Roundup, deals, VC

A123Systems, GE, and Norwegian Carmaker Join Forces, TNS Commits to Compete, Bottomline Buys Optio, & More

Rebecca Zacks 3/10/08

Last week was a little on the quiet side, deals-wise. Here’s what we’ve got:

—Online community management firm Mzinga of Burlington, MA, raised $32.5 million in new venture financing and acquired Littleton, MA-based Prospero.

—Boston-based Compete, a web-traffic analysis firm, was snatched up by the U.K.’s Taylor Nelson Sofres (TNS) for $75 million in cash and up to $75 million in revenue-based payments.

—Bottomline Technologies (NASDAQ:EPAY) of Portsmouth, NH—a maker of software for banks and other financial institutions–-announced it’s acquiring Alpharetta, GA’s Optio Software for $44.9 million.

—Waltham, MA-based EveryScape raised $7 million in a Series B financing round led by Dace Ventures and joined by existing investors Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Draper Fisher New England, Draper Atlantic, and Launchpad Venture Group. The startup produces navigable 3-D views of outdoor and indoor locations.

—Boston’s .406 Ventures closed its first fund with $167 million, mostly from institutional investors such as Parish Capital. The firm’s original target was $150 million.

—Music website OurStage, also of Boston, signed a deal with AOL to provide streaming audio, interviews, and videos for AOL Music.

—Battery maker A123Systems of Watertown, MA, cut a deal with Norwegian electric car company Think and General Electric to put its lithium-ion rechargeable batteries into Think’s vehicles.

—Wakefield, MA’s NoblePeak raised $12 million in a Series B round led by new investor Chart Venture Partners, and joined by previous backers Matrix Partners and Northbridge Venture Partners. NoblePeak is developing a new type of night vision camera for security and surveillance applications.

—Waltham, MA-based I-Therapeutix, which is developing a polymer sealant for use in eye surgery, reportedly closed a $6 million Series B funding round led by Versant Ventures of California and SV Life Sciences of Boston.

—Allegro Diagnostics of Boston raised $4 million in a Series A financing round; Kodiak Venture Partners, Catalyst Health Ventures, and Boston University participated.