Silicon Valley Wire

Santa Clara-Based Data Domain Ends Bidding War, Chooses EMC Bid

Santa Clara, Calif. -- Ending a protracted bidding was for the company, Santa Clara-based Data Domain, a maker of data storage appliances, on Thursday entered into a formal deal to be acquired by EMC in a cash tender offer valued at $2.1 billion. Data Domain had rejected the offer last month, choosing instead to accept a competing cash and stock bid by Sunnyvale-based NetApp. The company now has paid NetApp a $57 million termination fee to break that deal. "Data Domain's board of directors has unanimously determined that the definitive merger agreement with EMC and the terms of the EMC tender offer are advisable, fair to and in the best interests of Data Domain and its stockholders, and recommends that Data Domain stockholders tender their Data Domain shares to EMC," Data Domain said in a statement. 
http://www.datadomain.com/news/press_rel_070809.html
http://www.emc.com/about/news/press/2009/20090708-02.htm

Mountain View-Based SolFocus Completes Third Round with Another $30.6M

Mountain View, Calif. -- Seven months after initially closing its third round of funding, Mountain View-based SolFocus, a developer of systems that generate electricity from solar panels, said on Thursday that it has raised an additional $30.6 million to close the round at $77.6 million. Apex Venture Partners led the round, which also included participation from previous backers New Enterprise Associates (NEA) -- which led the previous two rounds -- NGEN and Yellowstone Ventures., as well as new investor Demeter Partners. The company will use the capital as it continues to make the transition from pilot production to full-scale commercialization. SolFocus' system uses reflective optics to concentrate sunlight 650 times onto small, highly efficient solar cells.
http://www.solfocus.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090709005314/en

Yahoo Settles Suit with NFLPA Over Fantasy Game Rights

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Yahoo said that it has settled its lawsuit against the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) over a requirement that the company pay licensing fees to use  players' names and statistics in online fantasy football games. "We did reach a settlement and we are going to explore other opportunities with the NFL players union to work together," Yahoo Sports spokeswoman Nicol Addison told Reuters. Sunnyvale-based Yahoo sued the NFLPA in federal court in June, following a decision to not renew a previous license agreement that had expired. Last September, CBS and the NFLPA also sued one another over the issue of players' statistics in fantasy sports games. In April, the court ruled in favor of CBS, but that ruling is under appeal.
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/nm/20090707/tc_nm/us_yahoo_sports_3

SEC Continues Probe into Apple Statements on CEO's Health

Cupertino, Calif. -- The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is continuing to investigate whether Cupertino-based Apple tried to mislead investors about the medical condition of CEO Steve Jobs, Bloomberg News reported. The SEC reportedly is interested in "how his condition went from 'relatively simple' to 'more complex' in nine days," a source told Bloomberg. Jobs announced on Jan. 5 that a "hormone imbalance" with a "relatively simple" treatment was the cause of his increasingly gaunt appearance, before saying on Jan. 14 that the health issue was "more complex than I originally thought," and said he would take a six-month medical leave of absence. During the time away, Jobs underwent a successful liver transplant before returning to work at Apple on a limited basis last week. "The issue is not going to be whether they needed to disclose the medical records," Duke University securities law professor James Cox told Bloomberg. "It's going to be whether they monitored the disclosures about his health, in relation to investor expectations that Apple would continue to be led by Jobs."
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=ammDViTHaP0U

Milpitas-Based JDSU to Acquire Finisar's Network Tools Business

Milpitas, Calif. -- JDS Uniphase (JDSU), a Milpitas-based provider of communications test and measurement equipment, said on Thursday that it will pay $40.6 million in cash to acquire the Sunnyvale-based Network Tools business of Finisar. The deal is expected to close later this month. Network Tools provides storage area network (SAN) protocol test tools, software and services, and generated $44.2 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending April 30. Dave Holly, the president of JDSU's Communications Test and Measurement business, said that the acquisition will allow his company to offer enhanced services to its lab and manufacturing customers. The Network Tools business, which has more than 100 employees, will become a new unit of JDSU, with Dave Buse continuing to lead the business.
http://www.jdsu.com
http://www.jdsu.com/news/news-releases/2009/jdsu-announces-definitive-agreement-to-acquire-network-tools-business-from-finisar.html

S.F.-Based CoTweet Secures Funding, Launches Public Beta

San Francisco, Calif. -- CoTweet, the San Francisco-based developer of a web-based platform designed to help companies engage customers through Twitter, said on Thursday that it has landed $1.1M in new funding to launch its service in public beta. Investors included Baseline Ventures, Founders Fund, First Round Capital, SV Angel, Maples Investments and Freestyle Capital. CoTweet allows multiple people to communicate through corporate Twitter accounts and stay in sync while doing so. The company's platform currently is in use by brands such as Whole Foods, Starbucks, Microsoft, JetBlue, Ford and Coca-Cola.
http://www.cotweet.com
http://blog.cotweet.com/2009/07/cotweet-secures-funding-and-launches-public-beta/#more-254

San Francisco-Based gtgt Launches Social Technology Site

San Francisco -- gdgt.com, a San Francisco-based social technology web site, said that it has launched operations after landing a seed round of funding from seven investors, including Comtex News Networks. Chip Brian, Comtex's president and CEO, will become a member of the company's board of directors. The site -- co-founded by Peter Rojas, the founder of Gizmodo, Engadget and Joystiq, and Ryan Block, the former editor of Engadget -- is an online community aimed at helping visitors get more out of their personal gadgets, as well as learn about new devices.
http://www.gdgt.com  
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Comtex-Invests-In-gdgtcom-bw-1072516141.html?x=0&.v=1

 

