FUND RAISING: WEEKLY ROUND-UP week ending 28th March 2010

March 28, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

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1.       Avatar Reality raises $4.2 million

  • Details: Avatar Reality, creator of the massively multiplayer online virtual world platform Blue Mars, announced today has raised an additional $4.2 million. To date, more than $13 million has been invested in Avatar Reality.
  • Investors: Venture capitalists including Henk Rogers and Kolohala Ventures
  • Contacts: Henk Rogers, co-founder: Jim Sink, CEO
  • Location:  USA, Honolulu and San Francisco, CA
  • Category: Online games
  • Links: Press Release

2.       KidZui raises $4 Million

  • Details: Kidzui, an a safe search engine filter and online browser for kids, has raised $4 million.
  • Investors: Led by Mission Ventures led along with current investors First Round Capital, Emergence Capital Partners, and Maveron.
  • Location:  USA, San Diego, CA
  • Category: Search

3.       Made.com raises £2.5 million

  • Details: Made.com has raised £2.5 million to launch a new designer furniture company that cuts out the middle man using the internet to connect buyers directly with manufacturers.
  • Investors: Brent Hoberman, Founder of MyDeco and Lastminute.com, board director of the Guardian Media Group and Profounders Capital
  • Contacts: Ning Li, founder
  • Location:  UK, London
  • Category: Retail
  • Links: Made.com about us

4.       Placecast raises $3 million in series B funding

  • Details: Placecast raises $3 million in series B funding to expand their ShopAlerts location‐based marketing service.
  • Investors: From current investors, Quatrex Capital, ONSET Ventures and Voyager Capital.
  • Location:  USA, San Francisco, CA
  • Category: Advertising
  • Links: Press Release

Previous Fusion DigiNet article: 1020 Placecast has raised $5 million in a second round of funding November 19, 2009

5.       Wix Raises $10 Million

  • Details: Wix, which allows users to build free flash websites, has raised $10 million in Series C funding.
  • Investors: Benchmark Capital, plus existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and Mangrove Capital Partners.
  • Location:  USA, New York, NY
  • Category: Technology
  • Links: TechCrunch

Funding News

Link: Atomico completes $165 million fundraising to invest in early-stage growth companies

Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Games, Internet Media, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Good news for UK “wealth creators and innovators”- entrepreneurs’ relief for Capital Gains Tax doubled

March 24, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

 

 

United Kingdom – Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget statement

Alasdair Darling, Chanceller of the Exchequer for the UK Governement has announced an extension of Entrepreneurs’ Relief from the first £1 million to the first £2 million of gains made over a lifetime.

Entrepreneurs’ Relief supports business owners and those investing in businesses with growth potential by providing an effective 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate on qualifying disposals.

This change will take effect from 6 April 2010.

The Chancellor also announced that the normal rate of capital gains tax (CGT) remains unchanged at 18 per cent.

Direct quote from the Budget statement

“I am also going to make it more attractive for wealth-creators and innovators to set-up their own businesses. To do this, I am doubling entrepreneurs’ relief for Capital Gains Tax. At the moment, the first million pounds of lifetime gains are taxed at a lower rate of 10 per cent, rather than the main rate of 18 per cent.

This threshold will now increase to £2m, enabling entrepreneurs to benefit more from their effort and investment.

And I can also confirm today that I am not increasing the main rate of Capital Gains Tax.”

Link: HM Treasury Budget website

Posted in B2B Services, Broadcasting, Conference/Exhibitions/Events, Content Media, e-Commerce, Energy & Environmental Services, Games, Internet Media, Market Data & Information, Publishers, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

The9 Limited acquires a majority interest in Red 5 Studios

March 24, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-362
 
 
The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY), an online game developer and operator in China, is to invest a total amount of approximately US$20 million for a majority interest Red 5 Studios, Inc., an online game developer in the United States.
 
