5/5: Lehigh Valley manufacturer to acquire Radnor-based VWR for $6.4bn, with PE backing; Universal Display Rockets On Monster Q1 Beat



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$6.4 billion mega-deal: Lehigh Valley manufacturer to acquire Main Line lab products supplier VWR (Philadelphia Business Journal)
At first glance, an unusual combination.
“Avantor’s acquisition of VWR is both highly compelling and complementary,” said Avantor CEO Michael Stubblefield in a statement. “We will bring together our well-known expertise in ultra-high-purity materials and customized solutions with VWR’s global scale, unparalleled channel access, and deep customer relationships. Collectively, this will create a larger, stronger and more diversified company with significantly enhanced scale and product breadth.”



No one is getting internet TV right — yet (Recode)

IBM Set to Drop $5 Billion in Value After Warren Buffett Sheds a Third of His Stake (Fortune)

Using Salesforce to access SAP? Pour yourself a stiff drink (PC World)


Citi lists Netflix, Tesla as potential takeover targets for Apple (Reuters)

OLED Display Firm Universal Display Rockets On Monster Q1 Sales, Earnings Beat (IBD)
Universal Display is based in Ewing NJ.

Fanatics plunks down $225M for Majestic division (Morning Call)


Industrial IoT Superstars GE, Siemens Are Butting Heads In Manufacturing Market (CRN)

Synchronoss Technologies Spikes After Silver Private Holdings Reports Large Stake (The Street)
Synchronoss Technologies is based in Bridgewater NJ.

Google May Need an Acquisition to Catch Amazon, Microsoft, Says Goldman (Barron's Tech Trader Daily)
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at 9:46 AM 0 comments

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Report: Comcast Ventures was close to investing $25 million in Fyre Media

Tom Paine



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Bloomberg's Polly Mosendz and Kim Bhasin write that Comcast Ventures was considering a $25 million investment in Fyre Media Inc, and had even provided Fyre with a term sheet, before deciding not to invest just days before the infamous Fyre Festival, as due diligence raised some red flags.


Also, this article from the NY Post gives a slightly different account of Comcast Ventures' involvement with Fyre.

The Post article suggests that Comcast Ventures passed on Fyre Media months ago. Although the Post article doesn't attribute that to a specific statement from Comcast. I asked Comcast Ventures for clarification as to when it broke off talks with Fyre Media, and received no response.

“Comcast Ventures, like many other investors, considered an investment in Fyre’s marketplace business,” Tina McNulty, a spokeswoman for Comcast Ventures, told The Post. “After conducting thorough due diligence, we were unsatisfied with the results and passed on the investment, as we do with thousands of companies each year. Any indication that we invested in Fyre is completely false.”


Both articles implied that Fyre Media co-founder Billy McFarland often spoke to employees about a Comcast investment as if it were a fait accompli.

Comcast had only showed interest in the Fyre app - a talent-booking platform for consumers looking to hire musicians and artists, not the festival. You can see its website here. Its unclear as to how much commercial traction the app had obtained.





at 12:07 AM 0 comments

Meet Group rings Nasdaq Opening Bell as company rebrands from MeetMe

Tom Paine



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The Meet Group, Inc. rang the Opening Bell at The NASDAQ Stock Market on May 3, 2017. Geoff Cook, Chief Executive Officer, and other members of management visited the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City’s Times Square in celebration of the rebranding of MeetMe to The Meet Group.

The company now consists of the MeetMe, Skout, Tagged, and hi5 social-meeting brands. The latter two came via the if(we) acquisition for $60 million in cash in March.

“We are excited to rebrand MeetMe to The Meet Group. Our growing portfolio unites all of our brands with a singular purpose: to meet the universal need for human connection,” said Mr. Cook. “We are no longer MeetMe, Inc. running a single app, but a global portfolio of mobile meeting apps that spans ten million monthly active users.".

The company will continue to trade under 'MEET'.

MeetMe, Inc. Stock Jumped 21.9% in March, as MeetMe reported revenue had increased 47%, to $29.2 million, while adjusted net income rose 56%, to $12.4 million, or $0.19 per share, in Q4 2016. Q1 2017 earnings are due out May 8. New Hope-based Meet Group, which grew out of MyYearbook and Quepasa's 2011 acquisition of it, now has a market capitalization of $357 million, and is seen as a significant player in the mobile social meeting apps space.

Two other points worth mentioning: In March, First Round Capital partner Chris Fralic joined Meet Group's board of directors. He had previously served in the past as a board observer to MyYearbook, in which First Round was an investor. Presumably, Fralic can be a helpful advisor on M&A moves, dealing with the venture community, and in general with the increased visibility Meet is receiving.

Also, Mark Constan, a prolific recruiter, has joined Meet Group as Director of Recruiting, as there are indications that the company is trying to deepen its development and data science skill sets.



