Abdicated responsibility
I spent an inordinate amount of time yesterday in a car and in meetings at NYC HQ, thus leaving me very little time to actually... you know, report stuff. Plus, there was an insane amount of deal news to blurb. So no column this morning, but will be back tomorrow with lots of info -- including from Fortune's new cover story, co-written by yours truly and Erin Griffith. Thanks for (hopefully) understanding.
THE BIG DEAL
• Orbitz Worldwide Inc. (NYSE: OWW), a Chicago-based online travel agent, is exploring a sale, according to Bloomberg. Several private equity firms and strategic acquirers have expressed interest. Orbitz has a current market cap just north of $1.1 billion. Read more.
VENTURE CAPITAL DEALS
• Porch, a Seattle-based provider of a recommendation engine for home improvement professionals, has raised $65 million in new VC funding. Valor Equity Partners led the round, and was joined by Founders Fund and return backer Lowe’s Cos. (NYSE: LOW). According to the NY Times, the round valued Porch above $500 million. Read more.
• VMTurbo, a Boston-based provider of software-defined control for cloud and virtualized environments, has raised $50 million in fourth-round funding. ICONIQ Capital led the round, and was joined by return backers like Bain Capital Ventures, Globespan Capital Partners and Highland Capital Partners. www.vmturbo.com
• Green Biologics, a British developer of bio-based C4 chemicals, has raised $42 million in new equity funding. Swire Pacific Ltd. and Sofinnova Partners co-led the round, and were joined by return backers Capricorn Venture Partners, Oxford Capital Partners, Morningside Technology Partners and ConvergInce Holdings. The company also secured $34 million in debt financing led by Tennenbaum Capital Partners. www.greenbiologics.com
• Stack Exchange, a New York-based operator of a Q&A site for programmers, has raised $40 million in Series D funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, and was joined by return backers Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, Bezos Expeditions, and Index Ventures. Read more.
• Regenxbio, a Washington, D.C.-based gene therapy company, has raised $30 million in Series C funding. Venrock and Brookside Capital co-led the round, and were joined by Deerfield Management and return backers FoxKiser and Fidelity BioSciences. www.regenxbio.com
• Shazam, a London-based music recognition mobile app, has raised $30 million in new VC funding led by existing backer DN Capital at a post-money valuation north of $1 billion. The company previously raised around $95 million from firms like DN Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Sony Entertainment and Institutional Venture Partners. www.shazam.com
• Ravello Systems Inc., a Palo Alto, Calif.-based nested virtualization software company, has raised $28 million in third-round funding. Qualcomm Ventures and SanDisk Ventures co-led the round, and were joined by Sequoia Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Norwest Venture Partners and Vintage Investment Partners. www.ravellosystems.com
• Jibo, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of connected robots for the home, has raised $25.3 million in Series A funding. RRE Ventures led the round, and was joined by CRV, Flybridge Capital Partners, Fairhaven Capital Partners, Two Sigma, Formation 8, Samsung Ventures and Osage Venture Partners. www.myjibo.com
• AppsFlyer, an Israel-based mobile advertising measurement platform, has raised $20 million in Series B funding. Fidelity Growth Partners Europe led the round, and was joined by return backers Magma Venture Partners and Pitango Venture Capital. www.appsflyer.com
• Interana, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based provider of event-based analytics, has raised $20 million in Series B funding. Index Ventures led the round, and was joined by AME Cloud Ventures, Harris Barton, Mike Olson and return backers Battery Ventures, Data Collective and Fuel Capital. Read more.
• Work Market, a New York-based freelance labor platform and marketplace, has raised $20 million in growth equity funding. Existing investor Union Square Ventures led the round, and was joined by Spark Capital, SoftBank Capital, Industry Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank. www.workmarket.com
• Taulia, a San Francisco-based provider of a supplier financing platform, has raised $15 million in new VC funding from Zouk Capital. It previously raised around $70 million from Klaus Hommels, DAG Ventures, Matrix Partners, TELUS Ventures, BBVA Ventures, EDBI and Trinity Ventures. www.taulia.com
• CloudHealth Technologies, a Boston-based provider of IT service management for the cloud, has raised $12 million in Series B funding. Scale Venture Partners led the round, and was joined by return backers .406 Ventures, and Sigma Prime Ventures. www.cloudhealthtech.com
• The Black Tux, a tuxedo and men’s formal-ware rental service, has raised $10 million in new VC funding led by First Round Capital. Read more.
