Author: Luisa Beltran

Mercator MedSystems closed a $6.5 million Series B financing co-led by New York-based Volcano Capital and two San Francisco-based firms, Crocker Capital and Aphelion Capital. Washington D.C.-based Windy City Inc. and SET Technology Gmbh, a German-based investment fund, are also participating in the financing. 

PRESS RELEASE

SAN LEANDRO, CA – (May 30, 2013) Mercator MedSystems, Inc., a privately-held medical technology company reinventing the treatment of disease deep inside the body, today announced the closing of a $6.5 million Series B financing. The funding will be used to initiate sales of its Cricket™ and Bullfrog® Micro-Infusion devices in Europe, the United States and Australia – and support clinical validation of its product platform to treat peripheral artery disease (PAD). PAD is a critical health issue affecting 12-14 percent of the general population and nearly 70 percent of those over the age of 70; approximately 23 million Western Europeans and 17 million Americans suffer with the disease.
 
The Series B financing was co-led by three national venture capital investment firms, New York-based Volcano Capital and two San Francisco-based firms, Crocker Capital and Aphelion Capital®.  Washington D.C.-based Windy City Inc. and SET Technology Gmbh, a German-based investment fund, are also participating in the financing.  With this series of financing, Mercator Medsystems has raised a total of $18.5 million in equity.
 
“We are thrilled to have achieved this milestone in light of the particularly harsh financing environment for young medical technology companies,” said Mercator’s Chief Executive Officer, Thomas M. Loarie. “Mercator has an exceptional technology platform that provides a new avenue for treating a number of intractable diseases, including vascular disease, cardiac repair, hypertension, and cancer.”
 
Mercator MedSystem’s Micro-Infusion approach was created at the labs of The University of California, Berkeley in 2000. The company’s proprietary family of FDA 510(k)-cleared Micro-Infusion devices provides targeted treatments via the vascular system. This novel delivery system could reinvent the treatment of disease by allowing clinicians to accurately and efficiently deliver small volumes of drugs and biologics (such as stem cells) to tissues deep in the body, treating the root cause of significant medical conditions. This novel “outside in” mechanism, treating the outside of the vessel wall, or adventitia, as a therapeutic target “may provide the right path to address the vessel injury response cascade that typically accompanies a vascular intervention,” Loarie explained.
 
Volcano Capital partner Douglas Wall commented, “We recognize the tremendous versatility of Mercator’s micro-infusion platform in treating cardiovascular disease, as well as its promise to improve clinical benefits in the bronchial and oncology spaces.  We have great confidence that Mercator’s unique adventitial delivery device could save and vastly improve the quality of life for millions of patients worldwide, while delivering economic efficiencies to the health care system, as well.”
 
As a result of this financing, Volcano Capital partner, Doug Wall, Aphelion Capital®’s founder Ned Scheetz, and Windy City, Inc. President Joel Kanter will join the Board of Directors, which is comprised of Kirk P. Seward, Ph.D., Chief Science and Technology Officer, Mercator MedSystems; Thomas M. Loarie, Chief Executive Officer, Mercator Medsystems; Charles Crocker, Principal of Crocker Capital; and Neil P. Desai, Ph.D., Vice President, Strategic Platforms at Celgene Corporation.
In addition to its equity financing, Mercator Medsystems has secured $2 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Small Business Administration and other federal agencies since 2010.
~  ~   ~ 
 
San Leandro, CA-based Mercator MedSystems, Inc. (www.mercatormed.com) is a venture-backed, privately held medical technology company spun out of The University of California, Berkeley. The company develops catheter-guided micro-infusion systems for targeted delivery of drugs and biologics to treat the root cause of significant medical conditions, including cardiovascular disease, oncology, hypertension and heart disease. 
 

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Visier said Thursday that it has raised $15 million in Series B financing led by Summit Partners. Existing investor Foundation Capital also participated. Visier, with headquarters in Vancouver, B.C. and San Francisco, Calif., provides workforce analytics through the cloud to HR professionals.

PRESS RELEASE

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA—(May 30, 2013) —Visier, the innovation leader in workforce analytics and planning solutions, today announced that it has raised $15 million in Series B financing. The round was led by growth equity investor Summit Partners and included existing investor Foundation Capital. Visier will use the capital to fuel investments in innovation and fund strategic growth initiatives that support its aggressive, global go-to-market strategy.
Since its founding in 2010, Visier has re-defined how enterprise organizations approach workforce analytics by delivering out-of-the-box HR analytics that combine the sophistication of predictive capabilities with the ease-of-use of consumer applications. Visier Workforce Analytics gives business leaders and HR professionals the insight they need to take action to reduce workforce costs, improve productivity, attract and retain top talent, and optimize their people strategy to meet their business strategy.
“Visier’s first two years were spent creating a revolutionary way to approach analytics,” said John Schwarz, Founder and CEO of Visier. “Since taking that solution to the market last year, customers have consistently told us they have never seen anything like Visier, and they are delighted with how Visier Workforce Analytics is helping to transform their businesses.  With this capital infusion from top-tier investors Summit Partners and Foundation Capital, Visier will accelerate the release of new product offerings, continue to drive innovation in analytics, and grow market share through international expansion.”
Led by business intelligence visionaries including former Business Objects CEO John Schwarz, Visier’s leadership team has a proven track record of successful technical, operational and strategic management with companies including Business Objects, Crystal Decisions, SAP, IBM and Symantec.

“Visier is a market leader in the workforce analytics software industry. The company has created an amazing experience for business users, and solved the challenge of delivering real business insight—not analytic infrastructure—through the cloud in a fraction of the time required to get traditional analytics solutions up and running,” said Greg Goldfarb, a Managing Director with Summit Partners who is joining the Visier Board. “As a long-time investor in software companies, Summit Partners is pleased to support this extraordinary management team that has built a rapidly growing company that is so focused on delivering business value to its customers.”

Visier is the choice of enterprise leaders that understand their greatest investment is their people. Representative customers include ConAgra Foods, CareFusion, Informatica, and Hyatt Hotels.
About Visier
Headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. and San Francisco, CA, Visier delivers workforce analytics through the cloud to empower HR professionals with the most critical insights for optimizing their people strategy to meet their business strategy. Visier’s unique analytics combine the sophistication of predictive capabilities with the ease-of-use of consumer applications. Founded in 2010 by business intelligence experts–including former Business Objects CEO John Schwarz–the company’s leadership team has a proven track record of technical, operational and strategic management success with companies such as IBM, SAP and Symantec. The company has received numerous industry awards for its innovative technology and products. For more information, please visit http://www.visier.com.
About Foundation Capital
At Foundation Capital, we’re dedicated to the proposition that one entrepreneur’s idea, with the right support, can become a business that changes the world. We helped Atheros create the mobile Internet, EnerNOC invent the energy demand response market, and Netflix revolutionize media distribution and consumption, among many others. We’re currently invested in more than 80 high-growth ventures in the areas of consumer, information technology, software, semiconductors, and clean technology including BoardVantage, Chegg, Coverity, Lending Club, MobileIron, Simply Hired, Sunrun, TubeMogul and Venafi. Foundation Capital’s eighteen initial public offerings include Envestnet, Financial Engines, Netflix, NetZero, Responsys and Silver Spring Networks. For more information, please visit http://www.foundationcapital.com.
About Summit Partners
Summit Partners (http://www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies across North America, Europe and Asia. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised nearly $15 billion in capital and provides equity and credit for growth, recapitalizations, and management buyouts. Summit has invested in more than 365 companies globally in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed 130 public offerings, and more than 135 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Notable investments in the software sector include: Clearwater Analytics, McAfee, RightNow Technologies, Hyperion Software, GoldenGate Software, Postini, ProClarity and Unica. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Menlo Park, London and Mumbai.
In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

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Summit Partners has invested in RuffaloCODY. Financial terms weren’t announced. Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based RuffaloCody provides technology-enabled fundraising and enrollment management services for higher education and nonprofit organizations. Lazard Middle Market provided financial advice to RuffaloCODY.

PRESS RELEASE

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (May 30, 2013)—RuffaloCODY, the leading provider of technology-enabled fundraising and enrollment management services for higher education and high affinity-based nonprofit organizations, announced today that Summit Partners, a growth equity investor in rapidly growing companies, has made an investment in the company. Lazard Middle Market advised RuffaloCODY on this transaction.

“This commitment by Summit Partners will assist RuffaloCODY with plans to significantly expand our national and international presence and extend service offerings in both existing and new markets,” said Duane Jasper, RuffaloCODY President and CEO. “Summit’s experience working with high-growth organizations like RuffaloCODY will help accelerate our cutting-edge development and innovation.”

