Venture capital fund eyes Latino, Asian media properties.

NEWSPAPERS and other traditional media may be taking a hit these days, but two local venture capital firms are prowling for acquisitions, particularly in the emerging Hispanic and Asian media markets.

Daniel Villanueva, managing partner of Pasadena-based Fontis Capital LLP, and Renee LaBran, a partner at Santa Monica-based Rustic Canyon Partners, have teamed up to form a new venture capital fund that will invest in media, business services and consumer product companies.

So far, they've raised $70 million as part of a $150 million commitment they are seeking from investors that include the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the California State Teachers' Retirement System, Bank of America Corp., the New Mexico Investment Council and Wells Fargo & Co.

LaBran, a former executive at the Los Angeles Times, and Villanueva, president of the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team and a former executive at Univision Communications Inc.'s KTVW-TV (Channel 3) in Phoenix, joined forces after hearing about each other from potential investors.

"We started talking to investors about starting a specialty fund and they said there was another group with the same focus," LaBran said, noting that Fontis brings to the table experience in radio and the Hispanic market, while Rustic Canyon's expertise leans toward print, cable and the Internet.

The fund will be open to investments in a wide range of media properties, from radio and television to print, Internet and cable. Each investment is projected to range from $5 million to $10 million.

Villanueva's father, Danny Villanueva Sr., is a former chairman at Bastion Capital and a consultant at Fontis. But he made a bigger name for himself as a place kicker with the Los Angeles Rams and Dallas Cowboys in the 1970s.

Staff reporter Anne Riley-Katz can be reached at [phone], ext. 230, or at [e-mail]. Staff reporter Kate Berry contributed to this column.