Author: Staff

Cleave Biosciences has added $10 million in Series A financing from new investor New Enterprise Associates, bringing its Series A total to $54 million. In the fall of 2011, Cleave raised $44 million from US Venture Partners, 5AM Ventures, Clarus Ventures, OrbiMed Advisors, Astellas Venture Management and Osage University Partners. The company is focused on cancer drug discovery and development.

PRESS RELEASE
Cleave Biosciences announced today it has raised $10 million in an extension of its Series A financing from new investor New Enterprise Associates (NEA), bringing its Series A total to $54 million. In the fall of 2011, Cleave raised $44 million from US Venture Partners, 5AM Ventures, Clarus Ventures, OrbiMed Advisors, Astellas Venture Management and Osage University Partners to fund the biopharmaceutical company’s cancer drug discovery and development. In conjunction with the financing, NEA partner Robert Garland, M.D., has joined Cleave’s board of directors. Cleave will use the funds to move its lead program into clinical trials and advance its second discovery program.

Cleave is discovering novel drugs that affect protein degradation pathways. Cancer cells frequently make an excess of proteins and hence become dependent on protein degradation for their survival. By attacking key targets in these pathways, cancer cells fail to balance this excess protein synthesis with protein degradation and can no longer survive.

“The targets Cleave is pursuing have the potential to have wide therapeutic impact for people who have cancers dependent on protein degradation for their survival,” said Laura Shawver, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Cleave Biosciences. “NEA joins us at an exciting time as we continue our progress to identify clinical candidates, as well as determine which subsets of cancers can best be addressed using the Cleave strategy.”

“Cleave’s approach of attacking cancer heterogeneity has rapidly moved from an academic idea to preclinical proof-of-concept and there’s a reasonably high probability that the company’s development programs will result in new therapeutics for patients with difficult-to-treat tumors,” said Larry Lasky, Ph.D., partner at US Venture Partners and Cleave director.

Cleave’s lead program is discovering small molecules that target p97, a central player in the ubiquitin proteasome and autophagy pathways that are intimately involved in controlling protein degradation. Targeting protein degradation has been validated by the commercial success of VELCADE® (bortezomib) and KYPROLIS® (carfilzomib) in multiple myeloma. P97 inhibition is a novel approach that has the potential to treat a wide range of cancers.

“Cleave Biosciences has made substantial progress in identifying and optimizing small molecules against a number of novel targets and is progressing its lead program toward the clinic,” said Dr. Garland. “We are pleased to join Cleave’s investor syndicate to help fuel the company’s momentum.”

Dr. Garland and his colleagues at NEA, one of the world’s largest and most active venture capital firms, have a long track record of partnering with companies that have pioneered transformative innovations in healthcare. Prior to NEA, in addition to clinical practice at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), Dr. Garland was with McKinsey & Company’s Pharmaceutical & Medical Products and Corporate

Finance & Strategy practices. Dr. Garland completed his Residency in Internal Medicine and Fellowship in Infectious Diseases at UCSF, and received his M.B.A. and M.P.H. from the University of California, Berkeley, his M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine and his B.S. in Electrical Engineering/Bioengineering from Rice University.

About Cleave Biosciences

Cleave Biosciences is discovering and developing novel small molecule therapies for difficult-to-treat cancers. Cleave has amassed deep expertise and developed first-in-class drug candidates against novel targets in protein degradation pathways, including the ubiquitin proteasome and autophagy systems. Cleave is using molecular profiling approaches with the goal of identifying patient subsets most likely to benefit from each of its targeted drugs. Cleave is privately held and located in Burlingame, California.

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ForgeRock Inc., a maker of open source identity and access management technology, has raised a $15 million Series B round of financing led by Foundation Capital. Existing investor Accel Partners also participated. The company, which has now raised a total of $22 million, will use the money for sales and expansion. Warren Weiss, General Partner with Foundation Capital, will join the board.

PRESS RELEASE
ForgeRock Inc., the pioneer of open source identity and access management (IAM), today announced it has closed a $15 million Series B round of financing led by Foundation Capital with additional participation from existing investor Accel Partners. The new round brings the company’s total funding to $22 million, and will be used to fuel the development of ForgeRock’s Open Identity Stack, grow sales, and continue its global expansion. In addition to closing the funding round, Warren Weiss, General Partner with Foundation Capital, will join the board of advisors.

“As CIOs shift investment from employee to consumer-focused identity services, there is a greater need for an IAM stack that can stand up to the requirements of cloud, social, mobile and extended enterprise environments, and it is clear ForgeRock is uniquely positioned to meet this need,” said Warren Weiss, General Partner, Foundation Capital. “I look forward to joining the ForgeRock board and working with them to continue the mission of providing easy-to-deploy and massively scalable IAM to fuel secure collaboration across the contemporary web.”

The company’s Series B follows last month’s release of the latest version of ForgeRock’s Open Identity Stack, the only unified, 100% open source identity stack to secure applications and services across private, hybrid, and public clouds, as well as SaaS, mobile, and enterprise systems. The new release of the platform includes the latest versions of OpenAM and OpenIDM, extending platform flexibility by adding a single, unified REST API across the entire stack for building common identity services across consumer, mobile, social, and enterprise applications.

“ForgeRock’s success in securing approximately 200 customers in less than 3 years and more than 300,000 downloads in over 135 countries positions it as the leading open identity and access management stack on the market,” said Bruce Golden, Partner at Accel Partners. “We look forward to helping the company continue to expand its presence globally and disrupt traditional approaches to IAM by developing a new IAM architecture that solves today’s enterprise challenges.”

“In the past year, our growth across enterprise, cloud, social, and mobile environments has increased significantly. We are changing the relationship between businesses and their consumers, driving new business models and improving customer knowledge and trust,” said Mike Ellis, ForgeRock CEO. “In this round, it was important that we partner with investors that understand the profound transformation currently taking place in the identity market and the massive opportunity arising from this change. With Accel Partners and Foundation Capital we have found that fit.”

About ForgeRock
ForgeRock is pioneering open source identity and access management through innovation, simplification, and openness for all identity services. Dedicated to rethinking Identity Management for everyone across enterprise, social, mobile and the cloud, ForgeRock products support mission-critical operations with a fully open source platform. ForgeRock’s Open Identity Stack powers solutions for thousands of the world’s largest companies and government organizations. For more information and free downloads, visit www.forgerock.com or follow ForgeRock on Twitter at www.twitter.com/forgerock.

About Foundation Capital
Foundation Capital is a venture capital firm driven by the singular goal of changing the world — about leaving it a better place – by building great companies. It is this entrepreneurial spirit along with a deep technical expertise that gives the partners the understanding, perspective, and enthusiasm to help promising companies in their formative stages. Foundation Capital targets innovative opportunities in cleantech, consumer Internet and infrastructure; telecommunications and networking; and enterprise software and on-demand services. Foundation Capital maintains investments in nearly 70 ventures, including Calix, Financial Engines, Netflix and Silver Spring Networks. For more information, visit www.foundationcapital.com

About Accel Partners
Founded in 1983, Accel Partners has a long history of partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class businesses. Accel today invests globally using dedicated teams and market-specific strategies for local geographies, with offices in Palo Alto, London, New York City and Bangalore, as well as in China via its partnership with IDG-Accel. Accel has invested in over 500 companies, many of which have defined their categories, including Angry Birds (Rovio), Atlassian, Cloudera, ComScore, Dropbox, Facebook, Groupon, Imperva, JBoss, Kayak, Lookout, Playfish, QlikTech, Spotify, Supercell, Tenable, Varonis, Wonga and XenSource.

