22 February 2013

Google and Twitter execs form VC fund

Exclusive: Google and Twitter execs form VC fund - The Term Sheet: Fortune's deals blogTerm Sheet: "The new firm is called Homebrew, and is raising $25 million for its debut fund. According to documents viewed by Fortune, the investment strategy would be to back technology startups that "enable the people-based economy" for both consumers and enterprises. The portfolio would be fairly concentrated -- fewer than two dozen companies -- with around half being incubations and the other half being seed-stage financings. Homebrew would offer a variety of services to portfolio companies -- co-location space, recruiting, etc. -- and also would provide a small slice of carried interest to entrepreneurs (kind of like what First Round Capital has done)."

A reminder for start-ups of the limitations of "plans--
Alcatel Chief Is Out as Turnaround Stalls - WSJ.com: " . . . The company unveiled its "Performance Program" in late July. The plan promised to slash €1.25 billion in annual costs by the end of 2013, by reorganizing the company and cutting 5,500 jobs—or roughly 7% of its 2011 workforce. The company said it would exit underperforming contracts, many of them in Europe, and focus increasingly on more profitable businesses like Internet routing. It didn't take long for the plan to be overtaken by events. The company burned €360 million in cash during the third quarter. Its already junk-rated debt hit distressed levels with some bonds trading for 60 cents on the dollar in August. "The fear was that the company would run out of money," said Yannick Naud, a portfolio manager at Glendevon King, a London-based asset-management company. Company executives said they had enough cash to handle maturing debt through next year, but they were pressured as the cost to insure their debt against default rose. So they began exploring a loan deal with banks. . . . "

Guide, a new technology startup based in Miami, announced Tuesday it has closed a $1 million round of seed funding from investors including theJohn S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Sapient Corp., MTV founder Bob Pitman, actor and producer Omar Epps, and early Google employeeSteve Schimmel. The Knight Foundation is supporting Guide through its new early-stage venture fund, the Knight Enterprise Fund.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/02/06/3218833/miami-startup-that-turns-text.html#emlnl=Business#storylink=cpy
(Source: Miami Herald) more info: http://www.gui.de/

Dell's Wasted Billions Explain Fuzzy Math on Deal: Street Whispers - TheStreet: "As of 2012, Dell repurchased nearly 1 billion shares worth roughly $24.8 billion over the previous eight years. The repurchases, which came at an average price of just over $25 a share, represent a loss of roughly $11.3 billion at Dell's proposed $13.65-a-share takeover price. In the past five years, Dell has bought back about $10.4 billion shares at an average price of $18.92, which equates to an almost $3 billion loss given the terms of Tuesday's deal. Simply putting a stop to value-destroying share repurchases that have wasted billions in cash at the PC maker may go a long way in helping Michael Dell and his consortium to finance and profit from the takeover."

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