A couple of quick New York City pension system updates. Two sources tell me that Horatio Sparkes – who recently resigned as deputy comptroller for pensions – will be taking an investor relations gig with Yucaipa Cos. He will be succeeded by Joseph Haslip, who had been his number two. Still no word on who […]
Corporate employees are rarely fired. They get laid off, become redundant or accept voluntary (wink, wink) buyouts. For Intel Capital, the operative euphemism is “efficiency.” Want me to use it in a sentence? Ok, the “efficiency program” at Intel Capital likely will result in between 15% and 20% of its investment directors being fired. This […]
Seven weeks ago, I devoted a column to the New York City pension system’s appalling lack of qualified private equity managers. Specifically, the system – a collective of five separate systems – had just two dedicated managers overseeing $3.09 billion in commitments. One was Timothy Kelly, while the other apparently just had an X on […]
The sun is shining, the entire HP board should have followed Tom Perkins’ lead and the hand-me-down Volkswagen has decided to mimic the once-trusty Pontiac. In other words, it’s time for Thursday Throw-Back. First up was yesterday’s discussion of the lawsuit filed by two co-founders of Rapt Inc., against venture capital firms Accel Partners and […]
Just some notes as I combat jetjag, following a weekend wedding in Los Angeles… *** Draper Atlantic Ventures seems to have lost its Draper. The firm just began marketing for its $200 million-targeted third fund, under the name New Atlantic Ventures. It also has launched a new website that contains no mention of its original […]
Now that the silly Microsoft buyout talk is behind us, let’s move on to another target: Ford Motor Co., which began trading today at just $8.25 per share. For context, Toyota opened exactly $100 per share higher. The most basic problem is that Ford poured too much R&D into its gas-hungry truck and SUV division, […]
Venture capitalists have been unfairly maligned by those who oppose federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Such criticism was particularly harsh in California, where many notable VCs helped lead passage of a $3 billion bond bill that will provide around $300 million per year for in-state stem cell research. The basic whine goes like […]
The sky is gray, the beloved Red Sox are done (in Theo we blame) and I’m refreshed after a weekend on Cape Cod. In other words, it’s time for some Monday Mouth-Off. Today’s edition is devoted to last Wednesday’s discussion of James Surowiecki’s latest New Yorker column. In short, Surowiecki had argued that management buyouts are fundamentally […]
As some of you noticed, I was on CNBC again yesterday (twice in one week, after not having been on since 2001). The topic was why public company CEOs are flocking to LBO-backed private companies, with the news tease being David Calhoun’s jump from GE to VNU. My basic message was that private company CEOs don’t have […]
Maven Venture Partners is proceeding with plans to raise its $150 million inaugural fund, despite the recent departure of co-founding partner Marc Friend. In an email and subsequent phone conversation, Jennifer Gill Roberts says that the firm already has lined up several LP commitments, and expects to hold a first close sometime this fall. My […]