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Blackstone Group‘s SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment set the price range of its initial public offering at $24 to $27 per share, valuing the company at up to $2.5 billion. At the high end, the IPO would raise $540 million. SeaWorld and selling shareholders are selling 10 million shares each. The company plans to use the funds it raises to repay debt.

(Reuters) – Blackstone Group’s SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment set the price range of its initial public offering at $24 to $27 per share, valuing the company at up to $2.5 billion.

At the high end, the IPO would raise $540 million.

SeaWorld and selling shareholders are selling 10 million shares each.

The company plans to use the funds it raises to repay debt.

SeaWorld, which is perhaps best known for its performing killer whale Shamu, applied for a $100 million IPO in December and raised this to $500 million on Monday.

The amount of money a company says it plans to raise in its IPO filings is used to calculate registration fees. The final size of the IPO could be different.

SeaWorld owns 11 theme parks under brands such as SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place, caring for more than 67,000 animals.

Established operators in the U.S. theme park industry, which hosts about 315 million visitors per year, have proved resilient in a weak economy.

Shares of amusement park operator Six Flags Entertainment Corp have risen about 19 percent since the beginning of the year, while those of Cedar Fair LP have risen about 16 percent.

Blackstone acquired SeaWorld from brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev SA in December 2009 for $2.3 billion, according to the private equity firm’s website.

U.S. IPO volumes rose about 65 percent in the first quarter as private equity-backed companies rushed to take advantage of a surge in share prices.

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Securities are the lead underwriters for the offering. ()

Orlando, Florida-based SeaWorld intends to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “SEAS”.

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Water Street Healthcare Partners has put an undisclosed amount into outsourced clinical services company CCBR- SYNARC. The deal is the first from Water Street Healthcare Partners III, L.P., which it closed last year with $750 million.

PRESS RELEASE
Water Street Healthcare Partners, a strategic private equity firm focused exclusively on the health care industry, announced today that it has invested in CCBR- SYNARC. Comprised of two businesses that specialize in outsourced clinical services, CCBR- SYNARC expands Water Street’s global presence in the pharmaceutical services sector. It also marks the health care firm’s first investment from its new fund, Water Street Healthcare Partners III, L.P., which it closed last year after receiving $750 million of investor commitments in less than eight weeks.
CCBR-SYNARC is a highly specialized provider of clinical services to the world’s largest pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The company’s SYNARC business, based in Newark, Calif., specializes in imaging services, consultation and analysis to track progress throughout a clinical trial’s life cycle. Its CCBR business, headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark, recruits patients from all over the world, and conducts and manages clinical trials in its dedicated clinical centers. Together, the businesses employ more than 500 doctors, nurses and technicians who are located in 29 research centers across Asia, Europe and The Americas. They currently focus their expertise in the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular and neurological therapies.
“Water Street’s team has consistently demonstrated to us a deep understanding of our businesses since it first approached us about potential ways to work together several years ago,” said Dr. Claus Christiansen, founder and chairman, CCBR-SYNARC. “When we reached a point in our development in which we were ready to expand our capabilities and services, we knew Water Street was our ideal partner. Its experience in the pharmaceutical sector, business development expertise and extensive industry relationships will provide our businesses with the intellectual capital and resources to achieve long-term growth and success.
The outsourced clinical development market is projected to grow as much as 5 to 10 percent per year over the next five years. With new regulations and global protocols leading to more complex drug development processes, pharmaceutical companies are increasingly turning to specialized providers such as CCBR-SYNARC to support them with particular aspects of their clinical trials.
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CCBR’s ability to recruit large patient populations from diverse markets and SYNARC’s high quality imaging capabilities have fueled the company’s growth since its founding in 1998.
“Recruiting patients to participate in clinical trials can be a significant pain point for pharmaceutical companies and can cause costly delays in their drug development processes,” said Al Heller, an operating partner with Water Street who has more than 30 years of pharmaceutical experience. “CCBR-SYNARC stands out for its proven ability to both quickly recruit patients from targeted geographies and efficiently analyze images to support customers while increasing their clinical trial success rates.”
CCBR-SYNARC expands Water Street’s group of companies specializing in health care products and services to 12. The firm is also an investor in AAIPharma Services Corp., a provider of pharmaceutical product development services. It sold its oral health pharmaceutical company, OraPharma, to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. last year. Since its founding in 2005, Water Street has completed 39 transactions to create and grow a diverse group of market-leading health care companies.

“We are pleased to build Water Street’s presence in the pharmaceutical sector with our investment in CCBR-SYNARC. The company is highly regarded as a partner that delivers results through its unique combination of scientific acumen, local market knowledge and proprietary technology,” said Peter Strothman, partner, Water Street. “We look forward to working closely with Dr. Christiansen to strategically expand both businesses’ unique capabilities.”
Water Street has activated its newest fund, Fund III, with its investment in CCBR-SYNARC. The firm is seeking new opportunities to partner with corporations interested in divesting non-core health care businesses, and middle-market companies wanting to accelerate growth. Water Street targets investments ranging from $50 to $500 million in four health care sectors: distribution, medical products, health care services, and pharmaceutical products and services.

About Water Street
Water Street is a strategic private equity firm focused exclusively on health care. The firm has a strong record of building market-leading companies across key growth sectors in health care. It has worked with some of the world’s leading health care companies on its investments including Gentiva, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic and Orthofix. Water Street’s team is comprised of industry executives and private equity professionals with decades of experience investing in and operating global health care businesses. The firm is headquartered in Chicago.

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AIQ Inc. has raised $5 million in new capital, designed to expand the company’s online directory of financial advisors and publisher of syndicated personal finance content and advisor rankings. The Series A equity investors include Penton Media Inc.; Rory Curran, founder and former CEO of UK-based financial advisor software company 1st Software; and Peter Wilson-Smith, a founder of Financial News and efinancialnews.com.

PRESS RELEASE
AIQ, Inc. today announced that it has closed a $5 million private capital raise. The financing is designed to provide growth capital to further expand AdviceIQ, a groundbreaking online directory of trusted financial advisors and publisher of syndicated personal finance content and advisor rankings.

“Our newly closed equity funding permits us to expand upon current investments in sales and marketing, technology enhancements and other aspects of our business,” stated Nicholas W. Stuller, co-founder & CEO of AIQ, Inc. “Deploying this capital to extend the AdviceIQ platform represents a material business opportunity to all of our investors and will ensure we maintain our first-to-market advantage.”

Currently, over 2,400 financial advisors have passed the unique due diligence that is required in order to participate in AdviceIQ. Each has been certified to have passed the strictest industry regulatory due diligence, ensuring the directory is comprised of only fully vetted financial advisors. Designed to provide consumers with rich personal finance content, AdviceIQ also employs geo-targeting technology so investors can locate financial advisors in their neighborhood who are well matched to each investor’s special needs.

In addition to profiles, AdviceIQ publishes advisor-contributed articles on wealth management, investing and the advisor/consumer relationship, advisor rankings and original personal finance articles under the direction of Editor-in-Chief Larry Light, formerly Deputy Editor of Personal Finance for The Wall Street Journal. AdviceIQ also syndicates content through media partners. Current partners include Morningstar, The Online Investor, Minyanville, The Motley Fool, National Real Estate Investor, Retail Traffic and Business Insider.

“Our singular mission is to help individual investors access fully-vetted, trustworthy advisors who can help them take charge of their wealth and financial planning,” says co-founder and CFO Gary Liberman. “Our research and due diligence process reduces consumer exposure to advisors who have violated securities law. With AdviceIQ as a point of validation, listed advisors are effectively positioned to distinguish and locally promote their brands, reinforce client relationships and reach new prospects. We are excited to show investors the virtues, quality and worthiness of the retail financial professional,” Mr. Liberman concluded.

