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Juniper takes aim at Cisco-Tandberg with acquisition of Ankeena

April 9, 2010 by Steven R. Gerbsman

Here is an interresting analysis from Merge & Aquire.

“Juniper Networks®  announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Ankeena Networks, a privately-held provider of new media infrastructure technology. Ankeena’s solution delivers online media content at massive scale, while providing a television-like viewing experience for media with dramatically reduced delivery costs. In alignment with Juniper’s vision for the “New Network,” Juniper will integrate Ankeena’s technology into its solutions portfolio to address the rising demand for rich media content while significantly improving the economics of content delivery for service providers. The financial impact of this transaction is expected to be immaterial with consideration at closing of less than $100 million. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

As an addition to the Junos® Ready Software business group, Juniper will leverage the Ankeena software to offer high-performance content delivery networking and “3 Screen” media delivery solutions for the next-generation service provider network, capitalizing on the explosive growth of video traffic on both mobile and fixed networks worldwide.

“Juniper’s acquisition of Ankeena reflects our commitment to transforming the experience and economics of networking — in this case by delivering an enhanced TV-like user experience of both fixed and mobile video traffic, while enabling crucial TCO reductions for operators,” said Manoj Leelanivas, executive vice president and general manager, Junos Ready Software at Juniper Networks. “The combination of Ankeena’s new media infrastructure solution with Juniper’s high-performance networking platforms will take our existing partnership to the next level to meet the bandwidth and cost of delivery challenges facing service providers as IP video continues to accelerate. We are excited about Ankeena’s technology and its talented team playing important roles in the future of Juniper Networks.””

Read the original post here.

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Greylock Bats off Market Concerns, Calls Pandora an IPO Candidate

April 7, 2010 by Steven R. Gerbsman

Here is some Techcrunch news.

“Last week we invited Greylock’s David Sze and Reid Hoffman into the studio for a chat about the state of the venture market, with its odd mix of soaring valuations and horrible returns. As it turned out, these two might be the worst guys in Silicon Valley to ask. I don’t say that because they refuse to pay up to be in good companies. (See Sze’s 2006 investment in Facebook—considered shocking at the time due to the company’s $500 million valuation, now considered one of the top trades in Web 2.0 history.) I say that because their portfolio doesn’t seem to be hurting.

We’ll be posting the full interview soon, but first here’s a sneak peak, including this bold statement from Sze about the funds the firm has been investing over the last five-to-seven years: “We think those will be our best funds ever.” Ever? That’s a claim I can’t imagine many Silicon Valley firms making—especially those that were in business during the late 1990s when nearly anything could go public.

Later in the video below, Sze noted that Greylock had three of the five potential blockbuster Web IPO candidates on most bankers’ and analysts’ short list: Facebook, LinkedIn and Pandora. As you can see in the video that last one caught Arrington by surprise and with good reason: A little more than a year ago Pandora was still on deathwatch. We knew it was profitable but, if it’s being bandied about as an IPO-hopeful, things may be even better than people realize. The good thing about being the only online music company to live long enough to go public is you don’t have a ton of competition.”

Read the full article here.

Posted in Board Of Intellectual Capital, Economy, Gerbsman Partners, Investments, IPO news, Market research | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Where Are Rates Headed And Why? – John Mauldin’s Outside the Box

April 6, 2010 by Steven R. Gerbsman

Where Are Rates Headed And Why? – John Mauldin’s Outside the Box – InvestorsInsight.com | Financial Intelligence, Advice & Research / Investment Strategies & Planning for Individual Investors.

“This week we look at two brief essays for your Outside the Box. The first is my friend Barry Habib talking to us about where mortgage rates are headed. Barry gives us a very simple, but logical analysis on why rates are headed up. Then we jump to Spencer Jakab writing in the Financial Times about the problems in the municipal markets. Seems we may be under funded on our public pensions by about $3.5 trillion. As a tease to his column:

“Taking a page out of Greece’s playbook, the peeved treasurer of America’s largest state fired off letters this week to the chiefs of Goldman Sachs and other banks questioning their marketing of credit default swaps on California’s debt . The instruments, he complained, “wrongly brand our bonds as a greater risk than those issued by such nations as Kazakhstan.”

“Insulting indeed, but who exactly should be insulted?”

It helps if you have seen Borat, or at least a trailer, but the message is the same.”

Read more here.

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IPad prompts VC firm to double iFund for apps

April 5, 2010 by Steven R. Gerbsman

Here is some intriguing new opportunities for iPad developers.

“Venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers said Wednesday that it is doubling a fund that focuses on the iPhone and iPod Touch to $200 million to include new applications for the upcoming iPad.

Partner John Doerr said Kleiner Perkins has exhausted its original $100 million iFund that it began two years ago. Now with the iPad coming, he said the application boom that began on the iPhone will extend into a new wave of iPad apps that transforms the way people interact with computers.

“We will move beyond spread sheets, word processors and Web sites limited by a browser to an interactive, connected world with incredible speed and fluidity,” Doerr said during a press event near its headquarters.

The public support from a respected venture capital firm lends more momentum to the launch of the iPad this Saturday and gives developers more incentive to develop dedicated iPad apps. The fund could help seed a new generation of iPad app companies that help define the device much the way early iFund recipients led the way for the iPhone.

The original iFund supported 14 companies, including the well-known Ngmoco, Pinger, Shazam and Booyah. The companies have collectively made more than $100 million and accounted for more than 100 million downloads.

Doerr said those companies have more than 20 iPad specific apps in the works with at least 11 to be released Saturday when the iPad goes on sale.

Many of the iFund companies have had a chance to work with the iPad. Some executives on Wednesday talked about how the device will create more engaging and longer experiences that require more thought and can lead to more profitable and memorable apps.

“We’re really trying to take advantage of the added real estate, and we’re trying to leverage the way users want to use the device,” said Neil Young, CEO and founder of gaming company Ngmoco, which is bringing three new games to the iPad. “The iPad has the opportunity to revolutionize gaming in the home in the same way the iPhone and iPod Touch revolutionized gaming on the go.”

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Cleantech Investments Bounced Back in Q1

April 2, 2010 by Steven R. Gerbsman

Here is some possitive news on Cleantech.

“The Cleantech Group this morning announced first quarter statistics, and the buzzword expression of the press conference was “bounce back.”

As in: “Following the decline in cleantech investments from 2008 to 2009, the industry has bounced back in the first quarter of 2010,” said Sheeraz Haji, president of Cleantech Group.

You can check out a press release here.

Among the key talking points from the press conference are:

-Q1 saw a record total of 180 deals, which raised $1.9 billion.

-Cleantech venture investment was up 29% from the previous quarter and up 83% from the same period in 2009.

-Government funding and VC dollars do not go hand-in-hand. Of the top 10 deals, only one had received government support. Haji said that although government-related financing is critical, this trend shows that private capital is not at all dependent on government stimulus.

-IPO window is open, Haji said, with seven companies on the IPO launching pad, including Tesla and Solyndra.”

Read the full story here.

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