Ecosystem Thoughts

  1. Analysis of Q3 2010 VC-Backed M&A Exits

    Earlier this week, we published our Q3 2010 M&A Snapshot which shows an improving  M&A market in the internet | mobile | digital media sector.  As we highlighted previously, the VC-backed M&A activity is also showing an improvement in this quarter.   Our analysis of Q3 2010 VC-Backed M&A Exits is presented below.

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    October 15, 2010 | Permalink | No Comments

  2. Q3 2010 M&A Snapshot

    The M&A market in the internet | mobile | digital media sector is improving nicely, moving into Architect Partners’ Market Tone green category for the first time in over two years.  Our Q3 2010 M&A Snapshot is presented below.

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    October 12, 2010 | Permalink | No Comments

  3. The Mobile Shopping Process

    The mobile platform providers and other online/offline players have shown increased interest in the growing area of mobile shopping.  We have been tracking new developments in this space for some time, and for some recent conversations we organized our thinking into a framework around the mobile customer shopping experience, from buyer awareness through to actual purchase.  The framework below does not represent a complete inventory of participants, but does provide an organized way to think about the business, with some …

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    September 22, 2010 | Permalink | Comments Off

  4. A Compelling Perspective on Internet Video

    We’ve posted a number of items on the emerging Internet-enabled TV (IETV) business1, and last week commented on Cisco’s acquisition of ExtendMedia.  In researching the ExtendMedia deal, we came across the company blog and an April 2010 post titled “The Television Industry Re-Made; The Rise of ‘Virtual MSO‘”.  Their article, by CEO Tom MacIsaac, is one of the best pieces we’ve seen on how the business of video content delivery over the Internet …

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    September 13, 2010 | Permalink | No Comments
  5. M&A Theme: New Shopping Applications Emerge for Mobile and Internet

    M&A Theme: New Shopping Applications Emerge for Mobile and Internet

    E-tailing used to refer to shopping sites such as Amazon, Zappos or Walmart.com.  A whole new class of web sites and mobile applications has emerged that let customers find promotions or search for pricing across local merchants.  Most are similar to Groupon, which features a daily deal in major markets (often a 2-for-1 spa offer…).  Recently, there has been a flurry of small transactions in this space.  Groupon, Tippr and others are currently rolling up regional competitors.  More interesting are …

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    August 20, 2010 | Permalink | Comments Off
  6. Facebook Places Logo is a “4″ in a Square!

    Facebook Places Logo is a “4″ in a Square!

    Ok, folks — we try to not fill your inbox with trite industry insider jokes and snarky cat videos, but this one had our whole office in disbelief today.  The new logo for Facebook’s Place locations tool is indeed a “4″ in a square!  Kudos to Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch for noticing this one.

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    August 19, 2010 | Permalink | No Comments

  7. M&A Theme: New Vigor in the Gaming Industry

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    August 19, 2010 | Permalink | No Comments

  8. Mid Year 2010 IPO Market Assessment

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    August 18, 2010 | Permalink | No Comments

  9. Delayed but Now Departing: The eLearning Train

    Our partner, Bob Austrian, has long helped investors understand and invest in long-cycle trends, and watch the secular themes promptly unfold.  Or not!   Timing is everything — An investment made too early in an eventual “overnight success” is doubly problematic.  You lose your initial investment and credibility– and, worse, lose the conviction to invest when the chasm is finally crossed.  So today, after years of watching the promise of digital learning go almost entirely unfulfilled, Bob’s declaring it time to …

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    July 29, 2010 | Permalink | No Comments

  10. Venture Capital-Backed M&A Exits

    Within our sector focus, venture-backed companies comprised half of the 40 M&A transactions whose value was between $25 million – $1 billion in Q2 2010.  This was up nicely from the first quarter in terms of the number of transactions and the median size increased to well above $130m.  The other good news was that the returns on investment showed good results.  Our analysis indicates that the median multiple of invested capital was 7.5x(a).  Quite respectable.

    A number of VCs had …

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    July 27, 2010 | Permalink | No Comments