Aprox. Value:  Approximately US$20 million for a majority
 
Acquirer:  The9 Limited
ACQ Web:  http://www.the9.com/en/ 
Location:  China, Shanghai
Region:  Asia
Description:  Online game operator and developer in China. The business is primarily focused on developing and operating games for the online game market. The9 Limited directly, or through affiliates, operates licensed MMORPGs and advanced casual games including Soul of The Ultimate Nation, Granado Espada, EA SPORTS FIFA Online 2 and Atlantica, as well as its proprietary games World of Fighter and Jiu Zhou Zhan Ji, in mainland China.
Category:  Online games
Contact:  Mr. Jun Zhu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 
 
Vendor:  Red 5 Studios
Vendor Web:  http://www.red5studios.com/ 
Location:  USA, Irvine, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Online game developer located in California, formed in 2006 by former executives and developers from Blizzard Entertainment.
Category: Online games
Contact:  Mark Kern, Chief Executive Officer 
 
Link: Press Release

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~Asia, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

FUND RAISING: WEEKLY ROUND-UP week ending 19th March

March 19, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

 

 

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Last Week’s Fund Raisings

1.  Foundry Group and industry angels invest $2.2 million in Trada

  • Details : Trada launched to the public today the first online marketplace allowing small and medium businesses and agencies to leverage the skills of hundreds of paid search experts, who in turn earn money by generating low-cost clicks and conversions for advertisers. Trada entered private beta in January 2009 and has more than 70 advertisers and 280 experts to date.
  • Investors:  Foundry Group, Seth Levine, Managing Partner of Foundry Group, Carlos Cashman, Jamie Crouthamel, Stuart Larkins, Dan Murr, Alan Warms and Robert Wolfe – Bios
  • Contacts: CEO and founder of Trada,  Niel Robertson
  • Location:  USA, Boulder, CO
  • Category: Search, Advertising
  • Links:

2. GyPSii raises $11 million

  • Details : GyPSii, developer of location-based social networking applications, has closed an $11 million private funding round. The funds will be used to support marketing and additional development of GyPSii applications including Twitter app Tweetsii, GyPSii. This latest infusion brings total fundraising to $40 million.
  • Investors:  Led by U.K.-based Schroders
  • Contacts: Dan Harple, Executive Chairman,
  • Location:  The Netherlands, Amsterdam   
  • Category: Social Network, Apps
  • Link: The fund raising is announced in the Press Release that also announced thelaunch of new app Tweetsii

3. Hunch raises $12 million

 4. Plastic Jungle raises $7.4 million

  • Details: Plastic Jungle, a website that enables readers to buy, exchange, and donate gift cards in a trusted environment, has raised $7.4 million in Series B funding. Plastic Jungle previously secured $6 million in Series A funding, bringing its total equity funding to $13.4 million. The Series B financing was completed at an increased valuation over the prior round, which occurred in March 2009. Plastic Jungle will add Allen Beasley, Partner at Redpoint Ventures, to its board of directors.
  • Investors: New investor Redpoint Ventures led the round and previous investors Shasta Ventures, First Round Capital and Bay Partners, as well as other existing investors also participated.
  • Contact: Garry Briggs, CEO: Bruce Bower, President: Dave Worthington, Chief Financial Officer: Ashmit Bhattacharya, Chief Technology Officer
  • Location: USA, Mountain View, CA
  • Category: Consumer website
  • Link: Press Release

5. PowerReviews raises $6.1 million.

  • Details: PowerReviews, the company behind the review sections of many e-coomerce sites, including RadioShack, ToysRUs and Staples, has raised $6.1 million.
  • Investor: Led by Menlo Ventures and Tenya Capital
  • Contact: Pehr Luedtke – CEO, Andy Chen – Founder and VP, Strategic Partnerships, Robert Chea – Founder and COO
  • Location: USA, San Francisco, CA
  • Category: Reviews, Technology
  • Link: Caterina Fake talks about the deal on her Blog

6. Second Porch closes a £1 million Series-A investment

  • Details: Second Porch has closed a £1 million Series-A investment. The investment will be used to continue the company’s expansion into the vacation home rental and home exchange markets, which are among the fastest growing segments in online consumer travel. Second Porch enables owners and renters to tap into real world relationships in order to rent and trade vacation homes, where trust between owner and guest is of paramount concern on both sides of the transaction
  • Investor: Led by the Oregon Angel Fund (OAF)
  • Contact: Brent Hieggelke, CEO of Second Porch
  • Location: USA, Portland, OR
  • Category: Holiday, Rental
  • Link: Press Release

7. World Golf Tour raises $10 million

  • Details:  World Golf Tour has raised $10 million in a third round of funding.  The funds will be used to expand globally and to create a stripped-down version of its web site game for Facebook
  • Investor: Led by JAFCO Ventures. Existing investors also participated. World Golf Tour was founded in 2006 with the backing of l venture capital firms Battery Ventures and Panorama Capital, as well as prominent individual investors.
  • Contact: Yuchiang Cheng, chief executive
  • Location: USA, San Francisco, CA
  • Category: Games
  • Link: Venturebeat
Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Games, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Yahoo! to acquire Citizen Sports

March 17, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-359
 

Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Citizen Sports, a company that brings the world of sports to fans’ favorite social networking sites and mobile devices through innovative applications. This acquisition will strengthen Yahoo!‘s social strategy of enriching, aggregating and distributing social content from across the entire Web, and offering a highly customizable social experience.
 
Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed. Yahoo! expects to complete this acquisition in the second quarter of 2010.
 
Acquirer:  Yahoo!
ACQ Web:  http://www.yahoo.com
Location:  USA, Sunnyvale, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) provides Internet services worldwide. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine.
Category:  Media, Search, Internet Services
Contact 1:  Bryan Lamkin, senior vice president, Consumer Products Group
Contact 2:  Carol Bartz, CEO
Contact 3:  Roy J. Bostock, Chairman
Contact 4: Jerry Yang, Co-founder
Contact 5:  David Filo, Co-founder

 
Vendor:  Citizen Sports
Vendor Web:  http://www.citizensports.com
Location:  USA, San Francisco, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Citizen Sports is a network of popular applications for Facebook, MySpace, hi5, iPhone and Android span professional, college and high school sports.
Category: Sports, Apps
Contact:  Mike Kerns, founder and CEO of Citizen Sports

Link: Press Release
 

Related Fusion DigiNet articles

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Social Games Developer Playdom invests USD$5 million in Social Gaming Company MetroGames

March 17, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

 

 

News – Fund Raising

MetroGames, a social gaming company headquartered has closed a USD$5 million investment from Playdom as part of MetroGames‘ Series A financing. The investment will be used to expand MetroGames‘ pipeline of games and continued development of its Metrogames.com social gaming platform. MetroGames has added John Pleasants, Playdom‘s CEO, to its Board of Directors.

Contacts: Damian Harburguer, CEO of MetroGames
Location: Argentina , Buenos Aires
Category: Games
Link: Press Release

About Playdom

ACQ Web:  http://www.playdom.com
Location:  USA, Mountain View, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Playdom’s lineup of games includes Sorority Life, Mobsters 2, Lil Farm Life, Tiki Farm, Tiki Resort, Wild Ones and Poker Palace.
Category:  Computer Games
Contact:  John Pleasants, CEO

Related Fusion DigiNet articles

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

ngmoco acquires iPhone game-maker Freeverse (also raises $25M)

March 7, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION & FUND RAISING
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-350
 
Acquirer:  ngmoco
ACQ Web:  http://www.ngmoco.com
Other Web Links: Twitter 
Location:  USA, San Francisco, CA
Region:  North Amerca
Description:  ngmoco creates and publishes games for the iPhone.
Category:  Games
Contact 1:  Neil Young, CEO, Founder
Contact 2:  Bob Stevenson, Founder
Contact 3:  Alan Yu, Founder
Contact 4: Joe Keene, Founder
 
Vendor:  Freeverse
Vendor Web:  http://www.freeverse.com
Other Web Links: Twitter
Location:  USA, New York, NY
Region:  North America
Description:  Freeverse develops and publishes seamless software, with a particular concentration on the Mac and iPhone platforms. The Freeverse portfolio includes Skee-Ball, Moto Chaser, Flick Fishing, SlotZ Racer, Flick Bowling and NBA Hotshot.
Category: Games
Contact 1:  Ian Lynch Smith, President
Contact 2:  Colin Lynch Smith, Vice President
Contact 3:  Dino de Cespedes, Chief Financial Officer

Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed
 
Details:  ngmoco, the  iPhone and iPod touch game developer and publisher, has acquired game-maker Freeverse. ngmoco also announced Series C funding of nearly $25 million. Investors include Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Maples Investments and Norwest Venture Partners.
 
Link: Press Release

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Playdom acquires Facebook developer Offbeat Creations

March 4, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-346
 
Acquirer:  Playdom
ACQ Web:  http://www.playdom.com
Location:  USA, Mountain View, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Playdom‘s lineup of games includes Sorority Life, Mobsters 2, Lil Farm Life, Tiki Farm, Tiki Resort, Wild Ones and Poker Palace.
Category:  Computer Games
Contact:  John Pleasants, CEO 
 
Vendor:  Offbeat Creations
Vendor Web:  http://offbeat-creations.com 
Location:  USA, Bellevu, WA
Region:  North America
Description:  Developer and publisher of entertainment software on social media platforms. Super Farkle, the newest version of the hugely popular dice game has over one million monthly active users.
Category: Computer Games
Contact 1:  Chia Chin Lee, founder
Contact 2:  Robert Reichner, founder
Contact 3:  Tom Fakes, founder
  
Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed
 
Details:  Playdom, a  social gaming company,  acquired Facebook developer Offbeat Creations, a  developer and publisher of entertainment software on social media platforms.
 
