Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Technology Crossover Ventures

Netflix Raising $400 Million But Is Expected To Lose Money Next Year

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:02:03 +0000

Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) was trading at $300 per share five months ago and it is now trading at less than $75. The company is now planning on raising $400 million to fund their new content investments. Netflix will be raising $400 million by selling $200 million in zero coupon convertible notes to Technology Crossover Ventures and $200 million worth of stock to T. Rowe Price. But the problem is that the Netflix is going to lose money next year as well. Netflix had this information in the prospectus for the stock portion of its stock and convertible bond offerings.

We expect that consolidated quarterly revenue will be relatively flat until we can achieve positive net subscriber additions. As a result of the relatively flat consolidated revenues and previously announced increased investment in our International segment, we expect to incur consolidated net losses for the year ending December 31, 2012.

Netflix previously expected to only be losing money for the first few quarters of 2012. On the plus side, Netflix said that subscriber cancellations for their hybrid streaming and DVD businesses has slowed down. Gross additions for their streaming-only services has become strong.

[BusinessInsider]

How Much Groupon Executives and Investors Made From The IPO

Amit Chowdhry — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 20:57:39 +0000

Yesterday Groupon Inc. (NASDAQ:GRPN) had an initial public offering. The company set their stock price at $20 and yesterday it closed at $26.11. The company was given a valuation of over $17 billion. BusinessInsider.com has compiled a list of how much the executives and investors made from the IPO. Below is the list:

Ted Leonsis – Former AOL Vice Chairman – Made $48.27 million from 1,848,770 shares owned
Brian Totty – Groupon SVP of Engineering – Made $16.31 million from 624,786 shares ownde
Howard Schultz – Starbucks CEO/Groupon board member – Made $49.59 million from 1,899,336 shares owned
Kenneth M. Pelletier – Former Groupon CTO – Made $70.47 million from 2,698,944 shares owned
Robert S. Solomon – Former Groupon President and COO – Made $105.88 million from 4,055,000 shares owned
Andreessen Horowitz – VC Firm – Invested $40 million, Earned $132.2 million, Gain of $92.2 million
Maverick Fund – VC Firm – Invested $50 million, Earned $165.3 million, Gain of $115.3 million
Greylock Partners – VC Firm – Invested $65 million, Earned $214.9 million, Gain of $149.9 million
Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers – VC Firm – Invested $65 million, Earned $214.9 million, Gain of $149.9 million
Morgan Stanley – VC Firm – Invested $75 million, Earned $248 million, Gain of $173 million
T Rowe Price – Investment Firm – Invested $100 million, Earned $330.6 million, Gain of $230.6 million
Fidelity Investments – Investment Firm – Invested $100 million, Earned $330.6 million, Gain of $230.6 million
Battery Ventures – VC Firm – Invested $58 million, Earned $417.4 million, Gain of $359.4 million
Technology Crossover Ventures – VC Firm – Invested $150 million, Earned $459.9 million, Gain of $345.9 million
The Growth Fund of America – Fund – Invested $175 million, Earned $578.6 million, Gain of $403.6 million
Accel Partners – Invested $20 million, Earned $866.96 million, Gain of $856.96 million
Digital Sky Technologies – Invested $151 million, Earned $1.11 billion, Gain of $959 million
The European Founders Fund – Earned $1.02 billion based on 6.2% ownership in Groupon
Brad Keywell – Groupon Co-Founder – Earned $1.07 billion based on 6.5% ownership
Andrew Mason – Groupon CEO – Earned $1.2 billion based on 7.3% ownership
New Enterprise Associates – VC Firm – Invested $14.8 million, Earned $2.28 billion, Gain of $2.26 billion
Eric Lefkofsky – Groupon Co-Founder – Gained $1.67 billion based on over 10% ownership of the company
Elizabeth Lefkofsky – Wife of Eric – Gained $1.67 billion based on over 10% ownership of the company

Storm8 Raises $300 Million, $1 Billion Valuation

Riley Kennysmith — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:50:32 +0000

Mobile gaming development company Storm8 has, according to TechCrunch‘s sources, raised about $300 million in funding. At a rumored $1 billion valuation, possible investors include Accel Partners and Technology Crossover Ventures. Storm8′s games include iMobsters and TeamLava’s Restaurant Story, Farm Story and more. The company boasts more than 210 million downloads.