Added Al Ruffalo, RuffaloCODY Founder and Executive Chairman, “Our four-year partnership with exiting equity investors North Bridge Growth Equity and Westview Capital Partners was very successful, and provided a strong foundation for future growth. They helped double our business and solidify our market presence, and we are grateful for the support and confidence they placed in our firm.”

 

RuffaloCODY has delivered outstanding results and continued growth, providing nonprofit clients with data-driven services and initiatives unique to the marketplace. The company has been recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of America’s fastest-growing private companies for more than seven consecutive years, and it has also received recognition for job creation.

 

“We are investing in a strong management team, a compelling business model, and a market-leading company,” said Len Ferrington, a Principal with Summit Partners who will be joining the RuffaloCODY Board, along with Summit Managing Director C.J. Fitzgerald. “We look forward to assisting Duane Jasper, Al Ruffalo and the RuffaloCODY team as they continue to grow the company.”

 

In addition, the company recently announced plans to move into a new 88,000-square-foot-facility near the Kirkwood Community College campus early next year. The new facility will house all Cedar Rapids operations and provide space for the anticipated growth from 500 to 800 full-time staff over the next few years. RuffaloCODY plans to hire in the areas of software development, project management, data management and graphic design, as well as various client and corporate support positions.

 

About RuffaloCODY

Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Cedar Rapids, IA, RuffaloCODY (www.ruffalocody.com) employs more than 500 full-time staff throughout the United States, Canada and Australia. The company is the leading provider of technology-enabled fundraising and enrollment management services for higher education and high affinity-based nonprofit organizations. Today, RuffaloCODY serves more than 900 nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education.

 

About Summit Partners

Summit Partners (www.summitpartners.com) is a growth equity firm that invests in rapidly growing companies. Founded in 1984, Summit has raised nearly $15 billion in capital and provides equity and credit for growth, recapitalizations and management buyouts. Summit has invested in more than 365 companies globally in technology, healthcare and other growth industries. These companies have completed 130 public offerings, and more than 135 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Menlo Park, London and Mumbai. Notable companies financed by Summit Partners include AlphaSmart, Heald College, Hyperion Solutions, McAfee Associates, RightNow Technologies, Trident University International, Unica, WebEx Communications and Wildfire Interactive.

 

In the United States of America, Summit Partners operates as an SEC-registered investment advisor. In the United Kingdom, this document is issued by Summit Partners Limited, a firm authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Summit Partners Limited is a limited company registered in England and Wales with company number 4141197, and its registered office is at 20–22 Bedford Row, London, WC1R 4JS, UK. This document is intended solely to provide information regarding Summit Partners’ potential financing capabilities for prospective portfolio companies.

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Unisyn Medical Technologies said Wednesday that its diagnostic imaging field service business will operate under the new name Consensys Imaging Service. Consensys will be headquartered in Cary, Ill. Jim Spearman, formerly Unisyn’s VP of Service Operations, was elected to lead Consensys as president. Jeff Soinski, Unisyn’s CEO, will transition from his management position and continue to serve as a member of the board. Consensys and Unisyn are both portfolio companies of Galen Partners.

PRESS RELEASE

GOLDEN, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Unisyn Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading national provider of sustainable solutions to the diagnostic imaging industry, today announced the sale of its Transactional business to GE Healthcare, including its ultrasound probe repair, multi-modality parts, and proprietary test equipment businesses.

Following this transaction, the Unisyn diagnostic imaging field service business will continue to operate as a standalone entity under the new name Consensys Imaging Service, Inc. Consensys corporate headquarters will be the company’s existing service facility in Cary, IL. Aside from the new name and change in corporate headquarters location, the field service business offerings and operations remain unchanged.

Jim Spearman, formerly Unisyn’s VP of Service Operations, has been elected by the Board of Directors to lead Consensys Imaging Service, Inc. as President. Jeff Soinski, Unisyn’s Chief Executive Officer, will transition from his management position and continue to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of Consensys Imaging Service, Inc. and its holding company, Medical Imaging Holdings, Inc.

David Jahns, Galen Partners’ Managing Partner, commented, “We are pleased to further increase our focus and investment in our core business of multi-modality diagnostic imaging field service. Jim Spearman has led our field service efforts since joining us from GE Healthcare, and we look forward to supporting Jim’s continued efforts to accelerate the growth of our business.”

Jim Spearman, Consensys Imaging Service’s President, commented, “Consensys is uniquely positioned to partner with customers to deliver customized imaging service solutions that reduce cost and improve efficiency. Our new name reflects our commitment to listening to and aligning with our customers to meet their medical imaging service needs. We look forward to enhancing our position as a leader in the diagnostic imaging service market.”

About Consensys Imaging Service, Inc.

Consensys Imaging Service, Inc. is a leading provider of services to the diagnostic imaging industry. Consensys leverages its proprietary technologies and advanced technical capabilities to provide high quality, cost-efficient service solutions for its customers across multiple modalities and vendor platforms. Consensys Imaging Service, Inc. is headquartered in Cary, IL. Consensys is a portfolio company of Galen Partners, a leading healthcare private equity firm. For more information, please visit the Consensys website at www.consensysimaging.com.

About Galen Partners

Galen Partners is a leading healthcare growth equity, late stage venture capital firm based in Stamford, CT. The firm focuses on growth equity investments in healthcare technology enabled services, medical devices and specialty pharmaceutical companies. With nearly $1 billion under management raised through five funds, Galen has invested in more than 70 companies since 1990. The partnership seeks opportunities to actively participate as a lead investor in which it can provide between $10 million to $30 million of growth equity capital in healthcare related companies with established revenue. The firm continues a tradition of strategic collaboration and partnership with its portfolio company management teams to build healthcare market leaders. For more information, please visit Galen’s website at www.galen.com.

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GE Healthcare, the healthcare division of General Electric, said Wednesday it has acquired Unisyn Medical Technologies’ Transactional Business. Financial terms weren’t announced. Unisyn is a portfolio company of Galen Partners. The Unisyn division, based in Golden, Colo., provides ultrasound probe repair solutions to biomedical and clinical engineers

PRESS RELEASE

WAUKESHA, Wis. & GOLDEN, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–GE Healthcare, the healthcare division of General Electric (NYSE: GE), announced today the acquisition of Unisyn Medical Technologies’ Transactional Business, a leading national provider of comprehensive ultrasound probe repair solutions to biomedical and clinical engineers, headquartered in Golden, CO. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The proprietary products and services from Unisyn will be integrated into GE Healthcare’s Global Services organization and be offered initially to customers in the United States and Canada. Global expansion is expected to start by the end of the year. Unisyn’s Diagnostic Imaging Field Services business will operate independently under a new name.

“The combination of Unisyn’s repair expertise and GE’s scale will provide value by meeting customers’ needs with a fast, cost effective and reliable probe repair solution,” said Mike Swinford, President and CEO of Global Services for GE Healthcare. “We see this as a tremendous opportunity to further grow our Ultrasound and Services footprint globally and look forward to providing our customers a cost effective solution at every step of the Ultrasound product lifecycle.”

Ultrasound customers around the world are challenged as they struggle to manage their broad ultrasound fleet of probes. They seek low cost, high quality solutions that can increase their uptime and reduce repeated failures.

Unisyn is uniquely positioned to test and evaluate ultrasound probe failures with its proprietary FirstCall™ probe-testing device. This patented technology enables Unisyn to diagnose, repair, and thoroughly test each and every probe before shipment back to the customer. FirstCall provides objective measures of probe performance through testing the acoustic and electrical properties of ultrasound probes.

“This transaction makes great sense for our stockholders, our employees and most importantly our customers,” said Jeff Soinski, CEO of Unisyn Medical Technologies. “Our ultimate goal at Unisyn is to deliver value for our customers and together with GE our transactional business is positioned to do this better than ever before. Through this acquisition, GE Healthcare will now be able to offer customers a complete probe repair solution spanning across multiple vendor platforms as well as a broad portfolio of on-demand offerings to meet customers’ unique needs.”

About GE Healthcare

GE Healthcare provides transformational medical technologies and services that are shaping a new age of patient care. Our broad expertise in medical imaging and information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient monitoring systems, drug discovery, biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies, performance improvement and performance solutions services help our customers to deliver better care to more people around the world at a lower cost. In addition, we partner with healthcare leaders, striving to leverage the global policy change necessary to implement a successful shift to sustainable healthcare systems.

Our “healthymagination” vision for the future invites the world to join us on our journey as we continuously develop innovations focused on reducing costs, increasing access and improving quality around the world. Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE). Worldwide, GE Healthcare employees are committed to serving healthcare professionals and their patients in more than 100 countries. www.gehealthcare.com. For our latest news, please visit http://newsroom.gehealthcare.com/.

