Category: News

LG has outed its new high-end Android device, the 5-5-inch Optimus G Pro, a week ahead of Mobile World Congress’s predicted slew of handset announcements.

The Optimus Pro G goes on sale this week in South Korea, carrying Android “Jelly Bean” 4.1.2. According to a release in Korean, it will then make its way to North America and Japan in the second quarter of this year. An LG spokeswoman in London was unable to confirm European availability plans.

So, what are we looking at? Size-wise, the Optimus Pro G is an ever-so-slightly smaller rival to the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 — same thickness and screen size, but 0.9mm narrower and a good 4.4mm shorter. However, LG has made the jump to full HD: with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, the Pro G has a pixel density of 400ppi, versus the Note 2′s 267ppi. It lack’s the Note 2′s stylus, though.

Inside, the Pro G uses a 1.7GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset; a slight step up from the 1.6GHz processor in the Note 2. Incidentally, this is the first outing for the Snapdragon 600, which is a successor to last year’s Snapdragon S4 series (its twin, the sequel to the S4 Pro, will be called the Snapdragon 800).

More pixels and processing power usually mean more power-drain. On this front, LG is touting the “largest battery capacity in its class” at 3,140mAh, but that’s not really much more than the Note 2′s 3,100mAh. LG also hasn’t quoted the device’s weight yet, so it’s hard to see how that compares with the Note 2′s 183g. The Note 2 has an 8MP camera and the Pro G a 13MP affair, but, given the size of a smartphone camera’s sensor, image quality will be more down to the lens and software than the megapixel count here.

Custom tweaks include “an upgraded QSlide” (LG’s answer to Samsung’s multitasking Pop-up Play feature), QuickMemo and a feature called Virtual Reality Panorama, which looks on paper to be precisely the same as Android’s stock 360-degree Photo Sphere function. The Pro G can also record video through both front- and rear-facing camera simultaneously, and it also features wireless charging.

How does this all compare with Samsung’s largest smartphone / smallest tablet? On paper, certainly, this looks to be an improvement on the Note 2, but then again there will probably be a Note 3 this year, also capitalizing on the latest chipsets and quite probably also upping the pixel count. It certainly doesn’t look like LG has done anything particularly groundbreaking here, so the real test of the Pro G’s success or otherwise will be its as-yet-unannounced pricing.

Related research and analysis from GigaOM Pro:
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• The big theme of MWC: How to live in a connected world
• The future of mobile: a segment analysis by GigaOM Pro
• Mobile 2012 and beyond

UK-based Osprey Capital has exited its first investment following the sale of Allium Capital, with a return of 11.9 x capital for investors. The investment in Allium Capital, a specialist advisory firm which creates and distributes retail financial services products, was made four years ago.

PRESS RELEASE

Osprey Capital Limited, the venture capital firm, has exited its first investment following the sale of Allium Capital, with a return of 11.9 x capital for investors.

The investment in Allium Capital, a specialist advisory firm which creates and distributes retail financial services products, was made four years ago. During this time the firm has grown assets to over £400m with the sale generating significant returns for investors.

Ronan Kearney, Chairman, Osprey Capital Limited, said: “Allium Capital was an excellent investment for Osprey Capital and has shown significant growth in the past four years. It is pleasing to see such a strong and substantial return for shareholders following this, our first sale. The company has also helped job creation with the generation of seven highly skilled posts. With two women as part of a management team of four, the company has ensured it can provide flexible, modern working conditions allowing talented individuals to be part of the firm’s success.

“Of course, such a return is welcome but more than that is the evidence it provides for our unique model. This is undoubtedly the way venture capital should be done and is how Osprey will continue to operate.”

This news follows Osprey Capital Limited’s acceptance as a general partner of the BVCA (British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association).

Osprey Capital Ltd is a venture capital firm coming up to its fifth year anniversary. Osprey invests at seed and founder stages, and only invests in companies focused on UK retail financials.

Other aspects that make the Osprey model unique in the UK are that it has been established as a limited company rather than an LLP, investing shareholder capital only. This ensures greater transparency with all profits attributed direct to shareholders based on their share ownership. As there are no third party funders, returns are measured solely on a cash to cash basis rather than a notional value of the underlying holdings.

– Ends –

For more information please contact James Terry or Rhys Phillips on 020 7360 7877 or [email protected]

Osprey Capital is proud to support Real Action, an educational charity working for children in some of the most deprived areas of the UK. http://www.realaction.org.uk/

The post Osprey Gets Near 12 Fold Return on Allium appeared first on peHUB.

Canonical says it will be publishing images and open source code for the Touch Developer Preview of Ubuntu for Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 on Thursday 21 February. So if you have a spare compatible handset — or you don’t mind converting your existing phone — you can try out the fledgling mobile OS in time for the weekend.

The aim is encourage developers to create apps for the new operating system, but enthusiasts are welcome to take it for a spin too. According to Canonical, tools that manage the flashing of the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 4 will be available on the same day as the images, along with detailed installation instructions.

Alternatively, if you happen to be visiting the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, 25th — 28th February, pop along to the Ubuntu stand (booth number 81D30, App Planet Hall 8.1) and team members will happily flash your phone for you.

According to Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu: “This release marks the threshold of wider engagement — both with industry and community. For developers, contributors and partners, there is now a coherent experience that warrants attention. The cleanest, most stylish mobile interface around”.

Canonical says a “complete entry-level smartphone experience” will be included in Ubuntu 13.10, due in October, and that when finalized the “same Ubuntu code will deliver a mobile, tablet, desktop or TV experience depending on the device it is installed on, or where it is docked”.

However, KDE’s Plasma Active team leader Aaron Seigo is skeptical of the unified experience claim, and following Canonical’s announcement, took to Google+ to query it, asking how the firm can merge its current blend of GNOME/GTK3 desktop environments in Ubuntu with the Qt/QML construction of the Ubuntu phone.

“Perhaps if we define ‘same Ubuntu code’ to mean ‘Ubuntu the distribution with all versions of the UI installed’ we can cover this with a great amount of fudge factor,” he says, adding: “Perhaps Unity will eventually be merged with Ubuntu Phone, and that’s what they mean by ‘when complete’”.

