Private Equity Hub has written a
revealing story about the harsh measures taken to consummate ComVentures'
merger with Velocity Group. Announced in December, three of the five ComVentures partners and the two Velocity founders -- AOL-veteran Jonathan Miller and former Fox exec Ross Levinsohn -- joined forces to create Velocity Interactive Group to invest in media startups.
My
initial reaction to the deal was skepticism, which is borne out by the details unearthed by PE Hub today. One LP quoted in the story had this to say:
"Levinsohn and Miller are impressive guys, but it's tough for me even if I want to invest with them. To do so, I have to believe that this entire team is going to still be together in five years, and I just can't trust that. Either Levinsohn and Miller will decide to leave because they aren't VCs at heart, or Roland will fire them for some reason or another. Either way, it's too risky."
The details about the way in which ComVentures co-founder Roland Van der Meer (pictured at right) treats his "partners" is worth the read alone. - Joshua Jaffe
Joshua Jaffe is general manager of TechConfidential.com.
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