Hey San Francisco: Let's Get Liquid!
I am pleased to announce that Term Sheet will be hosting its next Liquidity Event in San Francisco, on Tuesday, October 21. That's three weeks from tonight. Tickets are now available at http://TermSheetSF.eventbrite.com
No content, just cocktails and conversation with the Bay Area's top deal-makers, deal-breakers, entrepreneurs and assorted hangers-on. Plus yours truly, an open bar and an assortment of food trucks. ing to San Francisco, for a Liquidity Event at Mighty on Tuesday, Octrober 22.
The venue is Mighty, located at 119 Utah Street. Tickets cost just $15, plus a small service charge. All ticket proceeds will go to a local nonprofit focused on the education space, and you can vote for the "winner" when buying your ticket.
We can't do this without our sponsors, so a HUGE thanks to: Andreessen Horowitz, Gunderson Dettmer, NEA and Preqin.
We’ve sold out every past Liquidity Event, and don’t expect this one to be any different. In other words, be sure to get your ticket today. I can't wait to see you there...
• Abdicated responsibility: No real column this morning, as I must drive down to New York for some meetings and this evening's Fortune Brainstorm Tech dinner, which will feature an interview with Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg. Apologies...
THE BIG DEAL
• eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY) announced that it will spin off its PayPal business into a standalone, publicly-traded company. eBay CEO John Donahoe will step down as part of the split, although he may join the boards of one or both of the resulting companies. eBay will be led by current eBay Marketplaces president Devin Wenig, while American Express exec Dan Schulman will join PayPal as its CEO. If all of this seems familiar, that's probably because Carl Icahn loudly advocated for such a move earlier this year.
At the time, the company said: "No other payments competitor has achieved PayPal’s success – because no other competitor has a commerce platform like eBay. In fact, today we see more and more commerce and payments competitors trying to replicate the eBay and PayPal model. We are seeing a convergence of commerce and payments businesses, not a separation."
This morning, Donahoe acknowledged that eBay's board eventually “got to the same place that Carl said early on" -- but stressed that the move was not caused by outside pressures. Read more.
VENTURE CAPITAL DEALS
• Remind, a San Francisco-based mobile communications product for teachers, students and parents, has raised $40 million in Series C funding. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers led the round, and was joined by fellow return backers The Social+Capital Partnership and First Round Capital. The company previously raised $19 million. www.remind.com
• Datorama, an Israel-based online cross-channel marketing analytics platform, has raised $15 million in Series B funding. Marker LLC and Innovation Endeavors co-led the round, and were joined by return backer Cedar Fund. www.datorama.com
• Allakos Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based developer of antibody therapeutics for allergic and inflammatory diseases, has raised $10 million in additional Series A funding, bringing the round total to $42 million. Return backers included Novo Ventures, Alta Partners, RiverVest Venture Partners and the Roche Venture Fund. www.allakos.com
• Sharethrough, a San Francisco-based native video advertising startup,, has raised $10 million in new VC funding. British Sky Broadcasting led the round, and was joined by return backers Floodgate Fund, North Bridge Venture Partners and Silver Creek Ventures and certain members of Elevation Partners. www.sharethrough.com
• TriggerMail Inc., a New York-based provider of personalized email marketing solutions for e-commerce companies, has raised $6 million in Series A funding, according to a regulatory filing. Backers include FirstMark Capital. www.triggermail.io
• Argus Cyber Security, an Israeli provider of automotive cybersecurity solutions has raised $4 million in Series A funding. Backers include Magma Venture Partners and Vertex Ventures. www.argus-sec.com
PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS
• CIVC Partners has acquired KPA Services LLC, a provider of environmental, health, & safety ("EHS") compliance and human resource management solutions to auto dealerships. No financial terms were disclosed. www.kpaonline.com
• Computer Sciences Corp. (NYSE: CSC) has held talks with several private equity firms, including Bain Capital and The Blackstone Group, about a buyout, according to Bloomberg. The IT provider’s shares climbed more than 6% on the news, for a current market cap of around $8.6 billion. Read more.
• Food Evolution, a Schiller Park, Ill.-based provider of upscale foodservice products and fresh outsourced commissary solution, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from Balance Point Capital Partners, Akoya Capital Partners and Plexus Capital. www.foodevolution.com
• GI Partners has agreed to acquire Kellermeyer Bergensons Services LLC, a Maumee, Ohio–based provider of facilities management services to North American retail and grocery chains, from Kohlberg & Co. www.kbs-clean.com
• LBO France has acquired an 80% stake in Payot, a French maker of branded cosmetics and skincare products. No financial terms were disclosed, but one media report puts the enterprise value at between €30 million and €40 million.
• MRO Corp., a King of Prussia, Penn.–based provider of disclosure management and health exchange information, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from Imperial Capital Group. www.mrocorp.com
• Oncoceutics Inc., a Hummelstown, Penn.–based drug discovery company focused on suppressor pathways in human cancer, has raised an undisclosed amount of private equity funding from Spring Mountain Capital. www.Oncoceutics.com
IPOs
• Boot Barn Holdings Inc., an Irvine, Calif.-based western and work wear retailer owned by Freeman Spogli & Co., has filed for an $86.25 million IPO. It plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol BOOT, with J.P. Morgan, Piper Jaffray and Jefferies serving as co-lead underwriters. The company reports $5.66 million in net income on $346 million in revenue for the fiscal year ending March 29, 2014. www.bootbarn.com
• Kimree Inc., a Chinese maker of e-cigarettes, has filed for a $125 million IPO. It plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol KREE, with Citigroup serving as lead underwriter. The company reports $10.2 million in net income on $51 million in revenue for the first half of 2014, compared to $4.6 million of net income on nearly $33 million in revenue for the year-earlier period. www.kimree.com
• Skylark Co., a Japanese restaurant-chain operator owned by Bain Capital, raised around $610 million in a Tokyo IPO. The company priced at the low end of its expected range. Read more.
• Zalando, a Germany-based online fashion retailer, raised around €605 million in its Frankfurt IPO. The company priced its shares at the top of its proposed range, giving it a market cap of around €5.3 billion. Read more.
OTHER DEALS
• China Investment Corp. has sold one-third of its stake in Singapore-listed commodities trader Noble Group for approximately $314 million, bringing its remaining position down to around 10%. www.thisisnoble.com
• Joh. A. Benckiser GmbH of Germany has agreed to acquire Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, a Lakewood, Colo.-based operator of several bagel restaurant chains, for approximately $374 million in cash, or $20.25 per share (47% premium over 30-day trading average). www.einsteinnoah.com
• Tallwood Venture Capital has agreed to acquire around 27.4 million shares in Ikanos Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: IKAN), a Fremont, Calif.–based provider of broadband semiconductor and software products for the connected home, for $11.25 million. Tallwood already was the company’s largest outside investor. In related news, Alcatel-Lucent is acquiring 12.2 million shares in Ikanos for $5 million. www.ikanos.com
FIRMS & FUNDS
• Silverfleet Capital, a UK-based mid-market buyout firm, is raising nearly $900 million for its second fund since spinning out of Prudential PLC, according to a regulatory filing. Credit Suisse is serving as placement agent. www.silverfleetcapital.com
MOVING IN, UP, ON & OUT
• No personnel news this morning...
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