No financial terms were disclosed, but we’ve learned that the sale price was around $300 million ($285m of equity, and $15m in founder earnouts). This represents a nice return for the venture capital firms that pumped nearly $35 million into Paydiant over the past four years, given that the post-money valuation on its Series B and Series C rounds were $55 million and $117 million, respectively.

For PayPal, which is in the process of spinning off from eBay, this move makes total sense. The company has struggled to create mobile payment solutions for physical retailers and banks, at the same time that later-arriving rivals like Apple and Google have gained traction. The better question, however, is why Paydiant would sell out just as its industry is beginning to garner mainstream attention.

Here is the explanation from Jim Moran, a venture capitalist whose firm, North Bridge, originally funded and incubated Paydiant:

“The reality is that mobile payments is still a zero billion dollar industry. While we had very big contracts with some very big merchants, the actual dollar values and volumes were just kicking in. And then you have what Apple is doing, which shined a big light on what we were doing but it caused a lot of boards to stutter-step on mobile payments. Apple’s solution is very simple and requires NFC-capable point-of-sale systems which aren’t very common yet, but they do have hundreds of millions of loyal customers and great phone. Plus, they’re Apple and they could buy a small country.

So we mapped the capital requirements against time and projected volume — which equates the the revenue register ringing for us — and we felt the partnership with PayPal made a lot of sense. Particularly since its incoming CEO, Dan Schulman, knew us from his time at American Express and that our platform is industrial strength. He wants this to become a very big division of PayPal, and the [Paydiant] team was all on board… When a team tells you it’s time, it’s not my place to say it isn’t.”

In addition to North Bridge, Paydiant backers included General Catalyst, Stage 1 Ventures, Sands Capital Ventures and West Capital Management.

• Counter-intuitive: Following the financial crisis, large limited partners began putting pressure on private equity firms to make their fund fees more equitable. The timing of the power dynamic shift made sense, given that active fund performance had been decimated and cash-strapped LPs would need to chop off certain GP relationships. But I am very surprised that LPs have managed to keep up the pressure, given that we're now several years into a distribution check flood that has been married with increased private equity interest from sovereign wealth funds.

• The future of biotech financing? A group of MIT economists and NIH scientists published a paper last week that suggests a new financing model for developing rare disease drugs. In very simplistic terms, the idea is to create private-sector 'megafunds' that would use debt to fund a large portfolio of preclinical projects (which, upon maturity, would be sold off to VCs and/or big pharma). If adopted, it could become a new research pipeline for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. Read the full paper by going here.

• JOBS Act boomerang: MaxPoint Interactive and Wowo are among the four companies expected to price U.S. IPOs this week. If they get out, they'd only be the second and third tech companies to go public so far in 2015. To date, Box is the year's only tech IPO.

• Speaking of the JOBS Act: There still are no finalized crowdfunding rules. You know, because Mary Jo White believes that Congressionally-mandated deadlines are for suckers.

• 47k and counting... Every time I add another thousand Twitter followers, I like to ask you to join the others. That way we can chat throughout the day. Follow me @danprimack.

THE BIG DEAL

• Bain Capital was expected to submit an offer for a majority stake in Philips NV's lighting components business by yesterday’s deadline, according to Reuters. Also expected was a joint bid from CVC Capital Partners and KKR. The deal could be valued at around $2.8 billion, with Morgan Stanley managing the process. Read more.

VENTURE CAPITAL DEALS

• Booker, an online appointment booking platform for SMBs, has raised $35 million in Series C funding. Medina Capital led the round, and was joined by Jump Capital, First Data, Signal Peak Ventures and return backers Bain Capital Ventures, Revolution Ventures, Grotech Ventures, TDF Ventures, and Vital Financial. www.booker.com

• Mersana Therapeutics Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of antibody-drug conjugates, has raised $35 million in Series B-1 funding led by existing investor New Enterprise Associates. Other return backers included Pfizer Venture Investments and Fidelity Biosciences, while new investors Rock Springs Capital Management and Elliott Sigal also participated. www.mersana.com

• Seven Lakes Technologies, a Los Angeles-based provider of software for the oil and gas exploration and production sector, has raised $20 million in Series A funding from Carrick Capital Partners. www.sevenlakes.com

• RockYou, a San Francisco-based gaming and in-game advertising company, has raised $23 million in new funding led by Columbia Capital. www.rockyou.com

• ToutApp Inc., a San Francisco-based communications platform for salespeople, has raised $15 million in Series B funding. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, and was joined by return backers Sigma West, Founder Collective, 500 Startups and the Launch Fund. Read more.