Overall, Cook has done a good job of leading Meet through some tricky transitions and generally meeting expectations.






at 2:54 PM 0 comments

5/4: New Mountain Capital Nears Deal to Buy Radnor-based VWR — Sources; Comcast does major reorg



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Can Wal-Mart’s Expensive New E-Commerce Operation Compete With Amazon? (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)

New Mountain Capital Nears Deal to Buy Radnor-based VWR — Sources (Dow Jones)






Comcast Folds Customer Experience, Service Teams into Technology and Products Division (Multichannel News)
You need a scorecard to keep track of this reorg.


Arris: DOCSIS 3.1 Wave Rising (Multichannel News)

Universal Electronics Splashes Cash on IoT (Multichannel News)

The Future of Seeso, NBC’s Comedy Streaming Service, Is in Question (Vulture)

Pay TV Bloodbath: Why Isn’t Comcast Bleeding? (The TV Answerman)








Here’s Why Investors Have Doubts About the Future of iHeartMedia (Fortune)


Curalate expands to the U.K. (Philadelphia Business Journal)

Whirlpool acquires Yummly, the recipe search engine last valued at $100M (TechCrunch)
First Round Capital was an early investor in Yummly, based in Redwood City, CA, but it had an important Philly-area office of one.


Oracle CEO pushes back on challenge from Salesforce: 'Are you kidding me?' (CNBC)











at 8:56 AM 0 comments

FRONTLINE Selling Acquires Social Selling Pioneer PeopleLinx (Press Release)



FRONTLINE Selling Acquires Social Selling Pioneer PeopleLinx

Deal Gives B2B Enterprises Comprehensive Sales Technology and Methodology




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May 03, 2017 10:00 ET | Source: FRONTLINE Selling
Alpharetta, GA, May 03, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FRONTLINE Selling, the leading provider of the enterprise-class, demand-generation Staccato sales software suite, announced today that they acquired the assets of Philadelphia-based PeopleLinx, Inc., the ground-breaking social selling platform.

The combined enterprise will offer a powerful combination of products that deliver guided solutions for every stage of the sales process.

“Social selling has become a critical component for sales success,” said Mike Scher, Co-founder of FRONTLINE Selling. “Through the PeopleLinx acquisition, we combine the major communication channels of email, phone and social under one corporate umbrella, enhancing our platform to guide and direct activities throughout the entire sales cycle.”

Launched in 2002, FRONTLINE’s flagship product, Staccato, is the only proven demand generation solution that dramatically increases qualified sales opportunities through guided prospecting. It is simple, repeatable and scalable, providing B2B organizations with the most effective way to engage their buyers and create predictable sales pipeline.

“Expanding the Staccato sales suite with PeopleLinx will offer a unique, comprehensive sales solution for all industries in the B2B marketplace,” said Kevin O’Nell, CEO of PeopleLinx. “Our team is excited to have joined an organization that so closely aligns with our vision of making sales professionals successful by providing guided social selling tools, technology, and methodology to drive revenue growth.”

Since 2009, PeopleLinx has helped sales organizations close deals faster and more often. Their data-driven, guided sales platform unlocks the power of information to engage prospects in the right way, with the right content, at the right time, using the right communication medium.

# # #

ABOUT FRONTLINE Selling

FRONTLINE Selling makes sales organizations wildly successful by providing them with the most effective way to engage their B2B buyer. Staccato instantly creates a multi-touch prospecting platform and provides unprecedented optics into the metrics that predict sales pipeline. The software, which snaps seamlessly into Salesforce.com and is available on the AppExchange, organizes, prioritizes and guides prospecting activity with a methodology based on the scientific analysis of nearly 2 million outreach repetitions. Staccato can also be delivered as a managed service. Clients routinely generate 2-4x more sales opportunities with key decision-makers. To learn more about the B2B software product suite, please visit www.frontlineselling.com.



Carrol Van Stone

Van Stone Publicity

304-671-0244


at 10:38 AM 0 comments

5/3: Pew Report: NJ tax-incentive program 'trailing'; Hulu Live TV Service Launches With 50 Channels for $40



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A huge pharma middleman just lost its biggest customer — and it shows how drug pricing really works (Business Insider)

Massive Oracle sales re-org to accelerate cloud cash drive (The Register)


Report: NJ tax-incentive program 'trailing' (Courier-Post)

Verizon Ditches Enterprise Cloud in IBM Deal (Light Reading)


Big Blue to buy Verizon's cloud (The Register)

IBM Between the Cloud and a Hard Place, Says Moody’s (Barron's Tech Trader Daily)

Apple CFO says the company 'set a new revenue record' selling to businesses — but the details are vague (Business Insider)