CoTweet Parent Company ExactTarget Raises $30 Million

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 05:34:28 +0000

ExactTarget has raised $30 million in a new round of funding to fund acquisitions and to expand operations. ExactTarget is an e-mail marketing company that acquired CoTweet in 2009. ExactTarget raised $70 million in May 2009. ExactTarget’s revenues increased 41% to $134 million in 2010. ExactTarget was initially planning on going IPO in late 2007, but decided to raise funding instead. The latest round of funding was led by Technology Crossover Ventures. Battery Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, and Greenspring Associates also participated in this round. [paidContent]

Zillow Files For $51.75 Million IPO

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 07:09:07 +0000

Real estate search engine company Zillow.com has filed an S-1, which means that the company is going public on the stock market. Zillow is aiming to raise $51.75 million. Currently this is a placeholder amount and is subject to change.

Citigroup, Allen & Company, ThinkEquity, Needham & Company, and First Washington Corporation are underwriters in the IPO. Zillow received about 19 million unique visitors in March and they are currently listing about 100 million U.S. homes. Zillow hit $10.6 million in revenues in 2008, $17.5 million in 2009, and $30.5 million in 2010. However income has been at a loss over the last 3 years.

In March 2011 Zillow was used over 8 million times on a mobile device. Over 1.4 million homes are viewed on mobile devices per day. Zillow is expecting the revenue growth rate to decline due to the maturation of their business. The costs are also expected to rise as they continue to invest in product development, marketing, and partnerships. Zillow raised about $87 million in funding from Benchmark Capital, Technology Crossover Ventures, PAR Capital Management, and Legg Mason.

[TechCrunch]

HomeAway.com In Talks For A $300 Million IPO

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 01:22:53 +0000

HomeAway.com is in talks with several banks about a $300 million IPO according to BusinessWeek sources. The banks that HomeAway is talking to include Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Goldman Sachs.

HomeAway was founded in 2005 and raised $500 million in private funding from Austin Ventures, Redpoint Ventures, Technology Crossover Ventures, and Institutional Venture Partners (IVP).

HomeAway is a website where you can rent houses, apartments, condos, etc. for vacations on a nightly or weekly basis. HomeAway currently has about 540,000 rental listings across 120 countries. Homeowners pay an annual fee of about $300 to post their properties.

[BusinessWeek]

Groupon Closes Its $950 Million Series G Round

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 22:09:53 +0000

Group coupon service Groupon.com has completed its $950 million series G round of funding. The best part is the press release title: “Groupon Raises, Like, A Billion Dollars.” I’ve pasted the press release below. The investors in this round include Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mail.ru Group, Maverick Capital, Silver Lake, and Technology Crossover Ventures. Allen & Company LLC acted as financial advisor. The previous funding rounds was led by New Enterprise Associates, Accel Partners, and Mail.ru Group (formerly DST).

Groupon Raises, Like, A Billion Dollars

Investment to Continue Rapid Growth of Global Social Commerce Platform

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today Groupon announced that it has completed a $950 million round of financing. Groupon will use the funds to fuel global expansion, invest in technology, and provide liquidity for employees and early investors.

“With their support, we will continue on our mission to change the way people shop locally and serve the world’s local businesses.”
The financing consists of several venture capital firms and late-stage investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, Battery Ventures, Greylock Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Mail.ru Group, Maverick Capital, Silver Lake, and Technology Crossover Ventures. Allen & Company LLC acted as financial advisor. Previous funding rounds were led by New Enterprise Associates, Accel Partners, and Mail.ru Group (formerly DST).

In the last year, Groupon has been called “the fastest growing company ever” by Forbes Magazine and “America’s best website” by one of Groupon’s television commercials. In 2010, Groupon:

- Expanded from 1 to 35 countries
- Launched in almost 500 new markets (from 30 markets in 2009)
- Grew subscribers by 2,500% from 2 million to over 50 million
- Saved consumers over $1.5 billion
- Worked with 58,000 local businesses, serving over 100,000 deals worldwide

“We’re thrilled that Groupon has earned the confidence of some of the world’s most respected investment firms,” said Andrew Mason, founder and CEO of Groupon. “With their support, we will continue on our mission to change the way people shop locally and serve the world’s local businesses.”

