Filed under: Raising money, Investments

The internet probably doesn’t need another online pic site, but ScanCafe Inc. isn’t your typical on the internet digital pic service a la Eastman Kodak Co.’s (NYSE: EK) KodakGallery and Shutterfly Inc. (NASDAQ: SFLY). As its name implies, ScanCafe provides pic scanning and restoration services. The Burlingame, Calif.-based company announced on Tuesday it has received $5.5 million in Series B funding in a round led by Sigma Partners. The company is using $1.5 million of that money to pay off debt, while also adding employees, investing in new technology and expanding its global reach.

ScanCafe grants people to mail in pics slides and negatives, then restores and organizes all images and provides customers with access to a secure on the internet library to view, select and share the images. They’re only required to pay for the images they keep, though with a 50% minimum commitment. All selected images are then burned to a DVD or CD and shipped back to the customer with the originals.

Digging a little deeper, this review of the service from News.com reveals that one of the ways ScanCafe is keeping costs of its service down is by outsourcing the scanning work to India, so anyone worried about sending precious photos halfway around the world (that’s an estimate) will have to give some thought to using the service.

Continue reading at TechConfidential.com.

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Filed under: Rumors, Raising money, Madison Dearborn Partners, Private equity industry

Madison Dearborn Partners LLC isn’t letting the current environment get in the way of fund raising, at least not according to a report in The Deal. The private equity firm is looking overseas and is including sovereign wealth funds for a new private equity fund of up to $10 billion.

This also notes that the first round of the fund shut at $4 billion in mid-April with investments from existing limited partners. But there are also reported problems in the capability to raise funds if the sources are accurate.

The Deal is citing a “a well-placed source.” Perhaps a memo should be passed out around the firm with the mere message, “Loose lips sink ships.”

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Filed under: The Blackstone Group, Raising money, Private equity industry, Investments

The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) has entered into its second large-scale substitute energy project. The private equity giant has announced that it will form a partnership with Windland Energieerzeugungs GmbH to finish the development and construction of Meerwind.

This is being billed as one of the North Sea’s largest wind farm projects. The wind farm will comprise 80 wind turbines with a combined generation capacity of 400MW. The project will be located some 80 kilometers (approximately 49 miles) off of the northern coast of Germany in the North Sea and is expected to cost in excess of €1 billion (almost US$1.6 Billion) to build.

The area management plan for the future wind farms in the North and East Sea was introduced by the German government in July, 2008 and supports local government objectives in fighting global warming by reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by the year 2020.

The wind farm will generate approximately 1.6 billion KWh annually and will provide enough energy to supply electricity to some 500,000 households.

This will be Blackstone’s second significant investment in renewable energy after the financial closing of the $870 million Bujagali hydroelectric power station project in December 2007 by Blackstone’s 80% owned portfolio company called Sithe Global.

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Filed under: Raising money, Venture capital industry, Private equity industry, Public or private?

If you’ve been following the substitute energy saga alongside ridiculous oil prices going from rising to high to astronomical, you’ve run across the name Tesla Motors. Tesla is a venture capital and privately funded auto maker that produces a high performance electric powered sports car.

The Tesla Roadster and soon to be sedan are now both now going to be manufactured in California, or so a report in the San Francisco Chronicle and elsewhere are noting. Governor Schwarzenegger included some incentives that have kept the electric auto maker from moving manufacturing to New Mexico (besides the Governator ordering one unit for himself). But it appears that the State of California is giving it more than mere tax incentives.

It appears that this is going to get equipment leases from the state, as well as additional allows. What is interesting here is that this gets the company even further on the map. There have been current reports that Tesla was in the market for another huge financing. Whether or not that comes about now isn’t certain. Other reports show that the company may even supply battery units to Daimler or other vehicle manufacturers.

What’s becoming fairly certain is that Wall Street expects to see Tesla file for an initial public offering. As capital intensive as these businesses are, the company needs to have a steady automobile (no pun intended) to be able to raise the capital it needs.

Think of the good news…. At least one US auto manufacturer will be considered cool.

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Filed under: Deals, Raising money, Warburg Pincus, Engagements, Venture capital industry, Private equity industry, Investments, Public or private?

Most private equity firms hunt for stable companies with stable cash flows that are either cheap or inefficiently operated. These companies can then be resold for more money or taken public, or the strategy can fit into the Warren Buffett time frame of “forever.” Biotechnology has long been the realm for only public companies, but that’s changing.

Private equity firm Warburg Pincus has already made some biotech plays that seemed to be a harbinger of the trends here, and even more so when you consider foreign drug companies buying US-based biotechs on the cheap with that US Peso of a currency we have.

A new fund called GANIC Pharmaceuticals has been launched this week, with Warburg Pincus as the main backer. the private equity firm made an initial investment in GANIC from the Warburg Pincus Private Equity X, L.P., a $15 billion fund which shut in April. As of now, we don’t have any exact launch figures for the size of the investment that was given to GANIC.

