We saw news of acquisitions and financing rounds for New England’s tech, life sciences, and energy firms—including some developments in what could be one of the biggest buyouts in some time (see below).
—NKT Therapeutics, a Newton, MA-based developer of drugs to stimulate natural killer T cells, brought in a $4 million equity round, according to an SEC filing. Last year the company raised $8 million in Series A funding, from SV Life Sciences and MedImmune Ventures.
—Newton-based ExtendMedia, a video software maker, will be acquired by networking giant Cisco Systems. The companies did not release financial details of the deal, which is expected to close in early 2011. ExtendMedia’s Newton office will remain as part of the deal, and all of the company’s employees will join Cisco.
—Wavemark, a Littleton, MA, maker of radio-frequency identification tags for tracking hospital inventory, raised $3.9 million in equity-based funding. The financing includes the conversion of some notes, and will be put toward working capital for the company, according to an SEC filing.
—Ameresco (NYSE: [[ticker:AMRC]]), a Framingham, MA-based provider of energy-efficiency services, said it agreed to acquire Renton, WA-based Quantum Engineering and Development. Ameresco, which manages the development and operation of renewable energy plants, did not reveal how much it paid for Quantum, a provider of energy and water auditing, engineering, construction, and commissioning services.
—Cambridge, MA-based biotech giant Genzyme (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GENZ]]) said its board of directors had unanimously rejected a buyout bid from French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis. The Genzyme board said the $69-per-share cash offer from Sanofi did not recognize the progress the company has made in rectifying its manufacturing issues from last year and the potential in its product pipeline.
—Yottaa, a Cambridge-based Internet startup, announced it had attracted $4 million in Series A funding from General Catalyst Partners, Stata Venture Partners, and Cambridge West Ventures. The company also released a free, private beta version of its analytics service for monitoring website performance.
