Press were barred from the Western Association of Venture Capitalists luncheon yesterday so I don't know exactly what Frank Quattrone said in his first public appearance outside of a courtroom in four years. However, from what Quattrone told the The San Francisco Chronicle in an interview afterward, his return to the world of technology finance is only months away.
After he successfully completes his deferred prosecution agreement in August, Quattrone will be free to launch a new venture. He indicated yesterday he is intrigued by the "exit problem", according to Susan Mason, a general partner at Onset Ventures who attended the speech.
Quattrone told The Chronicle very little aside from confirming, "I am figuring out what the next opportunity might be." If I had to guess, it sounds like Quattrone will raise a billion dollar private equity fund to back late stage high-tech companies such as Infinera, TellMe and Force10 that are earning big revenue but finding it hard to complete IPOs.
Whatever type of venture he launches later this year, he will be welcomed with open arms by the venture capitalists that gave him a standing ovation at the WAVC event yesterday.
Tags: wavc, frank+quattrone, vc, venture+capital
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