The US venture financing industry raised USD4.7bn for 597 deals in the first quarter of 2010, up 12 per cent from the same period last year, according to Dow Jones VentureSource. The median deal size was USD4.5m in the first quarter of 2010, down from the USD5m seen in the same period last year. The IT industry claimed the largest slice of the capital in quarter one but just one-third of the total investment, continuing a downward trend that started in 2005 which is a result of changes to business models. Prior to 2005, IT regularly claimed 50 per cent or

The Riverstone/Carlyle Global Energy and Power Funds, a group of energy-focused private equity funds managed by Riverstone Holdings, will make an investment in Three Rivers Operating Company, a private upstream oil and gas company based in Austin, Texas. Separately, Three Rivers will acquire certain assets of Chesapeake Energy Corporation. The assets are primarily located in the Permian Basin of West Texas and Southeast New Mexico. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Three Rivers will concentrate its efforts in the Permian Basin and will be managed by chief executive Michael Wichterich, as well as Gabe Ellisor, Jim Keisling and Barry

Austin-based Spredfast, an enterprise-class social media management system, has received USD1.6m in series A funding from Austin Ventures.   This initial round of funding will help accelerate Spredfast’s business development and increase brand awareness in the social media management market. “After garnering quite a bit of buzz in 2010, culminating at SXSW, we are excited to partner with Spredfast and assist in further accelerating their business,” says Mike Dodd, venture partner at Austin Ventures. “We believe social media is the next big channel for online marketers to acquire customers, following in the footsteps of display, search, and SEO. This new

Transaction volume in the global asset management industry in the first quarter of 2010 declined significantly from 2009, but according to Jefferies’ financial institutions group M&A involving managers of alternative strategies and independent firms is on the rise. A record level of over 50 per cent of Q1 2010 global asset management transactions involved acquisitions of alternative managers. In Q1 2009, transactions involving alternative managers represented approximately 25 per cent of the total deal volume, owing to concerns stemming from the turbulent capital markets at the end of 2008 and early part of 2009. Prominent examples of alternative transactions in

Private equity investments in India in quarter one 2010 climbed to the highest level in six quarters as a rally in equities helped stoke a revival in appetite of investors, according to a report by Arc Financial Services. The quarter saw 69 deals bringing in USD2.2bn. The key trend on the private equity investments front during Q1 was the re-emergence of appetite for large ticket deals. The latest quarter witnessed as many as six investments over USD100m, the highest since quarter three 2008. The telecom, media and technology sectors continued to dominate in Q1, witnessing 25 per cent of the

Citadel Capital, the Cairo based private equity firm, sees immense potential in Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer builds a broad based economy and continues to liberalise and modernise its business climate. The private equity firm, which controls investments of USD8.3bn in 15 industries spanning 14 countries, is looking closely at opportunities in Saudi Arabia. The firm was founding partner of the Outlook Saudi Arabia—Investment and Private Equity Forum 2010, which took place in Riyadh earlier this week in partnership with the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority.   “Saudi Arabia has long been on the private equity map

Salida Capital, a Canadian alternative investment management firm, is launching a private equity fund focused in the natural resources space. The fund’s official marketing period will begin in May and continue for a six to eight month period, or until it has hit its targeted maximum capital commitment. “We’re extremely excited about the opportunities we see for our private equity fund,” says Courtenay Wolfe (pictured), president and chief executive of Salida Capital. “It’s an area we’ve been planning on venturing into for awhile, and we are pleased to announce that we have already secured a CAD100m seed investment for the