• Options Away, a Chicago-based online travel agency that lets users lock-in flight prices, has raised $3.5 million in Series A funding. OCA Ventures led the round, and was joined by Thayer Ventures and Pritzker Group Venture Capital. www.optionsaway.com

• Sqore, a provider of online challenge-based skill testing, has raised $3.5 million in VC funding from Northzone Ventures. www.sqore.com

PRIVATE EQUITY DEALS

• Accella Performance Materials Inc., a maker of polyurethane systems and recycled rubber products, has acquired IPS Polymer Systems Inc., a Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based. No financial terms were disclosed. Accella is a portfolio company of Arsenal Capital Partners. www.accellacorp.com

• Bertram Capital has acquired a majority stake in Clarus Glassboards LLC, a Fort Worth, Texas–based maker of branded glass markerboards and architectural glass systems. No financial terms were disclosed. ww.clarusglassboards.com

• Birch Hill Equity Partners has acquired the industrial division of Canadian recycling company Newalta Corp. (TSX: NAL) for $300 million (plus the assumption of certain liabilities). www.newalta.com

• Bridgepoint, Capvis, Permira and NXMH (South Korea) each have expressed interest buying German fashion group Bogner, according to Reuters. A deal could be valued at between €250 million and €300 million. Read more.

• CBPE Capital has acquired Sofa.com, a UK–based multi-channel retailer of bespoke sofas, armchairs and beds. No financial terms were disclosed, except that the deal included leveraged financing from European Capital. www.sofa.com

• Goldman Sachs and Rhône Capital have acquired Neovia Logistics, an Irving, Texas-based provider of third-party logistics services, from Platinum Equity. No financial terms were disclosed. www.neovialogistics.com

• Graham Partners has acquired Tidel Inc., a Carrollton, Texas-based provider of tech-enabled smart safe solutions for businesses and financial institutions, from Vector Capital. No financial terms were disclosed. www.tidel.com

• Healogics Inc., a Jacksonville, Fla.-based portfolio company of Clayton Dubilier & Rice, has acquired Accelewound Care Centers Inc., a Bellevue, Wash.-based wound care and disease management company, from Revelstoke Capital Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. www.accelecare.com

• Oaktree Capital Management has agreed to acquire Pulse Electronics Corp. (OTC BB: PULS), a San Diego-based provider of electronic components and modules. The deal is valued at $17 million, or $1.50 per share. www.pulseelectronics.com

• Weinberg Capital Group has acquired Convenience Valet, a Melrose Park, Calif.-based mechanical vending machines. No financial terms were disclosed. www.cvalet.com

IPOs

• Summit Materials Inc., a Denver-based heavy-side construction materials company owned by The Blackstone Group, has set its IPO terms to 22.22 million shares being offered at between $17 and $19 per share. The company plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol SUM, with Citigroup and Goldman Sachs serving as lead underwriters. Summit Materials reports $870 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2014. www.summit-materials.com

• Truven Health Analytics Inc., an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based provider of healthcare data to hospitals and physicians, is prepping a 2015 IPO that could value the company at more than $3 billion, according to Reuters. Veritas Capital acquired Truven from Thomson Reuters for $1.25 billion in 2012. Read more.

EXITS

• Advent International is seeking a buyer for European pet food maker Partner in Pet Food, according to Reuters. The asking price could be north of €300 million. Read more.

• The Blackstone Group and CVC Capital Partners have launched the sale of their remaining 156.5 million shares in UK-based theme park operator Merlin Entertainment (LSE: MERL). The offering could garner just over $1 billion. www.merlinentertainments.biz

• Levine Leichtman Capital Partners has sold Dexter Magnetic Technologies Inc., an Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based provider of magnetic products and assemblies, to Robert Family Holdings Inc. No financial terms were disclosed. www.dextermag.com

• Olympus Partners has been talking to banks about a possible sale process for The Waddington Group, a Covington, Ky.–based maker of plastic tableware, according to Reuters. A deal could be worth around $1.5 billion. Read more.

• Proofpoint Inc. (Nasdaq: PFPT) has agreed to acquire Emerging Threats, a Lafayette, Ind.-based provider of threat intelligence solutions. The deal is valued at around $40 million in cash and stock. Emerging Threats raised over $1 million in seed funding from Elevate Ventures, HALO Capital Group and Lawrence Ventures. www.emergingthreats.net

OTHER DEALS

• Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) has agreed to acquire Cordis, a Bridgewater, N.J.-based provider of interventional vascular technology, from Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) for $1.99 billion in cash and retained net receivables.  www.cordis.com

• Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) has agreed to acquire wireless network infrastructure company Aruba Networks (Nasdaq: ARUN) for approximately $3 billion (including assumed debt). Read more.

FIRMS & FUNDS

• Social+Capital Partnership is targeting upwards of $450 million for its fourth VC fund, according to a regulatory filing. www.s23p.com

MOVING IN, UP, ON & OUT

• Gordon Dyal, co-chairman of investing banking at Goldman Sachs who has been with the firm since 1998, is retiring, according to the NY Times. Read more.

• Craig Farr is stepping down as head of KKR’s credit and capital markets group, as first reported by Bloomberg. He will transition into an advisory role. Adam Smith will take over capital markets, while Nat Zilkha and Alan Burke will co-lead credit. Read more.

• Owen Sullivan has joined Baird Capital as an operating partner. He previously was president of specialty brands for ManpowerGroup. www.bairdcapital.com

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