About Unisyn Medical Technologies

Unisyn Medical Technologies, Inc. is a leading provider of products and services to the diagnostic imaging industry. Unisyn leverages its proprietary technologies and advanced technical capabilities to provide high quality, cost-efficient solutions for its customers across multiple modalities and vendor platforms. Unisyn Medical Technologies, Inc. is headquartered in Golden, Colorado and is certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 13485. Unisyn is a portfolio company of Galen Partners, a leading healthcare private equity firm. For more information, please visit Unisyn’s website at www.unisynmedical.com.

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SOLOMO Technology said Wednesday it completed a Series A first close worth $1.7 million. The round was co-led by Venture Management, and Don Layden, and included participation by Wisconsin Investment Partners. SOLOMO said the equity investment leveraged additional funding from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp.

PRESS RELEASE

Madison, Wisconsin, May 29, 2013 – SOLOMO Technology, Inc., is releasing its patent-pending SOLOMO Exchange™ web services platform globally following its latest financing round. The company has completed a Series A first close worth $1.7M. The financing will be used to accelerate its product development and increase its sales and marketing activities. The round was co-led by Venture Management, LLC and Don Layden, and included participation by Wisconsin Investment Partners. The equity investment leveraged additional funding from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation.
The company’s unique SOLOMO Exchange™ platform is the only solution on the market today that enables retailers to conduct personalized and localized omni-channel marketing while strengthening customer trust. The platform connects to retailers’ branded mobile applications to support the seamless, trusted exchange of individual customer data in return for value. Retailers can offer products, services, special offers, or leverage their existing loyalty program to trade virtual currency, in exchange for customer data. Customers own the data they store on the platform and can update or revoke it, putting them in control of their personal information.
SOLOMO Geo™, one of the SOLOMO Exchange™ services, provides retailers with WiFi-based anonymous indoor location analytics and an array of opt-in localized customer engagement capabilities. This allows retailers to engage customers in their stores and better understand customer behavior. Critical to customer trust, SOLOMO treats consumer location information as securely and privately as any other personal information. SOLOMO is currently working with companies across many categories, including specialty retail, convenience, malls and airlines.

The company is led by CEO Liz Eversoll, a veteran of CDW and other leading IT companies. Armed with her in-depth IT knowledge and vision for permissioned data exchange, she launched SOLOMO in 2011. The management team is rounded out with members who have deep executive experience from Microsoft, CDW, Lands’ End and Weather Central.
“Trust is the foundation of the relationship between retailers and their customers. Due to the general erosion of consumer trust, the World Economic Forum has noted1 that nearly $1 trillion is at stake in the digital retail economy by 2016,” says Liz Eversoll, CEO. “Trusted retailers will win that business.”
This financing round comes on the heels of a number of accolades announced by SOLOMO in recent weeks, including its announcement of its designation by Gartner Research as a 2013 Cool Vendor in Retail2, Microsoft BizSpark’s recognition of SOLOMO as a “Featured Startup”, and recognition for SOLOMO’s “rock star team” in a recent NBC Chicago blog post.

About Venture Management LLC
Venture Management LLC (http://www.vmllc.com) is a private investment office based in Madison, Wisconsin. VMLLC currently has 20 active investments including positions in ecommerce & internet services, medical devices, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and clean & renewable energy technologies. Over the past few years VMLLC has had several successful exits.
About Don Layden
Don Layden is Operating Partner at Baird Venture Partners and a Partner with Quarles & Brady. He is also an active investor in, and director of, several technology enabled business service companies. Layden held executive management roles with Metavante, Fiserv, NuEdge Systems and Marshall & Ilsley during his career.

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A consortium led by U.S. buyouts fund Warburg Pincus said on Wednesday it has agreed to buy around 20 percent of the retail unit of Vietnam’s Vingroup Joint Stock Co for $200 million, Reuters reports.

(Reuters) – A consortium led by U.S. buyouts fund Warburg Pincus said on Wednesday it has agreed to buy around 20 percent of the retail unit of Vietnam’s Vingroup Joint Stock Co for $200 million, betting on retail growth in the Asian country.

The unit, Vincom Retail, is Vietnam’s largest owner and operator of shopping malls with seven assets valued at around $1.1 billion, and the deal bucks a trend in the country where real estate sector growth has slumped as credit growth slows and banks are mired in non-performing loans.

Hanoi-based Vincom shares ended the morning session down 2.24 percent on the benchmark VN index in Ho Chi Minh City before the announcement was made.

Vincom’s assets include high-end malls Vincom Center B in Ho Chi Minh City and Vincom Center Ba Trieu in Hanoi, targeted to tap Vietnam’s growing consumer market.

The deal is Warburg’s first investment in Vietnam, and it is the largest initial investment to date in a Vietnamese company by a global private equity firm.

Warburg, which manages over $40 billion in assets and has been investing in Asia since 1994, said the investment in Vincom Retail should benefit from the country’s “favorable long-term economic outlook,” rapid urbanisation and growing middle class.

Warburg has the right to participate in future capital raisings by Vingroup for up to $25 million, while the consortium has the right to invest an additional $100 million in Vincom Retail for expansion and future retail property-related deals.

Vincom has two further projects due to launch this year, Vincom Mega Mall Royal City and Vincom Mega Mall Times City.

Vingroup is Vietnam’s largest private-sector real estate operator and one of the largest companies by market capitalisation on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange.

Citigroup Inc was hired as the sole financial advisor to Vingroup, while Credit Suisse Group was sole financial advisor to Warburg Pincus.

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TuneIn said Wednesday raised a $25 million round of funding led by Institutional Venture Partners. Existing investors Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures and General Catalyst Partners also participated. Palo Alto, Calif.-based TuneIn is an Internet radio service.

PRESS RELEASE

PALO ALTO, CA–(Marketwired – May 29, 2013) – TuneIn, the leading service for listening to the world’s radio, today announced that it raised a $25 million round of funding led by Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), with participation from existing investors Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures and General Catalyst Partners. TuneIn also announced that it surpassed one billion listening hours in the first four months of 2013, with more than 227 million listening sessions in the month of March alone, solidifying the company’s position as the world’s number-one service for listening to live, online radio.
“This investment gives us the capital to accelerate the development of new technologies and support our ongoing expansion,” said John Donham, CEO of TuneIn. “We will use this funding to leverage our momentum, with a particular focus on growing ad revenues for our broadcast partners.”
TuneIn surpassed one billion listening hours between January and April of 2013, reinforcing the company’s status as the top live, online radio service in the world, with well over 40 million monthly active listeners across 230 countries and territories. The company also announced that it had 227 million listening sessions of 60 seconds or longer in the month of March.
“TuneIn’s rapid growth, superior business model, and ubiquitous product make for a compelling investment,” noted Jules Maltz, General Partner at IVP, who will join the TuneIn board of directors. “John Donham is an exceptional leader with a vision to fundamentally transform the multi-billion dollar radio industry.”
This announcement comes on the heels of TuneIn Live, a major platform redesign that provides a personalized way to find relevant radio stations, songs and live events from all over the world. Since its launch in March 2013, TuneIn Live has spurred a large uptick in listener engagement. The company released TuneIn Live for its popular iPhone apps last week, making the updated interface available across all Android and iOS devices and web browsers at www.tunein.com.
In addition to new product developments, TuneIn is also investing in building its internal capabilities, including strategic, senior hires. Most recently, TuneIn selected Axel Martinez as its chief financial officer, overseeing the strategic business investments this round of funding allows. Axel Martinez, formerly the assistant treasurer — head of capital markets at Google Inc., holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and political science from Columbia University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
About TuneIn
TuneIn lets people listen to the world’s music, sports, talk, and news from wherever they are, with more than 70,000 AM, FM, HD, and Internet radio stations and more than two million on-demand programs streaming from every continent, available across 200 connected devices. The company is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. Existing investors include Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), Sequoia Capital, Google Ventures, and General Catalyst Partners.
About Institutional Venture Partners (IVP)
With $4 billion of committed capital, Institutional Venture Partners (IVP) is one of the premier later-stage venture capital and growth equity firms in the United States. The partnership is currently investing IVP XIV, a $1 billion later-stage fund focused on investments in rapidly growing technology and media companies. Founded in 1980, IVP has invested in over 300 companies, 94 of which have gone public. IVP is one of the top performing firms in the industry and has a 32-year IRR of 43.2%. IVP specializes in venture growth investments, industry rollups, founder liquidity transactions, and select public market investments. Since its inception, IVP investments include such notable companies as ArcSight (HPQ), Buddy Media (CRM), ComScore (SCOR), Concur Technologies (CNQR), Dropbox, Fleetmatics (FLTX), HomeAway (AWAY), Juniper Networks (JNPR), Kayak (KYAK), LegalZoom, LifeLock (LOCK), Marketo (MKTO), MobileIron, MySQL (ORCL), Netflix (NFLX), Omniture (ADBE), OneKingsLane, Polycom (PLCM), RetailMeNot, Seagate (STX), Shazam, Synchronoss (SNCR), Tivo (TIVO), Twitter, and Zynga (ZNGA). For more information, visit http://ivp.com or follow IVP on Twitter: @ivp.
About Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital helps founders turn imaginative ideas into enduring companies. As the “Entrepreneurs Behind the Entrepreneurs,” the Sequoia team has worked closely with legendary founders such as Steve Jobs of Apple, Larry Ellison of Oracle, Len Bosack and Sandy Lerner of Cisco, David Filo and Jerry Yang of Yahoo!, Max Levchin, Elon Musk and Peter Thiel of PayPal, Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google, Steve Chen and Chad Hurley of YouTube, and Reid Hoffman and Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn. Sequoia is now helping the next generation of innovators build the lasting companies of tomorrow.
About General Catalyst
General Catalyst Partners is a venture capital firm that makes early stage and growth equity investments. General Catalyst Partners invests in exceptional entrepreneurs who are building the technology-based companies that will lead innovation and transform industries. Founded in 2000, General Catalyst Partners leverages its principals’ extensive operational, business development and technological expertise to provide portfolio companies with a catalyst for success through business-building and partnership development assistance. General Catalyst has offices in Cambridge, MA and Palo Alto, CA. For more information, visit: http://www.generalcatalyst.com/ or https://twitter.com/gcvp.