A growing number of broker-dealers and other advisor platform firms have subscribed to AdviceIQ to vet and showcase their advisors. Participating firms include American Portfolios Financial Services, Money Concepts Capital Corp., Securities Service Network, and well known Registered Investment Adviser firms including Evensky & Katz, Xpyria Investment Advisors and Financial Security Advisory, Inc. The Financial Planning Association has also entered into an agreement with AIQ, Inc. so that its members can avail themselves of AdviceIQ at advantageous subscription rates.

The Series A equity investors include new and existing investors such as Penton Media, Inc. publisher of WealthManagement.com, Trusts & Estates, and many leading business websites; Rory Curran, founder and former CEO of UK-based financial advisor software company, 1st Software; and Peter Wilson-Smith, a founder of Financial News and efinancialnews.com, now owned by Dow Jones; among other leading senior executives in the financial services, media, and technology industries.

About AIQ, Inc.:

AIQ, Inc. publishes the popular Meridian-IQ suite of Financial Advisor directories, licensed by over 500 major fund companies, broker-dealers and insurance companies for industry research and marketing purposes. AIQ is led by a veteran Wall Street team who are subject matter experts on retail financial advisors and investing. Its consumer-facing product, www.AdviceIQ.com, combines daily personal financial journalism with listings and rankings of pre-vetted Advisors that are certified to have passed AdviceIQ’s proprietary Regulatory Compliance Review (RCR(TM)), the strictest industry regulatory due diligence.

RCR(TM) attests to the quality of an advisor’s compliance history. This due diligence encompasses the entire disciplinary and complaint history of all four major U.S. regulators: Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), State regulators who license Investment Advisor Representatives and State Insurance Commissioners. Investment firms pay an annual subscription fee to have each financial advisor undergo the RCR(TM) screening. Only advisors who successfully pass the vetting process may have their profiles posted on www.adviceiq.com. RCR(TM) prevents advisors with serious infractions from appearing in the published listings and rankings. It also excludes advisors censured by one regulator, who then move to another financial services industry and would otherwise escape scrutiny. AdviceIQ provides investors with access to trustworthy advisors who can help them take charge of their wealth and financial planning.

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DeepFlex, a manufacturer of unbonded composite flexible pipe used in subsea oil and gas production environments, has sealed investments from Brazilian PE firms Mare Investimentos and Mantiq Investimentos. The company also inked funds from existing investors AEM Capital and Promon International of Brazil and Energy Ventures, Klaveness Marine, and Mobelmagasinet Tvedt of Norway. Details of the investment round were not disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE
DeepFlex, the world’s only manufacturer of premium unbonded composite flexible pipe used in challenging subsea oil and gas production environments, announced today that it has entered into a significant funding agreement with funds co-managed by two of Brazil’s leading private equity firms, Mare Investimentos and Mantiq Investimentos. Additional funding is also being provided by existing investors AEM Capital and Promon International of Brazil and Energy Ventures, Klaveness Marine, and Mobelmagasinet Tvedt of Norway.

The combined equity investment from both new and existing investors will support DeepFlex´s strategic development plan to establish a manufacturing center in Brazil, where the Company recently opened an office staffed by experienced business development and technical personnel. The Brazilian market represents over 65% of the worldwide demand for unbonded flexible pipe used in offshore production and this expansion plan will allow DeepFlex to serve this key market as well as satisfy local content objectives. The use of proceeds will also fund an expansion of the Company’s U.S. manufacturing capability to support existing backlog and an expanding order book.

Mike Kearney, President and CEO of DeepFlex, said: “As DeepFlex continues to build momentum in the flexible pipe marketplace, we are pleased to secure the funding necessary to expand the Company’s global market reach, in particular, serving the world’s single largest market. The capital transaction we are announcing today will transform DeepFlex into a company with substantial flexible pipe manufacturing capacity and engineering capabilities to serve all major offshore production markets. We appreciate the commitment of our employees, the ongoing support of our current investors and welcome Mare and Mantiq to the DeepFlex team.”

About DeepFlex:
With offices in the United States and Brazil, DeepFlex designs and manufactures premium composite flexible pipe for use in the subsea oil and gas production environment. As the world’s only manufacturer of unbonded composite flexible pipe for deepwater applications, the patented DeepFlex products are lighter, less costly to install, and do not suffer the corrosive effects of harsh environment service. In addition, the DeepFlex technical staff assists customers with the design of their subsea production configurations. DeepFlex was established in 2004 and is growing rapidly to meet the needs of oil and gas companies working in the world’s major offshore producing regions. Additional information on the Company can be found at www.deepflex.com.

About Mare Investimentos:
Mare Investimentos is a private equity fund manager founded in 2009 by executives with significant experience in oil and gas, natural resources and financial companies, focused on investing in the supply chain of goods and services for the oil and gas business.

About Mantiq Investimentos:
Mantiq Investimentos, a subsidiary of Banco Santander Brasil, is a private equity fund manager focused on infrastructure and oil and gas services, with USD 1.2 billion in assets under management. Mantiq is backed by some of the largest Brazilian institutional investors and its portfolio includes investments in renewable power generation, water, sewage, environmental services, and toll roads. Notably, Mantiq manages a large equity stake in Renova Energia, the largest wind power company in Brazil.

About The Funds:
Mantiq and Mare co-manage the funds Brasil Petroleo 1 & 2, with aggregated capital commitments of USD 370 million. Its investors are large Brazilian institutions, primarily pension funds, and high net worth individuals. DeepFlex is the first investment of the Brasil Petroleo funds.

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China’s Miaozhen Systems, a third-party big data company in the advertising industry, closed on $10 million in Series C financing recently. CBC Capital, a Beijing-based TMT-focused private equity fund, led the round. Redpoint Ventures, KPCB, as well as WPP Digital, also participated.

PRESS RELEASE
Miaozhen Systems, a leading Chinese third-party big data company in the advertising industry, announced that the company has closed a US$10 million Series C round financing led by CBC Capital, a Beijing-based TMT-focused private equity fund.

Investors also participating in this round include Redpoint Ventures in the United States, KPCB, as well as WPP Digital, Miaozhen said in a statement.

“Leveraging on technical advantage and big data processing capacity, Miaozhen has become a leader in the industry. Its impressive daily capacity of handling 100 billion advertising requests through the cloud platform enables the company to help customers solve actual problems in marketing. Big data is reshaping the business community, as well as transforming the overall ecosystem of the new media advertising industry,” said Tian Suning, chairman of CBC.

“With big data application as core business, Miaozhen is seeking to help customers solve problems in marketing in a more scientific and intelligent way, especially those conundrums arising from information explosion and data piles-up due to large uncertainties,” said Zhu Wei, chief executive officer of Miaozhen.

About Miaozhen Systems

Miaozhen Systems is the leading third-party advertising technology company in China. Founded in 2006, with more than 280 employees, Miaozhen is a novel high-tech enterprise. Miaozhen headquarters in Beijing, with branch offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Singapore, providing products and solutions in Taiwan, Japan and Australia.

Miaozhen has data processing capability of 100 billion ad requests every day. The cumulative data storage is over 2PB. The exclusive Moment Tracking Technology helps advertisers, agencies and publishers in efficiently measuring online campaign impact (including reach, frequency and demography of target audience), and enhance their online advertising returns. Various leading multinational brands including P&G, Microsoft, Volkswagen, L’Oreal, Coca-Cola, YUM!, are using tools and solutions provided by Miaozhen.

