Roundup, deals, VC

$400M Contract for Foster-Miller, 65K Order for OLPC, $1B In, $5M Out for Alnylam, & More Deals News

Rebecca Zacks 6/3/08

Sheesh, maybe it was the sheer volume of the last week’s deals that made the equipment at our Web hosting company explode. Check it out:

—The U.S. military awarded Foster-Miller its biggest robot contract yet, for $400 million worth of the Waltham, MA-based firm’s TALON robots and spare parts. The robots will be used to counter roadside bombs.

—The One Laptop Per Child Foundation inked a deal to provide the small state of Caldas in central Colombia with 65,000 XO laptops for public-school children.

—Japanese drug giant Takeda Pharmaceutical Company forged a strategic partnership with Cambridge, MA-based RNAi leader Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ALNY). The 5-year deal is potentially worth more than $1 billion.

—Alnylam invested $5 million in Vancouver-based Tekmira Pharmaceuticals in order to gain access to the Canadian firm’s RNAi-delivery technologies.

—The assets and operations of Meriden, CT-based flu vaccine maker Protein Sciences were bought by Emergent BioSolutions, of Rockville, MD, for up to $28 million in cash, $20 million in stock, and up to $30 million in milestone payments.

—Billerica, MA-based American Science and Engineering won a $6.2 million contract from the NATO C3 Agency for its X-ray-based cargo and vehicle screening systems.

—Two stealthy Boston-area mobile-software startups announced venture financings in the same week. Azuki Systems, of Acton, MA, (formerly Peermeta) raised $6.1 million in Series A funding from Kepha Partners and Sigma Partners, among others. And Waltham, MA-based EnvIO Networks raised $10 million in a Series B funding round led by Matrix Partners and North Bridge Venture Partners.

—Advanced Technology Ventures of Waltham, MA, led a $16 million round of investment in New York-based Web marketing firm [x+1].

—Harvard School of Public Health spinoff Syndexa Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, MA, raised $15 million in a Series B financing. The funds will help support the company’s efforts to develop drugs for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

—Amherst, NH’s AeroSat, which has developed a broadband antenna system for passenger planes, raised $14 million in new funding from Boston-based PAR Capital and existing investors CAI Managers and AeroEquity.