Greg Ballard to Resign as Head of San Mateo-Based Glu Mobile

San Mateo, Calif. -- Glu Mobile, a San Mateo-based publisher of mobile games, said on Wednesday that Greg Ballard will resign as its president and CEO following six years at the helm. The company said that its board of directors has retained executive recruiting firm Egon Zehnder to help find a replacement, with a Ballard retaining his role in the interim. "After six years, I have decided the timing is right to look for a new challenge," said Ballard. "The Glu board and I also share the view that this is a good time to bring in new leadership for the company, as we focus on returning to generating positive cash and begin even greater investment in next-generation mobile platforms." The company also has named Dan Skaff and Bill Miller as co-chairmen of its board of directors.
http://www.glu.com/
http://www.glu.com/corp/Pages/investors.aspx

Mountain View-Based Google to Launch New Chrome Operating System

Mountain View, Calif. -- Taking direct aim at Microsoft Windows, Mountain View-based Google said that it plans to launch a new lightweight operating system initially targeting netbooks. The company expects to release its open source Google Chrome operating system in the second half of 2010. The news comes nine months after Google launched its Chrome web browser, which it claims it now used by more than 30 million people.   "The operating systems that browsers run on were designed in an era where there was no web. So today, we're announcing a new project that's a natural extension of Google Chrome," the company announced on its blog. "It's our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be." Google said that the platform will focus on speed, simplicity and security, with several manufacturers already working to bring new netbooks to market next year.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/introducing-google-chrome-os.html

Netscape Founder Marc Andreessen Launches $300 Million VC Firm

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen and long-time business partner Ben Horowitz have raised $300 million to form a new Menlo Park-based venture capital firm that plans to provide investments of $50,000-$50 million to technology start-ups. The firm, called Andreessen Horowitz, builds on the pair's angel investing activity over the past five years, which includes investments in companies such as Aliph, ExtraHop, LinkedIn and Twitter. New investments will support companies in various stages of development. "We see venture investing as a company-specific exercise," said Horowitz. "Therefore, we are looking for the best entrepreneurs and companies regardless of stage." Andreessen us best known as the co-author of Mosaic, the first widely used web browser that later was renamed Netscape Navigator. he also served as the CTO of AOL.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Marc-Andreessen-and-Ben-bw-3809953633.html?x=0&.v=1

Palo Alto-Based Bling Nation Lands $8M for Cell Phone Payment System

Palo Alto, Calif. -- Bling Nation, the Palo Alto-based developer of a mobile payments infrastructure service, said that it has raised $8 million in a new round of funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Meck and Camp Ventures. The company said that it will use the capital to help community banks set up the infrastructure required to use its Redi Pay Bling mobile payments service. To use the service, consumers must attach stickers to their cell phones that contain radio frequency ID (RFID) tags with special security features. The stickers can then be used in conjunction with the phones to make purchases in physical stores. Bling Nation was founded in 2007 and has 25 employees.
http://www.blingnation.com
http://www.blingnation.com/files/content/0/274/Bling%20Nation%20Series%20A%20Funding%20FINAL.pdf (PDF)

San Francisco-Based Slide Cuts Ad Sales Staff

San Francisco - Slide, a San Francisco-based developer of social media applications, has laid off a portion of its advertising sales staff, the blog GigaOM reported. The company reportedly is refocusing on bigger revenue generators, such as brand sponsorships for its applications like Super Poke on Facebook. Slide has raised more than $58 million in venture capital to date. CEO Max Levchin told GigaOM that some of the sales staff will be reassigned within the company, which plans to add business development staffers to help broker larger sponsorship deals.
http://www.slide.com
http://gigaom.com/2009/07/06/slide-cuts-staff/

San Francisco-Based imeem to Launch Digital Song Store

San Francisco -- Streaming music service imeem is quietly testing its own digital music download store, TechCrunch reported. The blog said that the company currently is testing sales of songs and full albums from some artists, with payment options including credit card and PayPal. imeem also plans to continue giving consumers the option to purchase songs from Apple's iTunes Store and Amazon MP3. TechCrunch, however, calculated that by operating its own store, imeem stands to triple its revenue from song sales. The company last week said that it would discontinue some of its social network features, such as photo and video uploads, and concentrate on its music service.
http://www.imeem.com
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/07/03/singing-a-new-tune-the-imeem-music-store/

San Francisco-Based Danoo Acquires Ad Firm IdeaCast

San Francisco - Danoo, the San Francisco-based operator of an in-store network comprised of interactive video screens, said that it has acquired New York-based IdeaCast, a provider of captive television advertising. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2006, Danoo has secured deals to place its screens in more than 850 locations in top media markets. The company has been backed by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and National CineMedia, which each will hold majority stakes in the combined entity, which will retain both the Danoo and IdeaCast brands.  The acquisition adds services such as Health Club TV and Airline TV, which places ads on the seatback televisions on JetBlue, Frontier and Continental Airlines.
http://www.ideacast.net
http://www.danoo.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20090706005129/en

U.S. Private Equity Fundraising Drops 64% in First Half of '09

New York -- At the midway point of 2009, U.S. private equity firms have raised only about one-third of the amount that they raised during the same period of 2008, according to new figures from Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst. The publication said that funds so far have raised $54.9 billion, down from $152.7 billion a year ago. "Limited partners are still reeling from the extreme shrinkage of their assets under management since last fall," said Jennifer Rossa, the managing editor of Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst.  "As a result, any private equity firm that could afford to delay raising a fund did and those that had to brave the market in the first half of the year faced tough conditions."
http://privateequity.dowjones.com
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/US-Private-Equity-FundRaising-prnews-3581298546.html?x=0&.v=1