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A group of venture capital firms has sold its stake in CoTweet, a web-based collaboration platform, to ExactTarget, a provider of on-demand email marketing software solutions.
The firms include Baseline Ventures, Founders Fund Management, First Round Capital, Maples Investments, Freestyle Capital and SV Angel.
After the completion of the transaction, CoTweet will operate as a business unit of ExactTarget.
The transaction will provide CoTweet an opportunity to build on ExactTarget’s business and customer relationships to help companies drive more measurable value from social media.
Aros Capital Partners, an Anglo Danish investment manager, is launching a UK-managed global altruistic opportunities fund in the second quarter of 2010.
The fund, called Aros Altru, aims to challenge the notion that social benefits are a trade off with commercial returns by offering equity-like returns to its investors.
It will be a closed-end private equity vehicle and the businesses in which it invests will not just be social enterprises but those that have the potential to make a sustained social impact in their communities.
It will target those companies that fall under the radar due to either
Lotus Pharmaceutical has entered into a USD10m standby equity distribution agreement with YA Global Master SPV, a fund managed by Yorkville Advisors of New Jersey.
Yorkville’s Hong Kong office advised on the transaction.
Lotus engages in the production, trade and retail of pharmaceutical products in the People’s Republic of China.
It plans to use the funds for the group’s general corporate and working capital purposes.
Lotus currently sells 20 prescription drugs covered by the National Health Insurance Program in the PRC, four of which are self-produced. The company operates GMP certified facilities, with direct sales channels to 42 hospitals
Pierpont Securities has launched as a government securities broker dealer with USD220m in capital and investor partnerships with two equity investors, Stone Point Capital and General Atlantic.
Stone Point Capital, through its fund Trident IV, and General Atlantic have each committed USD100m in capital and Pierpont principals have invested an additional USD20m.
Pierpont was founded in 2009 by three principals with 25 years of experience working together in two of the largest financial services firms on Wall Street. They have continually operated in the fixed income markets and have particular expertise in Pierpont’s core products: US treasuries, federal agencies
EFG Hermes, an investment bank focused on the Arab world, has opened an office in the Syrian Arab Republic and launched a private equity fund that targets investments in the Syrian market.
Established in 1984, EFG Hermes specialises in investment banking, asset management, private equity, securities brokerage and research.
With listings on both the Egyptian and London stock exchanges, EFG Hermes currently has a market capitalization of around USD2.2bn.
The company has operations in Egypt, the UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait and Oman.
It serves a client base from the Middle East and North Africa to
Cloudmark, a firm specialising in carrier-grade messaging security, has secured USD23m in a round of funding led by new investor Summit Partners and joined by Nokia Growth Partners, the venture capital investing arm of mobile phone supplier Nokia.
Existing investors Ignition Partners and Industry Ventures also participated in the round.
The new funding was used to assist in Cloudmark’s acquisition of Bizanga and is the first investment Cloudmark has raised since 2004.
“Today’s carriers must deploy the best defences against emerging and sophisticated messaging threats,” says Hugh McCartney, chief executive officer, Cloudmark. “Our goal is to leverage the recently acquired messaging
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change has launched a guide for private equity investors that aims to create greater understanding of the risks and opportunities posed by climate change and related policy developments.
The guide is aimed at pension fund trustees who are limited partners in private equity funds, as well as private equity fund managers and general partners who are managing these funds.
In addition to increasing awareness of the potential impact of climate change among these investors, the document provides guidance on how such factors might be considered by LPs when selecting their managers and by GPs
Endless, an independent private equity investor, has acquired the business and assets of Trutex, one of a supplier of schoolwear in the UK.
Trutex was in need of further equity investment to strengthen its balance sheet and provide sufficient working capital to fund its growth.
Endless has partnered on the transaction with HSBC, which provided a funding package for the business.
David Storey, the chief executive officer of Trutex, says: “With renewed financial strength and support from Endless and HSBC, Trutex now has a fantastic platform to build on its leading brand and market position in the specialist
Augentius Fund Administration has appointed Glyn Thomas as managing director of its Guernsey office.
Thomas joined Augentius from PricewaterhouseCoopers as a senior accountant seven years ago, working with the firm’s first private equity clients.
He has a strong technology background and was heavily involved in the implementation of Sungard Investran, the accounting and reporting platform used within the business.
Thomas subsequently led a team of staff with a varied client portfolio and, following the MBO of the business, became a member of the executive, leading the training and technical team.
During 2009, Thomas was instrumental in the development of Augentius
Venture capital trusts have suffered during the recession but optimism seems to have returned to the sector as it is expected that the 2010 fundraising season will see a marked improvement on last year, the Association of Investment Companies says.
The average VCT’s performance is currently down 0.5 per cent including charges over the last year and the question is whether performance will improve as investments are realised.
The AIC has spoken to VCT managers to find out their views on the prospects for the sector in the year ahead.
It has been widely commented that with the recession and
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