About Groupon

Groupon, launched in November 2008 in Chicago, features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, eat, see and buy in more than 500 markets around the world. Groupon uses collective buying power to offer unbeatable prices and provide a win-win for businesses and consumers, delivering more than 650 daily deals globally. For more information, visit http://www.groupon.com. To learn more on how to become a featured business on Groupon, visit http://www.grouponworks.com.

Accel Sells Facebook Shares Based On A $34 Billion Valuation

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 20:47:03 +0000

Accel Partners has sold “very significant chunks” of their stake in Facebook. It turns out the buyers bought the stake based on a $34 billion valuation. The amount sold adds up to less than 20% of Accel’s total stake. Although the buyers are not confirmed, rumor has it that Technology Crossover Ventures bought $200 million worth of shares and Andreessen Horowitz bought $80 million worth. Accel put in $12.7 million in Facebook’s first round of funding. [VentureBeat]

ExactTarget Raises $70 Million

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 23:36:36 +0000

ExactTarget is an e-mail marketing company that has just raised $70 million according to an SEC filing. This brings the total funding for the year to $145 million according to TechCrunch. The latest $70 million round of funding was provided by Technology Crossover Ventures. The previous round of funding comes from Battery Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, and Montagu Newhall. ExactTarget was planning to file an IPO but ended up changing their minds.

ExactTarget helps clients design e-mail marketing materials such as coupons. The company also provides automated fraud alerts to clients and sets up SMS text messages. Some of ExactTarget’s customers include Home Depot, Expedia, and Gannett.

Recent Tech Funding: World Golf Tour, ChoiceStream, BioWizard, and Fandango

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 13 Apr 2007 01:47:10 +0000

Amount Involved: Undisclosed
World Golf Tour is a social network for golfers who has raised funding from Battery Ventures. The amount has not been disclosed.

The social network allows golf enthusiasts to enter tournaments, win prizes, and practice on virtual courses.

World Golf Tour is managed by J.F. Prata. Prata was a previous VP of Product Development at EA. Prata was also the COO at Maxis and Westwood Studios.

Amount Involved: $25.79 Million
ChoiceStream Inc. is a leading provider of search engine personalization raised $25.79 million for its product, a search engine that personalizes online entertainment content. This is ChoiceStream’s third round of funding. The second round was $13.1 million. ChoiceStream was founded by Michael Strickman and he is also the CTO.

Amount Involved: $675,000
BioWizard Inc. is an online information portal that closed its first round of funding. The amount was for $675,000 in Series A Preferred Stock.Â The investor is MentorTech Ventures. ”MentorTech Ventures brings much more than the financial capital. The team’s substantial intellectual and social capital is a valuable asset that we plan to leverage as we continue to build the company,” stated Jeffrey Boily, the chairman of BioWizard. “MentorTech has industry extensive experience and strong relationships with the business and scientific communities to assist us in reaching our full growth potential. This new financing will support our ongoing efforts to add new functionality to our site and
increase our brand awareness in the scientific and medical markets.”What makes BioWizard Web 2.0ish is that the company has implemented a Digg-like voting feature for articles that are pulled.Â It appears that a majority of the articles on the frontpage are pulled from the National Institute of Health website.

“There is a significant demand in the biomedical research community for an interactive web community like BioWizard,” mentioned Michael Aronson, the managing director of MentorTech Ventures.Â Aronson is now a BioWizard board member.Â “The site offers a unique combination of information and collaboration tools that are not otherwise available to scientists and physicians. Founded by a team of current University of Pennsylvania graduate students, BioWizard is a perfect fit for our portfolio. We look forward to taking an active role in making BioWizard the leading online portal for biomedical research scientists.”

Amount Involved: Rumored at over $200 Million
Comcast Corporation mentioned last Wednesday that it may buy Fandango, a movie ticketing service website. The amount is rumored at $200 mill according to Michael Arrington. Fandango is supposedly also making $50 mill per year. Fandango has raised $60 mill from investors since 2000. The deal is expected to close before the end of the quarter. Previous investors of Fandango include Accretive Technology Partners, Cinemark, General Atlantic, Lowes Corporation, and Technology Crossover Ventures.

[Source: alarm:clock]