Apple CEO Jobs to Take Second Medical Leave of Absence
Cupertino, Calif. – Apple (NASD: AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs on Tuesday
announced that he will take another medical leave of absence from the company,
following a medical leave in 2009 during which he underwent a liver transplant
and treatment for pancreatic cancer. "At my request, the board of
directors has granted me a medical leave of absence so I can focus on my
health. I will continue as CEO and be involved in major strategic decisions for
the company," Jobs said in a note to employees also released by the company.
During Jobs’ absence, Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook will once again
take over responsibility for the company’s day-to-day operations, as he did
during Jobs’ previous medical leave, which lasted six months.
"I love
Apple so much and hope to be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, my family
and I would deeply appreciate respect for our privacy," Jobs added.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4hg6g4y
http://tinyurl.com/476tn2p
(AP)
http://tinyurl.com/6ega6cw
(DMW previous coverage)
Web Ticketing Service Etix Acquires Rockhouse Partners
Raleigh, N.C. – Etix, an international Web-based ticketing
service provider for entertainment, travel and sports, announced on Tuesday
that it has acquired Rockhouse Partners, a Nashville-based digital marketing
agency.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Raleigh, N.C.-based Etix said the
deal will give its customers access to Rockhouse’s ticket marketing programs,
CRM, reporting and analytics tools.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4p3en7k
Photo Publishing Service Mixbook Acquires Scrapblog
San Jose, Calif. – Mixbook, the provider of an online photo
publishing service, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Scrapblog, an
online scrapbooking service.
Financial terms of the transaction were not
disclosed.
Founded in 2006, San Jose, Calif.-based Mixbook offers an online service
that lets users publish photo books, stationery, yearbooks and scrapbooks.
Also
founded in 2006, Scrapblog was backed by investors including Steamboat Ventures
and Longworth Venture Partners.
Mixbook said that following the acquisition the
company will count a combined five million customers.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/65ghqrv
IAC's Electus Acquires Distributor Engine Entertainment
New York – Electus, the multimedia entertainment studio unit
of IAC (NASD: IACI), announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Engine Entertainment, and
established a new in-house, global distribution arm, Electus/Engine Distribution.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
The two companies
collaborated previously to co-produce and distribute the mobile game
"Thumb Wars."
New York-based Electus said the new division will
handle worldwide sales for Electus content, which includes TV, films and
digital productions.
Engine CEO Chris Philip will become president of
Electus/Engine Distribution.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/6fdpcpw
Vook Gets $5.25 Million for Mixed Media Online Publishing
Alameda, Calif. – Vook, an online publisher of
"mixed-media" content, announced on Tuesday that it has closed on a
$5.25 million first round of funding, from investors including VantagePoint
Venture Partners and Floodgate.
Alameda, Calif.-based based Vook’s Vook
multimedia format combines video, text, images and social sharing features, in
a package optimized for tablets, smartphones and e-readers.
The company has
partnered with authors including Deepak Chopra, Seth Godin and Anne Rick to
publish Vook content.
The company will use the funds to accelerate sales and
invest in technology to support growth.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/6yy4qk6
India's Ybrant Scores $48 Million for Digital Marketing
Hyderabad, India – Ybrant Digital, an India-based digital
marketing firm, announced on Tuesday that it has closed a new $48 million round
of debt and equity financing.
Oak India Investments led the investment round;
previous backers Asia Pacific Capital and ICICI Bank also participated.
Founded
in 2000, Ybrant has offices in 20 countries and counts SAP, Ford, UPS and the US
Army as clients.
The company will use the funds for product development, to
expand internationally and explore acquisitions.
Last year, the company
acquired Web portal Lycos from Korea’s Daum Communications for $36 million.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/67nzebh
(PDF)
Cheezburger Network Lands $30 Million in Funding
Seattle – Cheezburger Network, the online publisher behind
popular sites such as I Can Has Cheezburger and FAILblog, announced on Tuesday
that it has raised $30 million in new funding, led by Foundry Group.
Madrona
Venture Group, Avalon Ventures and Softbank Capital also participated in the
round, proceeds from which will be used to hire additional staff and funds
marketing and growth initiatives.
Founded in 2007, Seattle-based Cheezburger
Network now counts more than 16.5 million monthly visitors and 375 million
monthly page views across its network of sites.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/656nqzc
(Cheezburger blog)
Sonian Raises $9 Million for Cloud Information Archiving
Needham, Mass. – Sonian, the provider of a cloud-based
information archiving platform, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $9
million in its second round of venture capital, which was led by Amazon (NASD: AMZN).
Founded in 2006, Needham, Mass.-based Sonian said it will use the funds for
continued research, development and business expansion of its technology
platform.
The company’s hosted email archive product that for cloud computing
infrastructure offers storage management, regulatory compliance and eDiscovery
services.
Other investors in Sonian include Summerhill Venture Partners and
Prism VentureWorks.
Related Links:
http://www.sonian.com
JFK Digital Presidential Archives Unveiled This Week in Boston
Boston – The first online presidential archive was
introduced this week in Boston, as Caroline Kennedy was on hand to unveil the
$10 million JFK Digital Archive, the Associated Press reported. The archive
includes an initial 200,000 pages, 1,200 recordings and 300 artifacts,
encompassing drafts of speeches, recordings of phone calls, personal letters
and photographs. Funding for the project came from AT&T, EMC, Raytheon and
Iron Mountain.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/4qzhpx6
(AP)