• Ringly, a New York-based maker of digitally-connected jewelry and accessories, has raised $5.1 million in Series A funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, and was joined by Highline Ventures, Silas Capital and return backers First Round Capital, Social+Capital, Mesa+, BBV and PCH. www.ringly.com
• Choozle, a Denver-based provider of an “intuitive digital advertising platform,” has raised $4.1 million in Series A funding from firms like Great Oaks Venture Capital. www.choozle.com
• Sensorion SA, a French biotech company focused on the treatment of inner ear diseases, has raised up to €4 million in VC funding from existing shareholders Innobio and Inserm Transfert Initiative. The new money is dependent on the achievement of clinical milestones. www.sensorion-pharma.com
• Poka, a Quebec City-based social platform for manufacturing companies, has raised C$2.5 million in new VC funding. iNovia Capital led the round, and was joined by SoftTech VC. www.poka.io
• The Alchemist Accelerator, an enterprise-focused accelerator based in San Francisco, has raised $2.1 million in new VC funding. Mayfield led the round, and was joined by Tyco International Inc. and return backer Cisco Systems. www.alchemistaccelerator.com
• Citelighter, a Baltimore-based provider of research and organization tools for K-12 administrators,, has raised $2 million in new seed funding. Propel Baltimore Fund led the round, and was joined by the Maryland Venture Fund, Gulf Ventures, New York Angels, Baltimore Angels, Blu Ventures and individual angels. www.citelighter.com
• Codestreet, a New York-based provider of fixed income matching and liquidity discovery solutions, has raised an undisclosed amount of minority equity funding from Rochester Advisors and Cerium Technology. www.codestreet.com
PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS
• Adreima, a Downers Grove, Ill.–based provider of healthcare revenue cycle management solutions, has acquired HealthCPA, a San Mateo, Calif.–based provider of patient advocacy and consumer engagement services. No financial terms were disclosed. Adreima is a portfolio company of Waud Capital Partners. www.adreima.com
• AdvancePierre Foods, a Cincinnati-based portfolio company of Oaktree Capital Management, has acquired Landshire Inc., an Caseyville, Ill.-based manufacturer of sandwich products. No financial terms were disclosed. www.advancepierre.com
• BlackHawk Industrial, a Tulsa, Okla.-based portfolio company of Brazos Private Equity and CenterOak Partners, has acquired Packaging Inc., an Eden Prairie, Minn.-based provider of packaging and fastening equipment and supplies. No financial terms were disclosed. www.blackhawkid.com
• Ipreo, a New York-based provider of market intelligence and productivity solutions to capital markets and corporate professionals, has acquired ClearMomentum, a Canandaigua, N.Y.–based provider of portfolio monitoring applications to alternative asset investors and their limited partners. No financial terms were disclosed. Ipreo is a portfolio company of The Blackstone Group and GS Capital Partners. Sellers include Trillium Group. www.ipreo.com
• Madison Dearborn Partners has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Walgreens Infusion Services, a provider of home and alternate treatment site infusion services, from Walgreens Boots Alliance (Nasdaq: WBA). No financial terms were disclosed. www.walgreens.com
• Victory Park Capital has agreed to invest up to £150 million in loans organized by British peer-to-peer business lender Assetz Capital, per a five-year contract. www.assetzcapital.co.uk
IPOs
• Avinger Inc., a Redwood City, Calif.-based maker of catheters for treating peripheral artery disease, has set its IPO terms to around 4.62 million shares being offered at between $12 and $14 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $128 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol AVGR, with Canaccord Genuity and Cowen & Co. serving as co-lead underwriters. Avinger reports a net loss of nearly $24 million on $8.1 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2014. Shareholders include Donald Lucas. www.avinger.com
EXITS
• Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has acquired Semetric, a UK-based provider of an analytics platform for the music industry. No financial terms were disclosed, but the FT pegs the price-tag at around $50 million. Semetric had raised VC funding from Pentech Ventures and Imperial Innovations Group. www.musicmetric.com
• CK Investments, a group controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing, has agreed to acquire Eversholt Rail Group from a group of investors that included 3i Infrastructure, Morgan Stanley and STAR Capital Partners. Eversholt is a UK-based provider of passenger and freight rolling stock. The deal is valued at approximately $3.8 billion, including the assumption of debt. Read more.
• Dropbox, a VC-backed provider of cloud storage and file-sharing solutions, has acquired CloudOn, an Israel-based provider of mobile productivity tools. No financial terms were disclosed. CloudOn had raised around $26 million in VC funding from The Social+Capital Partnership, Translink Capital, Foundation Capital and Rembrandt Venture Partners. www.cloudon.com
OTHER DEALS
• OAG, a UK–based provider of flight schedules and related analytics, has acquired FlightView Inc., a Boston-based provider of real-time flight information solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. OAG is a unit of UBM PLC (LSE: UBM). www.oag.com
• Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Nasdaq: SLXP) has hired Centerview Partners to explore strategic options, including a possible sale, according to Reuters. The Raleigh, N.C.-based drugmaker currently is valued at over $8 billion, and last year terminated a merger with Switzerland-listed Cosmo Pharmaceuticals SpA due to a changed political environment” regarding tax inversions. Read more.
FIRMS & FUNDS
• Escalate Capital, an Austin, Texas-based growth equity firm, has closed its third fund with $235 million in capital commitments. The firm also promoted Chris Julich to managing director and Ryan Sanders to principal. www.escalatecapital.com
• GoldPoint Partners, a private equity affiliate of New York Life Investments, has closed its fifth co-investment fund with $675 million in capital commitments. www.goldpointpartners.com
MOVING IN, UP, ON & OUT
• Dharmesh Thakker has joined Battery Ventures as a general partner, effective Feb. 1. He previously was a managing director with Intel Capital. www.battery.com
• Carol Wentworth has joined venture capital firm DFJ as a marketing partner. She previously was with SparkPR. www.dfj.com
• Nate Yohannes has been appointed senior advisor to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Investment and Innovation. He previously was a vice president and associate counsel with The Money Management Institute. www.sba.gov
• Atlantic Street Capital has promoted Brian Cooper to partner. Cooper joined the Connecticut-based private equity firm in 2013 from GB Merchant Partners, and serves on the boards of portfolio companies Uniguest and Z Wireless. www.atlanticstreetcapital.com
• Evergreen Pacific Partners, a Seattle-based private equity firm, has promoted Chris Brenes to senior VP and Scott Jensen to VP. www.eppcapital.com
• JMI Equity has promoted Matt Emery (San Diego), David Greenberg and Bob Nye to general partner. Emery joined the firm in 2006 and has worked on such deals as AtTask, Capsule Tech, PointClickCare, WhiteHat Security. Greenberg (Baltimore) joined in 2006, and works with Businessolver, Lytx, SiriusDecisions and The Search Agency. Nye joined in 2005, and has worked on Dean Evans & Associates, DoubleVerify, Paradigm and Undertone. www.jmi.com
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http://fortune.com/2015/01/21/term-sheet-wed-january-21