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Tampa Media Group, which is backed by Revolution Capital Group, has acquired Clearwater Gazette—a Florida-based weekly newspaper serving the Clearwater, Dunedin, Largo, Belleair, Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs, Belleair Shore and Indian Rocks Beach communities. Terms were not released.

PRESS RELEASE
Revolution Capital Group is pleased to announce its portfolio company, Tampa Media Group, has acquired Clearwater Gazette—a weekly newspaper serving the Clearwater, Dunedin, Largo, Belleair, Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs, Belleair Shore and Indian Rocks Beach communities. This add-on follows the launch in January of The St. Petersburg Tribune, a new daily newspaper serving St. Petersburg, Florida. Clearwater Gazette marks Revolution’s fifth acquisition since inception.

“For six decades, Clearwater Gazette has been an influential and important voice in the community, and we’re impressed with the quality of the publication put together by the owners, Chuck and Sandy Pollick,” says Gary Alcock, Managing Director of Revolution Capital Group.

The purchase of Clearwater Gazette and its integration into Tampa Media Group illustrates the acquisition growth strategy employed by Revolution as it seeks to unlock the full potential of its portfolio companies.

“The content and viewpoints of Clearwater Gazette mesh well with our existing portfolio of media properties in the region. In addition to that, it’s also an exceptionally well-run business,” says Jim Towers, a Senior Associate with Revolution.

Under Chuck and Sandy Pollick’s ownership, Clearwater Gazette has remained committed to providing superior local news while helping to promote local businesses in Pinellas County.

“Tampa Media Group’s mission is to connect and strengthen communities. Therefore, we are very pleased to add Clearwater Gazette to our Tribune family of products. It joins the over 117 year old Tampa Tribune and the leading website in Tampa Bay, TBO.com. Clearwater Gazette is a perfect complement to our St. Petersburg Tribune as well. We look forward to better serving our new and existing readers with expanded coverage while working to strengthen the business community of Clearwater,” says Bill Barker, Publisher of The Tampa Tribune.

Revolution Capital Group formed Tampa Media Group in October 2012 to purchase The Tampa Tribune from Media General. The firm continues to seek acquisition opportunities within the newspaper industry.

About The Tampa Tribune
The Tampa Tribune has been Tampa’s hometown newspaper for more than a century. TBO.com, the newspaper’s associated web site, was one of the first local media internet sites when it launched in 1994. In 1975, the newspaper moved into a new facility on Parker Street, where the operations reside today. The Tampa Times, an evening newspaper, merged into The Tampa Tribune in 1982.

About Clearwater Gazette
Founded in 1950, Clearwater Gazette started as a small island newspaper, and now serves Clearwater, Dunedin, Largo, Belleair, Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs, Belleair Shore and Indian Rocks Beach communities. The newspaper’s mission is to provide quality local news while helping to promote local businesses in Pinellas County. See their website for more details www.clearwatergazette.com.

About Revolution Capital Group
Revolution Capital Group was formed by a group of private equity, M&A and operational executives. The partners have worked on over $15 billion in transactions with corporations such as AT&T, BASF, Bayer, General Electric, Hays PLC, IBM, Lucent, Motorola, Universal Group and Williams Communications.

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Milestone Partners has closed its latest fund, Milestone Partners IV, L.P., with total commitments of $300 million. The fund is a 25% uptick over its previous vehicle. In connection with the new fund, the firm promoted John Nowaczyk to Partner and Dan Ryan to Principal and Head of Business Development.

PRESS RELEASE
Milestone Partners (“Milestone”) is pleased to announce the final closing of Milestone Partners IV, L.P. (“Milestone IV”) with total commitments of $300 million, representing a 25% increase over its predecessor fund, Milestone Partners III, L.P. (Milestone III). Milestone is also pleased to announce the promotions of John Nowaczyk to Partner and Dan Ryan to Principal and Head of Business Development.

Milestone IV’s limited partners include a diverse base of institutional investors, family offices and individuals. Most of the Milestone III limited partners made commitments to Milestone IV and Milestone IV secured new commitments from various domestic, European and Middle Eastern institutions. Capstone Partners served as exclusive global placement agent for Milestone IV and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP served as legal counsel.

During the fundraising period, Milestone IV deployed $71 million (gross), completing four acquisitions, including:

Machine Laboratory, a Kansas manufacturer of ultra-high precision components;
Image API, a Florida business services provider to state and local government agencies;
Martex Fiber, a South Carolina manufacturer of recycled textiles; and
Southern Management, a South Carolina provider of consumer installment loans.

John Nowaczyk has been promoted to Partner. He will continue to lead transactions and serve on Milestone’s Investment Committee. Mr. Nowaczyk joined Milestone in 2007, having previously worked at Kidder, Peabody & Co., PaineWebber and Legg Mason Wood Walker.

Dan Ryan has been promoted to Principal and Head of Business Development. He will continue to lead Milestone’s deal sourcing efforts and will oversee Milestone’s lender relations function. Mr. Ryan joined Milestone in 2008, having previously worked at Susquehanna International Group and Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co.

Milestone Partners (http://www.milestonepartners.com) is a private equity firm that partners with management to invest in leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations of lower middle market businesses. Milestone pursues successful niche-market leaders that provide high-margin products or services. Milestone’s transactions typically provide liquidity to shareholders of privately-owned businesses, facilitate the transition of ownership to key managers, and allow management to capitalize on growth opportunities, while maintaining the legacy of the founders.

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VisibleBrands has raised $4.6 million via the close of a Series A Round of funding and follow-on Series B Convertible Note. The company is developing a cloud-based, in-store, digital promotions network.

PRESS RELEASE
VisibleBrands announced today that it’s raised over $4.6 million dollars through the close of a Series A Round of funding and follow-on Series B Convertible Note. The company has now completed the development, initial commercial testing and successful deployment of the first cloud-based, in-store, digital promotions network and is preparing for an expanded regional deployment in the second half of 2013.

“After a blockbuster show at NRF and meetings with analysts and potential partners”

“We are thrilled that many early investors are also participating in our Series B round,” says Timothy Morton, VisibleBrands co-founder and CEO. “But we’re even more thrilled by what people are saying about us and where the marketplace is headed. Just a few weeks ago, Steve Frenda, managing director – Strategy and Development, at the Path to Purchase Institute said, ‘VisibleBrands is about unlocking the shelf as a media channel — It’s unlike anything else we’ve seen and it has the potential to be a game-changer.’ And then VentureBeat noted that ‘Indoor location will be the next billion dollar market.’ Well, they’re right. We’re already there using the latest indoor location technology to deliver customized digital offers right to the shelf where shoppers vote with their feet. And our system is driving consumer preference.”

Unlike other printed, online or mobile phone coupons, VisibleBrands-enabled digital offers require no clipping, no downloading, no mobile phone, and no registration or opting-in. People shop as usual and with a single touch of an in-aisle screen can accept a digital coupon. The offer is “clipped to cloud” using location-based, wireless and cloud technologies, and the savings are credited automatically at checkout.

Morton sees the entire marketplace shifting away from traditional channels like print towards emerging digital channels. “The legacy print empires that have owned supermarket promotion budgets are being shaken to the core. Companies like Safeway, which have relied very heavily on printed circulars and FSIs, are shifting their budgets towards channels that provide customization and higher relevance to their shoppers while putting an end to price-matching from competitors like Walmart. On top of this, CPGs like Procter and Gamble are focusing less on traditional channels as well. Instead, they’re emphasizing ‘store back’ marketing — figuring out ways to engage shoppers in the store — because that is where decisions are made about whether or not to purchase products. We believe that we’re in a unique position to take advantage of these market shifts.”

