Zynga scores $29 million in venture capital

DJIA	-171.63	11,543.55
NASDAQ	-44.12	2,367.52
S&P 500	-17.85	1,282.83

Posted Jul 24th 2008 8:30AM by Tom Taulli

The smart money continues to pour into social networking deals. The latest comes from a tier-one VC: Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.

Today, the firm announced a $29 million round for Zynga Game Network. Essentially, the company combines two hot categories – social networking and casual games.

No doubt, this deal is a big validator. After all, Kleiner only cares about companies that have the potential of being game-changers.

So, what makes Zynga different? Well, for the most part, the company has devised innovative techniques to create highly addictive games (some say the process is scientific). Plus, there are opportunities to expand onto mobile platforms and to even create virtual worlds.

Keep in mind that Kleiner has invested in a variety of break-out gaming companies in the past, such as Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS). In fact, a Kleiner partner, William "Bing" Gordon – the former CEO of EA – will come on the board of Zynga.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

Tags: erts, Venture Capital, VentureCapital, Zynga

Add your comments

Your comments:

Remember me

E-Mail me when someone replies to this comment

Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments.

When you enter your name and email address, you'll be sent a link to confirm your comment, and a password. To leave another comment, just use that password.

To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.

BloggingBuyouts is provided for informational purposes only. Nothing on the service is intended to provide personally tailored advice concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, portfolio or securities, transaction, investment strategy or other matter. You are solely responsible for any investment decisions that you make. The contributors who provide the content of BloggingBuyouts may, from time to time, hold positions in the securities discussed at the time of writing and they may trade for their own accounts. Such holdings will be disclosed at the time of writing. By using the site, you agree to abide to BloggingBuyouts' Terms of Use.

#	Blogger	Posts
1	Tech Confidential	13
2	Tom Taulli	8
3	Zac Bissonnette	4
4	Michael Rainey	2
5	Paul Foster	1
6	Brian White	1

Blogger

Posts

Cmts

Microsoft pays $486 million for Greenfield Online Solar companies feel warmth from VCs The Active Network raises $80M from ESPN	Microsoft spends another $486 million on web search Before the bell: Stocks lower; DELL, MRVL, FNM, MSFT ... Before the bell: FNM, FRE, AMLN, BMY, AAPL, AMR ...
Rumor: Apple and AT&T working on tethering deal My favorite iPod touch apps: Mike R.'s picks Meet Spore's creator at Regent St. Apple Store	10 Awesome BlackBerry apps Googleholic for August 29, 2008 3 Mobile Web Apps that keep old Pocket PCs relevant
Ed Hardy Smart Car Alexander McQueen's Take on Western, Handbag of the Day Gijs Bakker's 'Bracelet with 90 Degree Angle'	Microsoft spends another $486 million on web search Before the bell: Stocks lower; DELL, MRVL, FNM, MSFT ... Brand.net gets a $10 million pickup

bloggingbuyouts

August 30, 2008: 05:19 AM

Indexes

Enter a symbol