Rebound in L.A. venture scene has a telecom twist. (Up Front).Don't give up on telecom. That appears to be the message from those investing in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County companies through the first quarter of the year. Better than 50 percent of the venture capital invested in the first three months was in telecommunications related firms, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a report from venture tracking firm Growthink. The $131.9 million doled out Adj. 1. doled out - given out in portions apportioned, dealt out, meted out, parceled out distributed - spread out or scattered about or divided up to companies in what Growthink identifies as the connectivity sector was almost as much as the combined funding in all other categories -- healthcare, business applications, e-content and others. Growthink lumps networking, semiconductors, broadband and wireless under the connectivity banner. Dave Lavinsky, Growthink's president, said connectivity and healthcare would remain the big magnets of venture investment in Los Angeles. Local activity was anchored by two large deals: Santa Monica Santa Monica (săn`tə mŏn`ĭkə), city (1990 pop. 86,905), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1886. Tourism and retailing are important, and the city has motion-picture, biotechnology, and software industries. biotech company Agensys Inc., which recorded a $42.8 million private placement, and TelePacific Communications Corp., which landed a $40 million equity investment. That a regional biotech company would pull in a substantial investment is not unusual. A telecommunications company See telecom company. attracting $40 million is. TelePacific's funding came mostly from affiliates of Investcorp, TelePacific's largest shareholder. TelePacific Chief Executive Dick Jalkut said the investment likely isn't an indication that the investment community has changed its reversed the recent trend to stay away from telecoms. "We're the man bites dog story," Jalkut said. "We have done a good job keeping our cash and the market is rewarding people today for managing their cash." Total VC investment in Los Angeles County was up 61 percent over the previous quarter, the report indicated. Twenty five companies attracted $266.2 million in the first quarter, compared to a fourth quarter in which 16 companies raised $104 million. That's the good news, but there's reason for concern in Los Angeles, Lavinsky said. The ratio of venture capital raised in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, had been 65-35 L.A. to San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. . There's been a complete reversal in that ratio over the last several quarters, mainly due to the proliferation of biotech companies in San Diego. The Southern California region, from Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. to San Diego, led the nation in raising healthcare funds. The area pulled in 20 percent of the $8.1 billion national total. |
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