Although Seigo says he supports the Ubuntu Phone —  describing it as a “good thing to see” — he also admits he thinks “[Canonical] making unfounded claims in this manner is, imho, ethically weak,” and that free software developers, users or supporters who buy into Canonical’s claims are “being duped”.

Last month, President Obama began his second Inaugural Address by saying, “Each time we gather to inaugurate a President we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution.” President Obama’s words resonate as the anniversary of George Washington’s birthday approaches on February 22, popularly known as Presidents’ Day.

Over two centuries ago, on April 30, 1789, George Washington delivered his first Inaugural Address knowing that he had little to guide him in the job that lay ahead but the principles stated in the Constitution. The Articles of the Constitution had been debated, discussed, and agreed upon just two summers earlier by the delegates of the Constitution Convention, and were still untested. Nevertheless, Washington was a strong supporter of the Constitution and would look to it for guidance in his unprecedented role as President.

During Washington’s first year in office, Congress ordered 600 copies of the Acts of Congress to be printed and distributed to federal and state government officials. The book compiled the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and other legislation passed by the first session of Congress.

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Global law firm K&L Gates has expanded its Boston office with the recent additions of two new partners, Mark L. Johnson and Paulo J. Marnoto and eight new associates. Johnson joins the firm’s corporate securities and finance practice from Cooley, while Marnoto joins the firm’s private equity and fund formation practice from Ropes & Gray.

PRESS RELEASE

Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has expanded its Boston office with the recent additions of two new partners, Mark L. Johnson and Paulo J. Marnoto, and eight new associates. Johnson joins the firm’s corporate securities and finance practice from Cooley LLP, while Marnoto joins the firm’s private equity and fund formation practice from Ropes & Gray LLP.
With a practice that has focused on corporate, securities, and capital markets matters for nearly 30 years, Johnson advises issuers, investment banks, and investors in public offerings and other financings by U.S. and international issuers in an array of industries, particularly in the technology and life science sectors. He regularly advises public and private companies on ongoing corporate matters, including merger and acquisition transactions and corporate governance issues. Prior to his time at Cooley, Johnson chaired the underwriting practice group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP.
Marnoto has extensive experience in the areas of fund formation and investing; venture capital, securities, buyout, and international transactions; general corporate law; and securities law compliance. He has served as counsel to several funds and funds-of-funds, investment managers, and institutional investors in relation to investments, securities transactions, and securities law compliance.
“We are delighted Mark and Paul have joined our Boston office,” said Mark E. Haddad, Administrative Partner of K&L Gates’ Boston office. “With their extensive transactional experience, they will play important roles in our expanding Boston corporate practice and, at the same time, they will be able to better serve their clients on the K&L Gates platform, one of the legal profession’s largest and most integrated global platforms.”
The associates joining the firm include Damien Grierson and Joanna Lin, who have extensive experience in capital markets transactions and public and private company representation. Grierson previously was associated with Cooley LLP and Shearman & Sterling LLP, with Lin also joining K&L Gates from Cooley. K&L Gates also recently welcomed six first-year associates in the Boston office.

K&L Gates practices out of 47 fully integrated offices located in the United States, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and South America and represents leading global corporations, growth and middle-market companies, capital markets participants and entrepreneurs in every major industry group as well as public sector entities, educational institutions, philanthropic organizations and individuals. For more information about K&L Gates or its locations, practices and registrations, visit www.klgates.com.

K&L Gates has offices in: Anchorage, Austin, Beijing, Berlin, Boston, Brisbane, Brussels, Charleston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Doha, Dubai, Fort Worth, Frankfurt, Harrisburg, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Miami, Milan, Moscow, Newark, New York, Orange County, Palo Alto, Paris, Perth, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, San Diego, San Francisco, São Paulo, Seattle, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Spokane, Sydney, Taipei, Tokyo, Warsaw and Washington, D.C.

The post K&L Gates Grows Boston Office appeared first on peHUB.

International equestrian fashion wholesaler Hypo Wholesale has joined forces with consumer-focused investor Vendis Capital in a management buyout. Livingstone acted as the exclusive financial advisor to the shareholders of Hypo Wholesale on the transaction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

Livingstone, the leading independent, international investment banking firm, is pleased to announce that the international equestrian fashion wholesaler Hypo Wholesale B.V. (“Hypo Wholesale”) has joined forces with consumer-focused investor Vendis Capital N.V. (“Vendis”) in a management buy-out. Livingstone acted as the exclusive financial advisor to the shareholders of Hypo Wholesale on the transaction. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Headquartered in The Hague, the Netherlands, Hypo Wholesale is an internationally leading wholesaler of branded equestrian fashion products and accessories as well as equestrian gear and horse care products under internationally well-known brands like ‘HV POLO’ and ‘euro-star’. The Company distributes its products via specialized equestrian retailers, internet- and mail order companies, mainly in Europe. In 2012, Hypo Wholesale took over the activities of Nederinum/Imperial Riding, one of the oldest Dutch equestrian wholesalers specialized in hardware products.

Vendis is a private equity fund with an exclusive focus on the consumer sector in Europe. With a capital base of more than 100 million euro, the Fund is headquartered in Belgium, but is actively present in the Dutch and French markets.

“This is a new step in the development of Hypo Wholesale, of which I laid the foundation 28 years ago,” said Steef Duijndam, Founder and Managing Director. “Vendis can not only support the growth of our company, but also bring consumer sector expertise to the table. At the same time Vendis empowers our team to continue to lead the Company’s independent development from a shareholders position.”

Jan Willem de Lange, Managing Director of Hypo Wholesale, added, “After years of impressive growth and a technical and logistical reorganization in 2010, we had the feeling that it was time to attract an additional partner who will help us in the future. We sought a partner who would further professionalize our business procedures, help us integrate the group of companies and support the strong growth opportunities we foresee for Hypo Wholesale. Livingstone Partners helped us not only to identify the right investor but also to present our very entrepreneurially led company in such a way that a professional investor understands our story.”

“Due to its profound understanding of wholesale as well as retail businesses Vendis has proven to be the right partner for Hypo Wholesale and its shareholders throughout the divestiture process,” said Christian Grandin, Managing Partner Livingstone Düsseldorf.

