Tuesday, June 27, 2017


US Sees Big Bump In IPOS In First Half Of 2017
The United States saw a big bump in IPOs in the first half of 2017, according to a report from E&Y issued on Tuesday afternoon. According to the EY Global IPO Trends: Q2 2017 report, there has been "brisk" IPO activity globally, in what the report says is "one of its strongest starts in nearly a decade." The report tallied up 80 IPOs raising $22 billion in the first half of 2017, which was up 216 percent in terms of proceeds raised, and 82 percent in terms of number of deals. A notable number o (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, June 27, 2017(Full story)

UCLA Pulls Commitments From Binary Capital
UCLA, a limited partner in venture capital investment fund Binary Capital, has pulled its committment to the venture fund over the weekend, after Managing Director Justin Caldbeck was accused of unwanted advances towards women. UCLA had been one of the venture capital fund's first investors. Caldbeck is accused of unwanted sexual advances on women pitching the fund for investments.
posted on Tuesday, June 27, 2017(Full story)

Two Uber Drivers In LA Accused Of Sexual Assaults
Two drivers on ridesharing service Uber have been accused of two, separate sexual assault incidents in Los Angeles over the last week. One of the two women victims has filed a lawsuit alleging that Uber has a "toxic culture for women inside the company and for women riders on the road." The first incident involved a groping incident on June 9th. The second incident, reported on Monday, said that an Uber driver with a felony record took a passenger to a motel and sexually assaulted her, rather th (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, June 27, 2017(Full story)

HireRight Names Marketing, Product VP
Irvine-based HireRight, which provides global employment background checks, drug and health screening, and electronic Form I-9 and E-Verify services, said Monday that it has named Kathleen Delaney as its Vice President of Marketing and Product. Delaney was previously Chief Marketing Officer for Vistage Worldwide, and also served at such firms as Aon Risk Solutions, LexisNexis, and Dow Jones and Company.
posted on Tuesday, June 27, 2017(Full story)

NantCell Ups Altor BioScience Acquisition Offer
Culver City-based NantCell, one of the companies that is part of Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong's NantWorks group of companies, is acquiring Altor Bioscience. The deal is worth approximately $290M. According to NantCell, it will pay $2.00 in cash or NantCell common stock for each share of Altor BioScience stock, with an additional $4.00 in "contingent value rights" based on regulatory and sales milestones. NantCell said the price is a "significant premium" to recent equity financings. The new agreement (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, June 27, 2017(Full story)

Cornerstone OnDemand Wins Sylvan Learning
Santa Monica-based Cornerstone OnDemand, the developer of cloud-based employee learning, talent management, and human resources management software, has signed up Sylvan Learning as a customer. According to Cornerstone OnDemand, it will offer up learning communities, discussion boards and peer-to-peer learning and development to Sylvan Learning across more than 750 retail locations. Financial impact of the customer win was not announced.
posted on Tuesday, June 27, 2017(Full story)

Oncolytics Biotech Opens San Diego Office
Canadian biotech developer Oncolytics Biotech has opened up a new office in San Diego, the company said this morning, to tap into the area's reputation as a biotech hub. According to Oncolytics Biotech, the new office will support investor relations, business development, and clinical operations functions. The company said it is specifically expanding operations into San Diego due to its role as a "leading biotech hub within one of the largest biopharmaceutical markets in the world", and specifi (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, June 27, 2017(Full story)

Eloxx Pharmaceuticals Raises $6M
Rehovat, Israel-based Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of San Diego-based Sevion Therapeutics, said it ha raised $6M as part of a Series C funding round. The funding came from Korea Investment Partners (KIP) and DSC Investments, and is part of the acquisition deal between Sevion and Eloxx. The companies said that Eloxx has now raised $30M in its Series C funding. Eloxx is developing drugs to treat genetic diseases, including Cystic Fibrosis (CF), Cystinosis, Duchene Musc (More info...)
posted on Tuesday, June 27, 2017(Full story)