Venture Update Vol. XI, #1, January 2007
Done Deals
Mebane – Madison River Communications (www.madisonriver.net) will be acquired by CenturyTelin a deal worth $830 million. Madison River, which includes the local telecommunications provider known as MebTel, operates three other local rural exchange carriers and has an extensive fiber optic backbone. The deal includes cash for Madison River shares and assumption of Madison River dept. Contact Rick Whitener (919.563.8374).
Greensboro – RF Micro Devices, Inc. (RFMD) (www.rfmd.com), a designer of radio systems and solutions for mobile communications applications, has signed an agreement to sell the majority of its Bluetooth assets to QUALCOMM for $39 million. The pending transaction is expected to provide QUALCOMM access to next-generation Bluetooth technology. Contact Jerry Neal (336.678.7054).
Raleigh – Accipiter (www.accipiter.com), which sells ad serving technologies to web publishers in more than 20 countries, was acquired by Seattle-based Atlas, the technologies business unit of aQuantive, Inc. Accipiter’s outstanding shares were acquired in exchange for cash consideration of $30.3 million. Accipiter was founded in 1996 and has operated independently since 2002. From 1996 to 2002, company operated under various corporate parents, including Engage and CMGI. Contact Shawn Ramsey (919.359.0947).
Durham-based Aldagen, Inc. (www.aldagen.com), a company focused on stem cell research, has received $17.3 million in debt and equity financing. The Series C equity financing was co-led by Harbert Venture Partners, LLC and Intersouth Partners. Also participating in the round were existing investors The Aurora Funds, Trelys Funds, L.P., Tall Oaks Capital Partners, Village Ventures and the Piedmont Angel Network. Contact Michelle Linn (508.419.1555).
Raleigh – Southern Capitol Ventures (SCV) (www.southerncapitolventures.com), has closed its second fund, Southern Capitol Technology Fund II, LP. Oversubscribed and with more than $15 million in subscriptions, the new fund will allow SCV to expand its current portfolio of companies which include companies like Art.com, Batanga, ChannelAdvisor, eMinor, Motricity and Synthematix. Contact Jason Caplain (919.858.7580).
Charlotte – NewGen Technologies, Inc. (www.newgenholdings.com), a bio fuels manufacturer, has announced that Noel M. Corcoran, a director of the company, and Indexia Holdings Limited, have invested a total of $6.668 millionin the company. The Investors recently lent the company an aggregate of $4.024 million and have converted the entire balance of principal and interest under such loans into 18,204,315 shares of NewGen's common stock. In addition, Corcoran has advanced an additional $2.644 million on a non-recourse and unsecured basis, accruing interest at an annual rate of 10 percent. Contact Blois Olson (651.221.1999).
RTP – IBM (www.ibm.com), one of the largest employers of technology workers in RTP, has acquired Vallent, a Washington-based supplier of network performance monitoring software for an undisclosed amount. Vallent’s software enables the management by service providers of network infrastructure by monitoring and reporting problem areas such as dropped calls and traffic bottlenecks. The company employs about 400 people. Contact Jeneane Miri (512.286.3217).
Morrisville – Integrian, Inc. (www.integrian.com), a mobile video camera technology innovation company, has acquired Signal Innovations Group (SIG), for an undisclosed amount. SIG has developed high-performance tactical target recognition algorithms for air, ground and sea-based tier-one military operations. The SIG acquisition will be Integrian's third in the past two years, following the purchase of Digital Safety Technologies in March 2005 and Innovonics, Ltd. in late 2005. Contact Robin Potts (919.472.5022).
Durham – Trinity Convergence (www.trinityconvergence.com), a provider of embedded software solutions, has acquired Michigan-based Swell Software for an undisclosed amount. Swell Software products are used in a variety of embedded applications, including printers, MP3 players, handheld GPS units, home security systems, medical electronics and digital cameras. Contact Jeff Schline (919.433.7005).
