Filed under: Deals, Raising money, Venture capital industry, Private equity industry

It appears that the world of porn is getting more attention from private equity and venture capital investors. And, no, it isn’t that private equity executives and deal makers are spending more time looking at porn than they’re negotiating deals. (Well, maybe.) More importantly, a massive investor in the space has won an award and may be opening a floodgate of capital

AdultVest is a private equity venture that we covered on its launch earlier this year. The company concentrates exclusively on adult industry investments, mergers and acquisitions. So far, its initial numbers are pretty stellar.

It claims to have some $7.9 billion in “available capital” to invest in adult themed businesses, and $286 million of that was raised “within the last 7 days.” It also claims to have 3,809 registered investors, with 53 of those signing up in the last week. (This data is from the group’s homepage.)

The huge news is that AdultVest was just selected by Alternative Investment News as one of four funds nominated for the “Hedge Fund Launch of the Year” award. And last month, the company announced it was acquiring iPorn.com.

Reading through the earnings release that Rick’s Cabaret International Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK) produced earlier today, you might be tempted to conclude that adult entertainment is immune to a slowing economy. On the other hand, the incredibly poor recent performance by Playboy Enterprises inc. (NYSE: PLA) might make you conclude that the gathering slowdown could hurt this sector.

There are a number of reasons that the investment community is trying to get into and make money from porn. The most obvious one is that you’re reading about it right here right now.

 

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Filed under: Deals, Raising money, Merrill Lynch, Private equity industry, Value and lack thereof, Public or private?

Cumulus Media Inc. (NASDAQ: CMLS) has announced that the management-led investor group has terminated the planned merger agreement. While there was a glimmer of hope that this was going to be rekindled, the deal spread on this was so wide that a fleet of trucks could have driven between it.

Cumulus has agreed with the investor group led by Lew Dickey, its Chairman, President and CEO, and an affiliate of Merrill Lynch’s (NYSE: MER) Global Private Equity, to terminate the merger agreement which first came on July 23, 2007. The members of the investor group informed Cumulus that after exploring possible alternatives they were unable to concur on terms on which they could proceed with the buyout.

As a result of the termination of the merger agreement, the investor group has agreed to promptly pay Cumulus a merger termination fee of $15 million. In addition, the terms of the previously announced amendment to Cumulus’ existing credit agreement won’t take effect. Cumulus had a market cap of $253.6 million based upon a $5.81 close on Friday.

The company has also announced that its board of directors intends to explore the possible implementation of a new stock repurchase plan in the near-term in order to provide liquidity opportunities to stockholders.

 

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Filed under: Deals, Raising money, Venture capital industry, Private equity industry

It appears that the world of porn is getting more attention from private equity and venture capital investors. And, no, it isn’t that private equity executives and deal makers are spending more time looking at porn than they’re negotiating deals. (Well, maybe.) More importantly, a massive investor in the space has won an award and might be opening a floodgate of capital

AdultVest is a private equity venture that we covered on its launch earlier this year. The company concentrates exclusively on adult industry investments, mergers and acquisitions. So far, its initial numbers are pretty stellar.

It claims to have some $7.9 billion in “available capital” to invest in adult themed businesses, and $286 million of that was raised “within the last 7 days.” It also claims to have 3,809 registered investors, with 53 of those signing up in the last week. (This data is from the group’s homepage.)

The huge news is that AdultVest was just selected by Alternative Investment News as one of four funds nominated for the “Hedge Fund Launch of the Year” award. And last month, the company announced it was acquiring iPorn.com.

Reading through the earnings release that Rick’s Cabaret International Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK) produced earlier this day, you might be tempted to conclude that adult entertainment is immune to a slowing economy. On the other hand, the incredibly poor recent performance by Playboy Enterprises inc. (NYSE: PLA) might make you conclude that the gathering slowdown could hurt this sector.

There are a number of reasons that the investment community is trying to get into and make money from porn. The most obvious one is that you are reading about it right here right now.

 

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Filed under: Raising money, Private equity industry, Investments

An interesting fund raise just shut this day in the global energy sector. Lime Rock is a private equity firm that focuses on the global energy sector, and it announced this day the closing of its fifth Lime Rock Partners fund, Lime Rock Partners V, L.P., with a total $1.4 billion in investor capital commitments.

