By Los Angeles Times
LinkedIn may be the first company to quench investor thirst for the red-hot social networking market.
Despite months of headlines from Facebook, Chicago-based Groupon and Twitter, the company that connects more than 85 million professionals could be first out of the gate. It has been quietly preparing an initial public offering for as early as the first quarter.
LinkedIn has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase to advise it after a round of interviews in November. The size of the offering is not known, but it’s expected to be small relative to the company’s valuation. LinkedIn’s implied valuation on the private trading marketplace SharesPost is $2.2 billion.
Jan. 6 at 2:43 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Investing,
Venture capital
By Reuters
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. investors interested in investing in Facebook got financial information about the social networking company Thursday afternoon.
Copies of the 101-private placement memorandum for the Facebook offering began being hand delivered to Goldman’s wealthy customers a little after lunchtime in New York, according to a person who received a copy. Get the full story »
Dec. 30, 2010 at 1:01 p.m.
Filed under:
M&A,
Technology,
Updated,
Venture capital
By Alejandra Cancino
Chicago-based Groupon Inc. has raised $500 million in equity financing of the $950 million it hopes to get.
The money came from 33 investors, Groupon said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company it is not disclosing their names, but DealBook reported Wednesday the start-up is negotiating financing commitments with Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price and Morgan Stanley. Get the full story »
Dec. 29, 2010 at 10:54 a.m.
Filed under:
IPOs,
Investing,
Venture capital
From DealBook | With the news that Groupon’s board has authorized the daily deal site to raise up to $950 million in funding, many investors and analysts are now debating what exactly Groupon is worth. The venture capital data provider VC Experts estimates that the new round of fundraising values Groupon at $6.4 billion, while TechCrunch, citing an unnamed source, pegs it at a more modest $4.75 billion.
Dec. 28, 2010 at 4:53 p.m.
Filed under:
Venture capital
By Reuters
Groupon’s board has authorized the company to raise up to $950 million in what would be the biggest round of equity financing since Pixar sought some $500 million in 1995, the venture capital data firm VC Experts said on Tuesday.
The online discount coupon company, which specializes in local advertising, is seeking the funding after reports last month that it was in talks to sell itself to Google for up to $6 billion, in what would have been the web advertising giant’s biggest ever acquisition. Get the full story »
Dec. 13, 2010 at 4:38 p.m.
Filed under:
M&A,
Manufacturing,
Venture capital
By Becky Yerak
Palatine-based Weber-Stephen Products Co., maker of charcoal and gas grills, said BDT Capital Partners LLC has agreed to acquire a majority interest in the Weber business through a newly formed partnership with the Stephen family.
“This partnership with BDT Capital Partners allows us to continue to invest in the business, produce innovative, high-quality products, deliver strong customer service and build upon the global strength and heritage of the Weber brand,” said James Stephen, second generation chief executive of Weber-Stephen Products Co. Get the full story »
Dec. 2, 2010 at 5:25 p.m.
Filed under:
Investing,
Venture capital
By Wailin Wong
LivingSocial, a deal-of-the-day company that’s seen as one of Groupon’s biggest rivals, said Thursday it has received a $175 million investment from e-commerce giant Amazon.
The Washington, D.C.-based start-up’s latest round of funding also included another $8 million from Lightspeed Venture Partners of Menlo Park, Calif. Lightspeed had previously led a $14 million round of funding for LivingSocial in April. Before that, the daily deal site had conducted two other rounds totaling $30 million.
LivingSocial said it plans to use the money for expansion. The daily deal site is in more than 120 markets, including cities in Europe and Australia, and projects its 2011 revenue at more than $500 million. Get the full story »
By Wailin Wong
A meal from Reza's Restaurant delivered to Tribune food critic Phil Vettel through GrubHub, Jan. 24, 2008. (Abel Uribe/Tribune)
GrubHub, the Chicago-based technology start-up that connects consumers with restaurants that deliver to their neighborhood, has raised $11 million in its third and largest round of venture-capital funding.
The company received the funding from Benchmark Capital, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm that has also backed companies such as restaurant reservation service OpenTable, review site Yelp and real estate site Zillow. GrubHub launched in 2006 and had previously raised $3.1 million in two rounds of funding from Origin Ventures, Leo Capital and Amicus Capital. Origin Ventures and Leo Capital are both based in Northbrook.
Matt Maloney, GrubHub’s co-founder and chief executive, said the company was looking for funding to expand into new cities and develop new products and features in areas such as mobile applications. Get the full story »
Nov. 3, 2010 at 3:52 p.m.
Filed under:
Investing,
Venture capital
By Becky Yerak
Illinois companies are having a good year when it comes to venture capital firms investing in their businesses.
Venture-capital investors put $123 million into 10 Illinois-based businesses in the third quarter of 2010, according to figures released Wednesday by Dow Jones VentureSource. That compares with $15 million invested in five businesses in the same period in 2009.
The third quarter’s investment total was helped by a $65 million deal for Skokie-based NanoInk, a nano tech firm. Its backers included Lurie Investments. Get the full story »
Nov. 1, 2010 at 4:02 p.m.
Filed under:
Private equity,
Venture capital
By Becky Yerak
GTCR Golder Rauner, one of Chicago’s biggest private equity firms, plans to raise $3 billion for its 10th buyout fund, according to a recently filed statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The Chicago-based firm raised $2.8 billion for its ninth fund in 2006. Get the full story »
Oct. 21, 2010 at 3:08 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Startups,
Updated,
Venture capital
By Associated Press
Betting that the future of the Web is in social apps and services, venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, along with Amazon, Facebook and Zynga are launching a $250 million fund to help such startups grow. Get the full story »
Aug. 23, 2010 at 4:27 p.m.
Filed under:
Bankruptcy,
Hotels,
Venture capital
By Wailin Wong
Spa Chakra at the Palmer House. (Tribune file photo)
Spa Chakra at the Palmer House Hilton closed last week, along with the chain’s other locations across the country.
A recording at the Chicago location informs callers that all Spa Chakra’s operations ceased Aug. 20. The company also operated spas in Indianapolis, New York City, San Francisco and Marina del Rey, Calif. Get the full story »
Aug. 13, 2010 at 2:42 p.m.
Filed under:
Entertainment,
Media,
TV,
Venture capital
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
Oprah Winfrey has agreed to boost her on-air commitment to The Oprah Winfrey Network by hosting or starring in a show on the network, according to a Securities and Exchange filing made by Discovery Communications Inc. on Friday.
As part of the amended joint-venture agreement, Discovery agreed to increase by 89 percent, to $189 million, its funding commitment to Winfrey’s OWN network. Get the full story »
Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal | Patrik Edsparr has left Citadel Investment Group, making him the Chicago hedge-fund firm’s latest top executive to depart.
Citadel spokeswoman Katie Spring said Edsparr was “let go” from the
firm within the last two weeks. Messages left for Edsparr and his
assistant at Citadel’s London office Tuesday weren’t immediately
returned. He didn’t respond to an email seeking comment. Edsparr had
told associates in London in recent days that he was leaving, says a
person close to the matter.
Get the full story »