RTP – Cisco (www.cisco.com) has acquired Tivella, a digital signage and systems firm for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions and is expected to close in the second quarter of Cisco's fiscal year 2007. Tivella, which is privately held and has 10 employees, is based in Half Moon Bay, Calif. Cisco, which has a major campus in Research Triangle Park, sees digital signage as a growth opportunity area, providing customers with means of improving brand identity, customer loyalty, and in reaching target audiences. Contact Ron Piovesan (408.527.0287).
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On the Up
InTheNumbers
Raleigh, NC
Founded by Beau Dawkins, Raleigh-based InTheNumbers is a national provider of real estate investment resources. The company provides a subscription based Web site to aid customers in making foreclosure investment decisions.
While employed at IBM, Dawkins, president of operations, purchased, remodeled and sold numerous single-family homes and mid-size, multi-family apartment communities.
After realizing the potential of the foreclosure market and the lack of resources available to people interested in pre-foreclosure and foreclosure properties, Dawkins decided to pursue a full time career in real estate investment and hence, InTheNumbers was formed.
Unlike alternative foreclosure Web sites, InTheNumbers.com features over 1,000 foreclosure and pre-foreclosure listings from Wake, Mecklenburg, and Durham counties that are collected daily from county courthouses. InTheNumbers will be adding Johnston, Orange and Forsyth counties in the near future.
"InTheNumbers is a time and cost efficient alternative to the traditional method of compiling pre-foreclosure and foreclosure data," said Dawkins. "By utilizing our technologies and services, investors can make quicker and better decisions, saving time and money."
In addition to foreclosure data, the Web site provides 24/7 access to the data, investment and training seminars, webinars, guides to local investment groups and the latest industry trends. InTheNumbers, which recently graduated from CED’s FastTrac Tech Course, has also created a platform where customers can network with other real estate and investment professionals.
“Our technologies alleviate the time-consuming and labor-intensive, yet critical job of compiling data in one centralized location, so that investors can focus more time on identifying the best properties and less time on making sure they have all the right information,” said Dean Bundschu, President of Business Development. “Our data is constantly being updated and outdated data is purged from the system on a weekly basis. So, investors can rest easy in knowing that when using information from our Web site, it is the most updated, reliable pre-foreclosure and foreclosure data on the web.” Contact Dean Bundschu (919.342.4955).
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New Developments
Hillsborough – InnerOptic Technology (www.inneroptic.com), a startup focused on visualization technology to be used by surgeons, has landed a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation for the further development of a 3-D device InnerOptic calls the Laparoscope research purposes. The grant is an extension of an earlier contract and increases its value to $550,000. Laparoscope provides real-time imagery of the area where minimally invasive surgery of the abdomen, or laparoscopic surgery, is being performed. Contact Kurtis Keller (919.732.2090).
RTP – SCYNEXIS, Inc. (www.scynexis.com), a chemistry-focused drug discovery and development company, has entered into a multi-year research agreement with Merck & Co., Inc. to discover and develop novel oncology compounds. Through the use of its proprietary technologies, SCYNEXIS will produce highly-targeted compound libraries and utilize rapid lead optimization techniques to develop new drug candidates for clinical evaluation. Contact Rick Rountree (919.878.1144).
Cary – Trana Discovery (www.tranadiscovery.com), a drug discovery firm, and the Southern Research Institute have agreed to work together to seek potential drugs for the treatment of AIDS. Under the agreement, Trana will screen Southern Research’s extensive collection of nucleosides to identify anti-infective with a novel mechanism of action. Trana's screening assays identify compounds that interrupt the lifecycle of pathogens through a new mechanism of action—the inhibition of transfer RNA (tRNA). Contact Karl von Gunten (919.931.1434).
Durham – Quintiles Transnational (www.quintiles.com/), a clinical research organization, has committed to investing $10.1 million and creating 1,000 jobs in RTP. The investment was encouraged in part by $2 million of incentives from the state’s One North Carolina Fund and a Job Development Investment Grant. The additional 1,000 jobs that will be created will range from management positions to clinical operations employees to administrative staff. Contact Pat Grebe (919.998.2000).