“We are very happy with our entry in Hypo Wholesale,” commented Michiel Deturck, Partner and Co-Founder of Vendis. “It is one of the most dynamic players in quite a specific market. The team has a lot of industry experience and has succeeded to develop authentic brands like ‘HV POLO’ as well as to re-new established more traditional brands like ‘euro-star’, ‘Imperial Riding’ or ‘Power & Paint’. This is illustrated by the growth realized during the last years. We look forward to work together with the team and to support the continued development of the group.”

Hypo Wholesale represents Livingstone’s 10th consumer transaction completed in the last 12 months. Following the successful transactions involving UTV manufacturer American SportWorks, cinema operator City Screen and gaming operator Marwyn Gaming, continues Livingstone’s strong track record in the consumer sector.

For further information contact:
David Sulaski
T: 312.670.5902
E: [email protected]

The post Vendis Capital Seals Equestrian Deal appeared first on peHUB.

Equistone Partners Europe has realised its investment in Hydrasun Limited to Investcorp. Established in 1976, Hydrasun is a provider of integrated fluid transfer, power and control solutions to the global offshore oil and gas industry.

PRESS RELEASE

Equistone Partners Europe Limited (“Equistone”), one of Europe’s leading mid-market private equity investors, today announces that it has exchanged contracts on the realisation of its investment in Hydrasun Limited (“Hydrasun” or the “Company”), to Investcorp.

Established in 1976, Hydrasun is a leading specialist provider of integrated fluid transfer, power and control solutions to the global offshore oil and gas industry. The business offers a diversified range of products, complemented by innovative manufacturing and technical support services to customers in over 50 countries worldwide.

Equistone backed the management buyout of Hydrasun in October 2007 in a transaction that valued the business at £75m. During the period of Equistone’s investment, the Company has grown rapidly, increasing revenues from approximately £50m in 2008 to over £105m for the financial year 2013. Coupled with numerous strategic initiatives implemented during its ownership, this growth has enabled Equistone to deliver a return in excess of 2.5x money on its c. £40m investment.

Since investing in 2007, Equistone has proactively supported Hydrasun’s management team, who have effectively transitioned the business from being a North Sea centric distributor of fluid transfer products, into an international provider of integrated products, services and solutions to a global base of offshore oil and gas customers. Key initiatives over the period have included:

· Expansion of products and services
o On an integrated basis Hydrasun now provides its customers with an extensive range of hydraulic power and control products (including hoses and umbilicals, subsea connectors, valves, instrumentation and a full suite of integrity management services).

· Investing in people and infrastructure
o Construction of a new £12m corporate headquarters in Aberdeen providing leading edge production, engineering and manufacturing facilities, the integrity management training centre, and warehousing.
o Increased number of employees from 400 in 2007 to 600 in 2013.

· Strategic bolt-on acquisitions
o ATR Hydraulics (2009), an Aberdeen based hydraulics company.
o IFP Systems Ltd (2008), a hydraulic engineering company based in Rosyth, Scotland.
o Remaq Ltd (2011), a Brazilian flexible hose assemblies provider.

· Geographic expansion into new international markets
o Extension of the business into Kazakhstan, additional middle eastern markets, West Africa and South America.

Rob Myers, Managing Director of Equistone Partners Europe, commented:

“The original decision to invest in Hydrasun was underpinned by an opportunity to back a well-proven and high calibre management team in a fragmented and fast growing offshore oil and gas market. The team led by Bob Drummond, demonstrated real strategic vision and first rate execution skills to transform Hydrasun, in particular given highly challenging market conditions during 2008 and 2009. Equistone sought to proactively support the business and the team throughout the period of our investment. This partnership created an environment in which the scale of the business was significantly increased, enabling revenues to grow by over 100% and the global footprint of the business to be materially enlarged. Hydrasun is well positioned to continue the growth achieved given the strength and depth of its customer relationships and the credibility of the fully integrated offering. We wish the team every success in the next phase of the development of the business.”

Bob Drummond, CEO of Hydrasun, commented:

“We are very pleased with the performance and significant growth and development of Hydrasun, and with our overall achievements over the past 5 years. We have achieved strong growth, a number of key strategic objectives, and consistently outperformed the oil and gas services sector. None of this would have been possible without the very proactive involvement and support of Equistone and the very effective working relationships and close partnership that we developed with them.”

Completion of the transaction remains subject to competition clearances.

Rob Myers and Tim Swales led the realisation for Equistone. Advisers to Equistone on the transaction included:

· Corporate Finance – Simmons & Company International Limited
· Financial Due Diligence – Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited
· Legal – Travers Smith LLP; Burness Paull & Williamsons LLP
· Tax – KPMG LLP

– Ends –

For more information please contact:

Equistone

College Hill 0207 457 2020
Paul Downes
Antonia Coad
Zinka Bozovic

Notes to editors

About Hydrasun

• Hydrasun is a leading specialist provider of integrated fluid transfer, power and control systems to the energy, petrochemical, marine and utilities industries.
• Hydrasun’s primary service offering includes:
o the manufacture and assembly of hoses and other fluid transfer solutions;
o production and installation of specialist undersea connectors;
o maintenance and management of the integrity of connections;
o design, manufacture and installation of hydraulic power and control solutions;
o process and control services;
o and engineering and technical support including training courses.
• Hydrasun is headquartered in Aberdeen, and has operational bases and manufacturing facilities in the UK, The Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, West Africa and Brazil, a sales office in the United States, and operates in Egypt, the Middle East and Trinidad through strategic partnerships and distribution agreements.
• Hydrasun employs 600 employees worldwide.
• For further information, please visit www.hydrasun.com

About Equistone Partners Europe

· Equistone Partners Europe Limited is an independent investment firm owned and managed by the former executives of Barclays Private Equity.
· In January 2013, Equistone successfully completed the final closing of Equistone Partners Europe Fund IV with total capital commitments of €1.5bn.
· The Company is one of Europe’s leading investors in mid-market buyouts with a successful track record spanning over 30 years, with more than 350 transactions completed in this period.
· Equistone has a strong focus on change of ownership deals and aims to invest between €25m and €125m of equity in businesses with enterprise values of between €50m and €300m.
· The Company has a team of 33 investment professionals operating across France, Germany, Switzerland and the UK, investing as a strategic partner alongside management teams.
· Equistone Partners Europe Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

The post Equistone Sells Hydrasun to Investcorp appeared first on peHUB.

