It was a busy week for Northwest deals, as companies tried to beat the holiday rush. Lots of action in software, mobile, and biotech.
—Seattle-based Swype, maker of text-input software for touch screens, raised $5.6 million in a Series B round led by Samsung Ventures, Nokia Growth Partners, and Benaroya Capital. Swype released its first product earlier this month and is planning to use its new funds to expand to mobile devices around the world.
—Seattle Genetics, the Bothell, WA-based biotech firm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SGEN]]), inked a partnership with Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, based in Cambridge, MA, to co-develop and market an “empowered antibody” cancer drug for Hodgkin’s disease and related lymphomas, as Luke reported. Millennium will pay $60 million upfront and make milestone payments worth $230 million, in exchange for exclusive commercial rights to the drug in all countries except the U.S. and Canada. Meanwhile, last week, Roche’s U.S.-based Genentech unit canceled a three-year partnership with Seattle Genetics to co-develop an antibody for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
—Seattle’s Widevine Technologies, which makes software for delivering online video to mobile phones, TVs, and other consumer devices, raised $15 million in equity funding from Liberty Global, Samsung Ventures, and an unnamed corporation. Widevine was founded in 1999 and has raised more than $65 million in equity and debt financing.
—Microsoft had a busy week. The Redmond, WA-based software firm (NASDAQ: [[ticker:MSFT]]) acquired Sentillion, a healthcare software company based in Andover, MA, for an undisclosed price. It plans to incorporate Sentillion’s technology into the Microsoft Amalga Unified Intelligence System for hospitals. Microsoft also acquired Toronto-based Opalis Software, a maker of data center and IT management software for process automation. Financial terms were not announced.
—Speaking of IT management, Microsoft also formed a three-year strategic partnership with NetApp (NASDAQ: [[ticker:NTAP]]), a Sunnyvale, CA-based data storage and virtualization firm. The deal calls for the two companies to collaborate on products in virtualization, storage and data management, and cloud computing. Financial details weren’t given.
—Dendreon, the Seattle biotech company blazing trails in prostate cancer treatment and “cancer vaccines,” raised $409 million by selling 15 million shares, plus 2.25 million more to its underwriters who exercised their options. Luke reported the story behind the stock offering here. Dendreon (NASDAQ: [[ticker:DNDN]]) has raised a total of $630 million this year to manufacture and market its cancer treatment, as it seeks FDA approval.
—Portland, OR-based Solar Nation raised $2 million in equity financing, as part of a $5 million commitment from Luxembourg-based Lynx Industries to help expand the startup’s North American operations. Solar Nation was founded in 2008 and develops solar energy technologies for government agencies, businesses, and nonprofits.
—Redmond, WA-based Sammsoft, a maker of security and privacy software for personal computers, was acquired by support.com (NASDAQ: [[ticker:SPRT]]), a Silicon Valley-based Internet firm, for $8.5 million in cash. The assets of Xeriton, Sammsoft’s parent company, were also acquired.
