Silicon Valley Wire

John Schappert Resigns as COO of San Francisco-Based Zynga

San Francisco -- John Schappert has resigned as the COO of San Francisco-based social games developer Zynga, the company announced in a regulatory filing. Zynga, which said that Schappert "leaves as a friend of the company," has not yet named a successor. The move comes less than a month after Zynga -- the publisher of such popular titles as FarmVille and Words With Friends -- shook up its management structure following poor second-quarter results, removing some of Schappert's responsibilities in the area of game development. Zynga had hired Schappert away from rival Electronic Arts early last year.
http://www.zynga.com
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1439404/000119312512344267/d393776d8k.htm

Google to Pay Record $22.5 Million to Settle FTC Charges

Washington, DC -- Google will pay a record $22.5 million civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission (FTC) charges that it lied to users of Apple's Safari Internet browser when it told them it would not place tracking "cookies" or serve targeted ads to those users, the FTC said on Thursday. The actions violating an earlier privacy settlement between the company and the FTC, struck last October. In addition to the penalty, Google also must disable all the tracking cookies it had said it would not place on consumers' computers. "The record-setting penalty in this matter sends a clear message to all companies under an FTC privacy order," said Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the FTC.  "No matter how big or small, all companies must abide by FTC orders against them and keep their privacy promises to consumers, or they will end up paying many times what it would have cost to comply in the first place." According to the FTC's complaint, Google specifically told Safari users that the browser was set by default to block third-party cookies, and would continue to do so as long as they didn't change their settings.
http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/08/google.shtm

San Mateo-Based FreeMonee Network Raises $34 Million in Second Round

San Mateo, Calif. -- FreeMonee Network, the San Mateo-based developer of a consumer gift incentives program designed to reward customers of particular merchants with digital coupons, said it has raised $34 million in its second round of funding. Charles Ryan, the chairman of UFG Asset Management and former chief country officer and CEO of Deutsche Bank Group in Russia led the round, wich previous backers Opus Capital Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and Pinnacle Ventures also participating The round comes two years after the company initially raised $11 million. "FreeMonee Gifts are a new class of consumer incentive that will change the economics of advertising forever, marking the death of coupons," said CEO Gadi Maier. "The new funds will help us to expand FreeMonee to even more retailers and broaden programs with top U.S. banks and credit card issuers." FreeMonee Gifts link directly to a consumer's credit or debit card, delivering cash gifts that can be spent on any purchase at designated stores or restaurants. Unlike a coupon, the consumer is free to spend any amount they want. The company launched the service in Sept. 2011.
http://www.freemonee.com
http://www.freemonee.com/index.php/freemonee-network-raises-34-million/

Sunnyvale-Based PLUMgrid Lands $10.7 Million in First Round

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- PLUMgrid, a Sunnyvale-based provider of network infrastructure software to companies building and managing data centers, said on Wednesday it has landed $10.7 million in its first round of funding. US Venture Partners (USVP) and Hummer Winblad Venture Partners participated in the round, which comes a year after the company initially raised $2 million. "Network virtualization and the move to software-defined networking (SDN) is a strategically important focus area for the networking industry, said CEO Awais Nemat. "PLUMgrid was started nearly two years ago with a vision of providing a better way for customers to address new networking application needs and reduce excessive costs and complexity." The company said its technology will enable businesses to manage their physical, virtual and cloud datacenters with greater agility and efficiency.
http://www.plumgrid.com
http://media.wix.com/ugd//3d8658_be99804b198dea3ed911103c7c85d4f3.pdf (PDF)