Bain, Carlyle, Thoma Bravo Are Among Bidders for Citrix (Bloomberg)



Hulu Live TV Service Launches With 50 Channels for $40 (Variety)





at 8:37 AM 0 comments

5/2: ADT sues Ring, Zonoff founder Harris; Docker names Concur / SAP's Singh CEO



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ADT Sues Ring, Former Zonoff CEO for Theft of Home-Automation Tech; Ring CEO Calls Bull (CEPro)

Layer3 carves deal with Verizon to sell broadband in Washington, D.C., area (FierceCable)

Docker names Steve Singh as new CEO, tapping former Concur and SAP exec for next growth phase (GeekWire)
Singh left SAP at the end of April, where he was most recently CEO of Concur and president of SAP Business Networks and Applications.

Interview: New Docker CEO Steve Singh explains what’s next for the cloud container powerhouse (GeekWire)


Marketing Firm Zeta Global Turns Heads With $140M Funding Round (CRMBuyer)
Investors include funds sponsored by Franklin Square Capital Partners, which had invested previously.

Edison Partners is no bandwagon investor (NJBiz)

Entercom hires former San Diego Padres CEO Mike Dee for sports radio biz (Philly.com)





Charter Loses 100,000 Pay TV Subs in First Quarter (Hollywood Reporter)

Twilio stock plummets as major client Uber distances itself (TechCrunch)










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5/1: Is the FCC boss being a jerk?; GlaxoSmithKline will spend $245 million on drug R&D hub in Upper Providence



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It's a question worth asking: Why is the FCC boss being such a jerk? (The Register)

Fox, Blackstone Are in Talks to Make Competing Tribune Bid (Bloomberg)
Comcast would also be able to buy more stations, under revised FCC interpretation of regs.

Twitter signs deal with Bloomberg on rolling video news (BBC)

Verizon prepares competitive response to Altice’s FTTH plans (FierceCable)


Ergen: Dish Doesn’t Need a Partner to Build Wireless Network (Multichannel News)


GlaxoSmithKline will spend $245 million on drug R&D hub in Upper Providence (Philly.com)

Philadelphia’s life science warriors (Med City News)

Collaboration software company Jive to be acquired by Aurea for $462 million (TechCrunch)

How Uber lost its way in the Steel City (Politico)






at 10:31 AM 0 comments

Philly Tech News Notable Tweets: 4/24 - 4/30



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Weekend highlights: Yik Yak shuts down; John Gruber and pals shut down Vesper



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Yik Yak, once valued at $400 million, shuts down and sells off engineers for $1 million (The Verge)

John Gruber and pals shut down Vesper, their syncing notes app for iOS (TechCrunch)

NBCUniversal Is Building Its Own Children’s Channel (NY Times)
Sprout, which NBCU gained full control of in 2013, will be rebranded as Universal Kids. DreamWorks Animation Television programming will be added. Sprout has offices in New York and Fort Washington.


Was there bribery involving Pennsylvania's pension system? SERS wants to know (Philly.com)


Amazon’s cloud gain could be Google’s cloud loss (Recode)

Amazon's moves beyond retail get Wall Street thumbs up, for now (Reuters)


Exclusive: Google Snags Former Salesforce Cloud Exec
(Fortune)

Siemens, SAP sign cooperation deals with Saudi Arabia: officials (Reuters)

This is the time to bet on enterprise tech
(VentureBeat)










at 10:31 AM 0 comments

4/28: CardioNet (BioTelemetry) $2.5M Settlement Is Wireless Health Privacy First; Comcast's CNBC faces a big threat from Fox Business Network



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Amazon: As Good As It Gets? Pac Crest Cuts to Hold on MSFT, WMT Competition (Barron's Tech Trader Daily)


Parsing the IBM Watson and Salesforce Einstein deal (James Governor / Enterprise Irregulars)

Comcast's CNBC faces a big threat from Fox Business Network (Philly.com)

Comcast, the Wallflower (Multichannel News)
Analyst makes case for cable giant sitting out merger dance

Sena Fitzmaurice Promoted at Comcast (Multichannel News)





Relative share performance of Comcast (CMCSA) v Verizon (VZ) - past 12 months (Chart)

CardioNet $2.5M Settlement Is Wireless Health Privacy First
(Bloomberg BNA)
CardioNet was the predecessor of Malvern-based BioTelemetry.
BioTelemetry (NASDAQ: BEAT), which was barely above water for a time a few years ago, now has a market capitalization of $924 million.

Google Fiber building in Louisville despite lawsuit from AT&T and Charter (Ars Technica)

All’s fair in love, war and ERP -- FinancialForce goes for NetSuite’s jugular (Computerworld)

SAP and Google Cloud: They actually need each other ( Tony Baer / ZDNet)

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