Lime Rock has four predecessor Lime Rock Partners funds, and Lime Rock Partners V will make what it calls “creative, value-adding, and long-term growth capital investments” in companies in the global energy industry.

This notes that some 78 institutional investors participated in the fund, including leading endowments, foundations, and pension funds, made capital commitments to Lime Rock Partners V. It also says that it did not actively market this fund, as some 91% of capital commitments came from its existing investors.

Lime Rock Partners funds have invested $1.0 billion in 47 energy portfolio companies worldwide, which are primarily in the exploration & production, energy services, and oil service technology sectors. These funds have also realized some $1.7 billion and “continue to hold significant unrealized value in their portfolio company investments.”

Lime Rock also manages Lime Rock Resources, a $450 million fund, which directly acquires and operates oil and gas properties in the United States. Lime Rock manages $3.5 billion of private capital for investment in the energy industry.

More information on the company’s investment(s) portfolio can be found here.

Jon Ogg produces the Special Situation newsletter for 247WallSt.com.

 

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Filed under: Raising money, Private equity industry, Investments

An interesting fund raise just closed this day in the global energy sector. Lime Rock is a private equity firm that focuses on the global energy sector, and it announced today the closing of its fifth Lime Rock Partners fund, Lime Rock Partners V, L.P., with a total $1.4 billion in investor capital commitments.

Lime Rock has four predecessor Lime Rock Partners funds, and Lime Rock Partners V will make what it calls “creative, value-adding, and long-term growth capital investments” in companies in the global energy industry.

This notes that some 78 institutional investors participated in the fund, including leading endowments, foundations, and pension funds, made capital commitments to Lime Rock Partners V. It also states that it didn’t actively market this fund, as some 91% of capital commitments came from its existing investors.

Lime Rock Partners funds have invested $1.0 billion in 47 energy portfolio companies worldwide, which are primarily in the exploration & production, energy services, and oil service technology sectors. These funds have also realized some $1.7 billion and “continue to hold significant unrealized value in their portfolio company investments.”

Lime Rock also manages Lime Rock Resources, a $450 million fund, which directly acquires and operates oil and gas properties in the United States. Lime Rock manages $3.5 billion of private capital for investment in the energy industry.

More information on the company’s investment(s) portfolio can be found here.

Jon Ogg produces the Special Situation newsletter for 247WallSt.com.

 

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Filed under: Raising money, Engagements, Venture capital industry, Investments

Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV) has closed its capital raise at $75 million, according to Reuters. The original target for the fund focused on clean technology exceeded its target of $60 million and they had to turn away additional investors.

Specifically, the fund will focus on Israel based or related high growth clean technology companies in sectors such as substitute energy, water conservation and purification, emissions reduction, and technologies that allow businesses to operate more efficiently and more environmentally friendly. Funded in 2006, ICV closed its first round of funding, raising $15 million in January 2006. The Globes in Israel reported that this was above target as well.

Funds came from institutional investors as well as family funds in the U.S., Europe, and Israel, such as Robeco Private Equity, a Netherlands-based asset manager, and Piper Jaffray, a U.S. financial institution.

The fund has finished seven investments, including Aqwise (waste water treatment), CellEra (fuel cells), Citrine Renewable Energy (landfill biogas treatment), Emefcy (energy production from wastewater), Metrolight (energy efficient lighting), Project Superior Place (electric car infrastructure), and Pythagoras Solar (solar energy).

Jon Ogg is an editor and producer for the Special Situation newsletter for 247WallSt.com.

 

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Filed under: Raising money, Engagements, Venture capital industry, Investments

Israel Cleantech Ventures (ICV) has closed its capital raise at $75 million, according to Reuters. The original target for the fund focused on clean technology exceeded its target of $60 million and they’d to turn away additional investors.

Specifically, the fund will focus on Israel based or related high growth clean technology companies in sectors such as alternative energy, water conservation and purification, emissions reduction, and technologies that grant businesses to operate more efficiently and more environmentally friendly. Funded in 2006, ICV shut its first round of funding, raising $15 million in January 2006. The Globes in Israel reported that this was above target as well.

Funds came from institutional investors as well as family funds in the U.S., Europe, and Israel, such as Robeco Private Equity, a Netherlands-based asset manager, and Piper Jaffray, a U.S. financial institution.