To support a large, regional rollout, the company is now building the capacity to scale through channel and managed service providers such as HP, Microsoft and Zebra Technologies. “After a blockbuster show at NRF and meetings with analysts and potential partners,” says Morton, “we have a healthy mix of companies that are very excited about working with us. They recognize that, unlike most of the 25 or so billion dollar start-ups in Silicon Valley that have to spend tons of money acquiring customers, we have the potential to engage every shopper at the moment of decision at a customer acquisition cost measured in pennies. They understand also that VisibleBrands is not a flash in the pan mobile app, or scrapbooking site, or ‘me too, daily deal coupon start-up,’ but a disruptive, cloud-based media channel that will deliver enormous value to the entire shopper marketing ecosystem — from CPGs to brands to shoppers — that makes up the $300 billion U.S. trade and retail promotions marketing industry.”

About Visible Brands

VisibleBrands® is the world’s first cloud-based, in-store, digital promotions network serving coupons, offers and other virtual goods at the Moment of Decision®. Our system leverages location-aware wireless networks, cloud-based computing and data-driven marketing to unlock retail as a plannable media destination for the $300 billion U.S. trade and retail promotions marketing industry (Accenture). Our innovations accelerate the shift to digital and provide advertisers opportunities to close the loop and intelligently engage every shopper with the last impression. Our offers require no mobile phone, downloading, registration or opt-in. And our Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) model is highly scalable, cost-efficient and engineered to deliver a seamless experience across the web, mobile and in-store display technologies.

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Zerto, a disaster recovery company focused on virtualized data centers, has raised $13 million in Series C financing. The round was led by RTP Ventures, an affiliate of ru-Net Holdings, with support from existing investors Battery Ventures, Greylock and U.S. Venture Partners. Murat Bicer, managing director of RTP Ventures, will join the company’s board of directors.

PRESS RELEASE
Zerto, rapidly becoming the disaster recovery standard in virtualized data centers for both enterprises and cloud service providers, today announced it has closed a $13 million round of Series C financing. The round was led by RTP Ventures, an affiliate of ru-Net Holdings, with strong support from existing investors Battery Ventures, Greylock IL and U.S. Venture Partners. Murat Bicer, managing director of RTP Ventures, will join the company’s board of directors.

Zerto’s award-winning solution provides enterprises with data replication and recovery designed specifically for virtualized infrastructures and the cloud. The financing caps an exceptional 2012, during which Zerto reached several significant milestones, including:

Continued growth in the number of enterprise customers using Zerto – and the addition of many finance, healthcare and large retail customers including Univita Health, University of Louisville Physicians, SGS, Kingfisher IT Services and many others listed at http://www.zerto.com/customers.
The expansion of the Zerto Cloud Disaster Recovery Ecosystem (ZCE). Zerto has expanded the ZCE from 33 to more than 100 cloud providers who are revolutionizing disaster recovery (DR) by using Zerto Virtual Replication to power their cloud DR offerings, enabling businesses of all sizes to cost-effectively protect production applications both to the cloud and in the cloud.
A doubling of Zerto’s workforce, with increases in sales, operations and support, to serve its customers worldwide.
The recent announcement of Zerto Virtual Replication (ZVR) 3.0 brings the company’s hypervisor-based replication and disaster recovery solution to all virtualized workloads at the VM-level, extending the Software Defined Data Center vision to business continuity/disaster recovery (BC/DR). ZVR 3.0 widens the company’s technological lead in simple, automated BC/DR for both enterprise customers and cloud service providers (CSPs).

With this additional investment, Zerto will further accelerate its go-to-market strategy for its award-winning hypervisor-based replication solution for enterprises and cloud service providers. Zerto will also continue to expand its development and cloud product teams, as well as its sales and marketing operations, to serve its rapidly growing enterprise customer base. Founded in 2009, Zerto had raised $21.2 million in previous rounds.

“As global businesses increasingly adopt cloud and virtualized data centers to deploy critical applications, their number-one priority is ‘no-compromises’ data protection,” said Murat Bicer, managing director, RTP Ventures. “Zerto recently emerged as a game changer by pioneering the market for BC/DR solutions in virtualized and cloud environments. After successfully completing numerous milestones, Zerto is the de facto standard for virtualized disaster recovery, and is well positioned to expand its global customer and partner footprint.”

“The timing of this financing reflects the significant market adoption of virtualization and cloud solutions by companies of all sizes, as well as the current wave of momentum behind Zerto,” said Ziv Kedem, founder and CEO, Zerto. “With this additional capital and support of our investors – which shows confidence in our continued growth and success – Zerto is poised to aggressively push for even greater market adoption.”

About Battery Ventures
Since 1983, Battery has been investing in category-defining ideas and high potential companies and management teams worldwide. The firm views its investment as a true partnership, and works hard to help its companies carve out unique positions, dominate markets and reach business goals. Battery funds companies in technology and related markets at the Seed, Early, Growth and Buyout stage. For a full list of Battery’s companies go to: http://www.battery.com/our-companies/list/

The firm has offices in Boston, Silicon Valley and Israel, and has raised more than $4.5B since inception. For more information, visit www.battery.com and follow @batteryventures.

About Greylock IL
Greylock IL is an affiliate fund of Greylock Partners with offices in Herzlya, Israel and London. Some of the fund investments include: Wonga, Celeno, JustEat, iZettle, Aeroscout, Payoneer and Wanova. For more information visit: www.greylockil.com. For information on Greylock Partners visit: www.greylock.com.

About RTP Ventures
Ru-net Technology Partners (RTP), an affiliate of ru-Net Holdings, is an early stage venture capital firm. Investing globally out of offices in New York, Boston and Moscow, we support entrepreneurs building innovative technologies with a focus on cloud computing, software as a service, and enterprise infrastructure. For more information, please visit our website at www.rtp.vc.

About USVP
U.S. Venture Partners (USVP) has helped build great companies for nearly three decades. Since its inception in 1981, USVP has invested more than $2.4 billion in over 420 companies. Throughout, USVP’s partners have worked diligently and consistently with early-stage companies, many of which have become industry leaders. More information on USVP can be found here: www.usvp.com

About Zerto
Zerto has developed the first hypervisor-based, disaster recovery and replication software for virtualized environments, offering simplicity and greatly reduced operational and maintenance costs. Developed exclusively for virtualized and cloud environments, Zerto’s award-winning solution, Zerto Virtual Replication (ZVR) is rapidly becoming the standard for disaster recovery and business continuity in the modern data center. ZVR received ‘Best of Show’ at VMworld 2011, as well as 2012 and 2011 ‘Product of the Year’ Gold Awards.

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NetSocket, a provider of network service assurance technology, has raised $9.2 million in Series B funding. The round was led by new investor Venture Investors, with participation by existing investors Sevin Rosen Funds, Silver Creek Ventures and Trailblazer Capital.

PRESS RELEASE
NetSocket, a leading provider of network service assurance solutions for unified communications (UC), announced today that the company has secured $9.2 million in Series B funding. The round was led by new investor Venture Investors, with participation by existing investors Sevin Rosen Funds, Silver Creek Ventures and Trailblazer Capital.

“I’m very excited about how the new solution will apply the power of NetSocket’s service assurance, routing and policy control software into virtualized networks in an SDN architecture.”