Durham – Motricity (www.motricity.com), a provider of mobile content services and solutions, has launched “Bananas,” a branded mobile content subscription service offered by MTV, a unit of Viacom Inc. Motricity powers MTV’s “Bananas,” which is a cross-carrier, direct-to-consumer offering that features exclusive content from MTV, MTV2 and mtvU including material from hit shows such as “Laguna Beach,” “Real World,” “Two-A-Days,” “Rob & Big” and “The Hills.” “Bananas” is powered by Fuel, Motricity’s award-winning mobile content delivery platform. The program includes two tiers of service, each delivering an array of content from MTV programming as well as music ringtones from major record labels. Contact Noreen Allen (919.287.7400).
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In the Pipeline
RTP – Tranzyme Pharma (www.tranzyme.com), a developer of drugs to treat gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders, has received a European patent covering part of its drug discovery technology. The process received a U.S. patent earlier this year. The patent protects key aspects of the Company’s core drug discovery technology, Macrocyclic Template Chemistry (MATCH). MATCH is based on the synthesis of specific types of low-molecular weight, drug-like compounds called macrocycles. Contact Vipin K. Garg, Ph.D. (919.313.4764).
RTP – Metabolon (www.metabolon.com) launched mVivo, a service that allows researchers to gain a deeper understanding of the effects of investigational drugs during animal testing. With the introduction of mVivo, Metabolon completes their three product series of metabolomic drug safety and efficacy testing solutions, spanning the entire drug discovery and development workflow. Contact Stephanie Ferrell (919.287.3359).
Winston-Salem – Targacept, Inc. (www.targacept.com), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, has announced that AstraZeneca plans to continue development of AZD3480 (TC-1734) in Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. AstraZeneca’s determination to continue development triggers a $20 million milestone payment to Targacept under the parties’ collaboration agreement. The announcement follows the completion by AstraZeneca of previously disclosed studies of AZD3480 (TC-1734). Contact Alan Musso (336.480.2186).
Durham – EMD Pharmaceuticals (www.emdpharmaceuticals.com) and drug partner Dey, L.P. have received Food and Drug Administration approval to sell a kit for the treatment of known or suspected cyanide poisoning. According to the companies, Cyanokit, the cyanide antidote, is the first approved in the U.S. in several decades. Contact Jeffrey Knapp (919.401.7244).
RTP – GlaxoSmithKline, (www.gsk.com) has announced that data from a Phase III study on Tykerb (lapatinib) plus Xeloda (capecitabine) was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Based on the findings, the study authors concluded that given its distinct mechanism of action and activity, as a small molecule dual receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor, lapatinib should be investigated for use in the earlier treatment of HER2 (ErbB2) positive breast cancer. Lapatinib is an investigational medicinal product and has not been approved for marketing by any regulatory body. Contact Mary Anne Rhyne (919.483.2839).
Charlotte – US LEC Corp. (www.uslec.com), a full-service provider of IP, data and voice solutions to businesses and enterprise organizations, has launched its Small/Medium Branch (SMB) Firewall service. This new offering expands upon the success of its existing firewall IP/VPN service and responds to the large customer demand for a complete turnkey solution able to effectively service small and medium branches and businesses with firewall protection. Contact Paul Wilson (704.319.6875).
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Mark Your Calendar!
CED's
Venture 2007 Conference
April 24-25, 2007
Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club
Durham, NC
Biotech 2007 Conference
May 14-15, 2007
Durham Marriott at the Civic Center
Durham, NC
Venture Update is published by the
Council for Entrepreneurial Development (CED)
an entrepreneurial support organization located in the Research Triangle Park, N.C.
Robert Albright, editor
P.O. Box 13353, RTP, NC 27709
Phone: 919-549-7500
FAX: 919-549-7405
email: news@cednc.org