San Francisco's Influitive Raises $3.75 Million in Seed Funding

San Francisco -- Influitive, developer of a platform for advocate marketing with offices in Toronto and San Francisco, said on Wednesday it has raised $3.75 million in a seed round of funding. Participants included Menlo Park-based Lightspeed Venture Partners, Oakland-based Illuminate Ventures, Mountain View-based 500Startups and San Francisco's First Round Capital, Resolute.VC and Accelerator Ventures, in addition to New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Relay Ventures, CommonAngels and Golden Venture Partners. Influitive's marketing platform, AdvocateHub, is designed to help companies leverage and mobilize passionate customers through a game-like experience.
http://www.influitive.com
http://influitive.com/influitive-closes-3-75-million-to-drive-b2b-advocate-marketing-platform/

Menlo Park-Based IVP Leads $50 Million Round for Care.com

Menlo Park, Calif. -- Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), the Menlo Park-based venture capital firm, has led a new $50 million round of funding for Massachusetts-based Care.com, developer of a web service that helps families connect with caregivers. Previous backers Matrix Partners, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Trinity Ventures also participated. Sandy Miller, a general partner at IVP, will serve on the company's board of directors. Care.com, which now has raised $61 million since its inception in 2006, has approximately 7 million members. The site helps families find caregivers in areas such as childcare, senior care, pet care, housekeeping and tutoring. In recent months, the company has embarked on international expansion, including the acquisition of Berlin-based Besser Betreut and the launches of Care.com in the U.K. and Canada.
http://www.ivp.com
http://www.care.com
http://www.equities.com/news/headline-story?dt=2012-08-07&val=352335&cat=finance

San Francisco-Based 99designs Acquires Germany's 12designer

San Francisco -- 99designs, the San Francisco-based developer of an online graphic design marketplace, said on Tuesday it has acquired 12designer, developer of a creative design marketplace in Germany. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is the first for 99designs, which in April 2011 raised $35 million in its first round of funding, led by Accel Partners. "We believe their deep regional marketplace expertise and multi-lingual capabilities will prove instrumental in accelerating our delivery of truly localized world-class design services to European businesses and designers," said CEO Patrick Llewellyn. “This acquisition enables us to build significantly on our existing momentum and resources in Europe and gives us an ideally situated base in Berlin."
http://www.99designs.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120807005380/en/99designs-Announces-Acquisition-European-Design-Marketplace-12designer

S.F.-Based DocuSign Lands New Investment from Google Ventures

San Francisco -- DocuSign, the San Francisco-based developer of a cloud-based network for sending, signing and tracking documents, said on Tuesday it has landed a new investment from Google Ventures to close its fourth round of funding at $55.7 million. The company initially had closed the round last month at $47.5 million, led by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. DocuSign said it will use the funds to accelerate growth of its network through increased customer-focused research and development, deeper vertical industry focus and faster international expansion. The company said 60,000 new users are joining its DocuSign Global Network each day. The network now includes 20 million users who have electronically signed more than 150 million documents in 188 countries.
http://www.docusign.com
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120807005473/en/Google-Ventures-Backs-DocuSign-Series-Funding

Sunnyvale-Based MIMVI to Acquire Lone Wolf

Sunnyvale, Calif. -- MIMVI, a Sunnyvale-based developer of search and recommendation technology, said on Tuesday it will acquire Los Angeles-based Lone Wolf, developer of series of infotainment-based social communities that reach 79 million people. Under the deal, expected to close within 30 days, MIMVI will purchase all outstanding shares of Lone Wolf for 3.8 million shares of its own stock. The company said the acquisition will bolster its presence in the mobile app discovery market. The combined entity will jointly develop Mimvi Echo, a new mobile app discovery service scheduled to launch in October. Founded in 2010, Lone Wolf is the developer of Smash Network, which features mini-talk shows streamed over the Internet to computers and mobile devices.
http://www.smashnetworks.com
http://www.mimvi.com
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mimvi-inc-announces-agreement-acquire-100000130.html