NBGI Private Equity, an investor in Aberdeen-based ATR Group, has acquired the Aberdeen and Norway operations of Cosalt Offshore. This will bring together Cosalt’s expertise in offshore lifting, combined with its comprehensive offshore inspection, testing and safety service with ATR’s global equipment rental service offering to the offshore maintenance sector. NBGI Private Equity launched in 2000 with a particular focus on investments in established businesses in the UK and Ireland.

PRESS RELEASE

NBGI Private Equity, investor in Aberdeen-based ATR Group, has acquired the Aberdeen and Norway operations of Cosalt Offshore.
This will bring together Cosalt’s technical leadership in offshore lifting, combined with its comprehensive offshore inspection, testing and safety service with ATR’s highly complementary global equipment rental service offering to the offshore maintenance sector.
The deal will stabilise the Cosalt business, which has been through a difficult period in recent years, safeguard jobs and provide funding to capitalise on international growth opportunities.
ATR chief executive Keith Moorhouse will lead the enlarged group. He said: “This deal will be welcomed by Cosalt’s staff, customers and suppliers as an end to a period of uncertainty. Cosalt has an excellent technical and operational reputation and is an integral part of the supply chain of many of the energy sector’s leading oil service companies and operators. Cosalt and ATR will be pooling their significant resources and technical expertise to deliver a broad, integrated service offering to the oil and gas industry.”
“The deal will bolster ATR’s growth by opening up the Norwegian sector and improving its operational capacity through access to Cosalt’s skilled engineers, technicians and inspectors and its substantial equipment hire fleet.”
Together ATR and Cosalt will employ almost 400 people with a turnover of £55m and will seek to consolidate and grow the two businesses to over £100m turnover organically and by acquisition.
A leading supplier in the rental of specialised tools and equipment for the offshore oil and gas industry maintenance sector, ATR has flourished since the investment by NBGI in early 2012, expanding its client base, rental fleet and global footprint. Its strategic move into subsea equipment rental and services was accelerated by the acquisition of UES last year.
Cosalt Offshore has been part of Grimsby-based Cosalt PLC. The company provides a wide range of offshore and maritime safety equipment, lifting and rigging gear, wire rope, related tools and safety at height products, lifeboats and davit systems, alongside offshore inspection and compliance services. Cosalt has long-standing relationships with a portfolio of blue chip clients.
Lawrence Dean, Investment Director of NBGI, added: “ATR and Cosalt will be working together to deliver a leading service to their customers. The high regard in which Cosalt is held in the offshore lifting sector is testament to its employees, who have continued to perform at the highest technical and operational levels. ATR management has been very supportive of this acquisition and Keith Moorhouse and the ATR and Cosalt teams are committed to building a global business.”
Advisers on the transaction included Dundas & Wilson, Johnston Carmichael and PwC. The NBGI team comprised Lawrence Dean, Pablo Villanueva and Rupert Brown.

For further information please contact:
NBGI Private Equity
Lawrence Dean 020 7661 5678
Equus Group
Sam Barton / James Culverhouse 020 7223 1100
[email protected]
Notes to Editors:
NBGI Private Equity launched in 2000 with a particular focus on investments in established businesses in the UK and Ireland.

NBGI typically invests in businesses between £15m and £50m in value. It invests in established businesses alongside strong management teams, supporting their business development plans and providing additional funding where needed for both organic growth and acquisitions. NBGI invests across a range of sectors, deploying its capital in a variety of investment structures including management buy-outs, management buy-ins, growth capital and turnarounds.

In total NBGI now manages approximately €900million across a number of funds in the UK and across Europe. During 2012, NBGI completed 5 new investments from its UK Fund.

The NBGI investment team is deliberately top heavy and most have managerial experience in industry prior to their extensive experience in private equity. Their approach is commercial, focusing on the key business issues to ensure a rapid response to investment opportunities and an efficient process through to completion. The UK Fund’s Investment Committee comprises its four executive directors, allowing it to deliver promptly on key decisions.

NBGI Private Equity Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

ATR Group (www.atrgroup.co.uk) is a leader in the delivery of equipment services for the offshore oil and gas industry maintenance sector, operating throughout the North Sea and UKCS, the Caspian region and the global energy market.

The Aberdeen-headquartered firm secured over £20 million from NBGI Private Equity and the Clydesdale Bank, in March 2012 to pursue its’ expansion plan.

Comprising ATR Equipment Solutions, Power Solutions and Subsea divisions, the company holds certification accreditation from global standards body DNV for lifting operations activities.

ATR’s Equipment Solutions division delivers specialist electrical equipment, heavy lifting machinery and consumables including cable manufacturing; Power Solutions focuses on all aspects of to-site delivery including generators, electrical cabling and rigging lofts; with Subsea focussed on marine and subsea project support equipment and project management to the survey, ROV and diving markets.

The post NBGI Private Equity Backs Cosalt Offshore appeared first on peHUB.

BAROnova® Secures $27.3M Investment To Fund Clinical Trial For Weight-loss Device

BAROnova has closed its Series C financing of $27.3 million, led by investments from Sante Ventures and Boston Scientific Corporation, an innovator of medical devices and technologies. Investors included Series B investors ONSET Ventures, Highland Capital Partners and Arboretum Ventures, along with new investor Lumira Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed.

