PixelOptics has raised $45 million in financing lead by Safeguard Scientifics. The $45 million comprises of $35 million in equity investment and $10 million in venture debt. Other participating venture capital companies that participated in this round include Delphi Ventures, The Carlyle Group, Longitude Capital, and Stark Investments. Horizon Technology Finance provided the venture debt funding.

Freescale Semiconductor is a company that started as a division of Motorola in Phoenix, Arizona in 1949. Freescale had an IPO in July 2004 with a price of $13 per share. The company was bought out for $17.6 billion by a consortium of companies led by Blackstone Group LP. Now Freescale is going to go IPO again. Freescale plans on using the proceeds from the IPO to repay debt. It is uncertain whether Blackstone Group, TPG Capital, the Carlyle Group, and Permira Advisers will sell shares as part of the offering. Last year Freescale’s net sales increased 27% to $4.46 billion. Freescale’s EBITDA doubled to $1.15 billion. [NY Times]

According to several buyout firms Nielsen is planning to have an IPO. Nielsen is a TV and Internet ratings research company. Nielsen has six sponsors: Alpinvest, The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group, Hellman & Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR), and THL Partners. The six sponsors are hoping that Nielsen will receive a $21 billion enterprise value according to the Financial Times. Nielsen is expected to make about $1.6 billion in EBITDA this year according to an F.T. source. [FT via NYT]