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Ophthotech Corp. has raised $175 million in financing. This includes $125 million from Novo A/S, in exchange for royalties on Fovista sales. The remaining $50 million is in the form of a Series C preferred stock financing from Novo A/S and current venture investors in Ophthotech. New York-based Ophthotech is a biopharmaceutical company.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ophthotech Corporation today announced that it has raised $175 million to finance a global Phase 3 clinical program of its lead compound FovistaTM, an anti-platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), in combination with anti-VEGF therapy for the treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD). The multi-national Phase 3 trial is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2013 and enroll nearly 1,900 patients in more than 200 centers worldwide.

The financing of $175 million consists of $125 million from Novo A/S, in exchange for royalties on Fovista sales. The remaining $50 million is in the form of a Series C preferred stock financing from Novo A/S and current venture investors in Ophthotech. The royalty and Series C funding is structured in three equal tranches, the first of which has closed.
“We are excited to lead this very large financing to drive Phase 3 development of Fovista,” said Henrik Gürtler, CEO, Novo A/S. “Ophthotech is well positioned to bring this important drug rapidly to market, based on the strength of Phase 2b results and the proven medical, regulatory and commercial capabilities of its management team.”
To accelerate the clinical development of Fovista, Ophthotech also announced today the expansion of its management team. David R. Guyer, MD, the company’s Chairman of the Board since its inception, has accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and Samir Patel, MD, co-founder and current President of Ophthotech, has been appointed to the additional role of Vice Chairman of the Board. Under the new management structure, Dr. Guyer will direct the company’s corporate and financial strategy, while Dr. Patel will focus fully on clinical development.
“We are grateful to our investors for their profound confidence in Ophthotech and Fovista as a potential game-changing therapy that we hope will improve outcomes for millions of people with wet AMD,” noted Dr. Guyer.
In a large, randomized, controlled Phase 2b study reported last year, Fovista in combination with Lucentis® (ranibizumab injection) demonstrated superior efficacy over Lucentis monotherapy in patients with wet AMD. Patients receiving the combination of Fovista (1.5 mg) and Lucentis gained a mean of 10.6 letters of vision on the ETDRS standardized chart at 24 weeks, compared to 6.5 letters for patients receiving Lucentis monotherapy (p=0.019), representing a 62% additional benefit. No significant safety issues were observed for either treatment group in the trial.
About Novo A/S
Novo A/S, a private limited liability company fully owned by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, is the holding company in the Novo Group, and responsible for managing the Foundation’s assets, which are currently valued at more than USD 30 billion. Besides being the major shareholder in Novo Nordisk A/S and Novozymes A/S, Novo A/S provides seed and venture capital to development stage companies and takes significant ownership positions in well-established companies within life science and biotechnology, as well as manages a broad portfolio of financial assets. Novo A/S is an international investor working from Copenhagen, San Francisco and London. Through its teams of scientific and commercial experts, Novo A/S actively supports its portfolio of projects and companies, and manages a range of financial investments.
About the Phase 2b Trial of Fovista
In a prospective Phase 2b study of 449 patients with wet AMD, enhanced visual outcomes of Fovista anti-PDGF (1.5 mg) combination therapy as compared to Lucentis monotherapy were demonstrated at every monthly timepoint. In addition, the relative magnitude of visual benefit continued to increase over time. The visual benefit of anti-PDGF (1.5 mg) combination therapy compared to Lucentis monotherapy was greater at the 6-month timepoint than at the 3-month timepoint. The increasing divergence of the efficacy curves suggests the benefit of chronic anti-PDGF combination therapy. A classic dose-response curve was observed. No significant safety issues were observed for either treatment group in the trial. These data were previously reported by Ophthotech, and further results will be presented at future medical congresses and published in peer-reviewed journals.
About Dr. Guyer
Dr. Guyer, a former venture capitalist and Partner at SV Life Sciences, has significant medical, drug development and commercial experience in ophthalmology. Following a successful career in academic medicine as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at New York University School of Medicine, Dr. Guyer co-founded and served as CEO and Director at Eyetech Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He led Eyetech through private, public and corporate financings over $400 million, and oversaw the rapid development and successful commercialization of Macugen® (pegaptanib sodium), the first FDA-approved anti-VEGF pharmacological treatment for wet AMD. Dr. Guyer negotiated a partnership with Pfizer for Macugen, which was one of the largest biotech-pharma deals executed at the time. The commercial launch of Macugen was the most successful ophthalmology product introduction at the time, based on the first twelve months’ sales. Under Dr. Guyer’s leadership, Eyetech reached a peak market capitalization of approximately $2 billion. OSI Pharmaceuticals subsequently acquired Eyetech in a deal valued at $935 million.
Dr. Guyer received his Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree from Yale College summa cum laude and his medical degree (MD) from Johns Hopkins Medical School. Dr. Guyer completed his ophthalmology residency at Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital and a retinal fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School.
About Dr. Patel
Under Dr. Patel’s leadership as founding CEO of Ophthotech, the company completed a large Phase 2b clinical trial in which Fovista combination therapy demonstrated statistically significant superiority in efficacy over Lucentis monotherapy in the treatment of wet AMD. Dr. Patel is also the former Chief Medical Officer of Eyetech, co-founded Eyetech with Dr. Guyer and served on its Board of Directors. Prior to joining Ophthotech, Dr. Patel spent over a decade in academic medicine. In 1991 he joined the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science at the University of Chicago, where he served as Director of the Retina Service and the residency program and was an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology. While at the University of Chicago, Dr. Patel focused on cell-based therapies for AMD, and was one of the world’s first retinal surgeons to perform a human retinal transplant. Dr. Patel received his MD from the University of Massachusetts Medical School and ophthalmology training from the University of Chicago. He received his training in retinal surgery from the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary at Harvard Medical School.
About Ophthotech
Ophthotech Corporation is a privately held biopharmaceutical company focusing on discovering, developing and commercializing first-in-class therapies for the treatment of major ophthalmic diseases. Ophthotech’s lead compound Fovista (previously known as E10030) is being developed for use in combination with anti-VEGF therapy for the treatment of patients with wet AMD. Today, despite the availability of anti-VEGF wet AMD drugs with worldwide sales of over $4 billion, there remains a significant unmet medical need. The majority of patients treated with anti-VEGF monotherapy, the current standard of care, are unable to achieve significant visual gain, and many of these patients lose additional vision.
In addition to Fovista, Ophthotech’s pipeline includes an anti-C5 agent, ARC1905, a potent and selective inhibitor of factor C5 of the complement cascade being developed for the treatment of wet and dry AMD. There are more than 15 million patients suffering from dry AMD in just the United States and Europe, and there is no approved therapy.
Ophthotech’s venture investors include SV Life Sciences, Novo Ventures, HBM Healthcare Investments, and Clarus Ventures. Ophthotech is headquartered in New York, and also has offices in Princeton, NJ. For more information, please visit www.ophthotech.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements in this news release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Ophthotech constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the initiation and conduct of Ophthotech’s planned Phase 3 clinical trial of Fovista in combination with anti-VEGF therapies. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. In particular, the favorable results from Ophthotech’s completed Phase 2b clinical trial of Fovista do not guarantee favorable results in the planned Phase 3 clinical trial. Ophthotech anticipates that subsequent events and developments may cause its views to change. However, while Ophthotech may elect to update these forward-looking statements in the future, Ophthotech specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.
Lucentis® is a registered trademark of Genentech, Inc.