The new capital will be used to accelerate the launch of a new solution, aimed at the dynamic and growing Software Defined Networking (SDN) market. The product announcement and launch are planned for this summer. “NetSocket has been innovating in the Unified Communications (UC) service assurance solutions space, as evidenced by the traction generated from our recently announced expanded collaboration with Microsoft. NetSocket’s Cloud Experience Manager (CEM) now optimizes Microsoft Lync UC service management and user’s experience,” said John White, president and CEO of NetSocket. “We plan to apply that same innovation and focused vision to the SDN market which we expect to experience explosive growth this year.”

Joining the Board of Directors at NetSocket will be Jim Adox, managing partner at Venture Investors. “NetSocket has the right mix to become a major market force; a proven leadership team experienced in service assurance and networking technologies, an incredible portfolio of intellectual property and patents, along with a strong communications-focused syndicate of investors,” commented Jim. “I’m very excited about how the new solution will apply the power of NetSocket’s service assurance, routing and policy control software into virtualized networks in an SDN architecture.”

About NetSocket

NetSocket is a leading innovator of network service assurance solutions, providing a trouble-free unified communications experience in enterprise and service provider environments.

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EveryMove, a Seattle-based company developing a health-based rewards program, has raised a Series A-1 funding of $3.5-million from BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, Sandbox Industries, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska. The company’s app offers consumers the equivalent of a mileage rewards program for their health.

PRESS RELEASE
EveryMove, the Seattle-based company that offers consumers the equivalent of a mileage rewards program for their health, today announced that it has received a Series A-1 funding of $3.5-million from BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, Sandbox Industries, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska.

The company also announced that it has launched the Android version of its popular EveryMove application on the Android Play Store. The Android version has the same benefits and features to the iPhone version of the app and enables users to track their physical activity, connect to other popular fitness apps and devices to earn points and convert that information into rewards from brands, their employer and their health insurance provider.

“This is a big day in the growth and evolution of our company,” EveryMove CEO Russell Benaroya said. “We are aggressively moving forward towards our vision of giving consumers more power to demonstrate the value of their healthy choices.
“The EveryMove vision focuses on meeting customers where they are at in their lives and Android represents a huge portion of the population that can now benefit from easier access. Not surprisingly, we had thousands of users requesting an Android App, and we are delighted to deliver on their requests.”

Benaroya said the company will use the new funding to expand its market presence nationally and increase its marketing activities. Previously, EveryMove had raised $2.6 million from Sandbox Industries, BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners, Premera Blue Cross, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, and several prominent angel investors.

“We are excited about EveryMove’s traction and are thrilled to continue supporting its growth and strategy,” said Anna Haghgooie, Managing Director at Sandbox Industries. “EveryMove is different from other companies we have seen. It is creating a whole new category where consumers can connect to their existing or prospective health plans as individuals.”

“Companies are beginning to hold employees accountable for their personal health in order to manage corporate healthcare costs,” Benaroya said. “Programs like EveryMove actually engage people to achieve better health by rewarding them for their healthy activities but letting them do it on their terms, not something dictated by an employer, a health plan or the government.”

EveryMove has pursued an aggressive partnership strategy over the past six months with many of the market’s most popular health and fitness apps in order to make it easier to capture lifestyle activity on EveryMove. In March, EveryMove announced partnerships with MyFitnessPal and Endomondo, two of the most requested apps for people eager to track their health, nutrition and physical activity.

Additionally, EveryMove recently announced an exclusive partnership with Precor® and its Preva® networked fitness solution, which enables users to seamlessly earn points on their EveryMove accounts while working out at any health facility that uses Preva-powered machines from Precor.

EveryMove also has added a number of new rewards partners, including well-known brands such as Blue Nile, Cabela’s, Hotel Monaco and ESPN.

About EveryMove
EveryMove is the nation’s first lifestyle-based rewards program that enables consumers to connect devices and applications that capture their healthy activities and convert that information into rewards from brands, their employer and their health care provider. EveryMove rewards consumers for their healthy lifestyle –‐ the more healthy choices a user makes, the more rewards they earn. Based in Seattle, EveryMove is funded by Premera Blue Cross, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska, Sandbox Industries and BlueCross BlueShield Venture Partners.

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Fenox Venture Capital has backed I AND C-Cruise.Co Ltd., which operates a solar power web portal in Japan. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE
Fenox Venture Capital announces its first green tech investment in I AND C-Cruise.Co, Ltd. (IACC), which operates “Green Energy Navi,” the #1 solar power web portal in Japan. Fenox VC has a proven track record of helping Asian businesses achieve global expansion. With the investment from Fenox, IACC plans to launch their North American operation this June.

Today, “Green-Energy Navi” is a marketplace that matches solar power solutions to consumers’ energy requirements. Their web portal presents consumers with user reviews and cost estimates for convenient comparison and selection of solutions from multiple vendors. Additionally, consumers are given practical information such as best practices, government subsidies and tax incentives for using solar energy.

Fenox Venture Capital has achieved numerous successes in its investment into Japanese companies and bringing them to the global market, as a result of its deep global understanding. “IACC has great potential to expand into the United States and global market,” said Anis Uzzaman, General Partner at Fenox Venture Capital. “The company can leverage upon its proven business model in Japan and excel internationally.”

“We were seeking a global partner for our international expansion,” said Kazuyuki Uemura, CEO of IACC. “With Fenox VC’s global connections in the United States and Europe, as well as their deep understanding of Japanese and Asian culture, they are the best partners in our endeavor.”

Today, 300,000 Japanese households install alternative energy sources each year. As of February, IACC is the largest Japanese marketplace in this industry with more than 40,000 subscribers, and 400 manufacturers and service providers online. With a yearly revenue today exceeding USD 10 million and with a growth rate of 500% year over year, the expansion into the United States will give IACC another big boost in their upcoming financial performance.

About Fenox Venture Capital
Fenox Venture Capital is a global VC, headquartered in Silicon Valley and focused on providing seed, venture, and growth-stage funding to emerging technology companies in North America, Asia, and Europe. Fenox VC invests globally in the consumer Internet, retail and software sectors. Among its recent investments are Lark, DJZ, Bottlenose, Socialize, Roximity, Incident (gTar), Dream Link Entertainment (DLE) and Optilly.

About I AND C-Cruise (IACC)
I AND C-Cruise.Co, Ltd. (IACC) operates the web portal “Green Energy Navi” which enables consumers to find the optimal solar power installation, and make the transition to solar power solutions. IACC is committed to providing the best services to environmentally-conscious consumers. In addition to solar panels, they supply HEMS and related green tech services to consumer and other corporations.

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Summit Materials has acquired Westroc Inc. an aggregates and ready-mix concrete company in Utah. Summit Materials was founded in 2009 by CEO Tom Hill and investors including Blackstone Capital Partners V L.P., and Silverhawk Capital Partners.

PRESS RELEASE
Summit Materials (“Summit”) is pleased to announce the acquisition of Westroc, Inc. (“Westroc”), an aggregates and ready-mix concrete company in Utah, and the purchase of certain aggregates, ready-mix concrete, asphalt and paving assets based in Wichita, Kansas from Lafarge North America, Inc. (“Lafarge, Wichita Assets”). Summit acquired mineral reserves in excess of 100 million tons through these transactions.

Westroc, based in Pleasant Grove, Utah, operates two aggregates sites and seven ready-mix concrete plants along the Wasatch Front. The Lafarge, Wichita Assets are comprised of two aggregates operations, three ready-mix concrete plants and one asphalt plant located in metro Wichita and the broader southeast Kansas area.

Tom Hill, CEO of Summit, commented, “We are delighted to welcome these businesses and their employees to Summit. They expand our footprint in Utah and Kansas and we look forward to continuing to provide the highest quality products and services to our many valued customers.”

