin is the co-creator of Google Android. The company said the funding goes to develop its brand. As part of the funding, the company sa (More info...)
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Giant Media Names CEOLos Angeles-based Giant Media, a native advertising company which is part of Adknowledge, said this morning that it has named John Cobb as its CEO. Cobb was most recently COO of Fexy Brands, and was CEO of Publishing Group of America (PGOA), which was backed by Bain CApital and Shamrock Capital, and had headed up the firm when it was sold to Fexy in 2014. Giant focuses on native video advertising for brands.
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Donuts Makes Investment In GeoFrenzyDonuts, the domain name registration and global top level (gTLD) domain extension operator which has some operations and executives in Los Angeles, said Tuesday that it has made a strategic investment in domain geofencing company GeoFrenzy. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed. GeoFrenzy is based in Tiburon, California. Donuts said the investment in GeoFrenzy is the first out of its Donuts Labs project, which focuses on innovation around the domain and registration space.
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Teledyne Completes CARIS BuyThousand Oaks-based Teledyne Technologies said this morning that it has completed the acquisition of Canadian software company CARIS. CARIS develops geospatial software for seafloor mapping and sonar processing. Financial details of the previously announced deal were not disclosed. CARIS was based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, and had been founded in 1979.
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Cornerstone OnDemand Names New CFO, As Co-Founder Wallack Hands Over ReinsSanta Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand said today that it has named Brian L. Swartz as its new CFO, as co-founder and current CFO Perry Wallack steps away from the role he has held since 1999. Wallack said earlier in the year that he would be looking to step away from the CFO position. Swartz was most recently CFO of Zulily, and also served as CFO of Apollo Education Group and has been at EaglePicher, in addition to serving in other accounting positions.
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BIOLASE Names New VPsIrvine-based dental laser firm BIOLASE has named two new VPs today, aying it has named Michael Roux as its Vice President of Marketing, and Matthew Wilson as Vice President of Human Resources. Roux was most recently VP of Product Management at Patient Safety Technologies, and also served at HIll-Rom and 3M Company. Wilson previously served at Zimmer Biomet, CBRE Group, and Raytheon. BIOLASE is a developer of dental lasers, and also markets, sells, and distributes dental imaging equipment, includ (More info...)
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