Link: Press Release

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Sony acquires Media Molecule, the creator of LittleBigPlanet

March 3, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 

ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-344
 
Acquirer:  Sony Computer Entertainment
ACQ Web:  http://www.scei.co.jp
Other Web Links: Playstation
Head Office: Japan, Tokyo
Region:  Asia
Local Office:  Sony Computer Entertainment Europe
Region:  Europe, London
Description 1:  Sony Computer Entertainment – manufacturers, distributes and markets the PlayStation® game console, the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, the PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) handheld entertainment system and PlayStation®3 (PS3™) system.  The company develops, publishes, markets and distributes software, and manages the third party licensing programs for these platforms in the respective markets worldwide. Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. is an independent business unit of the Sony Group.
Description 2:  Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios – is responsible for the global creative, technical and strategic direction setting of development and production of computer entertainment software for the PlayStation family.  SCE WWS directly employs over 2,500 people in its 15 studio locations around the world.
Category:  Computer Games
Contact:  Shuhei Yoshida, President, Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios
 
Vendor:  Media Molecule
Vendor Web:  http://www.mediamolecule.com
Other Web Links: Twitter
Location:  UK, Guildford, Surrey
Region:  Europe
Description: Media Molecule  is a video game developer. The studio was founded in January 2006 by former Lionhead Studios employees Mark Healey, Alex Evans, Dave Smith, and Kareem Ettouney. They are best known as the creator’s of LittleBigPlanet. Media Molecule won the Studio of the Year award at the Spike Video Game Awards 2008. The game also won numerous game of the year awards leading to a ‘Game Of The Year Edition’ a year later.
Category: Computer Games
Contact 1:  Alex Evans, co-founder
Contact 2:  Mark Healey, co-founder
 
Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed
 
Details:  Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) has acquired game developer Media Molecule, creator of the PlayStation®3 (PS3™) exclusive title, LittleBigPlanet™.  Media Molecule will join as part of SCE’s global development operation, SCE Worldwide Studios. 
 
Links: 

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

UBM TechWeb acquires Game Advertising Online for upto $8million

February 26, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-341
 
Acquirer:  United Business Media
ACQ Web:  http://www.ubm.com
Other Web Links: UBM TechWeb
Location:  USA, New York, NY
Region:  North America
Description 1:  UBM – focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetisation of B2B communities and markets.
Description 2: UBM TechWeb – brands include: global face-to-face events such as Interop, Game Developers Conference (GDC), Web 2.0, Black Hat and VoiceCon; large-scale online networks such as InformationWeek, Light Reading and Gamasutra; research, training, and certification services, including HDI, Pyramid Research, and InformationWeek Analytics; and market-leading magazines such as InformationWeek and Wall Street & Technology.
Category:  Media owner
Contact:  Tony Uphoff, Chief Executive Officer of UBM TechWeb 
 
Vendor:  Game Advertising Online (GAO)
Vendor Web:  http://www.game-advertising-online.com 
Location:  New Zealand
Region:  Oceana
Description:  Founded in 2006, GAO is a banner advertising agency working for publishers in the online video game industry. Using a self-service, auction-based system, GAO places in-game and banner advertising on leading gaming websites, utilising both cost-per-click and cost-per-acquisition business models. GAO provides access to 50 million unique users and delivers over 2 billion advertisement impressions per month through a diverse worldwide network of free-to-play MMORPG (massively multiplayer online game), casual, browser-based and mainstream gaming websites, as well as game community networking sites.
Category: Advertising
 
Aprox. Value:  An initial cash consideration of $1m, with a further performance-related consideration of up to $7m.
 
Details:  United Business Media Limited has acquired Game Advertising Online (GAO) from private ownership on behalf of UBM TechWeb. GAO is expected to generate revenue of approximately $4m in the twelve months to March 2010.
 
Link: Company Announcement

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, Publishers, ~North America, ~Oceana. Leave a Comment »
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