Exclusive: Better Place to file for bankruptcy
May 24, 2013: 2:36 PM ET
Electric car network runs out of gas.
FORTUNE -- Electric car company Better Place is planning to file for bankruptcy within the next several days, Fortune has learned.
The move will come seven months after the ouster of charismatic founder Shai Agassi, and five months after his successor -- Evan Thornley, CEO of Better Place Australia -- also departed.
Agassi also was a significant shareholder in the company, which had raised more than $700 million from firms like HSBC, General Electric (GE), Israel Corp., Lazard Asset Management (LAZ), Morgan Stanley (MS) and VantagePoint Capital Partners.
Related: Shai Agassi's ouster no surprise
Better Place originally launched in late 2007 to build out a network of battery-swapping stations for electric cars (basically a twist on charging stations). Its premise was that the electric car market would eventually take off thanks to rising oil prices and the decline of traditional automakers. And, when that happened, Better Place already would be built out and ready to serve.
But when oil hit $125 per barrel and General Motors (GM) filed for bankruptcy within just 18 months into Better Place's existence, it failed to successfully execute.
Related: Better battery financing for Better Place won't help
"The company was not well-served by having things it thought would happen over a decade happen within a year," says a close familiar with the situation. "Ultimately the idea was always based around scale, and it just didn't build it fast enough or well enough."
I also reached out to my Fortune colleague Brian Dumaine, who has covered Better Place in the past. He believes that the company underestimated the time and expense of everything from purchasing land to dealing with permitting to tearing up the streets for charger installations. He adds that another other major issue was that most electric car-makers -- such as Tesla Motors (TSLA) -- saw no reason to either make or install swappable batteries, since the battery and control system are considered each EV maker's special sauce. The only exception was Nissan's Renault unit, which produced a Better Place-compatible vehicle.
No word yet on what Better Place plans to do with its assets. A company spokeswoman has not responded to a request for comment.
Sign up for Dan's daily email newsletter on deals and deal-makers: GetTermSheet.com
-
Automattic nears Tumblr valuation
WordPress.com parent company raises $50 million.
FORTUNE -- WordPress.com parent company Automattic today announced a $50 million investment from Tiger Global, in a secondary deal that will provide liquidity to early company shareholders.
The San Francisco-based company declined to discuss valuation, but a source familiar with the situation says that Tiger valued Automattic "just below" the $1.1 billion price-tag that Yahoo (YHOO) recently bestowed upon Tumblr.
You may recall earlier this week that Automattic founder and MORE
Dan Primack - May 24, 2013 11:26 AM ET -
M&A and IPOs
Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE: CPB) has agreed to acquire Plum Organics, a New York–based maker of organic baby and children's food products, from Catamount Ventures, Catterton Partners and Alliance Consumer Growth. No financial terms were disclosed. www.plumorganics.com
Bankia of Spain is nearing a deal to sell City National Bank of Florida for around $900 million to Chile's Banco de Credito e Inversiones, according to Reuters. www.bankia.com
Elan PLC (NYSE: ELN) has rejected a $6.4 billion takeover bid from Royalty Pharma. www.elan.com
Constellium, a Paris-based maker of aluminum products MORE
Dan Primack - May 24, 2013 10:01 AM ET -
Private equity deals
Clearlake Capital Group has acquired approximately 89% of the outstanding shares of online fashion retailer Bluefly Inc. (Nasdfaq: BFLY) from principal shareholders like Rho Capital Partners, Soros Fund Management, Prentice Capital Management and Maverick Capital. It also has agreed to acquire the remaining shares via a short form merger at $0.10 per share. http://www.bluefly.com
Panasonic (Tokyo: 6752) is in talks to raise upwards of $1 billion by selling an undisclosed stake in its healthcare unit, according MORE
Dan Primack - May 24, 2013 10:00 AM ETPosted in: Private Equity -
Venture capital deals
Lyft, a San Francisco-based ride-sharing startup, has raised $60 million in third-round funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company previously raised more than $20 million from Founders Fund, K9 Ventures, Mayfield and Floodgate. http://www.lyft.com
Jennerex Biotherapeutics Inc., a San Francisco-based developer of targeted oncolytic immunotherapies for solid tumors, has raised $21.6 million in new VC funding. No investor information was disclosed. www.jennerex.com
Revision Military Inc., an Essex Junction, Vt.–based maker of ballistic eyewear and MORE
Dan Primack - May 24, 2013 10:00 AM ETPosted in: Venture Capital -
Beware of that hedge fund in the window
When hedge fund managers advertise, performance dips.
FORTUNE -- Hedge funds soon will be allowed to advertise their wares to potential clients, thanks to a provision in last year's JOBS Act (which had no direct relation to actual jobs). As will private equity funds, venture capital funds and other alternative investment vehicles that heretofore were prohibited from general solicitation.
Former SEC Commissioner Mary Shapiro opposed the change, so she basically sat on MORE
Dan Primack - May 23, 2013 3:29 PM ET -
The 4 hedge funders losing big in the Japan rout
There's one big winner, too.
FORTUNE -- The "Abe Trade" just hit a major bump.
Toward the end of last year, a number of large hedge funds began piling into Japan. Driving the bet was the country's new prime minister Shinzo Abe, who said he favored flooding Japan's markets with cash from its central bank in order to finally pull its economy out of its perpetual slump. And hedge funds, for all MORE
Stephen Gandel, senior editor - May 23, 2013 1:35 PM ETPosted in: dan loeb, Hedge Funds, japan, Kyle Bass, Louis Bacon, Paul Tudor Jones, Stan Druckenmiller -
Solar subsidies don't merit costly trade war with China
Who will win a solar trade war? Coal, gas, oil, and rival green energy sources.
By Kevin Allison and Christopher Swann, Reuters Breakingviews
FORTUNE -- A trade war is brewing over solar panels but the casus belli looks shaky. Western manufacturers probably exaggerate the impact of cheap Chinese kit on the industry's health. Panel profits need to rise, but punitive tariffs and possible Chinese retaliation may just make solar energy less competitive.
Europe's MORE
May 23, 2013 12:29 PM ET -
Why Andreessen Horowitz gave a $60 million Lyft
FORTUNE -- Ride-sharing service Lyft today is announcing $60 million in new venture capital funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. So I spent some time on the phone with Andreessen Horowitz partner Scott Weiss to learn why the firm is putting so much money into a company that faces so many challenges.
What follows is an edited transcript of our conversation:
FORTUNE: There is a lot of money going into this general space MORE
Dan Primack - May 23, 2013 12:02 PM ET -
Can KKR dance the Saks two-step?
Merging Saks with Neiman Marcus may make sense, but it won't be easy.
FORTUNE -- Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) reportedly is considering a massive luxury retail consolidation move: Buying both Saks Inc. (which just went on the block) and Neiman Marcus (being sold by a PE group that includes TPG, Warburg Pincus, Leonard Green and Credit Suisse) -- and then merging the two companies together.
To be sure, there are some good MORE
Dan Primack - May 23, 2013 10:58 AM ET
