acquisitions

Here's an upbeat tidbit to end the year: 2011 is on track to the biggest year in venture capital deals in a decade.

Big years make for daring bets, and for this year I've chose a dozen influential investors to single out for their role in fueling startups of all sorts.

If the final quarter shapes up as it looks like it will, venture capital deals will total $30 billion for the year, a 25-percent jump from 2010, according to Anand Sanwal, whose firm, CB Insights, tracks investment activity among VCs and some big angel investors.

"I … Read more

Semiconductor equipment maker Lam Research has agreed to acquire rival Novellus Systems in an all-stock deal worth $3.3 billion, the companies announced today.

The combined venture is expected to benefit from the individual companies' complementary product capabilities, with Novellus' thin-film application technology aligning with Lam's business of etching the film to create features that define a chip's final use and function.

Under the agreement's terms Novellus stockholders will get 1.125 shares of Lam common stock for each Novellus share, a premium of about 28 percent higher than Novellus' $34.70 closing price Wednesday. When the … Read more

Yahoo's board has been wooing potential suitors for months, but now that it has some offers, it wants more from would-be investors, a new report claims.

According to the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous sources, Yahoo's board has several minority-stake investment proposals in play, but has gone back to suitors, requesting a higher premium on its stock price or more attractive terms.

Silver Lake Partners, which has been rumored to have offered $16.60 per share for about a 20 percent stake in Yahoo, has been one of the firms hit with rebuttals from Yahoo, according to the … Read more

As Yahoo's board and executive team consider a growing number of acquisition bids, the company's employees are considering other opportunities, a new report claims.

Speaking to The Wall Street Journal in a story published today, several unnamed Yahoo employees say that morale is on the decline at the company, causing many folks to think seriously about going elsewhere.

"If you're not growing, if you're not giving people challenging things to work on, if you're not holding out the promise of creating some personal wealth during one of the frothiest technology markets in modern history, … Read more

The U.S. Department of Justice has given Google the go-ahead to complete its $400 million acquisition of AdMeld.

"The Antitrust Division obtained extensive information from Google, Admeld and a wide range of market participants in connection with its merger investigation of the proposed transaction," the Justice Department said in a statement today. "After a thorough review of the evidence, the division concluded that the transaction is not likely to substantially lessen competition in the sale of display advertising."

Google announced plans to acquire Admeld in June. The search giant said at the time that the … Read more

Yahoo's Chinese Internet partner Alibaba--in which Yahoo still owns a 40 percent stake--is preparing a bid to buy all of the Web giant, according to Bloomberg.

The news service reported that Alibaba and Softbank are in "advanced talks" with the Blackstone Group and Bain Capital to put together a bid for all of Yahoo. Bloomberg cited "three people with knowledge of the matter" as sources.

While a handful of bidders have stepped forward to buy minority piece of Yahoo, which is apparently the company's preference, Alibaba appears to be aiming to acquire all of … Read more

Investment firm Silver Lake has offered Yahoo $16.60 per share to buy a minority stake in the online giant, Bloomberg is reporting, citing sources.

Silver Lake seems unwilling to bet too much on Yahoo, though. Yahoo's stock closed yesterday at $15.70. If Yahoo accepts the deal, it would be agreeing to a paltry 6 percent premium on its stock price and a valuation of about $20.6 billion.

That said, Bloomberg's sources also said that Silver Lake has been outbid by another offer from investment firm TPG Capital. The sources didn't say how much TPG … Read more

As bidding for Yahoo comes down to the wire, reports say that Microsoft will indeed be among the suitors and that Web browser pioneer Marc Andreessen is considering taking on the task of executive chairman at Yahoo as part of an offer.

The New York Times' DealBook blog reported a consortium of investors led by Silver Lake and Microsoft is among several groups submitting bids for a minority stake in Yahoo today. The Times, which cited "people briefed on the matter," also reported that Yahoo's financial advisers, Allen & Company and Goldman Sachs, set the end of … Read more

Google has petitioned the European Union's executive arm for approval of its Motorola Mobility merger, but don't expect a decision this year.

According to information posted today on the European Commission's Web site, Google provided official notification on Friday about its planned merger. In response, the European Commission has promised to review the merger over the next several weeks and to make a decision about the deal by January 10.

Google announced plans earlier this year to acquire Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. In addition to the European Union's approval, Google must get a nod … Read more