In Second Opinion, Lyft sues its former COO Travis VanderZanden, Microsoft’s Office suite for iPad, iPhone, and Android is now free, the Weather Channel lays off 80 behind-the-scenes staff and a little porcupine fends off 13 lions.
As micro VCs flood the seed market, deal competition, round sizes and valuations rise. A messy down leg could be on the way.
Some strategics recognize they can get more value from growing entrepreneurial businesses by appropriately incentivizing management the way private equity firms do.
A strong IPO and M&A market have helped private equity hit a distribution record, according to a report from global placement agent Triago.
EQT has agreed to buy German engineering firm Siemens‘ hearing aid business for 2.15 billion euros (about $2.69 billion).
NovaQuest Capital Management is back in the market with its fourth fund, seeking $750 million to invest directly in the development of new drugs.
To start your morning, First Read has news about Lyft suing its former COO for document theft, the Navy Seal who shot Bin Laden is identified and can Google find a cure for autism?
Advent International has closed Advent Latin American Private Equity Fund VI on $2.1 billion, reaching the fund’s hard cap in less than six months.
Spring is four months away, but love is in the air. At least in the venture business. With the success of dating app Tinder, VCs are hot to find another match-making hit. They have poured more than $70 million into more than a dozen such sites, including Coffee Meets Bagel, Hinge, and theComplete.me, according to peHUB‘s No. 1 VC post this week.
The GP-LP relationship is complicated with frustration and transparency problems on both sides, according to a report from IAG UK.
In Second Opinion, the Apple Watch may start at $500, Paul Allen’s Vulcan Inc. is helping save elephants, Palo Alto Networks discovers malware that targets Apple OS X desktop and McDonalds is bringing the McRib to 75% of U.S. stores.
American Capital said late Wednesday that its board has approved a plan to split into three companies.
Valor Equity Partners LP has drawn in $390 million in commitments for its third buyout fund, ahead of the $350 million offering amount listed on a regulatory filing, with support from billionaire Elon Musk, a source familiar with the firm told Buyouts. (Subscribers, click on the headline to read the story.)
High-level private equity fund terms should be open for public consumption – there is no reason these terms need to be hidden from the beneficiaries of the pension systems that invest in the funds.
Remember Mitt Romney’s presidential run and the ripple effects the negative campaigning had on the private equity industry? Last night might have been a bit of vindication when it comes to politics and private equity.
Private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners LP has agreed to acquire Packers Sanitation Services Inc (PSSI), a U.S. contract food sanitation company, for close to $1 billion, including debt.
First Read rides the wave this morning with news Republicans have taken control of the Senate, Bruce Rauner was elected governor of Illinois and private equity firms send warnings to pension funds about keeping secrets.
The Carlyle Group and co-investors have agreed to buy Dealogic, which provides data and analytics, market information and capital markets software for financial institutions, along with two related joint ventures, for about $700 million.