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Primerica has agreed to buy back about $154.7 million in stock and warrants from Warburg Pincus. Follow the sale, Warburg Pincus will no longer own Primerica stock. Duluth, Ga.-based Primerica distributes financial products to middle income households in North America.

PRESS RELEASE

DULUTH, Ga.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to repurchase 2,488,621 shares of Primerica outstanding common stock and warrants exercisable for 4,103,110 shares of Primerica common stock beneficially owned by Warburg Pincus Private Equity X, L.P. and Warburg Pincus X Partners, L.P. at a purchase price of $34.67 per outstanding share and at a purchase price for the warrants equal to $16.67 per underlying share (which represents the closing price of Primerica common stock on May 28, 2013, less the warrant exercise price per share). The aggregate purchase price for the shares and the warrants is approximately $154.7 million. The purchase price was determined based on the closing price of Primerica common stock on May 28, 2013. Following the repurchase transaction, Warburg Pincus will no longer own any of Primerica’s outstanding common stock.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC served as financial adviser to Primerica with respect to this repurchase.
“We are proud of our partnership with Rick, John and the rest of the Primerica team since the company’s IPO,” said Michael Martin, Managing Director and Head of Financial Services Investing at Warburg Pincus. “Our experience as a Primerica shareholder has been a very positive one and we are confident that the company will continue to fulfill its mission of serving middle income households in better preparing for a more secure financial future.”
“Today’s transaction marks the conclusion of Primerica’s IPO era. Warburg Pincus has been a great partner and was vital in helping us become a strong public company. In three years, our Company has completed an exit from Citigroup, and, with today’s acquisition of Warburg Pincus’ stake, we become a ‘fully’ public company. This is a proud day in Primerica’s history,” said Rick Williams, Chairman of the Board and Co-CEO of Primerica.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information contained in this press release, the statements in this release are forward-looking and made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements contain known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from anticipated or projected results. Those risks and uncertainties include, among others, our failure to continue to attract and license new recruits, retain sales representatives or license or maintain the licensing of our sales representatives; our or our sales representatives’ violation of or non-compliance with laws and regulations; incorrect assumptions used to price our insurance policies; the failure of our investment products to remain competitive with other investment options; our failure to meet RBC standards or other minimum capital and surplus requirements; a downgrade or potential downgrade in our insurance subsidiaries’ financial strength ratings or our senior debt ratings; inadequate or unaffordable reinsurance or the failure of our reinsurers to perform their obligations; heightened standards of conduct or more stringent licensing requirements for our sales representatives; the inability of our subsidiaries to pay dividends or make distributions; the loss of key personnel; and general changes in economic and financial conditions, including the effects of credit deterioration and interest rate fluctuations on our invested asset portfolio. These and other risks and uncertainties affecting us are more fully described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available in the “Investor Relations” section of our website at http://investors.primerica.com. Primerica assumes no duty to update its forward-looking statements as of any future date.
About Primerica, Inc.
Primerica, Inc., headquartered in Duluth, GA, is a leading distributor of financial products to middle income households in North America. Primerica representatives educate their Main Street clients about how to better prepare for a more secure financial future by assessing their needs and providing appropriate solutions through term life insurance, which we underwrite, and mutual funds, annuities and other financial products, which we distribute primarily on behalf of third parties. In addition, Primerica provides an entrepreneurial full or part-time business opportunity for individuals seeking to earn income by distributing the company’s financial products. We insured more than 4.3 million lives and approximately 1.9 million clients maintained investment accounts with us at December 31, 2012. Primerica stock is included in the S&P MidCap 400 and the Russell 2000 stock indices and is traded on The New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PRI”.

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Fosun International has acquired Alma Lasers. Financial terms weren’t announced. TA Associates was the seller. Alma makes and provides laser, light-based, radio-frequency and ultrasound devices for aesthetic and medical applications. Harris Williams provided financial advice to Alma.

PRESS RELEASE

London, May 29, 2013 – Harris Williams & Co., a preeminent middle market investment bank focused on the advisory needs of clients worldwide, announces the sale of Alma Lasers, a leading developer, manufacturer and provider of laser, light-based, radio-frequency and ultrasound devices for aesthetic and medical applications, to subsidiaries of Fosun International, a Chinese strategic buyer, for an enterprise value of $220 million.  Harris Williams & Co. acted as the exclusive advisor to Alma Lasers, a portfolio company of TA Associates. Somerley Limited, with whom Harris Williams & Co. has an exclusive relationship, provided support during this transaction. The transaction closed on May 27 and was led by Thierry Monjauze, Julien Darmon, Francois Morin and Alex Murrill from Harris Williams & Co.’s London office along with Turner Bredrup from the firm’s Healthcare and Life Sciences (HCLS) Group.

“The acquisition of Alma Lasers by Fosun International is the largest technology-focused investment in Israel by a Chinese acquirer and represents a landmark transaction.  We were delighted to work with the management of Alma Lasers and TA Associates on the sale.  The management team and TA Associates have built an exceptionally high quality platform by focusing on delivering innovative multi-application treatment systems that offer considerable value to aesthetic and medical practitioners,” said Thierry Monjauze, managing director at Harris Williams & Co.

“Following the transaction, Fosun International will leverage Alma Lasers’ market-leading product portfolio to drive growth globally and capitalize on the strong underlying market drivers for aesthetic and medical energy-based devices. The transaction also demonstrates the increasingly international appetite of Chinese strategic acquirers for high quality middle market businesses,” said Julien Darmon, managing director at Harris Williams & Co.

In addition to the sale of Alma Lasers to Fosun International, Harris Williams & Co. has completed transactions across the Asia-Pacific region including the sale of Yakima to Kemflo International, Border Foods to Mizkan Group and Stolle Machinery to Toyo Seikan as well as Nippon Life’s minority investment in Best Doctors.

Alma Lasers is a leading global medical and cosmetic energy-based (including light, laser, radio frequency and ultrasound) device manufacturer, with a comprehensive product offering and an international sales network. Alma Lasers has developed world-class R&D capabilities in the medical and aesthetic equipment manufacturing field and established a leading global brand in the market. The company has an outstanding track record of maintaining sustainable and rapid growth.

Fosun Group is one of the largest private holding companies in China, with $25.8 billion of total assets and $12.5 billion of assets under management. The Hong Kong listed parent company Fosun International (0656.HK) had a market capitalization of approximately $4.3 billion based on its share price and underlying exchange rates at the end of March 2013. As a long-term investor, Fosun International has holdings in diverse sectors ranging from pharmaceuticals and property to financial services. Globally, Fosun International and its major affiliates have over 49,000 employees and is ranked 1019 in Forbes Global 2000.

Harris Williams & Co. (www.harriswilliams.com), a member of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE:PNC), is a preeminent middle market investment bank focused on the advisory needs of clients worldwide.  The firm has deep industry knowledge, global transaction expertise and an unwavering commitment to excellence.  Harris Williams & Co. provides sell-side and acquisition advisory, restructuring advisory, board advisory, private placements and capital markets advisory services.

Harris Williams & Co. maintains an exclusive relationship with Somerley Limited to achieve enhanced access into Asia and Australasia. Established in 1984, Somerley Limited is a specialist investment bank focused on providing M&A and corporate finance advisory services in Greater China. Operating from offices in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai, Somerley Limited’s team of 50 professionals offer a strong combination of local market knowledge and global experience.

Investment banking services are provided by Harris Williams LLC, a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA and SIPC, and Harris Williams & Co. Ltd, which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.  Harris Williams & Co. is a trade name under which Harris Williams LLC and Harris Williams & Co. Ltd conduct business.

For general release inquiries, please contact Kimberly Baker, marketing director, at +1 (804) 648-0072.

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Balance Point Capital Partners said Tuesday it provided $11.1 million in total financing to support Connoisseur Media’s buy of certain assets of Cox Radio and Nassau Broadcasting. Balance Point said it provided $5.7 million in Mezzanine Notes and $5.4 million in common equity. Westport, Conn.-based Connoisseur owns and operates commercial radio stations throughout the United States.