PRESS RELEASE

BAROnova, Inc., announced today the closing of its Series C financing of $27.3 million, led by investments from Sante Ventures and Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX), a leading innovator of medical devices and technologies. Participants included Series B investors ONSET Ventures, Highland Capital Partners and Arboretum Ventures, along with new investors Sante Ventures, Boston Scientific and Lumira Capital. Proceeds will be used to fund a pivotal study of the TransPyloric Shuttle® (TPS®) weight-loss technology to gain US and European regulatory approvals. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The TransPyloric Shuttle is an innovative mechanical device that is expected to slow the digestion process and create the sensation of fullness, which should slow or stop patients from overeating. The device is placed into the stomach endoscopically through the mouth in an approximately 10-minute outpatient procedure, and may be removed as needed in a similar fashion and time frame.
“The TransPyloric Shuttle is a novel medical device with the potential to provide a minimally invasive, non-surgical and non-pharmaceutical treatment option for the millions of patients struggling with obesity,” said Kevin M. Lalande , Managing Director, Sante Ventures. “We look forward to supporting BAROnova in its effort to develop and commercialize this technology.”
“This funding will provide BAROnova with the opportunity to finish development on a product that has clinically demonstrated surgical levels of weight loss without exposing patients to the anatomy alterations required of weight-loss surgery,” said Hugh Narciso , Founder, President and CEO of BAROnova. “Securing this financial investment is further validation of the TPS technology as an innovative minimally invasive approach to weight loss.” New Century Capital Partners, Inc., acted as the exclusive placement agent.
About BAROnova, Inc.
BAROnova is a clinical-stage medical technology company developing endoscopically-delivered devices for the chronic treatment of obesity. The BAROnova technology focuses on slowing gastric emptying, a known mechanism of action for weight loss. BAROnova’s novel weight-loss technology was invented by BAROnova board member Daniel Burnett , MD, President and CEO of TheraNova, LLC. BAROnova is headquartered in Goleta, CA. For more information about the company, please visit www.BAROnova.com.
BAROnova, Inc., contact:
Hugh Narciso
+1-805-681-7000 x102
SOURCE BAROnova, Inc.

PR Newswire (http://s.tt/1zP1X)

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Arle Capital Partners has hired Quentin Nason as a partner with responsibility for investor relations, strategy and business development. Nason brings twenty years of experience in alternative assets, fund management and capital markets across Europe, Asia and North America.

PRESS RELEASE

Arle Capital Partners today announced that Quentin Nason has joined the Firm as a Partner with responsibility for investor relations, strategy and business development.
Quentin brings with him almost twenty years of experience in alternative assets, fund management and capital markets across Europe, Asia and North America.
As a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank, Quentin was responsible for building the alternative asset manager equity structuring and capital markets business across EMEA and Asia. A pioneer in bridging public and private fund-raising markets, his innovative work has earned him many professional accolades including IFR’s ‘Deal of the Year.’
John Arney, Managing Partner said: “Quentin is a tremendous addition to the partnership given his longstanding relationships with global investors and his track record of successful fundraisings for alternative asset managers. We all look forward to working closely with Quentin as we develop and deepen our relationships with Arle’s broad base of investors”.
Quentin Nason added: “I am genuinely excited to be joining a partnership of world-class industrialists and investment professionals as Arle begins the next stage of its evolution. I look forward to developing Arle’s relationships with existing and future investors as we grow and realise the existing portfolio and pursue proprietary investments in the Energy and Natural Resources sectors.”

The post Arle Capital Hires Investor Relations Partner appeared first on peHUB.

If you’re stuck at home this President’s Day with nothing to do — obviously you aren’t at a startup. Why aren’t you at the office?! Even if you are busy, ease into the holiday by catching up with our recent podcasts. From Dr. Big Data to jogging apps to writing your own web series, we have something for everyone, honest (Abe).

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The “death of cleantech” has been the topic of much discussion over the past few months. Whether you think the sector will emerge from “the trough of disillusionment” with an evolved strategy and moniker, or if you think the sector is gone for good, it’s hard to ignore metrics like the fact that venture capitalists invested a third less in cleantech startups in 2012, compared to 2011.

But for investors that still believe in the underlying trends of cleantech — the fairly obvious notion that the world will one day need better management tactics for resources like energy, food and water — the so-called “cleantech cliff” actually has some noteworthy silver linings. The most important one of those is that there’s just not that much competition out there anymore for investors to find and fund new startups in clean power, smart grid, energy storage or tech for more sustainable transportation.

Back in the years between 2006 and 2008, investors had to compete with their peers for the chance to fund promising young cleantech companies. These were frothy times and the startups’ valuations were often higher than the investor wanted. This was the age that produced crazy-high valuations for companies like Solyndra, Nanosolar, Fisker Automotive, and others.

In contrast 2013 is basically an open field for investors that are sticking with cleantech investing. Valuations haven’t just dropped back to earth, they’re running below market value. If you believe in this sector, there’s undoubtedly some really great deals out there.

Lux Capital’s Peter Hebert, whose firm just closed on its third fund, which will partly be dedicated to investing in energy technology, described another positive affect of the weeding-out process as “people in it today are there for the right reasons: passionate, want to build real companies, not just flippers, hucksters and passers-by.” The entrepreneurs and company builders are also a lot more rational, said Hebert.

For Khosla Ventures Andrew Chung, investors that have built a substantial portfolio in energy, resource management and sustainability could use the “network effect” for their benefit during this time. The relationships we built with corporate partners, star executives, private and public funding sources can all serve to benefit multiple companies, said Chung.

Khosla Ventures is also betting that the move away from backing cleantech companies — and companies that innovate around the underlying trends — is cyclical. “Venture is highly cyclical business, and we expect sustainability investments to experience a renaissance as today’s breakthrough companies successfully commercialize and have massive impact on society’s infrastructure,” Chung wrote.

Still, it can be lonely out there for investors that stick with it. And that means there’s fewer investors willing to partner with firms like Khosla Ventures and Lux Capital for follow-on rounds. VCs commonly need partner with other investors for larger rounds.

Chung said that just means they have to be more creative and patient in finding sources of funding, often tapping global investors who continue to have enthusiasm and corporate investors who can provide strategic benefit alongside capital. Khosla also has set up multiple funds so that the firm can do early stage seed investments, and then follow-on with larger rounds for companies that hit milestones and show promise.

While it could be the best of times, there are a couple of other hurdles that loyal investors will face. Hebert said that alongside fewer investors, there are fewer entrepreneurs, as some entrepreneurs have moved onto greener (easier) pastures. In addition, there’s more pressure on the investor — from both limited partners and general partners (not focused on energy and cleantech) — to produce returns for the companies that they’ve been nurturing for years.

Then there’s the situation that word “cleantech” itself has become rather toxic, as 2013 gets underway. Investors like Lux Capital and Khosla Ventures are not using this term; they call their portfolio companies in this space “energy tech” and “sustainability investing.”

So if cleantech does come back, it’ll have to have a new and improved brand.