GANIC’s management is all former senior executives of MedPointe Pharmaceuticals and the company will will focus on building a substantial enterprise by acquiring revenue generating companies, portfolios, and/or products and by investing in innovation and acquiring pipeline development assets.
Continue reading at BioHealthInvestor.com to hear estimates of the size and strategies that the fund might employ.

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Filed under: Raising money, Bain Capital, Venture capital industry, Private equity industry, Investments, Public or private?

LinkedIn is the social networking operator that just about every business person has received an invite to join from at least one person they know.

The company issued a press release this morning noting that it has secured $53 million in additional funding in a capital raise. This was its fourth and largest round of funding and is said to value the company north of $1 billion. What is perhaps more interesting than anything is that the finding was from a private equity-led group rather than from venture capital. Bain Capital Ventures, the VC unit of Bain, led the financing with additional reinvestment from the company’s existing investors:

• Sequoia Capital,
• Greylock Partners,
• and Bessemer Venture Partners.

Over 23 million professionals use LinkedIn to keep in touch with old contacts, to reach new contacts, to problem-solve, and more.

To top matters off, CNBC hosted the head of the company, Dan Nye, earlier this morning and the hint of going public was much more than a hint. It seems like you can probably anticipate an S-1 filing with the SEC in the relatively near future if things continue, although that timing could be later in 2008 or into 2009 or even never. But the ‘we are going for valuations much higher than this’ line was a hard one not to notice. Personally, I’ll go ahead and ‘bet the over’ that we see an IPO filing in the coming months as long as market conditions don’t go further awry.

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Filed under: Raising money, Engagements, Private equity industry, Investments

Back in May, there was word that a new commercial finance company called Tygris Commercial Finance Group was going to set a record with a $1.75 billion capital raise.

This morning, I received an email from a PR firm and then saw the press release. On June 6, Tygris closed with more than a $2 billion raise, setting an even higher record than expected.

Tygris is a commercial finance company that provides liquidity and growth capital to middle market companies throughout North America. Tygris has three commercial finance businesses: corporate finance, equipment leasing and asset finance, and small ticket leasing. Tygris has offices in Chicago, Stamford, CT and Parsippany, NJ.

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Filed under: Movers and shakers, Raising money, Private equity industry, Value and lack thereof, Public or private?

If you are Sam Zell right now, you’re probably sitting there wondering why on earth as an old billionaire that you thought an old world media property with very tiny in new media that you’d have to shrink and break apart to profitability was such a good idea. Tonight, that looks even more so the case.

According to MLB.com Tribune Co. rejected a no-tax proposal in the sale of Wrigley Field to the Illinois Sports facilities Authority, which also owns and operates the Chicago White Sox U.S. Cellular Field as well.

If you read the full article you’ll see how this might also impact the sale of the Chicago Cubs as well. Zell announced in April 2007 that the Cubbies were to be sold. Interestingly enough, the Cubs are also in first place in the NL Central division.

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Filed under: Raising money, Apollo Management, Engagements, Private equity industry, Investments, Shareholders, Value and lack thereof

United Rentals Inc. (NYSE: URI) has announced a major self tender offer this morning and is is seeing shares surge in pre-market trading. It isn’t going private, but it is cleaning up its books and retiring a big portion of its common stock and preferred shares. It seems it is doing what the old private equity acquisition couldn’t do.

The company has announced its plans to tender for up to 27,160,000 shares of common stock through a altered dutch auction. This will be at a price of not less than $22.00 and not greater than $25.00. Shares shut at $19.50 yesterday and its 52-week trading range is $14.83 to $34.98.

The number of shares to be repurchased in the tender offer represents approximately 31.4% of the total outstanding number of shares. If fully subscribed, the total buy price for the common stock would be roughly $679 million. There is also the retirement of preferred shares outstanding as part of this deal, which ties into Apollo Investment Funds and the associated board members will resign from the board of directors as part of the transaction.

Continue reading the full details and analysis at 247WallSt.com.

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Filed under: Deals, Raising money, GS Capital Partners, Value and lack thereof

Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLX) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Third Wave Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWTI) for a purchase price of $11.25 per share, or approximately $580 million in all. This represents about a 24% premium to Third Wave’s average trading price over the last three months. The Boards of Directors of both companies unanimously approved the transaction.

This merger is one of the more interesting in medical and diagnostic companies, despite neither company being a household name. Third Wave develops and markets molecular diagnostic reagents for a wide variety of DNA and RNA analysis applications for conditions such as Cystic Fibrosis, Hepatitis C, cardiovascular risk and other diseases. Its HPV market opportunity is a $200 million market and growth in excess of 40% in each of the past five years. Hologic believes the global market for HPV testing will increase to $800 million in the next few years.

Third Wave shareholders will receive an aggregate amount of an estimated $580 million in cash, assuming the conversion of Third Wave’s outstanding convertible notes, warrants and restricted stock. Hologic plans to finance this transaction with a $600 million loan in the form of a senior secured credit facility, and it has secured fully committed debt financing for the full consideration from Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Continue reading for full details and analysis at BioHealthInvestor.com.

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