Who says the IPO market is anemic?

Television-and-Internet audience measurer Nielsen Holdings raised $1.6 billion Tuesday during its initial public offering, close to 10 percent more than analysts had a projected, and boosting the company’s shares nearly 8 percent to $23 in Wednesday trading, a hefty leap from all prior predictions.

Nielsen said it would use the money from its IPO to pay down debt. Its private-equity shareholders, who bought the firm in 2006 for around $10 billion, will continue to hold all their Nielsen shares, which they can then sell over time. The Carlyle Group, Blackstone Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Thomas H. Lee Partners, AlpInvest Partners and Hellman & Friedman were all part of the consortium that took Nielsen private and are now reaping the gains of its turnaround.

The interest in media- and tech-related IPOs is clearly turning the heads of investors.

Online news aggregator Demand Media also went public on Tuesday, raising $151.3 million — again, greatly above its target range by garnering more than a third of what it had expected.

That booming public coming out shot Demand’s shares up more than 30 percent in trading today.

The worst news on the IPO market? That Internet phone service Skype may delay its IPO until later this year. That would still make 2011 the year of the IPO, as many have hoped. Currently, 44 companies are registered to go public, up from 25 at this time last year, according to a study released by Dow Jones VentureSource during the first week of January, with more likely to come.

[Homepage photo: bfishadow]

Tags: IPO

Companies: AlpInvest Partners, Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, Demand Media, Hellman & Friedman, KKR, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Nielsen, Thomas H. Lee Partners

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

The Times has something huge on you know who.

In addition to the cumulative stock sales and stock ownership, the filings show an inner circle that is chiefly male — 87 percent of the current partners are men…Most Wall Street firms shed their partnerships after going public. But Goldman, one of the last big investment banks to sell shares to the public, created a hybrid model, as an incentive for employees. Goldman releases the names of the new partners, but keeps the full membership list close to the vest. It’s a formidable group. The members are typically the firm’s most senior executives, including Mr. Blankfein and chief operating officer Gary D. Cohn…The club is also heavily male. When Goldman went public, only 6 percent of the partners were women, including the senior economist Abby Joseph Cohen. That percentage has risen to a little more than twice that today.

Study Points To Windfall For Goldman Sachs Partners [NYT]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Wedge Partners analyst Ryan Hunter today speculates that Akamai Technologies (AKAM) had an “exceptional” Q4, given that ComScore last week reported a record 12% growth in U.S. online shopping, and given that Akamai helps improve performance of all of the top 20 e-commerce sites.
That could help Akamai hit the top [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

The team at MKM Partners are upbeat about 2011, they write today, with the economy rebounding by 3% to 4% in real GDP terms (5% to 6% nominally), and S&P earnings of $95 for the year.
The firm’s top picks in technology for 2011 are Motorola (MOT), SolarWinds (SWI), and, as [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily

Whitney Tilson sent out T2 Partner’s analysis of Netflix yesterday, explaining why it’s their “largest bearish bet.” If you have any thoughts on why they’re right or wrong, he’s all ears.

Why We’re Short Netflix T2 Partners [PDF]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Today’s funding announcements include innovation in car batteries, social planning and nuclear power plants:

Envia pulls in $17M for lithium-ion batteries: The Newark, Calif.-based startup has raised a third round of equity funding to develop automotive batteries for hybrid and all electric cars, according to a filing with the SEC. The company, backed by Bay Partners and Redpoint Ventures, is primarily focused on batteries for vehicles, although consumer electronics, military devices and satellites may lie in the company’s future as well.

Events planner Wortal lands $500K: The company with offices in Palo Alto and India has raised funding for its local events site Buzzintown, according to a filing with the SEC. The Intel Capital backed startup promotes events like concerts, sports and food festivals taking place in Indian, Canadian and U.S. cities.

SpotXchange grabs $12M to expand its ad network around the world: The Denver-based company has raised its first round of institutional funding from H.I.G. Growth Partners for its online video ad network that matches advertisers and publishers in an auction system. The company plans to use the funding to grow internationally.

DevonWay gets $7.1M to bring innovative tech to nuclear plant management: The San Francisco-based company has raised $7.1M of an expected $9.5M in equity funding to develop management software for the nuclear power industry, according to a filing with the SEC. The firm launched a new product focused on cyber security last week.

