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Deals of the day: What will Comcast sell?

By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
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By
Dan Primack
Dan Primack
Down Arrow Button Icon
April 21, 2014, 11:41 PM ET

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Venture Capital Deals

AdRoll, a San Francisco-based provider of digital ad retargeting solutions, has raised $70 million in third-round funding led by existing backer Foundation Capital. New investors included Institutional Venture Partners, Northgate Capital, Performance Equity and Glenmede, while other returning shareholders included Merus Capital, Accel Partners and Peter Thiel. Read more at Fortune.

Birchbox, a New York-based monthly subscription service for curated boxes of beauty samples, has raised $60 million in Series B funding at a $485 million pre-money valuation. Viking Global Investorsled the round, and was joined by return backers First Round Capital, Accel Partners, Aspect Partners, and Consigliere Brand Capital. Read more at Fortune.

Preact, a San Francisco-based startup that helps “subscription software companies maximize customer lifetime value by reducing churn,” has raised $4.6 million in Series A funding led by Trinity Ventures.www.preact.com

Private Equity Deals

AirBNB has closed its previously-reported $475 million preferred equity investment at around a $10 billion valuation, led by TPG Capital. Other investors included Dragoneer Investment Group, T. Rowe Price and existing shareholder Sequoia Capital. www.airbnb.com

LS Power Equity Advisors has agreed to acquire approximately 3,500 megawatts of generation resources in the Southeastern U.S. from Calpine Corp. (NYSE: CPN) for $1.57 billion in cash.www.lspower.com

RiverRock Energy LLC, a San Antonio, Texas-based provider of crude oil logistics services, has secured a $125 million equity commitment from EnCap Flatrock Midstream.www.riverrockenergyllc.com

IPOs

Four companies are expected to price IPOs this week, according to Renaissance Capital. They are:Aldeyra Therapeutics, Quotient, Scynexis and Viggle.

Chukong Holdings Ltd., a Chinese mobile entertainment platform, has filed for a $150 million IPO. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq, with Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank and China Renaissance serving as lead underwriters. The company reports a $14.6 million net loss on $91.6 million in 2013 revenue. Shareholders include Northern Light Venture Capital (23.7% pre-IPO stake), Steamboat Ventures (12.6%), GGV Capital (12.5%), Sequoia Capital China (8.9%) and Brightfish Investment (7.7%).www.chukong-inc.com

Zaftgen Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based biopharma company focused on the needs of severely obese patients, has filed for an $86.25 million IPO. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol ZFGN, with Leerink Partners and Cowen & Co. serving as lead underwriters. Shareholders in the pre-revenue company include Atlas Venture (35.6% pre-IPO stake), Third Rock Ventures (35.4%), Alta Partners (7.4%) and Fidelity Investments (6%). Zafgen also announced the receipt of a $20 million term loan from Oxford Finance and MidCap Financial. www.zafgen.com

M&A

Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is in talks to sell around 3 million of its subscribers to Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR), in a divestiture designed to sooth regulatory fears over its proposed $45 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC), as first reported by the FT.www.comcast.com

iSoftStone Holdings
 (NYSE: ISS), a Beijing-based provider of IT consulting and software services, has agreed to be taken private by chairman and CEO Tianwen Liu for $5.70 per share. 

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) has informally approached British drugmaker AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) about a £60 billion ($101 billion) takeover, according to the Sunday Times. Talks are not currently ongoing. www.pfizer.com

American Securities is seeking a buyer for Global Tel*Link Corp., a Mobile, Ala.-based operator of prison phones, according to the WSJ. American Securities bought GTL in 2011 for approximately $1 billion. www.gtl.net

ARRIS
 (Nasdaq: ARRS) has acquired SeaWell Networks, an Ontario-based provider of adaptive bitrate (ABR) management software, for an undisclosed amount. SeaWell had raised more than C$11 million in VC funding from such firms as BDC Venture Capital and Northwater Capital Intellectual Property Fund. www.seawellnetworks.com

Riordan, Lewis & Haden Equity Partners has sold Secure Mission Solutions, a Reston, Va.–based provider of security consulting solutions to agencies of the US government, to Pasadena, Calif.-based Parsons Corp. for an undisclosed amount. www.securemissionsolutions.com

TreeHouse Foods Inc. (NYSE: THS) has agreed to acquire Protenergy Natural Foods, an Ontario–based maker of private-label broth, soups and gravies, from Whitecastle Investments Ltd. andWhitecap Venture Partners for C$170 million. www.protenergyfoods.com

Sign up for Dan Primack’s daily email newsletter on deals and deal-makers: GetTermSheet.com

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By Dan Primack
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