PRESS RELEASE

WESTPORT, Conn., May 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — In support of Connoisseur Media’s recent acquisition of certain assets of Cox Radio and Nassau Broadcasting, Balance Point Capital Partners provided $11.1 million in total financing, including $5.7 million in Mezzanine Notes and $5.4 million in Common Equity.
(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130528/NY21487LOGO)
Based in Westport, CT, Connoisseur Media LLC owns and operates commercial radio stations throughout the United States. The acquisition of assets of Cox Radio and Nassau Broadcasting increases the total number of radio stations in Connoisseur Media’s portfolio to 40, with stations spanning Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Nebraska, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Montana and Kansas with prominent positions in the Long Island, New York, Eastern Pennsylvania, and Billings, Montana markets. The company primarily operates FM stations with select AM assets. Connoisseur’s stations represent a variety of formats addressing a broad spectrum of audiences. Its chief operating strategy is focused on generating enhanced margins though improving efficiencies and top line growth initiatives. Connoisseur operations continue to be characterized by well researched and targeted programming, comprehensive training of its people, and dedicated local service (www.connoisseurmedia.com).
“We are proud and excited to welcome Balance Point as our partner,” said Jeffrey D. Warshaw , CEO of Connoisseur Media. “Their vision and support has helped enable us to acquire these terrific assets. They have been instrumental in our explosive growth.”
The acquisition of assets from Cox Radio and Nassau Broadcasting has added two strategically positioned groups of stations in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Connecticut markets to Connoisseur’s portfolio. Together, with its existing assets in Long Island, this acquisition has enabled Connoisseur to create a truly unique “media ring” around the greater metropolitan New York market.
“Balance Point Capital is excited to be partners with Connoisseur Media and its management team,” said Seth Alvord , Managing Partner of Balance Point Capital. “These strategic assets will be an excellent addition to Connoisseur’s portfolio.”
Balance Point Capital Partners invests mezzanine and equity capital in select lower middle market companies. Since 1988, the firm and its predecessor funds have invested in over 75 distinct businesses. Balance Point Capital Partners takes a long-term, partnership approach to investing and are committed to building lasting relationships with private equity sponsors, management teams and intermediaries. They target companies with EBITDA between $2 million and $20 million and typically invest $3 million to $15million per transaction. Seth Alvord , Managing Partner, and Rob Gibson , Senior Vice President, led the financing effort for Balance Point Capital Partners. Balance Point Capital Partners is based in Westport, CT (www.balancepointcapital.com).

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Social Venture Partners Chicago said Tuesday that One Million Degrees will receive $75,000 over the next three years. Formerly the Illinois Education Foundation, One Million Degrees helps low-income community college students graduate, apply to four-year universities and find jobs.

PRESS RELEASE

CHICAGO — MAY 28, 2013 — After a rigorous selection process, Social Venture Partners Chicago announced today that One Million Degrees will be the first local nonprofit to benefit from SVP Chicago’s engaged venture philanthropy funding model.
One Million Degrees, an organization dedicated to empowering low-income, highly motivated community college students, will have the opportunity to receive $75,000 from SVP Chicago over the next three years. The Chicago educational nonprofit will also have access to the professional skills of the SVP partners in ten capacity-building areas, including strategy and planning, leadership and board development, financial management, information technology, marketing, human resources, legal, program design and evaluation, and fund development.
Founded last year by a group of business professionals committed to venture philanthropy and social entrepreneurship, Social Venture Partners Chicago gives partners the opportunity to invest their money, time and expertise in innovative nonprofits that have the potential to make meaningful and sustainable improvements in the community. One Million Degrees was selected as the first SVP Chicago investment recipient out of dozens of educational nonprofits that applied.
“The selection process was difficult because there are so many excellent educational nonprofits in need of resources,” said SVP Chicago founding partner Tasha Seitz. “One Million Degrees (OMD) stood out for three reasons. First, they serve an audience -community college students – which has been historically underserved by educational nonprofits. We believe that the support these students receive from OMD will increase their probability of success not only in community college, but also in education and careers that follow. Secondly, we were impressed with the strength of the OMD leadership team, their vision for the future and their results to date. Finally, we believe the SVP partners can bring skills and experiences that will complement the leadership team and accelerate OMD’s growth.”

Formerly the Illinois Education Foundation, One Million Degrees was founded in 2006 by a group of social entrepreneurs who saw that the needs of community college students were being overlooked. Through a unique program that provides academic, personal, professional and financial support, the organization helps low-income community college students graduate, apply to four-year universities and find jobs.

“I’m very pleased that One Million Degrees has been selected as the first organization in Chicago to partner in a three year engagement with Social Venture Partners Chicago,” said Paige Ponder, Chief Executive Officer of One Million Degrees. “We’re ecstatic to have the opportunity to work one-on-one with some of Chicago’s best business people and entrepreneurs. The investment and the relationship with the SVP team will help us accelerate our expansion. With the help of the SVP team, we’re confident we can achieve our goal of impacting 1 million lives by supporting and developing the talents and skills of Chicago community college students.”

SVP Chicago operates like a venture capital fund for local early-stage nonprofits. Investment recipients receive a three-year funding commitment and access to the skills and expertise of the partners, allowing them to scale more quickly. SVP partners vet the applicants, shape outcomes and ensure wise investment of their pooled funds.

Each year, the partners at SVP will decide on a sector to fund. The next investment cycle will begin in fall 2013. For more information on becoming a partner, visit www.svpchicago.org.

To learn more about One Million Degrees, visit www.onemilliondegrees.org.

About Social Venture Partners Chicago
Social Venture Partners Chicago is a partnership of philanthropic leaders who invest time, expertise and money in innovative nonprofits that have the potential to make meaningful and sustainable improvements within the Chicagoland community. SVP’s goal is to help nonprofits to be as effective as possible in delivering programs and services by helping to build their organizational capacity.

About One Million Degrees
One Million Degrees is a student support and development program which provides academic, professional and financial assistance to low-income community college students to help them succeed in school, work and life. Seventy percent of OMD Scholars graduate from community college within three years and 94% of OMD alumni are working in high-demand fields, continuing their education, or both.

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Appurify said Tuesday that it secured $4.5 million in Series A funding led by Google Ventures. Foundation Capital, Felicis Ventures, Webb Investment Network, Jay Jamison and Raymond Tonsing also took part in the $4.5 million round, a spokeswoman said. Appurify said it has collected $6.25 million in total funding, including their seed round. San Francisco-based Appurify provides a testing platform for mobile apps.

PRESS RELEASE

Appurify, creator of the first complete debugging, performance optimization and continuous integration testing platform for mobile apps, announced today that it has secured $4.5M in Series A funding led by Google Ventures, and $6.25M in total funding including their seed round. Appurify’s other investors include Foundation Capital, Felicis Ventures, Radar Partners, the Webb Investment Network, Data Collective and several angels with deep experience in the mobile technology space, including Jay Jamison, Raymond Tonsing, Pavan Nigam, David Auerbach and others.

Founded in early 2012, Appurify directly solves the challenges that developers face in debugging and testing their mobile apps. Appurify’s farm of real mobile devices provides an end-to-end solution for automatically optimizing, testing and debugging mobile apps. Their platform provides live access to real, fully-configurable, iOS and Android devices in the cloud, accompanied by powerful first-of-their-kind runtime debugging and testing tools. Several enterprise companies have deployed Appurify in private beta, and Appurify will release to public beta later this year.

“Mobile application development is broken today,” said Manish Lachwani, Appurify’s CTO and Co-founder. “Developers need to cater to a fragmented OS market, a constantly growing array of devices, and consumers who expect apps to perform perfectly in a variety of device conditions (for example, spotty networks, any location, low memory situations due to apps running in the background). Current mobile development tools do not address this complexity. As a result, developers are forced to manually test their apps, which is a slow, cumbersome and an incomplete process that fails to create reproducible bugs or test real user conditions. Appurify solves this problem by offering an unmatched mobile automation platform that hooks directly into the development process. We short circuit the development-test gap and provide real time feedback during app development.”

Appurify fundamentally changes mobile development in five ways:
● First, Appurify brings developers the best of both automation and continuous integration testing for mobile. The flexible platform supports any existing automated testing framework for both iOS and Android.
● Second, Appurify’s cloud enables developers to debug and test under real-world conditions. This includes carrier, network technology (4G LTE, 3G, 2G, EDGE, GPRS, WiFi), signal strength, available memory, geographic location, orientation, and much more.
● Third, developers receive clear reports that arm them with the actionable data they need to fix bugs and crashes, improve client and server side performance, optimize load times, and decrease application lag.
● Fourth, Appurify provides runtime debuggers that brings mobile debugging to par with what exists for the web and the PC world.
● Finally, a simple Appurify SDK allows manual interaction with apps to be converted to automated test cases, allowing companies to rapidly build out their automation test libraries.

The Appurify solution has resonated with the mobile community. “Almost every customer we’ve spoken to has been looking to move away from manual testing toward continuous automated testing on real devices. Appurify’s technology makes this easy, and addressing this market need has led to success in raising two rounds of funding in less than a year, building a top-notch engineering team, and doubling our enterprise revenue month after month” said Jay Srinivasan, Appurify’s CEO and Co-founder.