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Don’t call it a comeback, but the highly-anticipated Streamy Awards returned on Sunday night for a third time, to honor the best that web video had to offer in the last year.

“Web video is all about passion,” host Chris Hardwick said during his opening monologue, and there were so many shows, full of said passion, that were either nominated or awarded on Sunday night. Here are a few of them that deserve, if not statues, then definitely some consideration.

SourceFed

The winner in the Best News/Informational Show category was long-standing YouTube star Philip DeFranco, but worth checking out is his fellow nominee SourceFed — and not just because DeFranco created it.

SourceFed, a lively news recap hosted by a revolving troupe of hosts, covers topics ranging from Doctor Who news to North Korea testing nukes. I was first exposed to the manic energy of the show’s hosts during last year’s VidCon conference, and they are consistently entertaining.

Lindsey Stirling

Lindsey Stirling, a one-time America’s Got Talent quarterfinalist, began making YouTube videos in 2007 that featured her dance and music skills. She won a Streamy this year for Best Choreography. The above video, an homage to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, is a great example of why.

Burning Love

Burning Love swept the awards dolled out for Best Comedy. It’s pretty funny, especially if you’ve ever seen a single episode of reality television. A second season just got started, so you’re not too late to check it out.

Epic Rap Battles of History

Epic Rap Battles of History has been a comedy rap juggernaut since 2010; above is their Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates rap, which they performed live during the Streamys. I mean, it’s no “Ice Ice Baby,” but ERB still knows how to drop a beat.

Any winners you’re excited about? Any nominees you feel were robbed? Sound off in the comments!

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Rumors from an “extremely reliable source” speaking to 9t05Google have suggested Google will start to operate its own physical retail stores starting as soon as the 2013 holiday season in the U.S. Brick-and-mortar shops from an Internet search company? Sounds like a stretch, but the Goog is breaking out of its search box big time, and recent additions to the Nexus line are proving it has a real chance at establishing a direct relationship with customers.

Google has had a difficult time keeping its Nexus 4 smartphone, manufactured by partner LG, in stock, with the device being mostly unavailable through Google’s Play store until just recently. But the company’s efforts to sell direct weren’t an overnight success; it attempted to sell hardware direct with the Nexus One back in 2010, but stopped selling after a few months, since very few customers opted to buy the device at its full, unsubsidized price online.

But if Google does one thing well, it’s iterating on less-than-stellar product launches and building on a firm foundation of failure. And that’s exactly what it has done with Nexus; the tablets it starting selling the via its online hardware store did major one thing better than the Nexus One, by offering no-strings-attached hardware at a bargain basement price. Hardware sales, Google seems to have learned, won’t work if customers are asked to eat a cost hit in exchange for freedom. They needed both, and weren’t willing to trade economy for freedom.

Now Google has the recipe right for online sales, and it appears to have worked very well for the Nexus 4, and at least moderately well for Nexus tablets. But Google is still missing a key ingredient that has helped the iPad gain enormous consumer traction, and this latest rumor indicates it’s listening to the words of its biggest rival about how to possibly finally come up with a significant breakthrough for Android tablet market share.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has made no secret about Apple retail’s impact on iPad sales. Most recently, he essentially attributed the iPad’s worldwide success to Apple’s physical stores, and the opportunity they provided to make believers out of customers who might otherwise not necessarily have understood Apple’s tablet as a product category. As Ingrid noted in her recent piece covering Cook’s comments on retail at a Goldman Sachs investor conference last week:

“One of the things that’s not understood that well about the stores is that I don’t think we would have been nearly as successful in the iPad as an example if it weren’t for our stores,” said Cook. He noted that people’s view of the tablet, prior to the iPad, “ingrained in their minds [was] a heavy thing that no one wanted.”

Google needs a tablet to achieve the same kind of thing with an Android tablet, or at least to come close. Making an “experience”-baed retail store akin to what Apple’s offering doesn’t guarantee consumers warm up to Android tablets, but it’s a risk that’s likely worth taking, given that Google has had positive indicators for its online retail efforts of late, and that Apple seems to place a lot of the credit for the iPad’s success squarely on the Apple Store’s shoulders.

Nexus tablets need a home run, and that hasn’t come in the form of hardware so far, despite modest gains by gadgets like the Nexus series and the Kindle Fire. But maybe that’s because a device isn’t the answer they’re looking for: customer outreach is.

Remember Dale Peterson, the Republican candidate for Alabama Agriculture Commissioner who released one of the greatest campaign ads of 2010, attacking the "thugs and criminals" that "don't give a rip" about the state? According to Walmart security, he's one of those criminals, charged with shoplifting beer from a Hoover, Alabama store…

Peterson, 67, said he and his wife, Kathy, had friends coming over to watch a football game, and he went to pick up supplies. He said he got ready to check out with less than $40 worth of merchandise, but he had to go to the restroom badly. "I had to go when I went in the store," he said.

Peterson said he rolled his shopping cart past the cash registers, parked it outside the restroom, and got stopped by store security when he emerged from the restroom. He said he never left the store, and he didn't know it was considered shoplifting "once you pass the cash registers."

Walmart is one of the world's most powerful corporations, but I'm still amazed at the things they can do — like make me totally sympathize with a conservative Alabama Republican.

Photo by Andrew Unangst/Photographer's Choice/Getty Images

Yesterday, I spent about 45 minutes at Microsoft Store San Diego, which was busy — sight not seen since Kinect’s November 2010 launch. Shoppers came to see Surface, and there were lots of questions and explorations of both tablets, although clearly Pro was the draw. Unfortunately, only the 64GB model is in stock, which somewhat muted sales, or so I observed.

If Surface is a failure, as so many bigmouths on the InterWebs claim, what company wouldn’t want one like this? There are many measures of success in retail, and just getting people in the door is one of them. Once inside, shoppers may buy something, or walk out feeling better about the brand, leading to sales of something else later on. “Jesus! Can you believe that Microsoft? Baby, you shop here for my birthday!”

Sales Sense

The “Surface sales suck” crowd likes to make big comparisons to Apple and iPad and allude to anything less as failure. Again, success has many measures. Surface RT and Pro are Microsoft’s first commercial computers. The company is new to this business. Now that Apple can sell millions of new iPads or iPhones during launch weekends, bigmouth supporters count no other measure. But that first million was tougher to come by when Apple was the newcomer and took 74 days with the original iPhone. In 2007, tech bloggers and Apple cultists heralded 1,000,000 in 74 as a big success. But if Microsoft does as well or better, Surface is a failure.