Companies: bay partners, Buzzintown, DevonWay, Envia, H.I.G. Growth Partners, Intel Capital, Redpoint Ventures, Spotxchange, Wortal

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

While Stephen Colbert is all good with Wall Street bonuses, he is aware that 70% of American playa-hatas are not. He’d like someone making it rain this year to come on his show and make people understand why they money is deserved but so far no one has accepted his offer. Luckily, one of his writers found a lost credit card belonging to a Goldman Sachs partner last week. Specifically, the MasterCard of Buckley T. Ratchford, who was inducted into the Brotherhood of the Sach in 2006.

So here’s what– every night that Buckley does not appear on the Colbert Report to talk bonuses, Stephen will give out one number from his card. BTR presumably had the foresight to cancel his card after losing it but he probably would still prefer the digits not shared with the world? Anyway, last night was 5. Tonight, another body. A little bit about the victim– Buck was married in March (wife is a chef at Mas); he works in the global credit division at GS, is a graduate of Dartmouth, the London School of Economics, and Harvard Law.

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Today’s funding announcements include multiple checks from Silicon Valley’s U.S. Venture Partners:

Victrio gets $5M to listen closely to fraudsters: The company has raised a first round of funding led by U.S. Venture Partners, according to a filing with the SEC. The Mountain View, Calif.-based startup charges clients a monthly fee to use its fully automated voiceprinting technology, which can identify fraudsters by their voice over the phone.

8D World brings in $5.25M to make English learning fun: The startup with offices in Massachusetts and Shanghai has raised a second round of funding to teach English-as-a-foreign-language. Hundreds of schools in China currently use Wiz World Online, a virtual world developed by 8D, to teach spoken English to students.  The company plans to bring its communicative language tool to other parts of Asia in the next year.

Accept Software raises $3M helps businesses win with new products: The Santa Clara, Calif.-based developer of product planning tools has raised funding in its third round, according to a filing with the SEC. Accept is backed by Jefferson Partners, Entrepreneurs Fund and StarVest Partners and helps big software clients like VMware manage the innovation and marketing of new services and products.

AltoBeam grabs $6M to power up TVs with semiconductor chips: The Beijing-based company has raised a third round of funding led by U.S. Venture Partners. The firm last raised $8M in 2009 and develops digital TV receiver chipsets used by global TV makers.

Companies: 8d World, Accept Software, AltoBeam, Entrepreneurs Fund, Jefferson Partners, StarVest Partners, U.s. Venture Partners, Victrio, VMWare

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

In today’s funding announcements, Silicon Valley heavyweights back enterprise storage and crowdsourced video subtitles:

Simpa Networks gets $1.1M to sell affordable solar power: The San Francisco-based company has raised funding in its first round to bring solar energy to consumers in India and other countries, according to a filing with the SEC. Founded by a team with experience in energy and microfinance, Simpa launched a pilot in India last August. Users purchase energy for the easy-to-install solar power systems until the cost of the system has been covered, at which point solar power is free.

EmSense brings in $4M to read your mind: The firm has raised funding in its second round to understand how consumers respond to commercials and product packaging, according to a filing with the SEC. Using a headset developed with neuroscience technology, San Francisco-based EmSense measures brainwaves to help clients evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

Viki grabs $4.3M to spread subtitled videos around the globe: The company, based in Palo Alto and Singapore, has raised a first round of funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Greylock Partners, Charles River Ventures and Neoteny Labs, peHUB reports. Founded by a Harvard grad student dealing with language barriers, Viki is supported by a community of translators who provide subtitles for TV and movies in more than 100 languages. The service is now available to the public and has streamed more than 1 billion videos since 2008.

Nimble Storage raises $16M to streamline enterprise storage: The San Jose-based company has raised a third round of funding from Sequoia Capital, Accel Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners for its storage, backup and disaster recovery solutions, according to a filing with the SEC. Nimble Storage’s patent-pending architecture enables faster and more-efficient data management. The firm last raised $17M in 2008.

Companies: Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Charles River Ventures, Emsense, Greylock Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Neoteny Labs, Nimble Storage, Sequoia Capital, Simpa Networks, Viki

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

Qualcomm (QCOM) CEO Paul Jacobs said the company will sell its wireless broadband business in India, according to Reuters.
“We don’t want to be competitors to our partners. So we do have a plan to sell this spectrum to one or more operators,” he said. The company spent about $1 billion [...]

Article courtesy of BARRONS.com: Tech Trader Daily