The Silicon Valley and Dallas, Texas, partners at storied venture firm Sevin Rosen Funds have decided to go their separate ways.
Reports
in Private Equity Insider and The Wall Street Journal have the four
managers in the Palo Alto, Calif., office deciding not to join the
Dallas partners in raising a new investment fund. The California team --
Steve Dow, Nick Sturiale, John Oxaal and Steve Domenik -- are now listed
on the firm's site as "partners emeriti" and will continue to help
manage the existing portfolio companies.
Sevin Rosen made headlines in late 2006 when it decided to
cease fundraising for its 10th vehicle and
return $250 million to $300 million in capital already committed to the fund.
Now as Sevin Rosen gets ready to raise roughly $300 million for a fund
once again, the two offices were unable to agree on the right
investment strategy for the 27-year-old firm.
After making its reputation backing tech companies like Compaq Computer,
Electronic Arts Inc.
and Lotus Development Corp. in the 1980s, Sevin Rosen found fewer blockbuster exits
in its portfolio for its last few vehicles, although it did notch a big
win with the sale of
desktop virtualization company XenSource Inc. to Citrix Systems Inc. for about $500 million in August 2007. - George White See WSJ story See Deal.com feature on Sevin RosenSee Deal.com story on Sevin Rosen returning funds
Continue reading below