About Summit Materials
Summit Materials was formed in 2009 to develop a leading business in the aggregates and heavy-side building materials sector through strategic acquisitions. Summit Materials was founded by its CEO Tom Hill and a group of investors that include members of its management team, Blackstone Capital Partners V L.P., and Silverhawk Capital Partners. Tom Hill is the former CEO of Oldcastle Inc., the U.S. division of CRH, Plc. To date Summit Materials has completed over 20 acquisitions, and through its three regions, East, Central, and West, it conducts operations in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Further information is available at www.summit-materials.com.

About The Blackstone Group
Blackstone BX +0.36% is one of the world’s leading investment and advisory firms. Blackstone seeks to create positive economic impact and long-term value for its investors, the companies it invests in, the companies it advises and the broader global economy. The firm accomplishes this through the commitment of its people and flexible capital. Blackstone’s alternative asset management businesses include the management of private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge fund solutions, credit-oriented funds and closed-end mutual funds. The Blackstone Group also provides various financial advisory services, including financial and strategic advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement services. Further information is available at www.blackstone.com.

About Silverhawk Capital Partners
Silverhawk is an independent investment group established in 2005 to invest in management buyouts and other private equity transactions in the Industrial, Energy/Natural Resources and Business Service sectors. The partners of Silverhawk have invested as a team and operated businesses since 1989. Further information is available at www.silverhawkcapitalpartners.com.

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The Pritzker Group has hired David Hirsch as vice president, operations. Hirsch previously served as a manager in Crowe Horwath’s transaction services practice.

PRESS RELEASE
The Pritzker Group today announced that it hired David J. Hirsch as vice president, operations support to provide financial and accounting services across the investment firm’s family of companies.

Hirsch, 33, previously served as a manager in Crowe Horwath’s transaction services practice, providing buy-side and sell-side advisory services to private equity and corporate clients. A graduate of the University of Illinois, Hirsch received his CPA in 2003 and also spent five years in Deloitte & Touche’s audit and enterprise risk services group.

The Pritzker Group, led by Tony and J.B. Pritzker, has a 10-year history of acquiring and growing middle market companies. The firm is expanding its investing activities, which remain focused on family and entrepreneur-owned companies that lead their markets.

Other recent notable hires include Investment Partner Michael Nelson, former managing partner at Wind Point Partners, who leads The Pritzker Group’s manufactured products investment team.

“The Pritzker Group is building out its operations team to provide support for our growing family of companies,” said Paul Carbone, managing partner of private equity. “David will be responsible not only for transaction support, but also helping our companies coordinate purchasing, implement best practices and manage audit and tax responsibilities. The operations support team has a mandate to add value to our companies by working in partnership with our management teams as they execute their growth plans.”

About The Pritzker Group’s Middle-market Investment Team

The Pritzker Group’s middle-market investment team acquires North American-based companies with enterprise values between $75 and $400 million, focusing on quality businesses with leading positions in the manufactured products, healthcare and services sectors. The firm’s proprietary capital base allows for broad flexibility in its investment horizon, transaction structure and approach to creating long-term value, making it an ideal partner for entrepreneur- and family-owned businesses. The Pritzker Group brings large-company credibility, relationships and expertise to the middle market and can support its companies with additional growth capital. The firm’s middle-market and venture capital teams have acquired or invested in more than 100 companies over the past decade.

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North Castle Partners has invested an undisclosed amount of growth capital into Ignite USA, a developer and marketer of reusable, environmentally friendly thermal mugs and hydration bottles.

PRESS RELEASE
North Castle
Partners and its co-investors announced today that they have completed an
investment of growth capital in Ignite USA, LLC (“Ignite”), a leading developer
and marketer of reusable, environmentally friendly thermal mugs and hydration
bottles. North Castle is a leading private equity firm focused on investments in
consumer-driven companies that promote Healthy, Active and Sustainable Living.
The terms of the investment, which is being made in partnership with CEO Sami
El-Saden, were not disclosed.

Through its Contigo and Avex brands, Ignite has successfully created a diverse
portfolio of innovative products that appeal to an extremely loyal and expanding
consumer base. Ignite has a strong global presence and currently sells its
products in over 50 countries across club, mass, sporting goods, specialty,
direct-to-consumer, and exclusive strategic partnerships.

“North Castle’s mission is to invest in companies that provide high quality,
innovative products which promote healthy and sustainable living,” said Alison
Minter, a North Castle Managing Director. “We intend to support the
acceleration of Ignite’s growth by leveraging our experience with
innovation-driven product businesses, such as Cascade Sports and Octane Fitness,
as well as companies with mass market distribution and channel expansion
experience, including Atkins Nutritional, Enzymatic Therapy, Flatout Flatbread,
Leiner Health Products, and Avalon Natural Brands. We are proud to welcome Sami
and the Ignite team into the North Castle family.”

“I am excited to partner with North Castle and to leverage North Castle’s
expertise and resources in building consumer product businesses and brands to
take our company to its next level,” said Sami El-Saden, CEO. “I was impressed
by their knowledge of the industry, their values and commitment to partnership,
and the expertise of their team in the areas of strategy and brand as we grow in
both the mass and specialty markets.”

“We are excited to partner with another impressive entrepreneur in the second
investment from our NCP V fund. We look forward to working with Sami and the
Ignite team in building a global leader in two of the fastest growing segments
of the housewares industry,” said Chip Baird, North Castle’s Managing Partner.

About North Castle Partners
North Castle Partners is a leading private equity firm focused on investments in
consumer-driven product and service businesses that promote Healthy, Active, and
Sustainable Living. North Castle is a hands-on, value-added investor in
high-growth, middle market companies in the (i) beauty & personal care, (ii)
consumer health, (iii) fitness, recreation & sports, (iv) home & leisure and (v)
nutrition sectors, among others. North Castle’s current portfolio includes such
well-known brands as Curves International, Palladio Beauty Group, Mineral
Fusion, Red Door Spas, Performance Bicycles, World Health, Octane Fitness, Ibex
Outdoor Clothing, and Flatout Flatbreads. Prior portfolio company holdings
include Atkins Nutritionals, Cascade Helmets, Bora-Bora Organic Foods,
gloProfessional, Equinox Fitness, EAS, Enzymatic Therapy, CRC Health Group,
Doctor’s Dermatologic Formula, Naked Juice Company, and Avalon Organics / Alba
Botanicals. North Castle and its operating executives and advisors partner with
management to bring a wide range of strategic and operational capabilities, as
well as an extensive knowledge base and network to build world-class companies.
North Castle is headquartered in Greenwich, CT. For more information, visit
www.northcastlepartners.com.

About Ignite
Ignite, a company with a passion for great products, is a global leader and
recognized innovator in two of the fastest growing segments of the housewares
industry: reusable, environmentally friendly thermal mugs and hydration bottles.
Through its Contigo and Avex brands, Ignite has successfully created a diverse
portfolio of innovative products that appeal to an extremely loyal and expanding
consumer base. Ignite has a strong global presence and currently sells its
products in over 50 countries across club, mass, sporting goods, specialty,
direct-to-consumer, and exclusive strategic partnerships. Ignite is
headquartered in Chicago, Il.

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Tulsa, Oklahoma-based ICEdot, maker of a crash sensor attached to the safety helmet of cyclists, skiers and other sports participants, recently closed on $1.03 million in Series A financing. A pair of investment funds managed by i2E Inc. led the round, which included co-investment from Oklahoma angels. i2E investment included $300,000 from its StartOK Accelerator Fund and $200,000 from its OK Angel Sidecar Fund.