The fund has finished seven investments, including Aqwise (waste water treatment), CellEra (fuel cells), Citrine Renewable Energy (landfill biogas treatment), Emefcy (energy production from wastewater), Metrolight (energy efficient lighting), Project Superior Place (electric automobile infrastructure), and Pythagoras Solar (solar energy).

Jon Ogg is an editor and producer for the Special Situation newsletter for 247WallSt.com.

 

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Filed under: Raising money

Following a trend in new fund formation that has seen the rich get richer, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Thursday announced that it has hit up eager limited partners for $1.2 billion, closing two new funds.

The blue-chip Sand Hill Road firm launched its 13th general interest fund, KPCB XIII, garnering $700 million for investment across all the firm’s investment sectors of energy and environmental technologies (”which it terms greentech”), information technology and life sciences ventures. It also raised a $500 million Green Growth Fund, which will support later stage greentech companies.

The greentech fund is a tacit acknowledgment that as an industrial sector, much of the new energy and environmental development being funded is fundamentally different from traditional venture areas such as life sciences and information technology. While ideally built on breakthrough technologies, greentech companies are typically more capital intensive in later-stage development, requiring more flexible funding models than traditional venture capital.

Continue reading at TechConfidential.com.

 

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Filed under: Raising money

Following a trend in new fund formation that has seen the rich get richer, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Thursday announced that it has hit up eager limited partners for $1.2 billion, closing two new funds.

The blue-chip Sand Hill Road firm launched its 13th general interest fund, KPCB XIII, garnering $700 million for investment across all the firm’s investment sectors of energy and environmental technologies (”which it terms greentech”), information technology and life sciences ventures. It also raised a $500 million Green Growth Fund, which will support later stage greentech companies.

The greentech fund is a tacit acknowledgment that as an industrial sector, much of the new energy and environmental development being funded is fundamentally different from traditional venture areas such as life sciences and information technology. While ideally built on breakthrough technologies, greentech companies are typically more capital intensive in later-stage development, requiring more flexible funding models than traditional venture capital.

Continue reading at TechConfidential.com.

 

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Filed under: Top deals, Raising money, Investments, Shareholders, Value and lack thereof, Public or private?

According to a report from the Ernst & Young’s quarterly US IPO Pipeline Report, IPO activity is flattening as companies are waiting and watching to market to make their move. While that observation is obvious as a heart attack, there are some rather good details that might lead to help determine good IPO’s versus bad IPO’s in that report.

In the first quarter of 2008, 90 IPOs sat in the pipeline, the same amount as the last quarter of 2007. New registration was stable across the quarters, but the slide is still downward sequentially. In January there were 10 while February and March saw only 6 and 7, respectively. While the amount the registrations represent grew this quarter compared to last, $16.8 billion up to $17.3 billion, the numbers slowed toward the end of the quarter. It seems pre-IPO companies are holding tight and watching the market.

As expected, first quarter 2008 weakened compared to the first quarter in 2007. In the first quarter of 2007, 103 deals waited in the pipeline compared to 90 in 2008. In 2007, the registrants represented $22.8 billion compared to $17.3 billion in 2007. The average deal size also dropped, down to $192 million from $221 million. The largest deal in 2007, The Blackstone Group L.P. (NYSE: BX) reached $4.0 billion while in first quarter 2008, the largest was American Water Works at $1.6 billion. Visa Inc. (NYSE:V) was left off because of an end of quarter and for size issues as ‘one of a kind.’ Companies are also sitting in the pipeline much longer, 163 days on average compared to 113 in 2007.

Technology takes up the bulk of the pipeline with 26 registrants and $3.3 billion in dollar amount, up from $2.8 in fourth quarter 2007. Technology attracts foreign issuers with four out of five foreign issuers in the technology sector. While technology went up first quarter 2008, oil and gas dropped 60% from $5.3 billion fourth quarter 2007 to $1.9 billion. Biotech accounts for a solid 12 registrants and pharmaceuticals tally 11. California leads on a state-to-state basis, filing 16.7% of the total filings at 15. Texas and New York followed with 11 and 8, respectively.

Also according to the report… Patience and confidence are apt to ebb by June, but if you’re a good company with solid business plans, practices and proven results, opportunities still await you in the markets.

 

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