Some financial analysts put holiday RT sales at around 600,000 units, which as I explained in December and January is per store on par with iPad, if not better. Last month, Ryan Reith, IDC program manager, estimated fourth quarter Surface RT shipments of 900,000 — that’s for only about 67 days, not 90, since the tablet launched on October 26.

I got a kick posting the photo above on Google+ yesterday and observing the Microsoft-hate reaction. Strange, I don’t see these people faulting Google Nexus 10 sales. Surely they aren’t high compared to iPad. Does anyone seriously think the search giant has sold 1 million 10.1-inch tablets? Yet the Samsung slate is trumpeted a success.

The Extras

Ancillary sales are another measure of success — what you can tack on to the big purchase. Tech retailers love to sell extended warranties, because they’re generally pure profit. The number of people paying for protection far exceeds those needing new hardware because of coffee spills or other mishaps. AppleCare+ is a great value for iPad or iPhone, because insurance is otherwise costly or tough to come by. Apple charges $99 for iPad and iPhone, which extends base warranty to 2 years and replaces damaged hardware for $49, up to two instances.

Then there is all the stuff sold around the gadget, like connectors and cases. Suddenly a $499 iPad is plus $99, $39 and $29 for AppleCare+, basic case and Thunderbolt adapter. That’s good business.

Microsoft Store sells two Surface Pro bundles:

• $199.99: Office, Microsoft Complete, carrying case, screen protector
• $299.99: Office, Microsoft Complete, Touch Cover, carrying case, screen protector

Buyers can choose Office Home and Student or Office 365 Home Premium, sold separately for $139.99 and $99.99 ($79.99 with new PC), respectively. Microsoft Complete is a two-year extended warranty that includes repair/replacement for accidental damage. That normally costs $149 for Surface Pro, but Microsoft is running a $99 promotion. Touch Cover sells for $129.99. There’s value in either bundle when adding the carrying case. Screen protector doesn’t excite me, but it is good way to dampen glare for outdoor computing.

Surface or Air?

I’ve argued that Surface Pro competes with Windows ultrabooks or MacBook Air. The $999 Surface Pro is comparable to the $1,099 MacBook Air. They both come with 1.7GHz Intel Core i5 processor, HD 4000 graphics, 4GB memory and 128GB SSD. Surface display is 10.6 inches diagonally, compared to MacBook Air’s 11.6 inches. But Microsoft’s screen supports stylus and touch and is much higher resolution (1920 x 1080 vs 1366 x 768). The Mac has a keyboard, which costs extra for Surface Pro.

Before tax, with the more expensive bundle, Surface Pro 128 is $1,298.99 out the door. MacBook Air 128 is $1527.90 (adding $249 for AppleCare; $139.95 for Office for Mac Home and Student 2011; $39.95 for carrying case). Separately buying Office 365 would reduce price to $1,487.94 or $1447.92, if choosing Apple’s iWork, Numbers and Keynote.

Which is the better value? You tell me. Price isn’t the only consideration but what benefits matter more to you.

Photo Credit: Joe Wilcox

A few weeks ago, a tremor was felt in the Force as FCC Chairman Genachowski announced his Gigabit City Challenge – an initiative to get at least one citywide gigabit network per state by 2015. The range of responses went from cautious optimism to “is this the best we can do? and a range ”

Meanwhile, as we were getting our heads round the Challenge, the Empire, um, incumbent telcos struck back last week in Georgia with a an anti muni network bill that appears reasonable, but would kill hopes for a gig city in the Peach State. Windstream, AT&T and Georgia’s other incumbents are incapable of delivering gigabit services, so they have taken the easy way out and lobbied the legislature to kill cities’ ability to do so. Meanwhile, most of the gigabit networks elsewhere are run or being built by muni governments and public utilities, with just a few private companies leading gig projects.

Even the most ardent community broadband supporters, while happy the FCC’s gigabit challenge, believe the devil is in the details. Sure, quite a few fiber networks have moved past the planning stage. But it’s going to take hard work to meet the FCC challenge. Some of the hurdles are money-related. Others come from broadband policies and legislation that need to be approved, or improved, or as is the case in Georgia, flat out rejected.

The road to gigabit cities

The FCC news release on the Gigabit City Challenge offers few specific details for moving forward other than creating a clearinghouse for ideas and best practices. A panel of community broadband experts and advocates convened on my Gigabit Nation radio talk show to put a few brush strokes on this canvas so listeners could at least get an initial picture of what lies ahead.

The panel consensus was that more effort must be made by the FCC and other policymakers to remove ALEC-type barriers to community networks (American Legislative Exchange Council). The FCC’s National Broadband Plan specifically advocates preventing states from restricting local broadband solutions, and just Friday FCC Chairman Genachowski formally voiced his opposition to this type of legislation. Communities are displaying a range of creative solutions to bringing broadband where it needs to be, and this must be encouraged, not hijacked by telcos that refuse to service areas most in need.

The panel went on to describe a need for the FCC, broadband advocates and others to understand that a lot more education needs to happen.

“We have to make sure the audience we’re trying to reach is ready for the message we’re trying to send,” states Arkansas State Senator Linda Chesterfield, a legislative champion for greater broadband deployments. “We have a youthful population here who sees the necessity of a gigabit network. Then you have the people with BlackBerries who think these are good enough to get online. Until you have an audience that is ready to accept the services you’re trying to render, efforts to convince them to support this initiative will do no good.”

Everybody partner up

Putting aside the discussion of large incumbents stifling communities’ efforts, many private sector companies collectively are also a necessary component of any drive for more gigabit cities. Yet they face barriers too. From panelist and Broadband Communities Magazine Editor Masha Zager’s perspective, “The Chairman’s goal is achievable in that there are providers who could bring this capacity to communities, but aren’t doing so today. However there is the question of whether they can do so and meet their ROI needs.”

