This week saw deals inked in all corners of New England’s innovation ecosystem, but the biggie was in IT.
—Regulatory filings indicate that Kala Pharmaceuticals raised $3 million in an equity and debt financing. The Waltham, MA-based startup, which raised $2 million in December 2009, counts MIT inventor Bob Langer and representatives of Lux Capital, Polaris Venture Partners, and Third Rock Ventures among its board members.
—Woburn, MA-based Ramp Holdings completed a $3.5 million equity financing, an SEC filing indicates. Previous backers of the startup, which develops workflow optimization tools for online publishers, media companies, and broadcasters, include Accel Partners, Fairhaven Capital, General Catalyst Partners, Peacock Equity, General Electric, and NBC Universal.
—Nanoparticle drug developer Cerulean Pharmaceuticals raised $24 million in a Series C funding round led by Lilly Ventures and joined by return investors Bessemer Venture Partners, Lux Capital, Polaris Venture Partners, and Venrock Associates. The Cambridge, MA-based firm will use the new cash to fund a mid-stage clinical trial of its lead drug, CRLX101, as a treatment for lung cancer.
—ConnectEdu closed a $7 million round led by return backer Allen & Co. The Boston-based provider of online tools for college admissions and career planning had previously revealed in an SEC filing that it had taken in $4.9 million of the round.
—EMC (NYSE: [[ticker:EMC]]) confirmed that rumors of its plans to acquire Seattle-based Isilon Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:ISLN]]) were true. The Hopkinton, MA-based data storage behemoth said it will pay $33.85 per share—or $2.25 billion total—in what will be one of its largest acquisitions to date.
—Cambridge-based Backupify, which helps users back up their e-mail and social networking data online, acquired the even more obviously named TweetBackup. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
—Online travel search company Kayak filed for an initial public offering worth as much as $50 million. The six-year-old Norwalk, CT-based firm has raised $223 million in venture capital from the likes of General Catalyst Partners), Sequoia Capital, Accel Funds, and Oak Investment Partners and has been profitable since 2008.
—Waltham, MA-based Minerva Biotechnologies raised $4.6 million in an offering of equity and rights, according to an SEC filing.