Appurify’s solution works equally well for native apps, hybrid and HTML5 apps, and mobile browsers. Guy Podjarny, CTO of the Web BU at Akamai, said “Appurify’s tech makes testing and tuning apps and websites on mobile devices dramatically easier, while remaining cost effective and thus accessible to a very broad developer community”. Abe Elias, CTO and Founder of Sencha, said “HTML5 is a massively capable mobile platform. But to build great apps efficiently on any platform, developers need great tools. And we love that Appurify is releasing a device debugging and testing solution that developers using our powerful Sencha Touch framework really need.”

Appurify will use its recent funding to further the deployment of its technology and expand its sales and marketing resources to accelerate customer adoption and support.

About Appurify
Appurify is on a mission to deliver the next generation of testing and debugging tools for mobile developers. Founded in early 2012 by mobile developers who were frustrated with the lack of effective tools built for the demands of mobile, Appurify recently closed a $4.5M Series A round, and a total of $6.25M in total funding. Appurify is located in San Francisco, CA.

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Club Mediterranee’s top shareholders–which include Fosun International and AXA Private Equity–  plan to take over the French holiday firm in a bid that values it at around 541 million euros ($700 million), to accelerate its shift to fast-growing emerging markets, Reuters reports.

(Reuters) – Club Mediterranee’s top shareholders plan to take over the French holiday firm in a bid that values it at around 541 million euros ($700 million), to accelerate its shift to fast-growing emerging markets.

Chinese investor Fosun International said on Monday they would team up with management to offer 17 euros a share for the stock they do not already own – a 23 percent premium to Friday’s closing price.

Chief Executive Officer Henri Giscard d’Estaing, who has spearheaded Club Med’s upmarket shift and expansion away from recession-hit Europe, said the friendly bid would give the group the group freedom to focus on emerging markets.

“We need to be free from short-term constraints for the next four to five years,” he said.

Founded in 1950 and listed since 1966, Club Med was a pioneer of the all-inclusive holiday resort.

But it fell on hard times in the past decade because of stiff competition and an unsuccessful expansion into services, and its more recent drive to recast itself as an upmarket operator has been hampered by a flagging European economy.

One Paris-based trader, who declined to be named, said Fosun’s involvement would help Club Med’s achieve its aim to make China its second-biggest market after France.

Club Med aims to operate five villages in China by 2015, including three by the end of this year, Giscard d’Estaing said.

Beyond China, Club Med is speeding up expansion in Russia and Brazil, with the goal to lift the contribution of emerging markets to sales to 33 percent by 2015 from around 25 percent.

At 1355 GMT, Club Med shares were up 22.4 percent at around the proposed 17 euros offer price, but well short of its 2007 high of almost 50 euros.

Club Med, which operates around 70 resorts, said it would appoint a committee of independent directors to assess the offer, which is expected to be filed in the next few days.

WEAK EUROPE

The bid comes as travel firms and airlines across Europe have seen bookings fall in recent months.

Club Med said on Monday operating income at its holiday villages in the first-half ended April 30 fell 6.4 percent.

Bookings in Europe over the last eight weeks were down 4.6 percent, mostly due to a weak French market, while they jumped 13.9 percent in Asia. Net debt at the end of April stood at 112 million euros, down from 123 million a year ago.

Club Med competes with global hoteliers Intercontinental and Accor  as well as tour operators TUI Travel  and Thomas Cook.

The move does not necessarily signal a new wave of takeovers in the sector, according to Christian Jimenez, who heads the Diamant Bleu Gestion fund.

This is “a very specific takeover,” he said. “Fosun was already in the capital and intended to raise its stake and Club Med’s management backs the deal.”

AXA Private Equity holds 9.4 percent of Club Med, while Fosun owns 9.96 percent.

Giscard d’Estaing, who became CEO in 2002 and who is the son of former French President Valery Giscard d’Estaing, is also taking part in the deal. He currently owns less than 0.01 percent of the share capital. He will remain CEO if the takeover goes ahead, with Michel Wolfovski remaining deputy CEO.

Control of Club Med will exercised through a joint venture that will be 46 percent owned by Fosun, 46 percent by Axa Private Equity, and 8 percent by 400 Club Med managers.

Should the buyers secure 95 percent of Club Med, they reserve the right to squeeze out other shareholders.

Dominique Gaillard, managing director of Axa Private Equity, said that after four years, shares may also be listed in Hong Kong.

($1 = 0.7734 euros)

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Clearlake Capital Group has acquired about 89% of Bluefly’s outstanding shares directly from the company’s principal stockholders. Clearlake also agreed to buy additional shares from Bluefly which, together with the stock it is buying from principal stockholders, represents more than 90% of the company’s outstanding shares. Financial terms weren’t announced. Bluefly expects to cease trading on the NASDAQ before the open today. Bluefly is an online retailer of designer brands.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW YORK, NY, May 23, 2013 – Bluefly, Inc. (NASDAQ Capital Market: BFLY), a leading online retailer of fashion forward designer brands at superior value, today announced that an affiliate of Clearlake Capital Group (“Clearlake”) has purchased approximately 89% of the outstanding shares of Bluefly Inc. (“Bluefly” or the “Company”) directly from the Company’s principal stockholders.  Clearlake also entered into an agreement with the Company under which it purchased additional shares from the Company that, together with the shares acquired from the Company’s principal stockholders, represent in excess of 90% of the outstanding shares of Bluefly.  Pursuant to the same agreement, Clearlake agreed to acquire the remaining outstanding shares of common stock of the Company through a short form merger at a price of $0.10 per share.  The Company expects to consummate the merger as soon as possible following the issuance of the shares, and in any event within one business day.  The Company also expects that its shares will cease trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market effective prior to the open of market on May 24, 2013.

Joseph Park, CEO of Bluefly, said, “Clearlake brings an outstanding team with eCommerce and financial expertise, and they are dedicated to re-energizing this business and brand at a pivotal time in our sector. With this transaction, Bluefly will be well-capitalized and well-positioned for growth, building on its loyal following and continued strong traffic.”

“Bluefly is a pioneer in offering the best in designer brands and fashion trends at a value that customers love in an online environment that is fun to visit and easy to navigate.  With a new operating structure and capital, and Clearlake’s leadership, we look forward to building on this legacy as we seek to reinvigorate the Company during a dynamic period in the eCommerce industry,” said Scott A. Erdman, Bluefly’s Chief Merchandising Officer.

About Bluefly, Inc.
Founded in 1998, Bluefly, Inc. is a leading online retailer of designer brands, fashion trends and superior value.  Bluefly is headquartered in the heart of the Fashion District.  In 2011, Bluefly expanded its portfolio, launching Belle & Clive, a members-only shopping destination that presents highly-curated selections of important brands via limited time sale events.  For more information, please visit www.bluefly.com and belleandclive.com.

About Clearlake Capital Group
Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is a private investment firm focused on special situations and private equity investments such as corporate divestitures, recapitalizations, buyouts, reorganizations, turnarounds and other equity investments.  Clearlake seeks to partner with world-class management teams by providing patient, long-term capital and operational expertise to invest in dynamic businesses.  Clearlake currently manages approximately $1.4 billion of equity capital, and Clearlake’s founding principals have led over 50 investments totaling more than $2.7 billion of capital in sectors including business services, communication, consumer products/retail, defense/public safety, energy/power, healthcare, industrials, media, and technology.  For more information, please visit www.clearlakecapital.com.

Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including with respect to the acquisition of Bluefly by Clearlake, the timing of completion of the merger, the timing of cessation of trading of Bluefly shares on the NASDAQ Capital Market, and the future business operations of Bluefly.  Statements including words such as “expects,” “intends,” “will,” or similar expressions are forward-looking statements.  Because these statements reflect Bluefly’s current views, expectations and beliefs concerning future events, these forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events and involve risks and uncertainties.  Actual results may be materially different than the results implied or predicted by the forward looking statements.  Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made.  Bluefly assumes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, to reflect events, circumstances or changes in expectations after the date of this press release.

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Ares Management said Friday that Charles Steel has joined the Ares Private Equity Group as a Managing Director and will be based in London. Steel previously worked at The Carlyle Group from 2001 to 2010 in European leveraged buyouts.

PRESS RELEASE

LOS ANGELES & LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ares Management LLC announced today that Charles Steel has joined the Ares Private Equity Group as a Managing Director, based in London.