Palo Alto-Based TuneIn Raises $16 Million in New Funding

Palo Alto, Calif. -- TuneIn, the Palo Alto-based developer of apps that lets users listen to more than 70,000 AM, FM, HD and Internet radio stations through their mobile devices and computers, said it has raised $16 million in a new round of funding, led by General Catalyst Partners. Jafco Ventures, Google Ventures and previous backer Sequoia Capital also contributed to the round, which the company will use to scale its technical and business operations worldwide. "This investment will help us fulfill our mission while increasing our headcount and growing our product development and marketing initiatives," said CEO John Donham. The company said it now reaches 40 million monthly active listeners, a 267% increase in its mobile listener base over the past 12 months.
http://tunein.com
http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/tunein-hits-40-million-monthly-active-listeners-raises-16-million-in-funding-1687229.htm

San Francisco-Based OpenTable to Repurchase $50 Million in Stock

San Francisco -- OpenTable, the San Francisco-based operator of a free, real-time online restaurant reservations service, said its board of directors has authorized the company to repurchase up to $50 million in stock. The company said it will buy the shares from time to time on the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. Timing of the purchases will depend on factors such as market conditions, the trading price of the stock, regulatory requirements and other factors. OpenTable has more than 25,000 restaurant customers, and has seated more than 350 million diners since its launch in 1998.  
http://www.opentable.com/
http://press.opentable.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=698457

Turner Broadcasting Acquires San Francisco-Based Bleacher Report

San Francisco -- Following two months of speculation about a possible deal, Time Warner's Turner Broadcasting said on Monday it has acquired San Francisco-based Bleacher Report, a publisher of original sports editorial content that attracts more than 9 million monthly visitors. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, though several published reports pegged it at just under $200 million. The deal significantly boosts Turner's presence in the online sports arena. Turner previously had managed the web site of Sports Illustrated, but ended that deal earlier this year with the hopes of launching its own branded sports site. "Bleacher Report is a strategic acquisition that further enhances Turner's portfolio of sports offerings, as well as reflects our continuing commitment to bring fans greater content across all screens throughout the entire year," said David Levy, the president of sales, distribution and sports at Turner Broadcasting. Brian Grey will continue as Bleacher Report's CEO, as well as senior vice president of Turner Sports.
http://bleacherreport.com/
http://www.turner.com
http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/2012/08/Turner_Broadcasting_System_Inc_Acquires_Bleacher_Report_08-06-2012.php

Mountain View-Based Synopsys to Acquire SpringSoft in $406M Deal

Mountain View, Calif. -- Synopsys, a Mountain View-based provider of software and IP used in the design, verification and manufacture of electronic components and systems, said it will acquire Taiwan-based SpringSoft, a maker of specialized IC design software, in a deal valued at $406 million. Under the agreement, Synopsys launch a cash tender offer to acquire the outstanding shares of SpringSoft for approximately $1.90 a share. The deal, which requires Synopsis to acquire at least a 51% stake, is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. "This acquisition will increase Synopsys' investment in Taiwan by growing our local engineering expertise, technology development capabilities and customer support," said Chi-Foon Chan, the president and co-CEO of Synopsys.
http://www.springsoft.com/
http://www.synopsys.com
http://synopsys.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1052

San Jose-Based Cypress Extends Tender Offer for Ramtron International

San Jose, Calif. -- Eight weeks after first announcing its intentions to acquire Colorado-based Ramtron International, San Jose-based Cypress Semiconductor, a developer of  mixed-signal, programmable chips, on Monday extended its cash tender offer for the company through Aug. 17. Cypress is offering $2.68 a share under the offer, which had been scheduled to expire on Friday. In a letter to Ramtron's board, Cypress President and CEO T.J. Rodgers expressed his frustration that the company hasn't yet provided its stockholders with "a fair opportunity to consider our offer or a transaction that delivers immediate and certain value in excess of what we have offered." He also threatened to pull the offer or "seek out new directors" if the company fails to take action.
http://www.cypress.com/
http://www.ramtron.com/
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120806005291/en/Cypress-Semiconductor-Extends-Offer-Acquire-Ramtron-International