Want to filter through all the private equity and venture capital news this week? Here are the top five takeaways for the week of August 30th.
IPOs
The pace of tech IPOs has slowed (although 2013 has already seen 140 new public listings), leaving tech investors wondering if there are alternative exit strategies worth considering.
Speaking of IPOs, Twitter’s new Conversations feature has the media convinced that the social platform is positioning for a public offering. Though Facebook has recovered considerably since its disappointing debut, Twitter appears to be hoping to learn from Facebook’s mistakes.
Sinofsky
Steve Ballmer has set a timeline for his retirement from Microsoft, but the venture capital world is focused on the man that many had believed would be Microsoft’s next CEO: Steven Sinofsky.
After announcing his new position as board partner at Andreessen Horowitz last Thursday, Sinofsky has had an especially busy week. A16z’s $6 million investment in Local Motion included a board role for Sinofsky, and yesterday he was announced as a special adviser to Box. There’s no doubt that Andreesen Horowitz partners have high confidence that Sinofsky fits the must-have qualities for any startup board member.
Microsoft's Steve Ballmer recently announced his intent to step down as CEO within 12 months. / Photo by Microsoft Sweden via Wikimedia Commons
Acquisitions by Microsoft
PitchBook reported this week that Microsoft acquired 40 venture capital-backedcompanies for a total of $11.5 billion under Ballmer’s reign. What will be Microsoft’s VC strategy moving forward? With endeavors like Microsoft Ventures and open discussions with companies like Foursquare, things should stay interesting at the Redmond, WA-based tech giant.
PitchBook News
Finally, PitchBook will be releasing its new Platform next week. We held a webinar earlier this week to show off some exciting new features and interface changes to our award-winning research platform—including added features, a sleek new look and an enhanced user interface.
Learn about our editorial standards.