PRESS RELEASE
A pair of investment funds managed by i2E, Inc., recently closed a $500,000 Series A investment round in Tulsa’s ICEdot. The i2E managed funds led an investment round of $1.03 million, which included co-investment from Oklahoma angels and out-of-state strategic investors. i2E investment included $300,000 from its StartOK Accelerator Fund and $200,000 from its OK Angel Sidecar Fund.

ICEdot has created an innovative crash sensor attached to the safety helmet of cyclists, skiers, snow boarders, BMX bikers and other action sport participants. The ICEdot Crash Sensor detects forces consistent with head injury and notifies emergency contacts of the owners GPS coordinates via text message. With worldwide exclusive license to the sensor technology, ICEdot is the only service that combines health data, sensor-based detection and notification services.

“With this funding we will be able to manufacture our highly anticipated Crash Sensors,” said Chris Zenthoefer, ICEdot’s chief executive officer. “Transitioning from prototypes to production is an exciting time, and we are eager to take our product to the market.

The crash sensor is expected to commercially debut at this year’s edition of the Saint Francis Tulsa Tough, June 7-9.

The StartOK Accelerator Fund and OKAngel Sidecar Fund are two of three Accelerate Oklahoma! investment vehicles created in 2011 by i2E through a partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Commerce and the U.S. Treasury State Small Business Credit Initiative.

The StartOK Fund targets companies that are in the startup stage that have not yet completed a product launch. The OK Angel Sidecar Fund specifically targets opportunities to invest alongside Oklahoma angel investors.

About ICEdot: ICEdot is an emergency ID and notification service innovating safety technology for athletes and outdoor enthusiasts. ICEdot syncs a secure online profile with products such as a band, snap, helmet stickers or its latest product, the crash sensor. In Case Of Emergency, ICEdot has the ability share predesignated health and geolocation information over sms/text. ICEdot is a company full of everyday athletes that create products they want to use in their own lives. For more information visit icedot.org or icedotathletes.com

Management: Chris Zenthoefer, CEO
Year started: 2004
Location: Tulsa, OK
About i2E, Inc.: With offices in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, OK, i2E’s nationally recognized services include business expertise and funding for Oklahoma’s emerging small businesses.

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Cisco will pay $310 million in cash to buy Ubiquisys, a privately-held company headquartered in Swindon, UK. Ubiquisys is a provider of 3G and LTE small-cell technology.

PRESS RELEASE
Today, I am pleased to announce Cisco’s intent to acquire Ubiquisys, a privately-held company headquartered in Swindon, UK for $310 million in cash and employee retention incentives. Ubiquisys is a leading provider of intelligent 3G and LTE (Long-Term Evolution) small-cell technologies that provides seamless connectivity across mobile heterogeneous networks for service providers.

The acquisition of Ubiquisys exemplifies Cisco’s innovation framework based on a build, buy and partner approach. The Ubiquisys acquisition also complements Cisco’s mobility strategy along with the recent acquisitions of BroadHop and Intucell, reinforcing in-house research and development, such as service provider Wi-Fi and licensed radio. These technologies will tie together the mobility architecture that leverages the intelligence of the network from the wireless edge of the network into the wired core.

As carriers around the world increase cellular data capacity to serve the rapidly growing population of smartphone and tablet users, adding small cells is one of the most cost-effective ways to multiply data capacity and make better use of scarce spectrum assets. Ubiquisys’ indoor small cells expertise and its focus on intelligent software for licensed 3G and LTE spectrum, coupled with Cisco’s mobility portfolio and its Wi-Fi expertise, will enable a comprehensive small cell solution to service providers that supports the transition to next generation radio access networks.

The acquisition of Ubiquisys further reinforces Cisco’s commitment to service providers and strengthens Cisco’s mobility capabilities to continue to extend the intelligent mobile network.

Ubiquisys’ product portfolio and team will be integrated into our Small Cell Technology Group led by Partho Mishra.

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Rosetta Stone has acquired Seattle-based online language-learning community Livemocha, paying $8.5 million in cash. Livemocha will remain in Seattle.

PRESS RELEASE
Rosetta Stone announced today that it has acquired Seattle-based Livemocha, one of the world’s largest online language-learning communities, for $8.5 million in cash. Bringing with it a robust and extensible cloud-based learning platform and a community of over 16 million Livemocha members, the transaction accelerates Rosetta Stone’s transition to cloud-based learning solutions and reinforces its leadership position in the competitive language-learning industry.

“We are in the process of transforming Rosetta Stone to be the most dynamic and ubiquitous technology-based learning platform in the world,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Swad. “Our acquisition of Livemocha will help accelerate that transformation. With Livemocha and its vibrant online community on our side, Rosetta Stone will reach more people and change more lives than ever before.”

With members hailing from 195 different countries, the Livemocha community boasts over 16 million people—including language experts, instructors and multi-linguists—all teaching, learning and interacting online. The company has pioneered the use of crowd-sourcing to drive content development and social engagement in the realm of language learning. The combined strength of the Livemocha community and Rosetta Stone’s innovative product development and marketing capabilities uniquely positions the company to meet the changing needs of learners around the world.

“Rosetta Stone is a marvelous partner for us,” said Livemocha CEO Michael Schutzler, who will assist in post-acquisition integration efforts as a senior advisor to Rosetta Stone CEO Swad. “From the beginning, Livemocha’s mission has been to create a world in which every human being is fluent in multiple languages. Rosetta Stone’s brand, resources and reach will enable us to continue that mission.”

Livemocha will remain in Seattle. Having recently established product development offices in Austin, TX, and San Francisco, CA, the new location expands Rosetta Stone’s US footprint—an important factor in attracting talent to fuel the company’s development of new products. Indeed, Livemocha’s sophisticated and flexible technology platform is expected to be part of the foundation for the next wave of Rosetta Stone solutions.

“Livemocha will enable us to quickly migrate our legacy products to a future-proof technology stack with a modern, cloud-based architecture and contemporary means of distribution,” said Rosetta Stone Chief Product Officer West Stringfellow. “But even more exciting, it gives our customers more choice. Livemocha presents us with a low-cost or even free alternative product to offer learners around the world. It becomes a ‘ladder of learning and value’ for our customers.”

To be sure, geographic expansion is an attractive feature of the acquisition. While Livemocha does add to Rosetta Stone’s already premier presence in the US, its high concentrations of users in China, Russia and South America—particularly Brazil—make it an even more compelling complement to Rosetta Stone’s international footprint. Livemocha’s worldwide community brings vibrant connectivity to Rosetta Stone’s existing hubs in Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

“However you view it—geographically, operationally, technologically, culturally—Rosetta Stone and Livemocha are a terrific fit,” said Rosetta Stone CEO Swad. “This acquisition will enable both organizations to grow and deliver value faster and more effectively than either could alone. This is a good deal for our business, a good deal for our customers, and a good deal for language learners all over the world.”

About Rosetta Stone Inc.

Rosetta Stone Inc. provides cutting-edge interactive technology that is changing the way the world learns languages. The company’s proprietary learning techniques—acclaimed for their power to unlock the natural language-learning ability in everyone—are used by schools, businesses, government organizations and millions of individuals around the world. Rosetta Stone offers courses in 30 languages, from the most commonly spoken (like English, Spanish and Mandarin) to the less prominent (including Swahili, Swedish and Tagalog). The company was founded in 1992 on the core beliefs that learning to speak a language should be a natural and instinctive process, and that interactive technology can activate the language immersion method powerfully for learners of any age. Rosetta Stone is based in Arlington, VA, and has offices in Harrisonburg, VA, Boulder, CO, Tokyo, Seoul, London, Sao Paulo and Dubai.

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