“We are pleased to welcome Charles to Ares Management,” said David Kaplan and Bennett Rosenthal, Senior Partners of Ares and co-Heads of the firm’s global Private Equity activities. “Charles’ extensive experience investing across a range of transaction types in Europe will be of great value as we invest a portion of our latest $4.7 billion corporate opportunities fund outside of the United States.”
“I am excited to be joining Ares Management at this time,” said Mr. Steel. “The firm has established significant resources across its five European offices and has demonstrated a multi-year track record in this region’s corporate credit marketplace. I look forward to working with my new colleagues to source and structure compelling private equity investments.”
Charles Steel previously worked at The Carlyle Group from 2001 to 2010 in European leveraged buyouts, and played a leading role in a number of significant investments for the firm. Prior to that, Mr. Steel was a member of the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs since 1998. Most recently, he served as an adviser to Tony Blair on Finance & Business Development at the Office of the Quartet Representative in Jerusalem. He holds a B.A. in History with Honors from Cambridge University.
About Ares Management LLC
Ares Management LLC is a global alternative asset manager and SEC registered investment adviser, which had approximately $59 billion of committed capital under management and approximately 560 employees as of March 31, 2013. Ares is headquartered in Los Angeles with professionals located across the United States, Europe and Asia and invests across the capital structure – from senior debt to common equity. Ares’ investment activities are managed by dedicated teams in its Capital Markets, Private Debt, Private Equity and Real Estate investment platforms. Ares Management was built upon the fundamental principle that each platform benefits from being part of the greater whole. This multi-asset class synergy provides its professionals with insights into industry trends, access to significant deal flow and the ability to assess relative value.
For additional information, visit www.aresmgmt.com.
About Ares Private Equity
The Ares Private Equity Group manages approximately $9 billion of committed capital as of March 31, 2013 through five private equity funds: Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund, L.P. (2003), Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund II, L.P. (2006), Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund III, L.P. (2008), Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund IV, L.P. (2012) and Ares Corporate Opportunities Fund Asia, L.P. (2011). Unlike many traditional private equity funds that are principally focused on control buyouts and may be restricted by charter or a lack of experience, the Ares Private Equity Group pursues a range of creative transaction structures in an effort to maximize the risk/reward profile of our capital. The combination of our flexible capital approach with the broad resources of Ares Management widens our universe of potential investment opportunities and allows us not only to remain active, but highly selective in making investments in all market environments.

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Andreessen Horowitz is leading a $60 million Series C financing round for Lyft, according the company’s blog. Lyft, of San Francisco, is a ride sharing app.

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Catamount Ventures said Thursday that it agreed to sell Plum Organics to Campbell Soup Co. Financial terms weren’t announced. Earlier, Catterton Partners said it also agreed to sell its stake in Plum, a provider of organic baby food.

PRESS RELEASE

SAN FRANCISCO, CA–(Marketwired – May 23, 2013) – Catamount Ventures, the leading venture capital firm focused on healthy living, sustainability and education firms, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell Plum Organics, a leading premium, organic kids nutrition company, to Campbell Soup Company (“Campbell”). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Since co-founding Plum Organics in 2007, Catamount Ventures has worked with the company’s management team to aggressively grow the Plum brand into a leading organic baby food brand. With its complete line of organic products, unique food and flavor combinations, and innovative offerings and packaging, Plum has helped to revolutionize the baby food industry. With Catamount, Plum grew from three founders and an idea to a full team, multinational distribution, and a broadened product assortment including offerings for toddlers and kids. In 2012, Plum Organics was the second fastest-growing food business in the U.S.
“Partnering with Catamount and Jed Smith from the outset of this tremendous firm has been instrumental to our success,” said Plum Organics CEO Neil Grimmer. “Catamount worked with us every step of the way from expanding our team, marketing and distribution, raising capital and guiding our significant strategic relationships. Along the way, we have stayed focused on our mission to give the very best food to our little ones. We have succeeded in driving growth in our category, and we look forward to continuing our momentum as part of Campbell.”
Jed Smith, Chairman of Plum Organics and Managing Partner at Catamount Ventures, said, “Six years ago we set out to help guide an innovative and modern approach to family nutrition. With this mission at our core, Plum is building a lasting brand that will be impactful for generations. Campbell is the perfect acquirer to reach new levels of success.”
Plum Organics is a pioneer in pouch-based packaging for baby food. After experiencing a three-year growth in sales of over 4,000%, Plum Organics placed number 63 in Inc. Magazine’s 2012 Inc. 500 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. In addition, Plum Organics was featured on Forbes 2012 ranking of America’s Most Promising Companies — a list of one hundred privately held, high-growth companies with bright futures.
The transaction remains subject to applicable regulatory approval and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
About Plum Organics
Plum Organics® is a pioneer and global provider of premium, nutritious organic baby food, toddler and kid snack food products. Recognized for their unique, culinary-inspired recipes and a modern approach to family nutrition, Plum offers a complete line of organic products that ensure healthy eating from the highchair to the lunchbox™. Plum has dedicated its social mission to delivering nutrient rich, organic food into the hands of little ones in need across America. Forbes magazine named Plum #19 on its 2013 list of “America’s Most Promising Companies.” For more information about Plum please visit: http://www.plumorganics.com.
About Catamount Ventures
Catamount Ventures has created a new category of venture capital investing focused on healthy living, sustainability and educational technology firms. With $210 million under management we have a 14 year track record of backing world class entrepreneurs with outstanding visions going after major segments of our economy with disruptive solutions. The Catamount team brings decades of partner experience as entrepreneurs, CEOs and operators. Catamount investments include: Seventh Generation, Revolution Foods, Café Press, Linden Lab, Numi Tea, Quri and MasteryConnect. More Information about Catamount Ventures can be found at http://www.catamountventures.com

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Catterton Partners said Thursday that it has agreed to sell Plum Organics to Campbell Soup Co. Financial terms weren’t announced. Emeryville, Calif.-based Plum Organics provides organic baby foods.

PRESS RELEASE

GREENWICH, Conn., May 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — Catterton Partners, the leading consumer-focused private equity firm, today announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell Plum Organics, a leading premium, organic kids nutrition company, to Campbell Soup Company (“Campbell”). Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Since partnering with Plum Organics in 2010, Catterton Partners has worked with the company’s management team to aggressively grow the Plum brand into a leading organic kid’s nutrition company. With its complete line of organic products, unique food and flavor combinations, and innovative offerings and packaging, Plum has helped to revolutionize the baby food industry. With Catterton, Plum significantly grew its distribution channels, broadened its product assortment and expanded the brand to include offerings for toddlers and kids. In 2012, Plum Organics was the second fastest-growing food business in the U.S.
“We are proud of the profitable growth and expansion that Plum has achieved working with Catterton,” said Plum Organics CEO Neil Grimmer . “Catterton was instrumental in helping Plum expand marketing and distribution, refine operating capabilities, and recruit key talent to the team. Along the way, we have stayed focused on our mission to give the very best food to our little ones. We have succeeded in driving growth in our category, and we look forward to continuing our momentum as part of Campbell.”
Jon Owsley, Partner at Catterton Partners, said, “With their commitment to wholesome ingredients, a focus on flavors that children love and a modern approach to family nutrition, the Plum Organics team has established a leadership position in their category. We are pleased to have partnered with the management team to help drive the company’s success. This transaction represents a terrific outcome for Plum Organics, Catterton and Campbell, and we are confident that Plum Organics will thrive for years to come under new ownership.”
Plum Organics was the pioneer in pouch-based packaging for baby food. After experiencing a three-year growth in sales of over 4,000%, Plum Organics placed number 63 in Inc. Magazine’s 2012 Inc. 500 list of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. In addition, Plum Organics was featured on Forbes 2012 ranking of America’s Most Promising Companies – a list of one hundred privately held, high-growth companies with bright futures.
The transaction remains subject to applicable regulatory approval and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.
About Plum Organics
Plum Organics(R) is a pioneer and global provider of premium, nutritious organic baby food, toddler and kid snack food products. Recognized for their unique, culinary-inspired recipes and a modern approach to family nutrition, Plum offers a complete line of organic products that ensure healthy eating from the highchair to the lunchbox(TM). Plum has dedicated its social mission to delivering nutrient rich, organic food into the hands of little ones in need across America. Forbes magazine named Plum #19 on its 2013 list of “America’s Most Promising Companies.” For more information about Plum please visit: http://www.plumorganics.com.
About Catterton Partners
Catterton Partners is the leading consumer-focused private equity firm in North America, with more than $3.3 billion currently under management and a twenty-four year track record of success in building high growth companies. Since its founding in 1989, Catterton has leveraged its category insight, strategic and operating skills, and network of industry contacts to establish one of the strongest private equity investment track records in the middle market. Catterton Partners invests in all major consumer segments, including Food and Beverage, Retail and Restaurants, Consumer Products and Services, Consumer Health, and Media and Marketing Services. Catterton’s investments include: Restoration Hardware, Outback Steakhouse, Sweet Leaf Tea, Noodles & Company, Frederic Fekkai , Build-A-Bear Workshop, Wellness and Nature’s Variety pet food, Kettle Foods, Odwalla and P.F. Chang ‘s, to name a few. More information about Catterton Partners can be found at http://www.cpequity.com.

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