Jim Baller, president of Baller-Herbst Law Group,notes that there are many legal issues that hold potential providers from developing gigabit networks. These include IRS’s ‘private use’ rules that discourage public-private partnerships, FCC limitations on access to universal service subsidies such as the preference for price cap carriers and FCC rules that adversely affect small providers.

Given the challenges facing both communities and private sector companies, one logical course of action is a greater pursuit of public private partnerships in which both groups are full partners in projects.

The panelists went on to describe a number of policy, logistical and financial issues that public, private and government stakeholders need to resolve if the U.S. wants to meet or surpass the FCC’s initiative. As people roll up their sleeves and prepare for some heavy lifting, it will be difficult to ignore the 800-pound gorilla in the room – politics.

“I’ve been very critical of the FCC, but I believe this is a good initiative from this particular FCC,” stated Christopher Mitchell, Director, Telecommunications as Commons Initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. “You have to recognize the power of the carriers in Washington. If the FCC had come out with a truly bold initiative that would have knocked us all backwards, it would have incited the carriers to give a whole bunch of money to Congress, who would have been on the FCC and probably taken away the FCC’s authority. We have to recognize that we must change more things if we’re going to have an FCC that will take the actions we would like to see it take.”

As much as some people prefer to avoid the hurly burly of the state and national capitals, it is almost inevitable that every broadband project will become political, for better or for worse. Therefore it is best to be prepared for that which we cannot avoid.

Craig Settles is a consultant who helps organizations develop broadband strategies, host of radio talk show Gigabit Nation and a broadband industry analyst. Follow him on Twitter (@cjsettles) or via his blog.

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Amazon’s recently introduced Elastic Transcoder service makes it relatively easy to encode video at scale for web distribution. It’s a great addition to Amazon’s service portfolio. It’s also yet another example of AWS competing against the very customers that rely on its infrastructure to power their developer-targeted services.

When Amazon introduced its new service, there were cries that it would put Zencoder, another cloud transcoding provider, out of business with low pricing. I think this concern is overblown, because Zencoder solidly beats AWS on a number of key dimensions besides price that are important to its customers (more on that below).

Similarly, Sendgrid, a cloud-based email delivery provider, went up against Amazon after the company introduced its transactional email service in January 2011. Well, it’s been three years and not only is Sendgrid still in business, it’s thriving. It counts companies like Pinterest and Foursquare as customers, and it raised a further $21 million even after some had pronounced it dead. (Note: My company,  Screenlight, is a paying customer of Zencoder and Sendgrid, but we have no other financial or advisory relationship; I chose them for this piece only because they’re examples with which I’m intimately familiar.)

There are plenty of other pain points in the cloud where developers have staked a claim that may tempt Amazon. The question then is what can a company do when suddenly matched up against an 800-pound gorilla? Here’s a look at the successful strategies employed by Zencoder and Sendgrid.

Give your target customer better options

Elastic Transcoder is a fairly representative example of how AWS launches a new service: It starts with a bare-bones offering that appeals to a broad base of customers in different industries. Amazon then rounds it out and adapts the service based on customer feedback.

You can win by knowing exactly who your target customer is (it may not be the typical AWS customer) and delivering the full suite of features that they value. By that I don’t mean a laundry list of features, but rather the key features that they need and are willing to pay for. All of the things you learned through customer development and talking with your customers will pay off here. You understand your customer’s problems better than anyone else, right?

In Zencoder’s case, it offers a much richer feature set than AWS Elastic Transcoder (ie, HLS streaming support, closed captioning, live-streaming and so-on). All of these features are likely of high enough value to Zencoder customers that it’s somewhat protected from price-based competition. For customers to switch to Amazon, they have to be willing to give up these core features to save money. For many companies that makes it a non-starter.

Likewise, Sendgrid continues to differentiate its service from AWS SES by offering far more features (dedicated IP addressees, advanced tracking and deliverability features, advanced API features , etc). All of this is backed by phone, email, chat, and forum support. For basic, low-cost, highly scalable email-sending, AWS may work for a lot of customers. But for those with more advanced deliverability needs (and a willingness to pay), Sendgrid is one of several superior options.

Create a better user experience

With Amazon, a new service like Elastic Transcoder is just another API that is offered alongside many others. With AWS, support is a paid-service offering. When customers are getting started or are experiencing problems, their only recourse is to pore over the documentation and dig through forums.

By contrast, companies like Zencoder and Sendgrid offer premium support services. In my experience with both companies, there has always been a real human ready to help answer a question or solve a pressing problem. Thus to differentiate your business, you need to offer the care and attention that Amazon simply can’t lavish on a single service.

The opportunity to differentiate through customer experience goes well beyond offering support when things go wrong. Every touch point offers an opportunity. For example, as someone goes through the sales funnel, there is room to provide videos and clear marketing material that educates customers  and outpaces the static efforts of Amazon. Likewise, the customer on-boarding process can be addressed with timely emails and outreach that helps resolve common stumbling blocks when getting started. (For ideas around this, check out Customer.io.)

Design of the user interface provides another powerful differentiator, and since most customers interact with infrastructure services through an API, it’s particularly important. Here Zencoder does an excellent job with a clean and well-documented API that includes a request builder that simplifies integration and testing.

Price based on value – and communicate it

Price is only one of the 4P’s. The only way to sustainably differentiate your service based on price is if you are the lowest cost provider: When you are competing against your infrastructure provider, that’s not going to happen.

In a response to a discussion on Hacker News about entry level prices that were 50 percent lower than Zencoder’s, CEO John Dahl made a great point by explaining why 50 percent lower prices don’t necessarily translate to 50 percent more value.

He’s absolutely right. Whether AWS is 1/2 or 1/10 the price per unit of your service, your potential customers need to know that Amazon vs. You is an apples-to-oranges comparison. Furthermore, they need to clearly understand why your oranges taste better and deserve a higher price.

In some industries, particularly perfectly competitive ones, price is the dominant attribute that matters to customers. However, in most other markets, there are additional value drivers for your customers. The key to competing against AWS is to ensure that your value proposition delivers against these attributes, and is priced accordingly. When Amazon shows up, instead of panicking, slashing prices and getting into a price war you’re bound to lose – accelerate innovation and double down on the customer experience.

Chris Potter is co-founder of cloud-based video collaboration and sharing service Screenlight. Follow him on Twitter @potta.

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